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What 'must read' book would you suggest to someone just getting into investing?

I have a fairly good grasp of economics and a cursory knowledge of the stock market, but am looking for a good book that can help me learn more about how to invest and how to avoid mistakes. What would you suggest?

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham (Value Investing) Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy (technical analysis) The Bible of Options Strategies: The Definitive Guide for Practical Trading Strategies by Guy Cohen (options) Paul Wilmott Introduces Quantitative Finance by Paul Wilmott (Quantitative Finance) Oh...and lot and lots of blogs. And always be skeptical. There's a lot of pump n dumps out there.

Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman. Go find it online, download it, read it. A hard copy of the book sells for 1,000 dollars. There is a reason for this.

investing

MaxFactory

t3_rwlfq

youtubehead

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c499fzc

Moric

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c49dov3

Living and working abroad for 1 year. How do I best handle my money/taxes?

I'm living and working abroad for one year, April 2014 to April 2015. I get paid $1900 dollars per month in local currency cash. Of that, I send from $1200 to $1400 home each month via Western Union, and I spend the other $500 to $700 on living expenses. Some of the money I send home will go towards covering debts, but I should have between $10,000 and $13,000 saved in my bank account by the end of the year. My question is mainly concerning filing taxes: What will I have to declare and pay taxes on at the end of the year. Even though I'm paid in cash, I want to be honest about my income, but I don't know how it works given that I'll be abroad for the entire tax year. Do I even have to pay taxes? Do I only declare the money that is sent back to the USA? Is there a threshold at which I wouldn't have to pay taxes on my income? I've done some research but it all seems so complicated. Any and all help is much appreciated. Thank you!

If you're a U.S. citizen, you have to declare all worldwide income, regardless of where it was earned and where you live. Whether you send the money back to the U.S. or spend it abroad doesn't matter for these purposes. However there are two exemptions: If you are out of the U.S. for >= 330 days in any 12-month period, the first ~$100k (was $97,600 in 2013) of foreign income is excluded from U.S. taxation. This is the [Foreign Earned Income Exclusion]( If you paid foreign income taxes on the income, the foreign taxes can be deducted from the U.S. tax bill. This is the [Foreign Tax Credit]( I tend to use 2. Since I live in a country with higher tax rates than the U.S. (Denmark), and pay Danish taxes on my Danish income, deducting foreign taxes paid zeroes out my U.S. tax bill. If you're not paying foreign taxes, or in a very low-tax foreign country, you may want to try to ensure you qualify for 1. I usually don't qualify for it because I visit the U.S. more than 35 days/year (but in my case it doesn't matter). You may want to just get a CPA to do your taxes. That's what I did the first year I was abroad. It's not too expensive and can ensure you don't mess something up.

I was in the same situation as you, working for a year in Switzerland. It was complicated as hell, therefore my company hired a tax guy to do it for me.

personalfinance

Two_Times_Thirty

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_delirium

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cjhfjxl

m3tric

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cjhkaye

PayPal won’t send large balance to collections?

Hey everyone! I had a business go under last August where I had to refund almost all of our clients. When I ran out of money to refund them, I asked them all to open PayPal disputes to get their money back. Since August I’ve had a negative $44,000 PayPal balance. I’m 23 and got a job last month and I’m very, very slowly digging myself out of all the debt I got myself in (around $70,000), but I’ve been waiting for PayPal to send this account and balance to collections. They charged it off but for some reason they are keeping it in house, which is fine, but they don’t accept payment plans. I find it odd because my personal account had a negative $1,000 balance a while back for too long and they very quickly sent that to an external collections agency where I set up a payment plan and got it paid off. Why would they keep it in house when it’s been charged off? I keep calling every week but no one can tell me why it hasn’t been sent to a collections agency or when it will be.

When you send something to collections, you take a big hit on how much you actually get. It is quite possible they are keeping it precisely because it is such a big amount. That amount is much more worth their time, compared to settling for half or 75% of it from collections, they hope to get you to pay them, in house instead.

They have no obligation to send it to a collection agency at all. Even if they do, it's not guarantee that the debt is being sold. Some collection agencies just work on behalf of the lender, but do not own the debt. Meaning they can't always settle for pennies on the dollar. I certainly wouldn't think a front line employee would even know if or when it would be sent. Heck, I doubt even the next few levels up would know. I'm sure at some point a purge happens and all the delinquent accounts for a set period get bundled up and it's either sold, sent to an house collection agency or they just have their own in house collections department.

personalfinance

thesonofnarcs

t3_eoop9m

nperry302

fee1vgx

chefddog3

fee4tm6

Changing Apartment Locks after SO Moves Out

I recently broke up with my boyfriend who occasionally lived with me and had at least one copy of my apartment key (I think he made multiples). I would like to have the locks changed because I've been very jumpy thinking he might show up or be in my apartment when I get home. If I ask the property manager to change the locks, do you think he would? Would the property owners pay for that, or would I be expected to pay for it? Edit: To clarify, he was on the lease for two years, but is no longer on the lease. The property manager knew he had a key.

I would get the tenant to pay for it. After all, you brought it on yourself (that sounds harsh, but it's true). Furthermore, there could be something in your lease that says you aren't supposed to give keys to people not on the lease.

My tenants are not allowed to change the locks. It would be a violation that would void their lease .... Of course I'm not allowed to enter the property without permission (or advanced notification or an immediate danger, gas smell etc). If they needed to change locks 1) Notify me and forward a key to me ...... 2)ask and I would replace the locks ( but that could take a week)

RealEstate

radbu107

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zooch76

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cjc9dgw

bbuk11

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cjcn203

$500 a month car payment and $40 grand a year salary---thoughts?

I've never posted in this thread before, but I'd really like to hear what people smarter than me have to say about a car payment this big. (I'll take this down if it's the wrong place to post it.) My husband bought a car a few months ago, a 2011 Cadillac. He paid ~$50,000 for it. He currently has a $500 monthly car payment, and owes ~$25,000 on it. He's also paying $230 a month for insurance on it. We're both idiots when it comes to money, but I think this is an outrageous amount of money to be paying for a car every month. As background, I'm a grad student who will have massive amounts of student loan debt; he's the sole money-maker until I finish school. He is responsible for half the rent and our other expenses, which comes out to about a thousand per month. I didn't find out until today that he's paying so much every month for the car. I think his best bet would be to trade it in for something with lower insurance cost and that wouldn't require a car loan. He's adamantly refusing, saying the car is an "investment," because it won't depreciate that much. I don't really have a lot of background in car loans/personal finance - is he right, or is this a bad idea?

