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Kris-Fillip

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20 years old with 5,000 in savings. What would you do?

I'll be twenty years old on Saturday and I have about five thousand dollars in savings from jobs, scholarship surpluses, etc. I really want to use this money as efficiently as possible and am aiming to be financially comfortable following graduation. How should I invest? Stocks, bonds, real estate, education, travel, what would you do?

I wouldn't. I'd let it sit in a high yield savings account until you graduate. Then once you have a job with consistent income, and you know what your monthly budget is going to look like, you can figure out how much of your current savings should stay in savings as an emergency fund, and how much you may want to put towards other financial goals. In the meantime you can read the prime directive in the side bar wiki which has a really good step by step for how to handle money.

Really depends on your living situation. If you live with your parents and have no expenses id put all of it into stocks since you are young and can tolerate the risk. I did that 3 years ago @ 21.

personalfinance

Ozymandias743

t3_ao4foy

Ihatenewreddit

efy2c2b

SeanyboyX

efyb3wn

Flu fear mongering is weak.

10 people die per hour in US with flu. (100k people a year) 6 people in a month in China for this virus. We running out of news?

New cycle Chinese virus spreads. Markets go down <---You are here Chinese virus kills billions. Markets bottom out. Lack of hosts means virus subsides. Markets go up. Unemployment numbers are greatly reduced because of reduced population. Markets soar. Earth repopulates. Repeat at 1.

It shouldn’t have any lasting effect... but rn the market feels like it’s going to slow down economic growth. They are expecting less tourism in China specifically Macau and this is prime time with Chinese New Year around the corner. A doctor in Hong Kong also said this could be the start of an epidemic so be on the lookout for that. Good news if you really are concerned NVAX has created a vaccine for it so the stock jumped like 70% today. Tomorrow should be business as usual, maybe start red and climb back to green with modest gains. Right now futures sit at 3329 so it’s looking like potential for new ATHs tomorrow if this holds overnight.

wallstreetbets

Jakegordon99

t3_es3tcn

Hadron90

ff7poft

ATL_LAX

ff7zg2t

Dire financial straights. Any advice is welcome. I'm a bit overwhelmed right now. (US)

I'm 29. I got divorced earlier this year. I have five credit cards of variable limits and all are maxed out. I'm making minimum payments on them. Student loans are deferred. Roughly I'm in debt about $25, 000 not including student loans. My fiance declared bankruptcy a few years ago after her divorce. Her house was just sold at a foreclosure auction yesterday. She makes $88k and I make $62k per year. Not sure what other debt ahe has besides ehat she owes for her bankruptcy. I'm not sure what I should do first. The goal is to be reasonably debt free and have savings (I currently have none). I know I can't attack everything at once. Not sure what is the most important thing to attack first.

So you got divorced this year and are already engaged to someone who recently got divorced? Not my business, but marriage/divorce can be expensive. If I was in your shoes, I woudln't be in a hurry to walk down the aisle again. Take note: I've been dating the same girl for over 8 years so I'm not going to claim to have all the answers. On the plus side, you both have really good salaries. It's hard to believe your new fiance had to walk away from a home with her income. I think you guys need to make a conservative budget and stick to it. With your salaries and youth, you still have time to right the ship. Good luck.

Are any of your debts in collections? If not, are you able to pay at least the minimum balance on your current debts? There's the snowball method, where you tackle a smaller debt sooner because you'll realize this is something you can conquer. Then there's the avalanche method where you attack the highest-interest loan first, which is most cost-effective but harder to actually do for a lot of people. If you need to declare bankruptcy yourself, you should get to a specialist. There are some folks on this subreddit who have been through that process but I think it's worth paying for processional advice.

personalfinance

[deleted]

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yenom_esol

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cddirfm

aust1nz

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cddhof8

If I buy shares through an online broker, do I actually own those shares?

If I open an account, say Ameritrade, and purchase stock in say MSFT, do I actually own those shares or does Ameritrade own the shares and I am borrowing them for accounting purposes? Also, do paper stock certificates exist anymore? Could I purchase shares through and online broker and receive paper shares?

There is a complicated double ownership system for shares owned the typical way "in street name", so that you have more rights than if the brokerage owned the stock outright and just owed you the value of the stock. For example, if the brokerage goes bankrupt, the shares belong to you, not to the creditors of the brokerage. But for some legal purposes, including most corporate actions and proportional stock dividends etc., the shares act as if they were owned by the brokerage and owed to you. So the "cash in lieu" paid by the transfer agent instead of fractional shares in many transactions are not paid by the transfer agent for stock in street name. Instead your broker gets whole shares for the sum of fractional shares "owned" by all their customers in total. Then your broker (not the transfer agent) converts the value of your fractional share to cash (typically a little less than the official "cash in lieu" amount). In complicated legal situations within mergers, the beneficial owner of a large block of stock "in street name" may have significantly better or worse rights than if they had instead owned the stock via paper certificates. But the owners of smaller lots can't take advantage of such rights because of fees. Paper certificates still exist, but most brokerages charge you an extra fee when buying and again when selling if you decide to use paper certificates. If your brokerage has a DRIP program and you buy fractional shares that way, those shares are more simply owned by the brokerage and the brokerage owes you the value of the fractional share. They might hold more or less than the number of full shares needed to cover all their customers who "own" fractional shares and those customers have no special protection in case the brokerage goes bankrupt while holding too few shares to cover the fractional shares in DRIPs.

When you open a brokerage account, the broker usually asks for the right to lend out your shares (in the small print, so you won't understand). So you might legally still "own" the shares, but they are not "there" (lent to a short-seller, who sold them to another buyer, who, of course, cannot tell the difference between shares bought from a short seller or from a long seller). So there might actually be more shares being "lent into existence" than shares outstanding. In "normal" times, short sellers can buy back stock (and return to their broker) when they need to (i.e. stop-loss, or margin call etc). But what happens should there be another flash crash or cyber attack on major stock exchanges (which could lead to total shut-down, maybe even for a couple of days) nobody knows. Most of our wealth now only exists as bytes and has counterparty risk. Dollar bills, coins as well as precious metal coins are a few exceptions.

investing

BinarySolar

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jsf67

czhn7w2

Gloeschi

czhnw1b

Grandfather is losing his mind due to age; making huge financial mistakes. How can I help?

I said "losing his mind" instead of losing his memory, because at times it seems like he is just crazy. Im worried that he will lose his house and wind up a ward of the state or worse, homeless. My grandfather had never been good with money, but has always made ends meet through sheer determination. He's one of those people that worked ten times harder than he needed to his whole life because he was constantly making bad, BAD, financial decisions. Now he's 83 and those same decisions are becoming harder to recover from due to his limited income. (He still works by the way). So here is my question: At what point can an ageing family member be declared incapable of handling their own finances? How do I, or my father, go about being put in charge of my grandfather's money? I don't think I need to go into specifics, but there are enough examples of his erratic behavior lately that it wouldn't be hard to prove that something is definitely wrong. Unfortunately he appears lucid to people who don't know him personally, such as sales people or financial services professionals. He is now bankrupt thanks to some recent unfathomable transactions and WILL lose his house if anyone but a money whisperer touches his finances. I could use any advice you have from dealing with stubborn, aging relatives. Thanks for you input.

A doctor can evaluate his capacity to make his own decisions. Unfortunately he would need to cooperate with the exam. If his behavior was a risk to himself or others he could be involuntarily committed for 72 hrs for eval, but financial bad decisions don't really meet the criteria. Unfortunately, unless you can persuade him to go to a doctor the alternatives are usually considered hostile by the person involved. You can report self-neglect to adult protective services and they can evaluate. If they find he's not able to care for himself they would initiate a court proceeding to establish a guardian. Other than that you can file for guardianship with the court and they can order a capacity eval that he can't just refuse. Again, if that doesn't work you've really burned all your bridges so be careful. I've worked in nursing facilities for 9 years and this is something I see too often. We have spouses come in with thousands of dollars in bills because the person doesn't have the judgement to make adequate decisions. I would recommend trying to get him to sign Power of Attorney paperwork so you can help him with his finances. This would allow you to backtrack somewhat: cancel orders, access to bank accounts, etc.

Have you explained to him what is at risk? Me elderly FIL gave half his life savings to a scam artist before we found out. When we did, we put all his numbers on paper and talked to him. He let us put him on a budget and took over bill payments. We sit down with him once a month to go over the state of affairs. He is very cooperative, so we are lucky. If your gramps isn't cooperative, what can you do? Convince him to put the largest assets in your name and leave him alone. He gets to decide. If he might have health issues at play, then by all means, get a diagnosis and go for incompetency. If he is competent though, it is not your right to interfere unless he says it is.

personalfinance

robinson217

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Tenshi_girl

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ch38d80

myspiritanimalisme

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ch3enou

are those commission rates normal?

My bank charges me 25$ for each buy/sell if value below 10k, or %0.25 if value above. and 3$ commission every month for 10.000$. are those rates reasonable? And if you had 10k, would you split stocks and pay 250$ or buy a single stock for 25$ commission? Thank you.

No, it's not normal. Banks are usually the most expensive brokerages. Not sure which country your in but Interactive Brokers operates world wide and have some of the cheapest fees.

$25 is on the high end, and I've never seen a percentage fee for above that. Banks are expensive, online discount stock brokers are both cheaper and better quality service. Go find one.

stocks

thetrollingstone

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helkish

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someguy3

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Any of you had good gains with European stocks?

I have no evidence but the European stock market seems a bit boring to me. It feels like the most exciting, innovative growth stocks only tend to be found in the US.

Parents being in France, I've started to invest some of their money into French/European stocks in order to diversify from their real estate portfolio 3 months ago. The European market can't match the U.S. in term of innovation and quantity, but if you're not lazy, you can find growing stocks, and it doesn't necessarily need to be in the tech sector. France = Luxury. Parent companies such as LVMH, Hermes, Kering own famous luxury goods' brands, and I was surprised to see that these companies are still growing while enjoying nice margins. Parfume developers and distributors: Robertet, Interparfums Growing companies in the health care sector: Sartorius, Ipsen, Orpea. Application/infrastructure companies: Dassault Systems, Pharmagest Renewable energies: Voltalia Beverage: Pernod Ricard &x200B And that's one country.

So this is very niche but Games Workshop GMWKF is a company traded on the London stock exchange that makes miniatures. They are small but have 500 stores worldwide and their new CEO has been listening to the fan base and all of their new products sell out immediately which was unheard of 5 years ago. Two years ago the stock was at $17 and today sits somewhere between $65-68. Their operating profit keeps doubling and their sales are higher than they have ever been. They are about to release an army (read as product) that the fans have been waiting for for 15+ years. It will sell out in the first week. I would expect this stock to peak over 100 in the next year based on sales, profit, and the leadership listening to the consumers. Can’t suggest them enough for the next 5 years. Adding to this I purchased at $32 a little more than a year ago and it’s more than doubled. Euro stocks don’t seem to hit the peaks and valleys quite like American stocks but being a fan of the product and amateur trader I believe in this stock 100%

stocks

Stutterer2101

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catoun

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SonofCheckerFred

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Rude Sellers

I’m a new realtor, and have only had a handful of clients. I was contacted to help a family sell their home 4 weeks ago. I listed it, and there’s been a lot of interest. It’s a great property, priced to sell, in a hot market, so I expected it to go quickly. My sellers have insisted on being present for all showings, which I thought was fine. However, when I called some of the realtors who had toured the property with buyers, several of them told me a similar story. Apparently the sellers have been rude to the prospective buyers. Two different agents told me their clients loved the property, but were so put off by the sellers, they didn’t want to work with them. A few other agents said their clients didn’t really get a chance to see the property because the sellers were following them around, watching their every move, complaining about having to change their plans, and rushing them out the door. I have done everything to ensure that showings are not inconvenient for the sellers. I ask them when a good time for them is, and I’ve stuck to what they’ve told me when scheduling. I call them before every tour to make sure they are fine, and they’ve never indicated that there are problems. My question is, how do I address this with my clients? I don’t want to insult them, but I really believe this property would have been sold already if they were acting appropriately. They have no choice but to sell because they are moving out of state, so I’m not sure what the issue is.

They are running off potential buyers and you will be the first to get blamed. Tell your clients you have the obligation to provide buyer feedback. That buyer feedback repeatedly is that they expected a private showing and having the sellers there made it uncomfortable, so they moved on to another property. Wash, rinse, repeat after every showing until they understand. You can bet these type of homeowners will install cameras and capture everything they said anyway. This unfortunately is a harbinger of how they will behave throughout the whole process.

Be straightforward and professional. You aren't helping them by not saying anything. Tell them "I know you want to be there, but prospective buyers want to be able to think out loud and not feel like they are being shadowed. Your house will self more quickly if you aren't there. If there are any items that you're worried about, please put them away someplace secure"

RealEstate

BadWolfJ

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[deleted]

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OldSchoolAF

fa10czp

12+ years of irresponsibility - please help

I'm 30 and a huge financial mess. I have been exceedingly irresponsible for a very long time and I need to fix it. Something happened recently that slapped a bit of sense into me. I've known it's bad, now I know it's not going away on it's own. I can't just ignore it anymore. It's a weight on my shoulders that has made me into a miserable person. I had a low-limit card in highschool, maybe one or two in college - no more than $3k total. Maybe $50k+ in student loans. A bank account that went about $300 negative. A recent $1k medical bill. Probably other stuff I'm not aware of yet. I've basically ignored them all. I don't even open the mail, I don't answer the phone because I don't want to face a creditor. I feel so overwhelmed that it doesn't matter, but I need to get past that. Desperately. I did set up a payment plan with one creditor about a year ago, $200 withdrawn monthly. My credit is so bad I can't even get a secured cc through BoA, who I've had an account with for 10 years, including direct-deposit the whole time. I've been considering ditching them for a credit union, would this be a good idea? Which one? (I do have a family member in the military, so I could get the mil ones). This (financial responsability) is completely new to me - what do I do? Where do I begin? How do I begin? I pulled my credit reports today (AnnualCreditReport). I can sorta read them, but it's hard to make sense of it all. I imagine I'll need to create a spreadsheet to correlate all the info. There are a handful that expire from my record this year (2013) so I'm thinking I can safely ignore them - focus on the others for better impact after 2013? Do I just call them and set up a plan? How little a month can I pay on a $5k or $10k loan? I think I can only come up with a few hundred a month to work with. Do I work with someone to consolidate? Someone please help. Anything.

Knowledge empowers you and makes you feel much better. You're in the panic mode now. Been there. You'll get through it. Step 1: Establish what your balances are, the interest rates, your net income, etc. Step 2: Create a Budget. It will be foreign to you but you'll get the hang of it over a couple months. Step 3: Make sure to create an emergency fund to avoid hitting one of life's potholes and having to grab for debt. You think you're screwed, but you're not. Keep breathing.

One thing that I didn't see anywhere in the thread - check your credit reports and make sure that there are not any court judgments against you (it will be under the public records section of the credit reports). If you do have any judgments, take care of these first because it means that the creditors have been granted authority from a judge to seize your assets and may even be able to garnish your wages. Creditors are obligate to give you notice if they plan on taking you to court with formal service of papers, so you would probably be aware if this has occurred, but since you said that you have been ignoring your mail, I just wanted to make the suggestion that you check the credit reports just to be sure. Good luck with turning your financial situation around. It may seem impossible now, but I've soon others crawl out of debt holes much deeper than yours and you have many decades ahead of you that will be much happier due to your financial responsibility. Dave Ramsey's system may be a good fit for you. Check out one of his books from the library and start following his steps one by one. You might also want to visit a NFCC counselor - National Foundation for Credit Counseling (nfcc.org) if you feel overwhelmed and don't think you can do this on your own. NFCC is a collection of agencies and most of them offer free financial counseling for people that are in debt trouble. they may even be able to help you negotiate a feasible payment plan with you creditors by bringing down your interest rates. look at their webpage and see if they have a member agency near by and give them a call to see if they offer free counseling services.

personalfinance

TryingToMakeItRight

t3_1676zu

Mrfelatio

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c7td7sc

GenkiLawyer

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c7trzjd

Pressure from family to take toddler to Disney World

My wife and I have a toddler who is 16 months now. My family have been pressuring us to take him to Disney World in Florida pretty much since he was born. Growing up my family and I went to Disney World pretty much every year. We can afford to go, but I just feel like the amount of money for flights, lodging, park tickets, food, etc... is going to be completely wasted on a young toddler. Also, we want to save the vacation time for future children in the near future. I was thinking when he's 5 years old or more would be more enjoyable. We have the goal of being able to comfortably retire at 40 if we choose to, but when I tell my parents that I feel like they find it silly, and maybe even selfish. We do a lot of fun outdoor activities with our kid, and spend plenty of time with family. I'm proud of our lifestyle, and I think we focus on what is important and it doesn't even feel like any kind of sacrifice, but I feel a little bit guilty for not traveling with him yet and I feel like the pressure is increasing. Has anyone else faced this pressure? How did you deal with it, and how did it turn out?

It’s only pressure if you listen to it. Agreed that the toddler will not appreciate it. When my mom shows me baby pictures of me at Disneyland, my response is, “why did you even take me?” The whole experience is stupidly expensive and some kids don’t even enjoy it. You’re better off saving imo It’s not selfish to not want to spend a thousand dollars on something that might not be meaningful.

Disney before 4 is a complete waste of time and money. Build travel/family vacations into your FIRE number as it absolutely does mean something in terms of QOL but don't be dumb about it (Doing disney before a kid can even remember it is dumb).

financialindependence

throwawaypoiuzxcv

t3_9emvgs

WhenShitHitsTheDan

e5pyb7t

ConstantChaos16

e5q7rjg

Retired parents have extra $2,000/month to play with. What to do?

My retired parents (60 and 63) are trying to figure out what to do with the extra $2,000 of social security they are now receiving. They have no debts outside of their mortgage, have investment accounts, which after the typical 4% withdrawal rate, completely covers their monthly expenses, in addition to receiving a monthly pension, and steady rental income. Any suggestion on what to do with the extra income? Thanks.

Funny "problem" :-) . Some options, random order: A. Donate to charity B. Give to their children C. Pay off the mortgage D. Hire someone to take care of the rental property/ies for them. (In other words: buy time) E. Hire someone to do other jobs/tasks for them, like a cleaning lady or someone to walk the dog or whatever (again: buy time) F. Look into health insurance and long term care insurance options. I'm not saying they should buy them or should buy more, but maybe it is in their best interest. Just "looking into something" can't hurt much... G. Buy something that gives a lot of pleasure and fun. Could be an item or an experience. H. Invest in their health. Could be buying a fitness item, or getting better glasses, or other better medical supportive devices. Again, as with the health insurance they shouldn't just throw money at it without it solving a problem, but maybe there is some item out there that can help them stay healthy or mobile or active or self-sufficient for longer.

My dad is 70, he has a nice pension and some extra income from rentals. Five years ago I tried to give him an advice about investing the extra income. He listened to me and replied: "Son, I am 65. By the time I will start getting a nice return of investment I will be probably dead. I been working my whole life for this moment when I dont have to worry about anything, so I am going to take all that money and I will spend it on whatever I want since is mine and I deserve to enjoy it, if I start investing now somebody else will enjoy it for me."

personalfinance

micro_master

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Voerendaalse

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cd802cc

le_mexicano

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cd8e3bt

Wife's dad died and left us debts amongst other things. Any advice?

Edit 2: All the homes are paid off and have no mortgages.