Your husband is an idiot. End of story. Anyone that considers a depreciating item an "investment" is nuts. How do I know this? I sell cars for a living. Cadillac's are nothing special. Their value drops just as quickly as any other car because the supply/demand ratio is virtually the same as a Chevy Impala for example. The insurance premium is another topic entirely. Anyone that agrees to that much premium is a financial sinking ship. Grab a lifeboat asap and save yourself.

I'm not even going to approach the numbers here, but there were two major red flags that popped out at me: 1) No new car is an investment. None. The second you own it its worth drops dramatically. He's either horribly disillusioned or completely full of shit. 2) He bought a new car a few months ago and you're just now finding out how much it's costing both of you (yes, both of you. If you're married you're at least partially responsible to the bank for it.)? THIS is the problem here, not the actual dollar amounts. Did you not ask or did he not see fit to bring it up? My gut instinct is that he wanted a Cadillac and is finding a way to justify owning an extremely expensive car.

personalfinance

scrabblesnob

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DJHangover

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cq1j1cr

ButtSexington3rd

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cq1rda4

Should I take a $2000/year cut in pay to get my nights and weekends free?

Hi PF, Long time lurker, first time poster. I currently have a university job that makes around $35,000/year before overtime. It's a 37.5 hour/week job with mandatory weekend/night work during the school year. I work 5 days a week and get paid overtime for the weekend/night work which will be most weeks. I also get medical, dental, tuition remission, 401k 3% company match after two years. I've been here just over a year full time, but have worked here part time for three years previous. I have a job offer from a tech company. The salary would be a little over $32,000/year with the same benefits (minus the tuition remission, plus 5% immediate company match). I'd also have opportunity for overtime and would get equity in the company as it is publicly traded. They have very much a "tech start-up" feel so it would be a fun work environment. There would be much, much more room for upward mobility at this company than at the one I am at now. I also would have nights and weekends free. From your experience, is a pay cut worth it for a better opportunity/better quality of life? I can say that I am fairly burnt out from working so much during the school year and weekends off would be an amazing change...I just don't know if less money is worth it even if it does open up more opportunities down the road. My Budget looks like this: Rent: $850/month (Boston fml) Food: $100-$150/month Student loans $85/month (although I can probably decrease this with income-based payments...I just want to pay it off sooner than later) I have around $1000 in my emergency fund, $500 in credit card debt (I pay it off every month though), $10k in stocks and mutual funds, and $2K in my 401k. Also I owe about $8500 in student loans...to paint my financial picture. Thanks for the insight, yall. I look forward to reading the responses.

There would be much, much more room for upward mobility at this company than at the one I am at now. Regardless of everything else. This is a good enough reason to take the new job. You're stuck at your current company and this job would allow you to move up in addition to giving you more free time.

I used to make mad bank off of OT - like I was averaging $13K in OT a year. I did this for four years. I worked in the middle of the night, weekends, vacations, did more than one 24 hour stint. In June of this year, I had the opportunity to switch to a new job. The pay was more hourly, but no OT. Instead of making $49K a year, I could make $44K a year with no OT. I took it. I started in June and haven't looked back. I don't have to care where my phone is. I don't work outside of my normal 40, and I'm doing all the fun parts of my old job, with so much less stress. It's worth it.

personalfinance

dbarts21

t3_3kx2zo

Pinewood74

cv17mrx

posterofagirl

cv1rbup

29, Army National Guard Chemical Officer looking for a career.

I have HAZMAT certifications out the Wazoo from the Army. These include HAZMAT Operator, Technician and PPE. I also have several radiation safety management training certificates. I'm currently working part time at a Holiday Inn Express while I try to find employment opportunities full time in fields that my training covered. My biggest problem is that I have no work experience in this field outside of military training. What are some options that I have to look into? Nuclear power safety manager? Inspection on an oil rig? Environmental safety manager? I'm trying move forward with my life, but I just need a helpful push to where I can send my resume. Once I get settled in a job I plan on getting a Masters in Emergency and Disaster Management from AMU.

Reservist here who now works in civilian hazmat - you mentioned you plan on beginning a masters program, have you already completed your bachelors? Personally, I found it pretty easy to sell my military time, training, and skills as experience to go along with my bachelors while looking for a job. Facility safety manager, environmental safety, pharma or biotech hazmat work, maybe even utilities district work are certainly in our wheel house; but from what I have seen rad and nuclear safety require more specific training (which you might have more of than myself). I utilized Indeed to find my job, but experience may vary depending on your region. You might also consider looking at work outside of your area if you could swing it with your guard commitments, it was something I considered but I was lucky enough to find work in town. I am happy to help with anything more specific, but know its possible and stay strong!

Oilfield service companies are usually looking for skilled HSE (Health, Safety, Environment) guys. Outside of your training, did you get hands on experience leading safety initiatives, creating trainings, or auditing safe work procedures?

personalfinance

Bluesamurai33

t3_6pgt5c

DCGuap

dkp6n4y

Alaskanmade

dkpoiii

What is the lowest amount that someone could get a mortgage on?

I’m still in high school so I’m just genuinely curious about this. I’m not considering buying a house obviously. Like I said, just curious if someone is wanting to take a mortgage out on a house (it would be a fixer upper and then rent house afterwards) so that I could refinance it after the rehab, is this possible? The house is for listed at 30k in an emerging market in Texas. Kicker is, it needs a lot of work, so I think by the time it is closed on and remodeled, the values will have gone up. But will a bank let you take out a conventional loan on 30k?

Most bigger companies won’t write a tiny loan like that because there’s no real money to be made and the time involved is the same as a $300,000 loan. ‍️ Auto loans are often larger than that. Better off asking for a loan from the Bank of Friends & Family… You also need stable income and credit rating to qualify for a loan, which most high schoolers don’t have.

I had a ~68k mortgage on my first house about 4 years ago(Was 84.9k total with 20% down, 1500 sqft). With that said, a 30k house probably has some massive issues unless my tiny loan seems expensive for the area. I would just dry run calculations(You may be able to get a tour of the place from someone just for fun). A DIY bathroom remodel can run 5k+, Kitchen 9k+ etc... supposedly.