Wow, consult an estate attorney immediately. You can't afford not to. Is the property in a different state from where you now live? Any DEBT which has her name on as a borrower, she will be responsible for. If she is not the borrower, but her name is on the deed; I don't know, help me out folks. Normally you can disclaim an inheritance, but I don't know about this situation. Do nothing until you get sound advice. It shouldn't take long, the most important thing you can do at the moment is assemble the list of creditors, and see whose name is on each account - mortgage, utilities, etc. Cross post to /r/legaladvice, and include the states and more details about the accounts.

Why is your wife's name on deeds? Sounds like an old school family thing where old people think that if they get the kid's name on the deed, they get the property with no debts when the older kicks the bucket. Good luck. She needs a lawyer to get out from under the deeded properties. If nothing was in her name, she could disclaim any inheritance and would owe nothing. Talk to the lawyer about the deeded property. Could be sticky.

personalfinance

mjlavalleejr

t3_6k9yjf

tu_che_le_vanita

djkepm9

JackFFR1846

djki870

What is the difference between leasing a car and buying a car, and when does each of the two make sense?

I currently drive with Uber in a car I own given to me from my parents. Would it make more sense for me to sell it and drive with a leased car? What is the difference between the two options? How big typically are lease payments?

I currently drive with Uber in a car I own given to me from my parents. Would it make more sense for me to sell it and drive with a leased car? IMO no, that makes no sense. Personally I would rather pay $0.00/month for car payments on a car I own rather than $200-300-400/month for car payments on a car I'm borrowing and have to give back at the end of the lease term.

Uber is very hard on a car mechanically due to the constant traffic, idling, or general starting and stopping. Taxis almost always have extra options such as transmission coolers and other add-ons to assist the longevity of the vehicle. I always purchase used and keep until the wheels fall off. You have to be careful with the mileage overages on leases. They are very pricey, and Uber miles can quickly add up.

personalfinance

redditfreddit2

t3_54xg99

lilfunky1

d85rtoi

jeffsterlive

d85sozm

Should I transfer colleges?

So I could use your help. I'm currently attending Boston College(roughly a top-30 school) but I'm really just not happy here and I'll be racking up about $20K a year in debt by going here. I've been thinking of transferring to SUNY Buffalo, where I will just live at home and probably graduate with no extra debt, as well as work a decent amount. I'm definitely planning on going to graduate school for biology or psychology and I hate to incur extra debt in college when I will get plenty in grad school. But at the same time, I feel like my current school will help me when I'm applying to graduate schools down the road. So, Option A: transfer at the end of freshman year Option B: stick it out here for the more "prestigious" degree What do you guys think I should do? All suggestions are really appreciated.

biology or psychology Yea, transfer. Neither of these is worth 80k in debt. The degree isn't going to make that much difference when you apply for grad school. Your GRE scores, essay, and interviews with professors make a much bigger difference.

My dad lived at home in college and went to Buffalo. He seemed to enjoy it, fwiw. I went to a nice school with debt instead of lesser and no debt. I can't say I would do it differently given the chance, but don't underestimate what that kind of debt at graduation means.

personalfinance

throwawaybc13

t3_1rc347

ANGR1ST

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cdlovcm

Aikidi

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cdlrg00

Dad wants to transfer all his securities in a traditional IRA to us 3 kids. Will he get hit with a huge tax burden?

My 86 year old father wants to give us 3 kids equal amounts from his IRA now. It will be about $200,000 a piece and is in securities in his traditional IRA with tdAmeritrade. I think he will get hit with a huge tax bill because the IRS will consider it a distribution regardless of where it goes. Is there a way to transfer these assets either to our IRAs or taxable accounts? We are listed as his beneficiaries on the IRA.

Before death there is no ability to transfer an IRA to a beneficiary without tax consequences. Your father would recognize the IRA distribution as taxable income (assuming he has no basis in the IRA) and whatever is left could be transferred to you as a gift. After death, eligible rollover distributions from the decedent's qualified plan can be rolled over tax-free into an eligible retirement plan of the surviving spouse. In addition, a transfer from a deceased individual's IRA can be treated as a tax-free transfer even if the beneficiary is not the spouse. The IRA receiving the funds is treated as an inherited IRA, and the transfer must be trustee-to-trustee (60 day rollover not allowed). To put it another way, there's no way to transfer his IRA to you without incurring taxes, but after death it is possible to transfer tax free to you as long as you follow the proper procedures.

covered it pretty well. The tax situation is going to be much better if he leaves it to you in his will, instead of transferring it now. If he's 86, it seems like the RMDs will be pretty high anyway, so if he's not spending all of the RMD, he can give you $14k each per year without any extra tax besides the income tax on the RMD. Why the rush? Perhaps in his situation there's something different that will still achieve the desired outcome.

personalfinance

CupidKat

t3_2i7gy1

Mr_Sinlindin

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ckzk3ey

plexluthor

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ckzmk37

You understand REITs?

I wrote a post. But the discussion really raised more questions for me. And would love to get folks to share their views on REITs. Are you game? If you've a view on any of these, would really appreciate it. Are REITs only / best for tax efficient accounts? Is there a difference between putting them in an IRA versus a ROTH? Is there a scenario where you'd own them outside a tax efficient account? How do you value a REIT? Any idea what P/AFFO is and how to use it? How do you look at the yield of a REIT: gross versus net? How do you compare an investment in a REIT versus an investment in any other stock? And no prizes for anyone who types: It depends. ;)

I own $FREL, $STWD, $NRZ, $NLY & MFA so far. I started adding these in tax advantaged accounts mostly, but some position in taxable account as I like some income stream to come. My knowledge on REITs started from comments. He had given excellent info on REITs that I am sharing below.

My advice about REITs is to watch their asset value and debt over time. If they're losing to much per quarter to sustain the dividend then the stock is going to pop like a bubble

investing

shane_stockflare

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inv3st

d7k1nph

Rabidgoosie

d7kbndv

[US] My companys HR person emailed everyones w2/w4 info to some random guy.

So, we get told all our personal info (socials, adress, ect) got emailed to someone pretending to be the companys president. I dont even know how this happens, but it did. I just need some quick advice, what should I be doing right this min, to make sure I am protected and that people arnt opening stuff under my name. Who should I be contacting ?

An identical incident of this was posted a month ago. You can check out the comments there for what you can do to protect yourself. And remember, if your company becomes aware of this, don't ever sign anything they ask you to sign, because they will try to waive their liability for this. Good luck.

The first thing to protect is your job. Your company might fire you for posting their screwup on social media. Keep your identity and your company's identity out of this.

personalfinance

RedWaterDist

t3_4k2jpn

ColorsByVest

d3bnabk

GangreneROoF

d3cvfbn

Best financial gift for my 2 year old nephew ?

My nephew will be 2 years old in couple of months time. Instead of regular toys, I was thinking about putting in some money(b/w $500 - 1k) for next 10 years for his birthday. I would like to see him use that for education / cars / vacations when he is old enough. Is there a policy that matures over years for him ? What would be the best way to do that ? Thank you.

I had relatives who did this. While I appreciated the gifts when I was older, I was really glad as a child that they got me some small toy as well (< $20). When you're two, you don't even understand what money is, but it doesn't take a lot to make you happy, either.

I opened a Coverdell ESA for my nephew. When I did my research, I decided to go that route because it seemed it was more flexible than a 529 and also catered more towards smaller contributions. I only put a few hundred into it each year.

personalfinance

newb_investor

t3_wna9x

[deleted]

t1_c5ervec

c5ervec

bilbravo

t1_c5ezes4

c5ezes4

Question about working overtime

I recently settled an equal pay act case against my employer and I'm not sure what tax bracket I'm going to end up in but it will definitely be much higher. I typically work 8-12 hours overtime a week and I'm assuming I should stop the overtime because it will just make my taxes higher. Am I correct in thinking this or am I wrong?

If you live in any normal county you will not lose money by moving to the next higher tax bracket. You only get taxed at a higher rate for every dollar over your current rate in the higher bracket. For example. First $10,000 is tax free Next $20,000 is 20% Next $20,000 is 35% Next $20,000 is 50% If you earn $55,000 you only pay 50% tax on $5,000 according to these tax brackets. The rest of your income has a lower tax rate. The rates and brackets will vary dependant on your location.

Think beyond the marginal wages and taxes for a moment. Will working OT increase you raise/promotion potential at review time? A good raise or promotion is a bigger benefit than marginal OT wages.

personalfinance

[deleted]

t3_ulxbu

BroadSideOfABarn

t1_c4wigl3

c4wigl3

Jahlapenoez

t1_c4wnnp0

c4wnnp0

Got a raise and great review 2 months ago. Now I’m laid off and and have no idea what to do.

Hi Reddit. I graduated in May 17. Got hired by a company I interned for in NYC and for a raise from 35k to 65k 2 months ago. Today me (and two others) were laid off because we lost some new business and other haven’t signed contracts yet. Boss said in a month if contracts get signed I can go back but for now there just isn’t money. So here I am, living in a $1,800 apartment in Manhattan (which is cheap in the city) that I just signed for two weeks ago with no income. I’m applying to jobs now. Monthly bills: 2,300 (not including fun / entertainment which is obviously cut out now) Student Loan payments: $400 Savings: 3k (I couldn’t save on 35k). Credit cards: 4k (vacation + moving). I don’t normally carry a balance (and wasn’t planning to but now I think I should instead of use my little savings?) I’ll get my last check April 6-7th for around 2k. I’m already going to a ton of open calls for jobs off Craigslist but really have no clue what to do. Is there even any way to budget with 0 income for x time? Family can’t help. I can’t apply for unemployment because I was an independent contractor. I’ll take any advice.

Just pay the minimum on the CC until you land new work. Are your bills coming up, or does your $3k cover next month? Basically do you have one months savings or next week savings, or how soon do you need a job? Have you filed for unemployment yet?

NYC rent is the worst, and it's your biggest liability. I would try to get out of your lease and sublet a room. You definitely have reasonable rent for NYC, but having an eviction on your record is something you should avoid at all costs. If you have to stay, and it's permitted in your lease, you could rent it on airbnb and crash on a friend's couch (or share the space). You could also get a roommate, if your space allows for that. If you live in a small building, you could ask if the super needs any work done in exchange for a break on the rent (breaking down boxes, shoveling the sidewalk, etc). Even though you're looking for a job, it would help to have some cash coming in. I used to dog-sit in NYC (staying in the owner's home), and it paid decently. You can either find an agency or list yourself on care.com. Again, you could airbnb your apartment if you're gone overnight (and it's not a lease violation! can't stress that enough). Beyond that, I'd look for a job you can work in non-business hours. Bartending, coffee shops, server, etc. It might not hurt to hang onto a few shifts even when you're doing full-time work again. If you were a contractor, chances are people will hire you to do the same contract work on a part-time or contingent basis. Whatever your skills are, put together a website and call yourself a "consultant", list your services on some of the freelancer sites. Don't know if you went to school in the area, but you could try your alumni job board for both long and short-term work. Definitely just pay your cc minimum for now. You're going to have to deal with the 1099 tax issues eventually, but the IRS will work with you on a payment plan. And don't worry. It's going to be okay. NYC is a decent place to be young and broke, and as long as you're proactive, things will turn out fine.

personalfinance

unemployed8715

t3_87d1mb

robotmarvin

dwbxn35

elevenbooks

dwcjaru

Is paying off my student loans early a good plan?

I have about 12k left in federal student loans, at interest rates if 6.55% and 3.8%, I think. Split up between about 6 smallish loans (a subsidized and unsubsidized each from 3 years of college). I also have a credit card I pay in full each month and never spend more than $300 of the $1000 credit limit. I have no other debt, and the way the landlord handles utilities means that everything is in his name and we pay him, so that's not helping with credit. A relative wants to help me out after I helped her out when her husband died. She wants to give me about $500/month explicitly to get me debt free. In addition to the roughly $200-400 I throw at the loans each month (on top of the minimum) this would have me paid off in the next... year and half? There's still at least five years left on the oldest loan. I'm actively trying to build credit. My most recent credit score was 691, when I got the credit card in January. I have heard other people on this sub say that their scores have dropped when they have paid loans off early. Is it smart for me to pay off these loans completely and have no installment debt? It's an attractive concept, to dump a bunch of money in now and pay less in interest long term, but I am looking to buy a home within the next two years and I don't want my score to drop. tl;dr: should I pay off student loans early if I am actively trying to build credit?

When you pay off your loan early, you essentially are making 6.55% on that money. That's way more than you'll make in the bank, and close to what you'll make in the stock market, but without any associated risk. I'd do it without a second thought.

FYI don't beat yourself up about the utilities... utility companies don't report monthly payments to the credit bureaus. They usually do a credit check when you sign up to decide whether they want to take a deposit, but otherwise they don't affect your credit unless/until you stop paying and the account is sent to collections.

personalfinance

[deleted]

t3_4bc31f

Freezerr

d17rvjo

vjacksonh

d17wf65

What am I missing with chase rewards? Should I cancel the card?

Just recently booked a hotel through "ultimate rewards", however I noticed the hotel rates were higher (sometimes $30+) through ultimate rewards then the hotels site nearly every time. I feel like it's a sham. What am I missing? I called support and they confirmed they wouldn't price match any rates even directly from the hotel. What's the point of this card? I realize it's +2 points for certain categories, but at this rate it hardly evens out the 95$ yearly fee... especially considering there are 2% cash back cards out now. I'm just curious why this card is recommended so heavily, and if it's worth keeping on my credit for 95$ a year.

All points require due diligence to find the best value for those points. No rewards program works well for 100% of redemptions. Hotels might not be the best place to redeem -- or you may be only using hotels that make no sense to redeem for. I don't value URs so I don't have a Chase rewards card anymore. I do value MRs, though, so my Amex cards get a lot of swipe love. 3% cashback cards for everything else.

Were you comparing apples to apples on the rate? Same refund policy, breakfast, parking, etc? Were you booking the room with cash through the UR portal, or using points on the portal? Many other replies seem confused on that point.

personalfinance

miggadabigganig

t3_8815yz

abdada

dwh0njm

mduell

dwhypqc

No credit, college kid on my own, -$550 in checking account. Help please.

Hey everyone, this is my story. I am currently in my 3rd year of college. I have never received any financial help from my parents. I currently have ~$3,000 in credit card debt, and my checking account is overdrafted $550. I haven't paid rent for February and March is due in a couple weeks. I pay $700/month for rent. They've threatened eviction if I can't pay soon. I just started my new job and will be getting ~$100 on Thursday and then regular $600 paychecks biweekly after that. I'm terrified. The anxiety and depression my situation is causing is becoming too much to bear. Does anyone have any advice?

This is my advice coming from a landlord's perspective: Eviction takes a few weeks. They have to give you formal notice, so you have some time. At least two weeks. Let your landlord know your situation, and when they can expect their money. Make the minimum payments on your credit card until you've got the rent situation stabilized. Finally, find a checking account that doesn't require you to pay overdraft fees, and doesn't allow overdrafts. You'll get through this, you just need a step by step plan. Also- on the expense side- can you get a roommate?

To begin, you need a written budget. This takes the most self-control, because only YOU can manage your money and tell it where to go. Write down your income for each paycheck, then write down the basic bills you have (rent, lights, water, etc). The extra money will be used in a moment. First things first, start saving $1000 cash. Do whatever you have to do to get there: sell things, get an extra job, work overtime, do it. This is your emergency fund. If an emergency happens, you need cash, not credit card to further put you in debt. Next: the debt snowball. List all your debts, ALL of them. Start with the smallest and work your way to the largest, like this: if you can only pay $50 a paycheck on one of your debts, that's fine, do it. When you totally pay it off, use THAT $50 and apply it towards your next bill, in addition to whatever new money you can spare. Keep doing that, until everything is paid off. This will take time, it's not a quick fix. You are probably looking at 1.5 years, maybe 2. That's fine, you will have an emergency fund, have learned how to budget, and have your credit card gone. These steps helped save my life. Check the books "the Total money Makeover" and "financial peace" by Dave Ramsey out. They show you what to do next, and expand on these steps I listed. Good luck, stick to it, it WORKS.

personalfinance

BlueROFL1

t3_5ulv9j

HannahLRounds

ddv1itz

nathan_scheelhause

ddv8zzx

Abbvie Tender Offer

Hey guys, I hold shares in Abbvie. Today they announced that they will be buying back $7.5b worth of shares between a tender offer price of $99-$114. My question is why would a company want to do this? And what happens to the outstanding share price after this tender offer is over?

They are doing this because: They feel that the share price is cheap enough that the 7.5 billion is worth a buy back. This is an investor friendly move as you reduce the number of shares in the market. This increases the eps, as well as overall price per share. Cheers

They are doing a stock buy-back - only they are using a Dutch Auction to do it. At the end of the day, there will be less shares in the float and, theoretically, it should increase the value of the existing shares. When it is completed there will still be 1,4 billion shares outstanding and you will still own stock

stocks

taran93

t3_8g8eqz

raytoei

dy9ncex

MDDonna

dya6xln

"The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up," by Marie Kondo

I have just started reading this book, and I think it should be like, required reading for FI'ers. It's a systematic approach to going through every item you own and deciding which ones to keep. Once you have ruthlessly done this, in one big "marathon," you will have a "tidy" house - you'll own only objects that bring you joy. This is supposed to improve your mood enormously, which I hope it does (I'm starting this weekend!). From a FI'er perspective, though, I also think it will be a very helpful attitude adjustment . . . It should be much easier to decide not to buy things, once I've gone through the marathon of getting rid of all the shit I already bought but never use! I am taking notes as I read which I will post here as a comment later. Has anyone else read this book, and/or gone through the process? Did it help you with FIer?

Found Konmari first (and I've done the full process and kept my house clean, as opposed to previously having a perpetual hoarder-mentality), then slid into minimalism, and now ended up in FI. I think the principles go hand-in-hand. The main thing for me was changing my relationship with physical objects- they don't own or define me or my memories, and letting go of them and reprioritizing made a huge difference in my receptivity to FI as a whole.

I thought this was a great book and have been trying to find people to discuss it with! While I was reading it I was so excited to keep learning more. The feeling was the same as when I read The Power of Habit!

financialindependence

SassyMoron

t3_7942wk

Jepatai

doz1w3e

Lil5ebastian

dp173bm

Should I graduate with $0 debt or $0 cash?

As the title suggests, I am currently in my final year and a half at my 4 year university and am debating paying my loans off outright or gradually paying them off like so many seem to do. I graduated HS about 4 years ago but "dropped out" of college because I was uncertain of my major and felt I was wasting time, money and energy on my studies (went from engineering, to business admin, to finally something I find interesting and "worthy" enough for a degree: economics). So I worked for roughly 1 year and saved up roughly $15,000 and thanks to my current situation, which I am extremely blessed to have, I have very little expenses. I live at home (no rent) I pay for my own gas (car is paid off), my netflix,Hulu, HBO (split between friends - shared accounts) and entertainment, and food is usually split with parents and I go out roughly 3-4 times a week. Basically I am down to $11,000 (after buying a nice camera and other goodies) and figure my last couple of semesters will run me approximately that much. My question is, should I take out loans to pay my last year of college or should I pay-out-of-pocket for these semesters? Currently have: $6,000 in loans through NelNet. Interest, if im not mistaken, is 6% on them. I know the title is not 100% accurate but I am just curious to know if it would be smarter to graduate with little debt or to have a nice nest egg of cash once graduating college to slowly start paying of those loans. What would be a smart move here? I really appreciate any advice!

Sometimes repaying student loans shortly after graduation reverses some interest accrued during the deferral period. Check into that. otherwise, Id take the cash. You'll need some cash for things like lease downpayments, clothes, and general living expenses until the first paycheck happens. If it turns out you get a job very quickly, you can repay the loans then and only be out a month of interest. Otherwise, those student loan rates will be better than the credit cards you'd be forced to otherwise.