RealEstate

Diligent-Cockroach22

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FizzyBeverage

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i5eayte

Weak-Attempt-6256

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i5ewhkx

Student Loan Refinance

I've been getting a lot of stuff in the mail about refinancing student loans. I currently owe 59k with 58k of that being principal. So I've paid off nearly all of my interest. Not sure if I was supposed to do it that way, but there's no going back so here we are. The current average rate that I have is 5.3%. My question is would it be beneficial for me to refinance my loans with the interest already being paid off?

Your interest is not paid off, that's not how loans work. Interest is calculated every month so you probably made an extra payment this month which took care of the interest owed THIS MONTH, but next month it will be added on again. How many loans? What is the breakdown? All federal or private? We need more info to really tell

Generally speaking, if it's a private loan and the interest rate is better, refinancing wouldn't be a bad idea. If it's a federal loan, I wouldn't recommend it unless the difference in the interest rate is major and you're in a pretty secure career.

personalfinance

Baker6425

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polkasalad

fgu7gcx

MarcableFluke

fgu9puk

Can anyone explain to me why the gold standard wouldn't work today?

I feel like r/investing is a good place to ask this question, and I'm just curious to see if anyone has a good answer or a link to a good answer from the investment viewpoint Richard Nixon had at that time. From what my cousin told me basically other countries with US dollars would exchange it for physical gold thus weakening the US. Is this the main argument or is there more to it?

For an economy to expand, you need to expand credit as demand dictates. With the gold standard, credit isn't tied to the needs of the economy regarding the demand for loans, but rather is tied directly to the mining of gold: That's the only way to expand available credit. Here's a modern example of gold standard failure. Tl;dr a modern economy can't be managed with rocks from the ground

In a super short way: Why the heck should the economic output of a modern nation be tied to how much of a particular type of metal that nation has dug up or otherwise acquired and stored?

investing

EdwardDupont

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TheRealAntacular

dc6bbjn

lagerbaer

dc7peji

How do I deal with RSU's that I want to sell?

I have a number of Restricted Stock Units (RSU's) that were granted to me by my company over the years. Each year has its own Cost/Other Basis, indicating the price at which I received those RSU's during that year. When my company's stock reaches a point in which I want to sell my RSU's for a profit, which ones should I sell first? Should I sell the ones that produced the most profit or the least amount of profit? Or should I sell the older ones based on the date they were granted? These RSU's do not expire if I understand it correctly. I'm trying to wrap my head around this thing, so thanks in advance for any help!

First of all, there's no real tax advantage in holding RSUs after you receive them. You're taxed when you receive them so the cost basis is reset at that cost and any future taxes are as if you had decided to buy company stock on the day you received the RSUs. Here are two spot-on articles that discuss this further: [Manage Vested RSUs Like A Cash Bonus & Consider Selling]( and [No Tax Advantage In RSU]( Next, since you already held some of your RSUs and they've probably appreciated (like the overall stock market has), here's a good/simple general strategy with the goal of getting you diversified as soon as possible. I'm assuming you hold way too much company stock. Just sell stock that you've held longer than a year first. It's a long-term capital gain. For stock held less than a year, you can try to balance your gains with any losses to limit capital gains being treated as income. If the stock is close to the cost basis, just sell it and move on. For the remaining stock, sell after it hits one year of holding. It's okay to keep a small proportion of your investments in your company stock, but it's generally considered a bad idea to keep more than 10% of your net worth in company stock. If the company does poorly, you can lose your job in a lay-off and see the stock price decline. Heck, it's a bad idea to keep more than 10% of your net worth in any one company period. :-) Consider replacing your company stock with something like a [three-fund portfolio]( especially US Total Stock Market index fund and Total International Stock Market index fund (since bonds are better held in a tax-advantaged account).

I have a question of my own regarding vested RSUs. The first half of my RSUs vested this month, and the appropriate number of shares were withheld to cover the taxes. Will I be taxed again when I decide to sell some or all of my units?

personalfinance

mypostsaccount

t3_287o9y

dequeued

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ci87ag5

littlemunchkin5

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ci8f0a9

Mid 30's, fell into serious financial trouble within a year and a half, not sure what to do.

I've dug myself a hole the past year and a half and not sure the best way out. To recap: I'm mid 30's. I was doing okay and had no debt. In fact I had just remodeled a house and had a decent amount of equity. Enough to get a HELOC for 50k. My daughter was moved across the country in 2014 and was being alienated out of my life. I felt that I needed to follow and try to stay relevant. In late 2016 I was also diagnosed with an incurable disease that while not life threatening is mildly debilitating and ruined some hobbies for me. I kept the house vacant but moved to try things out. Long story short it didn't go that well. Combined with the diagnosis I was mildly depressed about everything. Didn't work much and was living off of the HELOC. I ended up moving back into the house, but with a soaring amount of debt piling up. The numbers: Savings - 500 Checking - 800 401k - 40,000 HELOC - 40,000 in debt Credit Card - 4,000 in debt Dad - 10,000 in debt (no interest, not immediate problem) I have a job now, but not making much. No college degree. I don't have a mortgage, but obviously need to pay off the HELOC. No car payment. I do pay child support which is 550 a month. The house is worth 90k. I've considered using the retirement to pay down the debt, but not sure what's best at this point. I'm clearly not on track for a great retirement anyway. What's the best way forward?

Ok, I'm gonna go against the flow here and say you are not in as serious of an trouble spot as you think. From what I gather in your post: You are employed. The HELOC balance you owe while daunting is still considerably less than the average Americans mortgage balance. Your credit card debt is surmountable. You have a 401k with a 5 figure balance. That's more than a lot of people your age can say. Your illness, while mildly debilitating, is not life threatening. Your daughter loves you. You have a parent in your life who also loves you and supports you in your time of need. I would take the following steps to improve your current situation. Write up a budget. Income, outgoings... time to take control of your situation. It doesn't look dire. You are going to be fine. Transfer the credit card debt if possible to a 0% interest card and pay as much towards that as you can. Get some counseling/mental health assistance. You are in a tough spot. It sounds rough. No lie. It's above reddits paygrade. Go talk to someone. Find new hobbies. It sucks your illness ruined the ones you liked. The good news is there's a LOT out there to replace them with. Consider going back to school and finding a career path that fulfills you. Once your CC debt is paid off and your HELOC balance is shrinking, start adding to the retirement savings. You aren't that far behind. The fact that you have anything is fantastic. In 20 years, your house/HELOC will be paid off and that 40k can be half a million or more with good budgeting and some effort on your part. You got this!