It's way better to have debt with a reasonable interest rate and a predictable payment than the alternative. If you have no cash, any time anything comes up, you're forced into credit card debt. It could be a small $150 issue or a huge $10,000 issue. At 20%+ interest, it's so easy to have that debt spiral out of control. Debt isn't bad necessarily. What's bad is getting into too much debt or taking on bad debt (high interest and/or no equity).

personalfinance

Dozosozo

t3_6v2y0o

constantino1

dlx8v5f

rossmosh85

dlxswyw

Dr. Michael Burry says passive investing is exasperating Covid-19 selloff

**exacerbating Burry has been saying for a while that the amount of passive investing was causing a bubble—overvaluing and overemphasizing large-cap indexed stocks and overlooking troublesome financials whilst ignoring good quality small and mid-cap stocks. He also says that it causes sell-offs to be more macro since people must sell the entire index to close their position. Thoughts on this? Will you continue to use ETFs and indexes in your portfolio or will you start to manage holdings more actively?

Pet peeve here: it drives me nuts that investing in ETFs is equated to passive investing. Passive investing is buying and holding an index fund regardless of market conditions. People selling off their ETFs in a market crash are not passive investors. They are active investors who bought index funds. When the dust settles the passive investors will win again because they just bought into the market at deep discounts.

The Journal had a good article describing why the sell off was so steep and “fast” in the beginning. It seemed to suggest that today’s algorithmic trading based on certain factors, especially momentum, fueled the steel and fast drop that hasn’t been seen in the past. Basically it’s a product of modern day trading practices.

stocks

Tapiture-

t3_fmfonc

pdxtraveltips

fl411ni

Roderick618

fl4og4w

How do you make money to pay the bills while building a rental portfolio?

If you buy/develop existing real estate rentals, how do you see day to day money? Real estate is a long term game and takes time before you really start taking in the cash flow to be well off. It’s more wealth building. If you think refinancing is a strategy, ideally this money is used to buy other properties so how do you make enough money to take home and live off?

claim to be a real estate guru rent hotel convention room advertise free seminar on the day of the event, market your bootcamp charge many thousands of dollars per customer profit

GC my own jobs and (very occasionally) for others. Manage my own properties that I own with partners (and charge a reduced rate for management to sweeten the deal). Sell flips.

realestateinvesting

seriousgenius

t3_dt933z

RigBuild2016

f6vnkq7

trouble_t_roy

f713rio

28F, 90k student loans, 13k car loan, 30k salary in a state job, what should I improve?

I've made some very poor financial choices and they are catching up to me now. Went to an okayish private undergrad for a total of ~60K in loans, and then grad school for ~40k. However, due to family reasons (sickness and death) had to find a job closer to home with the state which doesn't pay much ~30K. If I continue working with the state for a total of 10 years (3 years in now) they'll forgive the education loans. About a year or so ago bought a used car for $13K at a high interest rate of 6% as I couldn't get anything cheaper due to my debt and salary ratio. Although the car should last for 10 years. Living at home with parents right now in a low cost of living area, but desperately want to move out. What can I improve to reduce my debt quicker? Any advice is appreciated.

Don't feel like you should stay in your current job just because in 7 years they will forgive the 90k. If you could find a job that pays 15k more a year you're ahead of where you are now. Not sure what your grad degree is in, but you've got an advanced degree with work experience in a booming economy. Don't be afraid to go out there and get what you're worth! Maybe you'll even land much better than 15k more a year and vaporize that 90k in a short few years.

Have you looked into the income based student repayment plans that are on offer - if you are able to qualify for these then you will be able to reduce your monthly payments on the student debt, and then pay off the high interest on your car etc. More info on income based student loan payment -

personalfinance

needfinanceadvice17

t3_69vs5e

fat_tire_fanatic

dh9s5qt

Djmojorisin

dh9u8we

For those of you who aren't active investors, what keeps you following /r/investing and financial news?

It seems like the consensus these days is to buy and hold index funds. If you do, doesn't following the markets make you want to try to beat the market? It's all interesting, but isn't it best to just forget about the markets and specific stocks?

Knowing how the markets are going actually makes me more confident in them. If i see the market crashing or booming I can keep a pulse as to why. And i'm not worried as much when i see my portfolio move. Kinda like how some people when diagnosed with a serious illness will learn everything they can about the illness, even though it's entirely in the doctor's hands, the patient feels much less anxiety when their hair and fingernails fall out. It's still bad, but much less scary.

Shitposts, inside jokes ( I have been on the sub since 2013) , sarcasm and once in a while interesting posts and comments, plus wgat else am I suppose to do at work?

investing

infohawk

t3_c5tyiu

GBTC4me

es451a7

Banabak

es4suz3

ELI5: If the USA is so far into debt, how is it even a stable place to live?

Basically I don't understand how the US is a stable, normal place to live when it's like 20 trillion dollars in debt. Does debt even matter? Does it affect how the country does things?

Debt isn't inherently bad. Not being able to pay debt is. The US is the largest and most consistent economy in the world. Because of this they can negotiate loans at extremely low interest rates. They can then invest that money into things that pay off more than the interest rate. The US has never missed a payment. They are one of the most reliable borrowers on Earth.

It helps a lot that our economy is heavily privatized and is not directly tied to the financial success of the government but instead to financial success of private corporations.

explainlikeimfive

budderboy552

t3_6gurdi

slash178

dit7g8p

ILEIKDAGS

dit7idc

How much cash should I keep?

So I’ve been told to have 3-6 months expenses saved. But how much of it should be in cash? In case of identify theft, fraud, Shtf, I feel like I should have some cash. But how much? I’m thinking 1,000 in 10s and 20s.

I have found it helpful to have 1-2 grand in cash at home. Paying contractors, home services, buying something on Craigslist, cash for a birthday gift, etc. It stays in a safe, accessible to my wife and I. I replenish it when it gets down to a few hundred, usually back up to $1k. I rarely carry more than $40 in my wallet, often $0

I don't worry about not being able to access money at an insured bank, though I do have 4 different bank accounts and a ton of various credit cards. I just keep a reasonable amount of cash for things like Craigslist/Marketplace deals or small odds and ends where credit cards are inconvenient (like drop in fitness classes) and replenish periodically. Around $1000.

personalfinance

today-is-the-future

t3_fncnd8

TDIMike

fl9htsa

Eyetron2020

fl9l1gu

How is 401k different than putting my money on the market myself?

To eliminate some arguments such as "but you are paying the tax now" or "you are missing out on the free money", I will state some points. These points are just to eliminate some arguments that I don't feel that are related to this question such as "Roth vs Regular", and don't necessarily reflect the actual fact about my situation. I will either contribute to Roth or take the money from my paycheck and invest in the market myself (not going contribute towards regular 401k). So in both situations I pay the tax now. I will contribute enough to get the company match no matter what. I have means that allow me to make a limited amount of free transactions per month for my personal investments. The amount of risk I'm going to be taking will be the same in both situations (I will invest in the same/similar ETFs/funds/bonds/etc.) Under these circumstances, what are the reasons someone would want to contribute to their 401k? To me, it feels like, the money I put into 401k goes into the market and I can do that myself as well. And if I choose to invest in the market myself, I will have access to the money whenever I need it, as opposed to waiting for my retirement age to be able to start withdrawing it. I think I'm missing a huge point here but I cannot see what it is. Edit: I've read (and will continue to read) each and every comment. I've actually learnt a lot from this thread thanks to you guys! You are amazing!

So in both situations I pay the tax now. You are missing that Roth grows tax-free. There are still tax-consequences you can experience in brokerages you directly invested in. Pre-Tax gives a tax benefit on contribution, grows tax-free, and is taxed on distribution. Roth does not give a tax benefit on contribution, grows tax-free, and is not taxed on distribution. Contributing neither as Pre-Tax or Roth does not give a tax benefit on contribution, does not grow tax-free, and is taxed on distribution. Use your tax-advantaged space first.

In a Roth 401(k), you're never taxed on the gains. In a regular brokerage account, you're taxed: When any security you own pays dividends or coupons, When any security you own otherwise liquidates (stock buyback, cash for stock merger or acquisition, bond maturing). When you sell any security, such as when you're rebalancing your portfolio. When the manager of a fund you're invested in does any of the above. Each of those events will happen a lot over the course of the decades between now and retirement. So each time you lose a chunk to taxes, that's less leftover to reinvest and compound and grow in the future. So the money you lose in taxes in any given year might be worth much more in lost gains by the time you retire (depending on your return and how far from retirement you are).

personalfinance

pdace

t3_c2hhbh

xaradevir

erk1sb3

BirdLawyerPerson

erky59p

Risk Free Plan for Profit!

Imagine a company with market capitalization of $1 billion ~ 1 billions shares outstanding with a market value of $1 each. You borrow 51% of the outstanding equity. You buy far out of the money put options. With 51% of the outstanding equity, you vote in incompetent management and as a result, the share price plummets. You sell far out of the money put options for a profit. You return 51% of the outstanding equity you initially borrowed. How is this not risk free?

The other 49% of shareholders and the FBI would like to speak to you, as well as the D&O insurer who will have to pay the cosmically large shareholder derivative action.

There are so many things wrong with this question/statement. First and most importantly, what’s your definition of risk? No matter which way you look at it, anything that isn’t government bonds are basically risk lol

wallstreetbets

certified_account

t3_egxphi

SoberWilliamMunny

fcasba3

thekillerz99

fcarf3g

Buy oil now or wait?

I can’t see how it can go any lower... what do you guys think?

"I can't see it going any lower" are many people's famous last investing words. It CAN always go lower than you think. But it might go up. I think that they've never had this strong of EV competition before and it can definitely change the entire paradigm and landscape in terms of vehicle type usage. But it might also do great.

I made some good coin in oil in 2016, I have fond memories. I remember firing every strike on several expirations and rolling month after month. But its played out now. Think about Greta, green energy, electric cars. Oil is a sunset industry.

stocks

surrendHer_

t3_fju31l

findingejk

fkp0le1

ChesterDoraemon

fkpp4q6

Got drunk last night and doubled my credit card limit. Is this going to affect my credit score?

I don't know why I thought it was a good idea, but last night I put in a request to raise my credit limit from $2000 to $5000. I never put more than $150 on the card at a time, and always pay off the full amount every month. Will this new limit have an effect on the way my credit score is calculated? Or does it not matter?

There are worse things you could do drunk. This will help your credit utilization. It may have shown up as a hard inquiry on your credit, but that doesn't matter. Keep paying it off in full. Try not to do other crazy things while drunk like throwing out expired coupons or washing your darks with your whites!

Your score may go up a tiny amount because your utilization ratio will go down. Because $150/$5000 < $150/$2000. But since your ratio was already very low it will not have much of an effect.

personalfinance

Pichus_Wrath

t3_2ccq3p

mrmpls

t1_cje5hwu

cje5hwu

wijwijwij

t1_cje5kni

cje5kni

If my landlord is advertising my same type of apartment for a lower price, can I ask for a "Price Match"?

First off, Apologies if this isn't the right subreddit for this question, it seemed finance related enough for me though. Anyway, me and 2 of my friends moved into a 3 bedroom town-home on June 30th, and the advertised rent was $799+Utilities. Its not a bad deal and I'm totally okay with it, but I noticed in the newspaper that the same rental property but different units were being advertised for about $75 cheaper than what I am paying. Obviously I already signed the lease, so I don't really have any bargaining chips. So can/should I ask my rental company for the cheaper price?

As others have suggested, once a lease is signed, the deal is done. Unlike a retail purchase, you don't have the option (and leverage) to return what you've bought or shop elsewhere; you've obligated yourself contractually to buy what they've sold at a set price. They've likely lowered the price in an attempt to fill the vacant units sooner. In that way, the fact that you're paying a bit more means that you're in essence paying for the privilege of having secured housing sooner rather than later.

The time to price match will be when you lease is up. They will be open to give you a discount when the alternative is you going somewhere else and paying them $0. Until then, they already have your money locked in for the current lease.

personalfinance

Bakersquare

t3_6qvp3b

PlayfulPhoenix

dl0bx3k

gtbaddy

dl0p9lp

What should I do with $1000 a month?

Im currently able to save about $1000-$1500 a month. I have a modest emergency fund built up now in a TFSA ($6,000) but no other savings. I have no debt. How should I invest/save my money to maximize its potential? I want to have some of it easily available for vacation/travel, but other than that I don't have any specific stipulations. I'm Canadian, btw.

The amount of your emergency fund isn't really relevant without knowing your spending habits, but it should be enough to float you or at least 3 months with no income. I'm actually floating right now, haha. The sidebar should answer most, if not all of your questions.

Figure out what you travel budget is, put it in a high yield savings account, invest the monthly remainder with Fidelity or Vanguard in a fund that fits your risk tolerance. Are you maxing out any employer matching funds investment vehicle?

personalfinance

ilikepi314-

t3_9by4bh

FARTBOX_DESTROYER

e56pw32

BoykinSpaniel

e56mh8d

My brother and parents are selling both of their houses, and moving in together. I have 50k to temporarily loan them in the time between sales and buy. Will there be a tax burden if we do that?

Hello all, My parents and brother have 2 homes in Seattle. They are likely to sell them and move in together into a single, larger home. The problem is that finding an ideal new home, while simultaneously selling both smaller homes can leave them in a lurch for the down payment. I am fortunate enough to have 50-60K to loan them if need be, to smooth out the transition for a few months. I am new to having money, so I apologize for my ignorance, but can I make give them a loan of this size without exposing any party to tax liability? Is this a complex enough matter that a professional is required? If so, just a CPA? Thanks!

Most banks won't allow them to have a loan from someone else as a down payment. Part of the process of getting a mortgage is going through each parties finances with a fine tooth comb. They will see the extra money and where it came from and likely won't approve of it being used for a down payment. They could claim it as a gift but that would require you to sign paperwork acknowledging the money is a gift and does not need to be paid back. In that case (and unless you get down legal agreement drawn up and notorized) if they don't pay it back, there is jack shit you can do about it. If they want a house they can save up their own down payment. It will take time and effort, but if they want it they'll find a way to make it happen. I would only gift them this money is you're prepared or it to be just that - a gift. They are not 'in the lurch' for a down payment because of trying to sell two different houses and buy a new one - if they had been planning for a new house and saving for one (the responsible thing to do) then it would be a non-issue. Why dont they have one of them sell their house and move in with the other until a new house is found? Then the proceeds from the sale of the first house can be used as a down payment. On the tax burden - gift tax has a high lifetime exclusion and you can find more about it [here]( You can find more info about making a loan to family IRS-friendly [here]( and [here](

The only tax burden would be capital gains tax through the sale of the homes (depending on their income and profit from sales). Also the costs of a real estate agent, closing fees, repairs requested by buyer, time etc. Could they get a home equity/collateral loan on brother's and/or parent's homes to put a down payment on a new house if you're going to sell those homes any way?

personalfinance

Fin-advice-t-away

t3_9o763d

_kuddelmuddel_

e7ryusu

Don99g

e7rz0l1

Starting to look at houses, what should I keep in mind when doing so? Should I take a checklist of sorts with me?

Title pretty much sums it up, I'm a first time home buyer so pretty clueless.

What I learned from this thread: Your Realtor only wants to SELL you something. Some aren't ethical so be careful. Make a list of 'Must Haves', 'Would like to haves', and 'Aren't Necessary'. Be prepared to change this list constantly. Talk to a Mortage Expert/Lender to figure out how much you can afford (Pre-Approval) Get a Buyer's Agent: Cheap, explains the process for you. Mutual Interview. Take these to properties: Flashlight, Pen/Notepad/Phone, Tape Measure Taste the tap water Be very realistic about what you can afford Don't emotionally attatch yourself to ANY property too soon. Focus on structure and layout, not furniture or decorations (colors). Pay attention to what comes with the house and what doesn't. DO NOT skip an inspection. Investigate the soil type. Poor/wet soil can ruin foundations. Choose based on location even it means sacrificing some size/quality/age. Verify taxes/costs/history on Zillow/County Website. Go at different times of the day and different days of the week. Check for nearby railroads (annoying), powerlines, dry streambeds. [Complete buying process](

Think about the area's climate conditions. In Washington State here you have to be aware of flooding and landslides. There's a lot of rain here so you have to keep that in mind. If the house you're looking at is on a down slope then make sure that water will not collect in your basement when it heavily rains.

RealEstate

IDK1024

t3_1olfn6

SupaZT

t1_cctjg5h

cctjg5h

AlphaNC

t1_cctmhiq

cctmhiq

$15,000 --- pay off student loan or invest?

I was recently lucky enough to get a large influx of cash to help pay off my student loans. Should I pay off my loans or take a portion and invest? I currently have $65,000 of grad school loans that I re-financed last year for 4.4% interest over 7 years. I have been making payments of ~$1100/month. I received enough money to completely pay off my loans but I am now thinking of taking about $15,000 and investing. Caveat...I do not have much experience with investing so it would be partnered with a lot of studying, researching and I'm sure a learning curve. Here is where I am in my life right now... I am in my early 30s and just starting off my career. I am single and do not have any major financial obligations. My plan is to have most of it as long-term investments however, I would like to also buy a home in a few years so part of the funds will eventually go towards a down payment. I have some savings and a good job. So although it would hurt to lose money with investments, it would not be an end-all. u What are your thoughts? Any advice

Turn the question around. Imagine you have no debt, and you have the opportunity to borrow $15,000 at 4.4% interest so that you can invest that money. If that sounds like a good idea, stay in debt and start investing; what could go wrong for someone with little experience with investing? Or imagine that you have no debt, and every month have $1,100 "disposable" income available to do with as you will. You would build a 3-6 month emergency fund, DEFINITELY start long term investing for retirement, and DEFINITELY start saving (or investing, depending on the time window) for a down payment on an house. Good luck!

Maybe a bit off topic but doesn't paying off you debt improve your credit score aswell? I'm not American but thought this could be an added benefit to keep in mind.

personalfinance

tokkibokki

t3_6uixw4

Romarion

dlt0g66

girander

dlt9plh

Need help deciding what to spend $20k on.

Hi Guys I need some quick advice and I was hoping you might be able to give me some ideas. My wife and I purchased our first home about 7 months ago, (we bought below our means, yay) and at the time owned 2 cars (owned in full). We were doing well with saving money, and we are hoping to have our fist kid next year, so we decided to sell one of the cars to help save money on fuel and insurance, and live with 1 car until we can save up some money and buy an SUV. We want an SUV because 2 cars was not really functional for us since we do a lot of outdoor sports with lots of equipment and own 2 dogs. I have no interest in getting another monthly payment, so I agreed to the plan as long we saved enough to pay for the new (new for us, but used) SUV in full. So we started out trying to save $20k. Well, now here we are at the $20k mark, and starting to look for a vehicle, when my wife says "Why don't we pay off our student loans, and get 0% financing on buying a used car from a dealership?" Well, I guess I never really thought about that. We currently have combined about ~$22k of student loan debt. Current Interest Rate: 5.50 % Floating* The Prime Rate used by the NSLSC is based on the variable reference rates of interest declared by the five largest Canadian financial institutions. The Prime Rate is calculated by ignoring both the highest and the lowest of those five rates and taking the average of the remaining three rates. So what do you guys think? Would it be smarter to pay off our student loan debt right now? Right now we are spending about $350 a month on loan payments, and there is still 8 years left on the larger loan.

Odds are you will not be able to get a 0% APR deal on a used car. Those tend to be limited to new cars. But if you can, more power to you. But other than that, just figure out what rate you can get for a car loan, and if that rate is lower than your student loan rate (and it likely will be), use the money for your student loans. And consider a car cheaper than $20K too. While you haven't provided any information on your income and budgeting, that's not a cheap car. Don't get it unless you know you can afford it, even once you have a child.