You could sell your house and sit with $40,000 in your 401k, plus a net of around $25,000 extra (after sales commission, etc.), only having to pay back your Dad. Not a terrible situation. Save up an emergency fund, $5000 or so, try to get that CC debt down, then attack Dad and the HELOC. The HELOC is your mortgage and you've got good positive equity.

personalfinance

notdmainaccount

t3_7zo2co

averagejones

dupfwr7

mfischer1

dupi892

Discovered Secured credit card Vs. Credit one's?

Im 18 and looking for my first credit card, my credit score is 555 and I have one student loan. I'm looking to build credit and understand I should only being using 33% of the limit and would only being using it in small purchases like going out to dinner every once and a while and stuff like that. I applied for capital ones student card a few months ago and was rejected.

Stay away from Credit One. Discover It Secured is a fine card to get. Wells Fargo offers a secured card too (along with most major banks) that would also be fine. Run, don't walk, away from Credit One.

Capital one is probably your best bet. I got their secured card for $50 deposit when I was 18 and I got a credit line of $200 a month. If you pay it off every month, within about 4 months time they'll increase your credit line to $500. It helped boost my credit score from 550 to 690 within about 8 months.

personalfinance

imnewtocreditcards

t3_5o6efl

losingaltitude

dcgx9of

BigDwarfski

dch0klk

Under the table and IRS came a-knockin

Back in 2017 I worked about 6 hours a week for 4 months delivering Chinese. My friend is close with the family and has been working for them on and off for years for extra cash. I was paid $7 plus tips and was cashed out every night. I don't ever remember signing anything with them. Fast forward to today I get a letter from the IRS saying I failed to report exactly $4,500 from the restaurant and now I owe $700. I know I made pretty good money working there but I dont think I made exactly or close to 4,500. I guess the place got audited and they are trying to account for missing money? Anyone know what I should do? I figure I got 3 choices A: just pay the money B: Talk to them and say I did work there but I did not make that much ( I have no pay stubs and dont even remember dates of when I started and stopped or when I even worked or how long) C: Deny everything Advice?

Well obviously C isn't a choice - the only thing dumber that committing tax evasion is to commit tax evasion after the IRS has caught you. You don't think there's any evidence of you delivery food to 100+ customers? You don't think there's a dozen witnesses at the Chinese place who will contradict you? That you were never recorded? Christ. So to be clear, you have no way of knowing how much you made? You kept no records and you have no deposits into a bank account? If you made less than $4,500, then don't pay taxes on $4,500. As bad as your decisions were, there's already a penalty you're paying - no need to pay more. Do your best to estimate your pay, send the response to the IRS, and come to an agreement. Then pay your taxes.

Uncle Sam loves to tack on penalties and interest. If it was me, knowing what I know now I'd suck it up and write them a check asap. Goof around with this and you'll regret it. Don't ask me how I know.

personalfinance

captaincats242

t3_bfi8d4

rnelsonee

eldvaht

JeffMorse2016

elee17a

Can you get a partial refund on an airline ticket by asking?

Plans changed and I have to cancel two non-refundable flights. Has anyone had success getting a partial refund or maybe airline credit just by asking? edit 1: Called United and was able to get credit for (my ticket price - 200) dollars. edit 2: no luck with alaska but the ticket was only 100 dollars anyway

Can't hurt to ask. Usually you can store the value of the ticket and a pay a change fee of a few hundred dollars. Depends on the airline and the ticket.

In addition to the above, also bear in mind there are a few special situations where you can get full refund from a few airlines. E.g. if you bought a delta ticket but cancel 'cus a family member died, they'll refund you.

personalfinance

live_lavish

t3_b4lze0

empyreanhaze

ej7j9wh

throwaway_eng_fin

ej7jgyw

Do you celebrate FI milestones?

After getting inspiration from the guy who posted this: I have begun to write down my net worth every 3 months or so, to check that I am gradually increasing my net worth. In such a context, do you celebrate, e.g. by going to a restaurant, when you hit some partial FI goals, such as reaching a new wealth mark? I think it would be a good idea, and much better than spending on restaurants on a daily basis, which will then reduce your FI goals if you do it too much.

My wife and I track net worth and total investment account balance and have a minor celebration when we reach certain milestones. Usually, it's just a discussion at dinner with our son, "We hit a milestone today! $xxx! Hurray for us! We're awesome...", touch glasses... We celebrate the milestone of paying off our mortgage every year on the anniversary. Usually we bake a cake, put some candles on it, bring out party decorations and party hats and make a toast. Our son really likes party decorations so he get's a kick out it. My wife and I think it's important for us and for our son to celebrate life accomplishments. And financial accomplishments are as important as any other accomplishment.

I'm on the verge of a pretty big promotion that will push me into the executive world. Any ideas since its close to being on topic? She suggested a restaurant, but I don't want to do that.

financialindependence

gorillaz0e

t3_52vobu

big_deal

d7nrtoh

CalcBros

d7nz60e

If Amazon enters the billion dollar health care market, what will their price target be?

I'm excited for this. Finally, some real competition in the health care industry. Feeling sick? Tell Alexa and see a doctor in 2 days with Prime!

It's only for their own employees . . . to change how health care is provided to their combined 1 million U.S. employees Of course, that's at the beginning; who knows how far they will go. It's a great synergy idea: they have mass with 1 million people AMZN will want to provide the drugs, prescription (it's old news that they want to enter that business) and OTC which they already sell BRK can provide re-insurance services and "gravitas" JPM can provide the securitization of risk I bet there will be some additional entrants into the deal, and companies like CVS (minute clinics + online drug fulfillment) must be pissed! CVS down 4.11% today.

what amazes me about amazon is their ability to take market share of any industry. amazon basic and amazon threads dips into the household and clothing market, echo devices into tech hardware market, amazon web services into the cloud market, they've got market share for eBay and etsy, they're a place people not only sell products but now services too - maids, handyman, etc. They take market share of online streaming - movies and music. Now they're getting into groceries. Soon Pharma. Now this parternship with berkshire to look at healthcare? Buffet and Bezos are probably the two greatest financial minds of our time.