1 - all other things being equal, always go with the best %. if your student loans are 5% and the car is 4%, pay off the 5% loan and buy the car in full. if student loans are 5% and car is 6%, buy the car in full. That said, all things tend to not be equal. If i were you, i'd look more closely into the percentages and trade offs, and then consider paying off half the student loan, half the car, and get a loan for the other half of the car. without more solid numbers, that's the best i can do for you (some important details - it seems like the student loan is a floating interest rate? if that's the case i'd get a fixed with the car, as long as it's near 5%. - but that's because i believe interest rates will increase) good luck!

personalfinance

truant19

t3_1sh9yc

supes1

t1_cdxkdb6

cdxkdb6

sjarosz5

t1_cdxpws9

cdxpws9

Why did the U.S. stock market decline sharply in the beginning of 2016?

Most blame China but is it about more than that? Or is the situation in China and its consequences just not as well understood as it should be? Why did it decline in December 2015 as well?

Why did the stock market increase 30% in 2013? Why did it decline 10% in august 2015, come back up, then decline another 10% in January 2016? It's easier, psychologically, for investors to assume stock prices going up are the markets natural path working or their own intelligence, and stock prices going down are irrationality and overreaction. The truth is, in the very short term, stock movements are essentially a random walk. The financial media tries to ascribe reasons to it, in this case China or oil or the Fed raising rates or contagion from high yield debt or the Santa effect gone wrong or a million support and resistance lines and moving averages that all resemble a totally different chart from 80 years ago... But at the end of the day, all we know is that, on balance, investors were selling at lower prices and buying at lower prices than they were previously for a few weeks. The market isn't this one single entity that has a great reason for doing what it does every day, it's made up of millions of people with their own anchoring biases, their own greed and fear and personal areas of skill and weakness, their own risk tolerance and time horizons. Spend less time worrying about what the market does from day to day, and you'll be happier. Spend more time focusing on where the market will be a year from now, five years from now, twenty years from now. I have my own personal guesses for where the market will be in those time frames (lower, flat, and much higher, respectively), but I could very easily be wrong about any or all of them and I certainly would not try to predict anything on a shorter time frame than a year.

I like 's therory. he decided to buy a house and sold 6 billion worth of his stocks. and so price levels needed to adjust amongst the HFT's and this causes prices to fall. once the house sale goes through and the seller now has the cash once they put it back into their stock account then stocks will readjust and prices will rise. so give it another year before stock even think about going positive.

investing

ArthurJMunoz

t3_412lo5

AFKennedy

cyz4iie

jkeller4000

cyz5q87

Ready to start investing, but is my timing terrible?

With 40k cash burning a hole in my pocket it's time to dive in. Already built up emergency fund and maxed out Roth IRA. Good steady income will let me continue to contribute monthly. I am not passionate about investing but I would like to put my money to work. I was going to start with Vanguard ETFs VTI, VXUS, and BND--maybe open with 10k and add gradually. This is what I've come to understand as a well accepted and sane strategy, BUT with the stock market having recently skyrocketed to where it is I'm very nervous that I'll be kissing a lot of short term potential goodbye if there is a major correction. I guess it shouldn't matter if I'm in it for the long haul but I do have near-ish aspirations of buying a home (2-3 years). Seeking newbie advice...

If you want to buy a house in 2-3 years, put that money in low risk investments like money markets. For long-term money, come up with an asset allocation strategy, for example 30% bonds, 40% US stocks, 30% International. Move your money gradually into those investments over time, using index funds as low-cost investment vehicles.

If you're looking to invest for 5+ years, now is a good time to start. I believe it is well established that you can't time the market, so estimate how much you will be investing over the next year and try to make your investments at the rate of 1/12 of the total each month. Try to think like Warren Buffett: the stock market going down means its a good time to invest.

investing

OoDoRFoO

t3_22udf6

kitebum

t1_cgqj8xj

cgqj8xj

davida_usa

t1_cgqq0wc

cgqq0wc

Wanting to buy a home soon

A little background, I am 24 years old, making 55k a year, and looking to start the process of getting a house. I have a decent amount in my savings account, around 10k. I don't really have any established credit though I have good rental history. I have never had a credit card or had a loan of any kind. So what would be the best or fastest way to establish some credit so I will be approved for a loan?

From what you posted, you're a long way from being able to buy or afford a house. You should start with a credit card, use it for everyday purchases, and pay it in full every month. Even with that, it will take a while before your credit score gets high enough to qualify for a normal mortgage loan. Also, ideally you wanna have 20% for down payment for your house, plus closing cost, plus emergency fund. So your 10K in cash is a good start but definitely not enough to buy a house.

you need a lot more to buy a house bud. I just turned 25 a few days ago and have far more than you have saved and I don't think I'm close to buying a house yet. Keep saving aggressively as i'm sure your doing and you will get there. Have you started an emergency fund and retirement savings yet?

personalfinance

Spreknor

t3_24vjrv

ed_lv

t1_chb20b0

chb20b0

htimko

t1_chbczai

chbczai

Short NI, free money

Short $NI tomorrow for free money. $NI is the ticker for NiSource. Great you say, what the fuck is NiSource about and why should I be shorting them? NiSource is the parent company of Columbia Gas, a utility natural gas company operating in Massachusetts. Late this afternoon, 39+ homes in Andover, MA and the surrounding areas have exploded / or caught fire due to an as yet unknown issue with their natural gas supply. You can obviously infer the severity of this situation. $NI dropped post market, but at the end of AH the situation was still worsening. DYOR, I’m not a financial advisor and you shouldn’t use my advice to manage your money, etc etc TL;DR Short $NI at open for free $$

Not a lot of open interest on these so be careful which strike you choose. I like the play though. Looking at the 10/19 24 strikes myself tomorrow at open before you get too many upvotes hopefully Full Disclosure: I down voted cuz tendies over everything

You are the man! 9/21 24p for 0.10 this morning, now the question is when to hop off... I'm not in risk of the day trade lock on RH yet.

wallstreetbets

DamascusWaygu

t3_9fnau8

IMAP5tuff

e5y12ou

BimmerRick

e5z7tnh

I am $69,733 in debt living paycheck to paycheck. I do not even know where to start.

I am $69,733 in debt, $27,220 in credit cards which are mostly around 29.99% interest, $35,670 in student loan debt, $4,033 in debt on a car I am upside down on, $2,810 in personal loan debt. No retirement, no savings, living paycheck to paycheck. I earn $2,300 every other week. I am 35 years old. Thinking bankruptcy might be the way I need to go, but I am not sure. I might possibly qualified for SSD as I broke my neck a year ago and have struggled with depression and social problems most of my life. I have seen the Reddit community help so many people, I thought I would ask for help myself. Any help would be very appreciated.

Dude (or dudet), I was exactly in your shoes 5 years ago except married and getting ready to start a family. What everyone here is saying regarding a budget, do it. Contact your credit card companies and ask them about debt payment plans. Some of them (chase I can think of off the top of my head) will do what they call a liquidation plan and give you over the course of 5 years or so a payment plan to pay off all the debt (I just happily paid my last one off to them this morning actually). Get cheap (frugal). As Dave Ramsay (another suggestion I've seen in the comments) states, pay the debt with gazelle intensity. Basically put paying off the debt as your 1 priority. I know it seems super overwhelming, especially when you are looking at it at the start. When I was in your position 5 years ago (I started this journey in may of 2013), I was frustrated...weary...and most of all, scared. But I set a plan...not a short term one. A long term one to do everything I possibly could to resolve my issue and I gave myself a target date. I went home and forced myself to detach feeling from things I owned. I immediately gathered and ebay'd that stuff to start the ball rolling. I cut out TV and went to the least expensive internet bill my provider offered. I started eating more at home and taking my food to work instead of eating out. There are a ton of good resources out there, but let me tell you from someone who is coming out of the other side of that tunnel right now, it will and can get better. YOU CAN DO THIS

Here's the biggest deciding factor, since you have the income. Are your credit cards current? Do you have debts in collections? If they are current and you aren't in collections I'd I would the credit card companies and tell them you need help. Arrange lower interest and a payment plan. Make a budget and stick to it. If you are already defaulting and your credit is already taking a big hit, bankruptcy.

personalfinance

InBig

t3_81hew5

geekazoid1983

dv381gg

Sorge74

dv3mefk

If you had a goal to receive $100 a month (or $300 per quarter) on dividends, which stock(s) would you choose?

Just as the title says which stocks would be the best to hold for a while and earn you around $100 per month of dividends? I know at@t (T) is a good one and there are some that pay 13% but might not be as good of an investment.

I currently get 102 a month after taxes. I own T and MPW. Free cell phone plan and phone. Feelsgoodman. I would like to add a pharma stock like PFE or ABBV next. If you want more safety, dividend funds like VIG or SCHD are good ones to look at.

PEI's preferred C shares have a 7.9% yield at the current price of $22.79 per share. Buy $15,200 worth and you've got $300 per quarter in dividends and shares aren't callable until January 2022 (and share price is well under par anyway.) I'd suggest Colorado Wealth Management Fund on Seeking Alpha for more info on preferred shares in the REIT sector. He's covered PEI quite a bit, though I think Seeking Alpha may have restricted older articles.

stocks

AccordV6

t3_9iuyxp

simple_money

e6mlk1t

coinpile

e6nmu4a

What do the results of a recovered economy (after heavy inflation) look like?

That is to say, do prices come back down to match pre-inflation levels? Or do the wages finally catch up to the increasing prices without the prices subsequently rising? I hope I'm clear enough.

As a whole, prices will not fall. Inflation will continue just at a lower rate, as it was before 2020. The prices of some goods and services will fall, but not all of them. Wages and salaries will probably grow at a rate slightly higher than the rate of inflation. However, I expect it will take a year or two for wages to catch up with the inflation that has occurred. Of course, that will happen unevenly amongst sectors, jobs and people. Some jobs that are in low demand will see no raises or even cuts, whereas jobs hat are in high demand will see rises above inflation.

Prices don't fall back to pre-inflationary levels. The rest of the economy adjusts to match the new monetary scale factor. An illustrative example of this is South Korea. There was hyperinflation in South Korea in the 1970s. It peaked at 32 per cent in 1980. It is also why the price of a soda in South Korea at a vending machine (circa 2018) is more than 1000 won. Median household income is around 30 million; these are just scale factors.

AskEconomics

Bubble_Symphony

t3_zlnk58

RobThorpe

t1_j08ml8m

j08ml8m

ifly6

t1_j0c03g0

j0c03g0

What can I do in my 20's that'll ensure or at least aid me in becoming FI?

I'm 20 & a recent graduate. I'd just appreciate advice from older/ more life experienced redditor.

Likely the most important moves to make at the beginning are developing the right habits. Always live below your means. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of spending all your income at the beginning and thinking "I'll just start saving when I get that next raise, or that next promotion, or that next job" etc. Take the time now to learn about investing. Never invest in anything you don't completely understand and if something seems too good to be true it is. Once you do begin investing, don't underestimate that it really does take time to become comfortable with the up and down swings of the market. Really try to avoid panic selling that first time you see things drop 1% in a day. Then try to avoid panic selling the next time when things drop 2% in a day. In the long run you're going to need to be comfortable riding out 10%+ losses some years and staying the course without letting emotions get in the way is very difficult.

Besides the financial advice that applies to everyone (spend less than you make, cut expenses, avoid useless debt, and save as much as possible now to let the compound interest work for you), I’d say learning to cook now would be my best advice. You will always need to eat, and avoiding the need to go to a restaurant for a good meal (or any meal really) will save you a lot of money over the years. My girlfriend and I both can eat quite well for much less than it costs one of us to go to McDonalds for most meals. It is also a skill that can easily impress a date without killing your wallet too.

financialindependence

[deleted]

t3_2bosrd

the320x200

t1_cj7fd8u

cj7fd8u

PlanetSmasherJ

t1_cj7jaa2

cj7jaa2

Quick question. Am I missing something?

If I want to buy 500000 shares of an OTC company at .0001, what is the risk? If it deletes itself I lose $50 but it could be potentially rewarding. Am I correct?

You could be caught holding it forever not being able to sell. Yes you can lose all the money. $50 or not you still lose 100%. There is a significant upside but there is usually a reason why it's at triple zeros. Toxic loans, dilution , scam, no product.....

Opportunity cost: it's only $50, but that is $50 that could have been invested in a better stock that is on the move. Low Volume: your $50 could sit there for months or years without seeing any movement up or down. See opportunity cost. Lack of offers: if the volume is too low, your order could take a long time to fill; i.e. 500 shares here, 223 shares there issued over several days. If you're account doesn't have a minimum of $25k in it, you'll get dinged for Pattern Day Trading.

pennystocks

ExtremisMalis

t3_7b64e1

MarcellusBoom

dpfi3ij

NotTooDeep

dpfst4m

Individual Stock Trading vs. Indexing Research

I'm (attempting) to do some due-diligence on trading individual stocks versus indexing. I always hear that numerous studies have shown that indexing out performs the average individual trader. I just can't find these studies anywhere that is legitimate. Just a bunch of blogs repeating the same thing. Can someone point me in the direction of some of the more well-regarded research in this area? EDIT: Please, don't keep sending me articles about indexes versus actively managed funds haha I know your hearts are in the right place but I'm looking for data specifically about individual traders not funds <3

Here you go. "We provide an overview of research on the stock trading behavior of individual investors. This research documents that individual investors (1) underperform standard benchmarks (e.g., a low cost index fund), (2) sell winning investments while holding losing investments (the “disposition effect”), (3) are heavily influenced by limited attention and past return performance in their purchase decisions, (4) engage in naïve reinforcement learning by repeating past behaviors that coincided with pleasure while avoiding past behaviors that generated pain, and (5) tend to hold undiversified stock portfolios. These behaviors deleteriously affect the financial well being of individual investors." /You%20Must%20Read%20This/Barber-Odean%202011.pdf

The specific claim is "after subtracting expenses, the average actively managed fund does not outperform the equivalent index". All of the studies of this sort are historical, so do not guarantee future trends, etc etc. Here's one of the studies done: Now, this doesn't necessarily apply to your average individual trader. If you ignore the higher cost of an actively managed fund, the number that would meet or outperform their associated index would grow. But then that presumes your average individual trader is as skilled as those who manage mutual funds.

personalfinance

thawowtso

t3_8m49c5

yes_its_him

dzkpqh9

cmcguigan

dzkoj7u

Can we afford a mortgage AND a couple years of stay at home parenting?

My husband and I are hoping to buy a house in the next year. We have a combined gross income of $150K, both making $75K in secure jobs with excellent benefits, and are looking at houses in the $350-450K range. So, we're expecting a monthly mortgage payment of $2K (or slightly more) out of a take-home income of about $8K. We're also thinking about starting a family. I'm very lucky to get a year of paid maternity leave, and if we can swing it my husband would like to stay home the following year (or two years). His would be unpaid, but his job would be protected and there for him at the same salary the instant he wanted to return. Crunching the numbers, a $2K mortgage payment on a $4K monthly paycheque seems pretty big when we factor in the other expenses of owning a home, having a kid, and life generally. Does this sound at all realistic? Does anyone have any planning insight into this kind of situation? We realize we would have to forego saving in those years entirely, expensive vacations, other big purchases...but I'm worried that it would be too much of a stretch. I've always been relatively conservative with my money and the idea of not having anything left over at the end of the month really scares me. EDIT: if unreasonable - which sounds like may be the case especially if an older home requiring more upkeep - I wonder if we stop building our down payment now, and going forward start a tax sheltered account (RRSP) that will help to cover expenses while my husband is on leave. We can save on taxes now and if we don't have children for another year, and I can save half my maternity pay, then there would be a decent account that he could effectively draw a salary from. EDIT 2: Thanks to everyone who replied. This is what this subreddit is so great for - a much needed gut-check when you start getting wrapped up in unrealistic plans! Our budgets were really assuming the "best case" scenario of everything - minimal maintenance, no emergencies. We're going to keep saving, and are going to explore options that could allow some revenue to come in before and during those years to fill the gap - a rental suite in the home, part-time work for my husband, or seeking higher-paid positions sooner rather than later (I know this is an obvious one, we just both love our jobs as they are..). Thanks!!

1) no, you cannot afford a $2k mortgage on $4k take home. Keep in mind though that your income will actually be more than half since your tax bracket will drop and you'll get tax deductions for your child. 2) it is not advisable to withdraw from your RRSP as a form of income before you are 60. You will have to pay penalties. However, withdrawing $50k from your RRSP for first time home buyers is a great option.

I wouldn't take a on a mortgage of more than 200k(so a home for 240k if you put 20% down)if one of you wants to stay home unless you plan on a raise by the time you have kids. I am a stay at home mom and my husband makes 108k a year and our mortgage is only 1,200 a month. We live very comfortable and don't worry about money and have a about a extra 1k after everything(unless there is a home repair or medical emergency)but if our mortgage was 2k+ we only have about a extra $200 a month which wouldn't cut it! Also keep in mind your health insurance cost will probably go up every month(ours went up $250 a month) diapers,wipes,formula,food will cost at least $200 a month(unless you breastfeed but you still need bras,shirts,pads so still expensive). And if you get on bedrest when pregnant you will not be able to work for a few months(not sure if work will pay for you to be off). Also hospital bills out of pocket even with insurance will be alot(we paid 4K to have a natural birth with no problems that was after insurance paid 20k). If you save a lot now you could possibly afford a more expensive home(say around 30k).

personalfinance

dinosaurs-eat-dirt

t3_4ya3i4

cb3g

d6m7wi9

pcbzelephant

d6mjykl

Paying rent while living with a group - splitting the monthly rent up by sum or as a percentage of each person's income?

I'm graduating from college soon and a group of three of my friends and myself are looking for a house to rent for a year. Some of us are going directly into salaried jobs and others are going to be doing other jobs that might be less well paying. I was wondering what your general attitudes and opinions are about whether it's better to pay rent with each person contributing 1/4 of the rent each or by paying as a percentage of each person's income. I might be getting a salaried position and thus paying a percentage means that I would have to pay a higher dollar amount of rent compared to my friends, which makes me feel a bit cheated or taken advantage of. However, I also feel like paying as a percentage is more equitable. Any and all perspective is appreciated!

Unless you're in a relationship, I wouldn't pay based on income. Just because you make more doesn't mean you should be paying more when you're renting with friends.

I think rent should be split equally unless there is a large difference in the size or quality of bedrooms, and definitely not based on income. You can buy kitchen/cleaning supplies, appliances, beer, etc. for everyone if you feel like you have extra money. I would feel weird about paying less rent than a roomate who earns more, but I would appreciate the gesture of buying something everyone in the house needs.

personalfinance

Cheloveck

t3_23wyq2

whiteraven4

t1_ch1d632

ch1d632

HRPaperStacks

t1_ch1nu2r

ch1nu2r

My husband was approved for a raise and now they won't give it to him. Now what?

My husband fought hard last year to be properly compensated for the work that he does. He has a degree in CIS and works at a hospital. It's laughable how much he makes. We've been holding out hope for months and waiting for the new year so that his raise would start. We found out today it will not be happening. We are shocked and scared. We've been struggling. Our credit cards are maxed out, we're living paycheck to paycheck, our son just lost his insurance and I'm about to be kicked off my parent's when I turn 26 on the 22nd. Our son is about to start school. We have just a tiny bit of savings. He tried to find a new job, but IT jobs in our town are hard to find. I'm a student and a receptionist, and if it weren't for the fact that I'm still in school, we would move. Now that this significant raise that he was promised will not be going through, what can we do to keep us afloat? What is the best game plan here? (Please be kind, we're sort of just shocked and worried right now.)