StockMarket

johnwayne2413

t3_7u4ju9

PM_ME_BOOBPIX

dthkopn

EducatedGuess81

dtim0e3

[housing] About to rent a house with 6 people. How do we split the bill evenly? Background in comments

So, I am about to rent a house along with 6 other people, whom I all know. The total we have to pay is $3,300 (utilities included) every month. The house has 4 bedrooms and one master bedroom. 4 people will have a room to themselves while 2 people will share one room. I was thinking about splitting the payment percentage-wise, but not sure how. How should we split the bill evenly so that the 2 people sharing one room will pay less than every one else, but fairly? Thanks!

Just have an auction, start with the best room and work your way down. People paying over the odds subsidises people in worse rooms but everyone has an opportunity to live where they want.

So it's a five bedroom house. Allocate the rent by room. Then, if 2 people share, they pay 1/2 room. If utilities are included in the rent then that method isn't fair. Make sense?

personalfinance

ThatOneGuysName

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CastiloMcNighty

daz02zb

artweary

daywc46

What do you pay for your cell phone?

My AT&T sentence is up in October, so I'm looking at other options for my wife and I. Right now we are on a 4-person plan with my parents and paying $86/mo for our contribution to the plan. But I feel like more fat can be trimmed. I'm looking at Ting, Cricket, and TMobile prepaid's $30 plan. What do you use? How many phones, how much data, and how much per month?

Check out /r/NoContract for information on prepaid and postpaid plans that do not require you to sign up for 2 years. Depending on where you live/primarily use your phone will depend on what service provider to go for. Check out these websites if you are thinking about changing providers to get a sense of what kind of service you will be getting: [RootMetrics]( [OpenSignal]( [Sensorly]( T-Mobile also has a [test drive program]( They will send you an iPhone 5s to use for free for a week. Use it as much as you can in that week in as many places in your city as you can at as many times of day as you can to get a feel. A lot of people recommend the $30 prepaid plan from T-Mobile. I tried it and it didn't work for me. I need way more than 100 minutes a month (since I am on call at home often), and I found reloading minutes to be an inconvenience. Also, check to see if your employer (or your parents employer) offers a discount. When I was on Sprint, my employer had a 22% discount with them--and that's the only reason I was on Sprint. Currently, we're on AT&T, an the reason we're there is because my SO's employer offers a 14% discount.

I use the $25 unlimited talk, text, and data plan form They use T-Mobile's towers, and I have never had a problem. Bonus points: sells refills at a discounted rate, look for coupons online.

personalfinance

thecw

t3_31qw7t

BlackMartian

t1_cq45koc

cq45koc

kitaaaaaaaaaa

t1_cq4ppgu

cq4ppgu

My landlord offered to sell the house to me, I'm think I might buy it.

My landlord recently told me he want's to sell and asked if I was interested in buying. The 2br house is listed for $110,000 in a very up and coming neighborhood in a big city. I have been living in the house for 6 months and there have been no problems. Central air, heat, plumbing all work great. Hot water heater and appliances are also pretty new. My lease is also up in February 2016 Currently the rent is $950 a month and I make around 47k a year. I have $3500 in credit card debt that I will be paying a giant chunk off over the next couple of months to hopefully raise my credit more. Currently my credit is 647, due to my accounts being maxed out. I have one bill in collections that has not hit my credit yet. I'm super interested in buying, because the area is very up and coming. Investors are everywhere, he already has some lined up to look at the place. Over the past 5 years the area has improved immensely, with new businesses and new housing. It will only get better in the next 5 which will most defiantly raise the property value. I have about $20,000 in savings. And I do not want to put all of that for a downpayment, incase of an emergency. I would want to put below $15,000 down. What is /r/personalfinance think of my situation? I cannot stress enough that the property value will 100% increase over the years.

The CC debt is a huge red flag. Why are you carrying a balance with 20k in the bank? Okay you have an emergency fund great but according to you you have almost 6months salary in the bank and are maxing out your credit and letting one account fall into collections. WHY?!? I would suggest reading the side bar. While your credit score would be a considered for the lender I would not use that as a factor in making an investment decision. You need to consider upkeep costs, and loss of mobility when going from renting to buying.

Two more points, If it's so great why is the landlord selling. He may have a good reason, he may see something coming that you don't. Everything in the house currently working doesn't mean anything really. The A/C works today and did yesterday, doesn't mean it won't breakdown. There are always houses to be bought, most will appreciate in value. There are always up and coming areas. This is not a once in lifetime deal.

personalfinance

should_i_buy_a_house

t3_3e9b1i

thefrontpageof

t1_ctcs1mp

ctcs1mp

Bensav

t1_ctdatfn

ctdatfn

What's your personal reasoning for choosing Roth vs Traditional?

I have the option through my employer to choose to invest in either a Roth 401k or Traditional pretax 401k plan through Fidelity. I already max out my Vanguard Roth IRA, but I sometimes find myself struggling with the decision on where to draw the line on when I switch over to Traditional, or go 50/50 or some other split. My current salary is 92,000 base, with a possibility for 13,000 in annual bonuses. I also make about 10-15k on the side from AirBnB rentals. When I last made my investing decisions, I was making around 75,000 with 8k in bonuses, and about 6k a year in AirBnB rentals. My current reasoning for staying 100% Roth is that I believe we are experiencing the lowest income tax we ever will in the US, and with our huge deficit it is likely that this will increase at some point. This might be stupid reasoning and I'm happy to listen to anyone who thinks that's a terrible line of thinking. I also know that the pretax accounts have required distributions when you reach a certain age, and that those distribution percentages increase with time. I'm currently 27, and as my name suggests, I believe we'll experience a technological singularity at some point within my lifetime. With this comes the possibility of greatly extended lifespans. If my life expectancy goes from 80 to 150 for example, I don't want to be forced to take my money out of the a tax free growth environment. &x200B So those are my two main reasons for doing what I'm doing. First, I'd love to have some criticism on why these are bad reasons, as well as hear from all of you what your reasons are for choosing one way or the other.

My current reasoning for staying 100% Roth is that I believe we are experiencing the lowest income tax we ever will in the US, and with our huge deficit it is likely that this will increase at some point. You should be comparing your current marginal tax rate to what you think it will be when you retire. Even if tax rates revert to 2017 brackets in the future, your tax rate could still be lower when you retire. Also, keep in mind that nobody knows how the tax law will change. You are taking a risk by putting it all in a Roth IRA. What if you are wrong and your tax rate ends up being 10% when you retire compared to 24% now? I personally think having a mix between traditional and Roth is best. It'll provide flexibility when you retire.

I read every comment, and I’m more confused than before I started. But, I split my 401k contributions at work 50/50 between Roth and traditional and also max my Roth IRA so I’m good right? Or should I be going full Roth? I’m 29, married and make roughly 100k pre tax. My wife makes about 30k.

personalfinance

MrSingularitarian

t3_9tjeuf

TheUndeadInsanity

e8wotxl

NYgiantsfan89

e8yoq2m

I work at a college and get a free course per semester. Are there any courses you recommend I take that would help me gain money or "high income skills"?

What are your recommendations. &x200B Other resources / skills I have: &x200B * Meh Car * History BA * Self teaching myself photoshop and premiere atm * A lot of data entry skills * Know Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and their Google counterparts well * Strong Powerful Computer &x200B

Personal finance, higher-level Excel skills, intro to coding, database basics, and business writing. These are the classes I took in college that stand out as contributing to my financial standing by helping me get good jobs and manage my money.

Not necessarily high income, but take a tax class. It’s usually administered by the accounting department, so there may be some prerequisites necessary that preclude you from taking it. But if not, it’s definitely valuable, and unless it’s a master’s level course, you shouldn’t need any prerequisites (they won’t help anyway; tax is a different kind of accounting).

personalfinance

Q-Long

t3_aizk32

flare499

eerimql

mart1373

eesn5ee

Is there such a thing as a legitimate bank mistake or am I getting scammed?

One of my older friends, kind of like a mentor to me, was a stock broker. He was a sharp cookie, too. He left me some funds in a Transfer On Death account? He had told me how it should go, but it's not turning out like he mentioned. If I had to trust his advice over the bank, he would win every time. He said that Transfer On Death, is just that, when he dies, the funds get transferred to me. Made sense to me... After he passed, the bank sent me a list of what he left me. But, the bank has been stalling for two months now. Now, I get a call to sign more paperwork and it's the same list, minus like three shares of each fund. I call up the "advisor" and ask what's up? They claim that the first assessment was an error on their part and this later, lesser list is the correct one. I feel like I'm letting him down by not knowing if this is in my control or the bank is just trying to pull a fast one on me. It doesn't help that he just passed away, too, you know? Should I ask the advisor for some kind of proof? Is that within my rights? Or could someone please advise? Thank you for any help.

Sorry for your lost, but it sounds like it's time to get a lawyer involved. People are very vulnerable when they're grieving and sometimes other people take advantage of that. For your friend's sake, please don't just accept whatever is told to you.

Talk to an attorney. Then, after you have actually spoken to an attorney follow their advice. I'd be willing to bet that the bank would change their tune once they learn you have an attorney to be honest.

personalfinance

FriendlyTeaPeddler

t3_9iz1ny

ostornadoe1

e6nmp0r

pc_build_addict

e6o9bch

When to ask for a raise in these times

Hello everyone. I would like some advice please. My job makes $9.00 an hour. My aunt wants me to ask for a raise, however, I don't feel it would be right to ask for one. For several reasons. One: A lot of people are unemployed right now. It's incredible I still have my job at this moment, and I'm what would be considered an "essential worker". If I lost my job, there is no guarantee I would get another job. 2: We are in a pandemic and while there is a vaccine being created, there is no telling when society will be back to what is considered "normal". I plan to ask for a raise when the vaccines are fully developed and my state says it has a vaccine at the ready.

I think you should look for a new job, any customer service job will or should start you at least $3-$5 more an hour to start! Try it Sorry I know that was not your question. But this could be an opportunity seriously to look for another job that pays better! After 9 years, making $9 an hour? Come on time to change it up!

What is the amount that would disqualify you from SSI benefits? There’s simple math to be done and since you haven’t had a raise in 2 years, plus you’ve been working in a pandemic, you have the right to at least ask. It should not jeopardize your employment.

FinancialPlanning

FlameGhost90

t3_k4yx8l

gymnastics86

gec6bdf

october17th

gejmjab

I'm 19 and I have 6 credit cards. Is this a good or bad thing?

I pay them off in full every month. They're treated like cash and have no annual fees. I only actively use 3, the others I signed up for either because of a signing deal or because they allowed me to build credit in order to get cards with better cash-back/ rewards deals. Will having this many credit cards negatively impact me in the long run? Would I be better off cancelling the ones I don't use? I use Credit Karma and they seem to have positively effected me thusfar, but Credit Karma seems to be solely focused on me signing up for more which seems unnecessary. Thank you very much for any insight.

I'm going to go ahead and say avoid r/churning, or at least don't think of it as the logical "next step." It often just leads to you buying things you wouldn't have normally bought "because points" and in the long run it will hinder, not help, your credit. Also, churning can become like extreme couponing. The amount of money you "earn" (or save) is paltry to what you could earn with the same time spent on a side job. Average age of credit accounts and number of inquiries, while not huge factors, do affect your credit. Keep using the cards you have, don't apply for more, and let your accounts age. You're doing just fine.

You will be what determines if this is good or bad, not the cards. The areas these cards impact score-wise are your utilization and age of longest standing line of credit, and to some degree your maximum credit extended. Obviously your usage of them isn't causing any negative impact right now. Churning the cards for benefits is fine as long as you follow the advice others have given about maintaining the proper usage of said cards. If they close one for inactivity it will affect your score if you have less than about $25,000 of credit left from all other avenues. This figure isn't a precise tool to work from as the bureaus all weigh factors of your credit score differently. Keep a calendar, maybe a spreadsheet. Review everything once every three months. Beyond that it's hard to decide good or bad without knowing why you wanted to have 6 cards in the first place.

personalfinance

UltraviolenceInc

t3_8w0lzz

DebtFreeLawSchool

e1rt1xs

jackofallknacks

e1t3rsr

What is cost of equity

Hi all, I am new to finance and would like to learn more. I understand that the cost of capital of a company comes from (1) cost of debt and (2) cost of equity. The cost of debt is the interest that a company need to pay for a loan from bank. How about cost of equity? Is it the rate of return that a company must deliver in order to satisfy the shareholders so that they will keep their share and maintain the share price ? e.g in terms of dividend paid out, increase in earning per share (so share price will rise) ...? And why is the cost of equity is higher than cost of debt?

The cost of equity is the annual rate of return investors demand from the investment. For example, if I invest in a company with cost of equity equal to 10%, I expect a 10% annual return.

Cost of capital is essentially the premium which the investor requires for taking on risk. Risk is the biggest factor in cost of capital, the more risk the more return is required. This also explains cost of equity> debt, as equity is riskier. I don't think you mentioned WACC, you should read more on that too.

StockMarket

pinton96

t3_a1qu25

wellCie

eas23vz

BedlamG

eash3we

Overtime and double time laws?

Is there a good resource to go to that lists every state's overtime and double time laws? I'm about to hit 80 hours for this week, and my employer insists the only law is overtime after 40. That seems a little unfair.

Here is a link to a list of overtime laws in the U.S.: [employment.findlaw.com/wages-and-benefits/state-minimum-wage-laws.html]( Some states definitely have double time laws. California for example is supposed to pay double time if a person goes over 12 hours in a day or 8 hours on the 7th day worked.

What state are you in? Are you an exempt employee? There aren't different laws for manufacturing vs. office jobs. The difference is whether you're hourly or exempt (frequently referred to as salaried, though one has a legal meaning and the latter doesn't). There is no federal double time requirement (or limit on the number of hours you can be expected to work). There might be a state one in your particular state. I doubt it, but if you let me know the state I can look it up.

personalfinance

scobeavs

t3_3gci6r

lonesage

ctwuzci

cursethedarkness

ctx49b0

Normal to pay potential landlord for credit check and background report?

Is it normal for landlords to require potential tenants to write them a check for $55 to do a credit check and background check? Doesn't seem right to me considering there is no guarantee I'll get the apartment. I have excellent credit scores and no eviction history. Wish landlords would just let me log into my bank, Experian, and CreditKarma accounts and show them in person.

It costs the landlord money to screen your background. They’re passing that cost onto you to make sure you’re serious and not wasting their time. If there were no fees, any and all would apply and most would come back denied. Like others have said, its the cost of doing business. Nothing is free.

It was part of my application fee. Once I was approved and rented the place, the application fee was credited back. You can check with them if they'll refund you if you choose to take up the place.

personalfinance

electriccomputermilk

t3_e6rtvo

maloohree

f9svcwp

script_bunny

f9t3mt0

Blink and you'll miss it - half of TSLAs gains today just dissapeared?

Seriously what is the deal with this stock and can anyone really give a rational explanation as to what has been going on these past few days

The value is entirely based on hype, so people are watching it all day and the moment it dips people sell it to lock in any gains they made because they know it won't last forever

?? Go on IB and tick the “Outside RTH” box (regular trading hours) and the order will be valid in all sessions including pre- and post-market sessions. I do it on a regular basis for my own account.. but sure tell me I’m wrong and downvote me... lol

stocks

neilcmf

t3_eywwqy

Dotifo

fgjrqop

acaseofthemondays

fgmflh0

Gratitude post (an ode to the emergency fund)

Thanks to years of carefully reading, discussing, and applying the advice posted on this sub, my husband and I knew better than to touch our emergency fund when purchasing our first home a little over a month ago. That 6-month e-fund was a hard-won victory on a grad student stipend and a nonprofit employee salary, and it was emotionally very difficult to wait for a home until we could afford to put down at least 20% and avoid PMI without using those funds. But we did it. And so when Friday rolled around and my husband’s vehicle was totaled in a 3-car accident - the vehicle he needed to get to his brand new post-PhD job starting Monday - the only question I had to worry about asking was “are you okay?” Last night we bought a reliable used car with cash. We have about 25% of the e-fund left, and can’t wait to start rebuilding it at an accelerated pace with his new salary. We are so grateful to this community for setting us up for success during what could otherwise have been a much more stressful time.

It's really easy for people to look at their numbers, do some math, and think they're in a better financial situation than they are, because the equations are usually best case scenarios. But things will go wrong. Life will occasionally be a complete disaster. You will get laid off, or break your arm, or total your car, or come home to a flooded house. And it'll all happen at the worst possible time. Luckily, you saw it coming ahead of time! Congrats! Is insurance paying out for the car? If not, might want to upgrade to comprehensive going forward so that car wrecks go from being an emergency that's prepared for to being a mild inconvenience (assuming no injuries).

Was that "really" an emergency? Could you not have just bought the car with a loan and kept your safety net intact for when a "real" emergency happens? What would happen if your husband lost his new job right after you cashed out 3/4 of your "emergency fund"? Generally speaking, "having substantial income" makes things into "not an emergency" and by extension "not for the emergency fund to handle". This seems to be less about the benefits of an "emergency fund" and more about having a fund saved up so you can go around buying things you want with cash rather than credit because, for some reason, that seems preferable. If somebody wants to save money in an account somewhere and buy things with cash, that's fine. It just shouldn't be confused with "emergency".

personalfinance

Fillorian

t3_aiqe1t

SomeInternetRando

eeposkw

Raiddinn1

eerzw9m

25 - In a lot of debt

So a little about me: I graduated college 2 going on 3 years ago with a civil engineering degree, and accumulated a LOT of debt in college. I did not know how to spend money and ran into a lot of personal issues such as car accidents, paid rent with credit cards, etc.- but I took the necessary steps to help myself and try to get my life back on track. I currently make $65,000 a year in California. However, I took a bunch of loans and have 2 credit carts with big balances to help me in college. They are: Credit Card 1 - $6170 Credit Card 2 - $4158 Bank Loan 1 - $1776 Bank Loan 2 - $7343 Federal Student Loan - Monthly Minimum Payment of $270 for the next 8 years. *Rent - $900 a month roughly. What are the necessary steps for me to take to get out of this debt? It feels like I'm saving very little money with every paycheck, and I'm struggling to get by. I try to cook as much as I can, and stay away from big spending on useless things, but a big reason I'm in this hole was I was a huge, and stupid gambler. I've only just recently kicked the habit. Any advice is appreciated

What are the necessary steps for me to take to get out of this debt? The basic concept for digging yourself out of debt is to pay the minimums on all of your loans except the one with the highest interest rate. Any available money you have should go towards paying off that debt. Once you've paid off your highest interest rate loan or credit card, you start making very high payments on your new highest interest rate credit card or loan. It should help to put together a budget and start tracking your spending. You could use budgeting software, like YBAB, or you could just track your expenses in a notebook or in Excel. If you list out all of your expenses you may be able to identify some that you can trim or get rid of entirely. You might decide to cancel your cable subscription, switch to a cheaper cell phone provider, switch to a cheaper gym, etc.

Pick the card with the highest interest rate and throw all your extra cash at that. Pay minimums on everything else. Once that is paid off, start throwing all your money at the next highest interest rate. Repeat until it's all gone.

personalfinance

IslandGuy24

t3_7h3e0q

clearwaterrev

dqns066

a2017

dqnu2ex

Am I saving too much?

I’m a recent college grad and I’ve been working a $13/hr research job since May. I know it isn’t a well paying job, but it’s great experience for grad school apps, and I’ve been really disciplined with saving. On paydays I don’t pay rent I typically put $600 into savings and have roughly $220 for living for the next two weeks. Since I’ve started I’ve saved roughly $2700. However, I often find that $220 isn’t always enough for myself between gas, food, other bills and trying to enjoy myself once in a while. I usually transfer money out of savings before my next paycheck because of this. So I guess my question is, does this seem to be a sustainable way of saving or am I putting too high of a percentage of my income into savings? Any advice is welcomed! My parents are incredibly bad savers and I want to know that what I’ve learned is too much or not enough!

I used to do this as well when I was a lot younger. I found the way to fix it was to sit down and undertake an analysis of what you actually spend on living and ensure those expenses are covered, then put a sensible portion of savings away. This means you should be withdrawing less from your savings and getting out of the habit of seeing it as accessible for everyday spending.

No. You aren't. You say you put $600 into savings on months you don't pay the rent. So I'm guessing you average $300 a month of 2700 in savings. That's probably the minimum you need to be saving of your income to retire by 65. Is it sustainable? You back into that based on your goals. I'm going to say it's irresponsible to put away less than 15% if you have the ability to do so. A lot of things can happen that makes it hard to continue earning until 65. Aiming for 55 is a lot better.

personalfinance

mbelanger3122

t3_d8tqum

john50nator

f1cmntk

levigoldson

f1dn0h4

Is this a good trade I just made?

Did two SPY vertical spreads, one bull and one bear to play both sides of the market and limit my losses; Bull spread; Five $274/$273 contracts, 31 days until expiry, 0.76 credit. Max loss $120, max profit $380.00. Bear spread; Ten $257/$258 contracts. 31 days expiration. 0.76 credit. Max loss $240, max profit $740. Thought process; I am Bearish short term, seeing more downside hence why leaning more heavily to the bear side with 10 contracts versus just 5 contracts on the bull side. If I'm wrong and market rallies enough, I cover my losses on the bear spread plus make a small profit. If I'm right, my max profit on the bear side would be $740, leaving me with a net profit of $620 after including the total loss from my bull spread. Thoughts?

I'm not sure it's a good idea to trade 5-10 contracts if you need reddit to validate the trade. OP, scale down, widen the spread, reduce contract count. Also, much depends on your account size.

You can widen the width of the spreads to reduce commission and when you widen the strikes you collect better premium. 60 legs are atleast $50 in commission if you widen the strikes, you pay $4-$10.

options

VRgamer84

t3_7xa3zc

OptionMoption

du6or9b

bullish88

du6osjv

Is it worth getting a second job?

I just turned 27 and currently work full time as a marketing analyst Monday through Friday and earn a 50k salary. I've been trying to figure out what to do with my time and adapt to my new life since my longterm girlfriend and I recently broke up. I've been considering picking up a second job. I was talking with someone at a bar last night that is an operations manager for a delivery company. He gave me his number and said he would hire me to work on Saturday's only if that's all I could do. &x200B I believe he said the pay is 16/hr, I know it's not less than that. They provide the trucks. I'm in the process of searching for a house to buy and the extra money could be helpful. Would working an extra day here every week be worth my time?

Strangers on the internet can’t tell you what your time is worth or what you should be doing in your down time. If you don’t mind giving up an off day to take on a new job so you have additional income, then you should do it. If you don’t want to give up your weekends, then don’t. Simple.

50k is way above average salary. You may want to consider a more regional sub reddit. Also, check your contract, most of the ones I've seen do not allow you to work more than the equivalent of one full time job.

personalfinance

pard0nme

t3_cg8sxq

idealdreams

eufecw0

sjb-2812

euft6yz

Home loan options - USDA or 80/20?

Long story short, my credit is meh and we have to be into a new home by May. My current options are the USDA rural development loan at 4.75% (fixed, I believe) or an "80/20" loan (2 loans). The 80% is fixed at 5.25% for three years, and the other 20% is fixed for 12 years. I'm told we will be able to refinance both loans into one fixed rate loan in 12 months, at which point my credit will be much higher, sitting in the mid 700s, possibly higher, with no negative items. The 80/20 makes me nervous because of refinancing and rising rates (refinancing might be pointless, and a lender might not want to do it), but it would save us a lot of money because it has no PMI. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

So you have to move by May and you are looking for zero-down options to do it. Oh, and your credit is "meh." Please be aware that USDA has both location requirements for your home (please consult their maps) and income requirements for you. Making enough to pay, that's obvious. There's also income limits. Another thing you need to know: all these plans will make your offer less desirable to many sellers. A big downpayment signals financial security to a seller, and yours, well doesn't. Further, I don't know if you have considered where you're going to get your closing costs. If you ask a seller to cover them, that makes your offer even less attractive! Nor does this address the fact that you'll need money to fix the things I promise will need to be repaired or replaced after closing. You state that your credit will be mid-700s by 12 months from now. Why not get a year long lease somewhere while you fix your credit and save some money? In the long run, this will save you headaches over your current plan. TLDR: there is a third path.

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RealEstate

peese-of-cawffee

t3_86jxlu

ShortWoman

dw5ow6x

LocationBot

dw5kzj5

Help, my mom's car fell 6 ft off the lift at a local mechanic. Likely totaled

I wasn't sure where exactly to ask for advice, so hopefully this sub is a good place. Yesterday my mother took her 2010 VW Beetle in to get her brakes replaced by a local shop. She received a call from the owner telling her not to panic, but that her car had fallen off of the lift. The guy responsible had initially lied, telling everyone that the lift mechanism had failed but eventually fessed up to loading it incorrectly. After they removed the tires, the car fell 6 feet off of the lift directly onto the hood. And while the damage from the outside doesn't seem too extensive, the whole engine compartment seems to have been shifted and there is no longer any oil in it. The car is still sitting on the floor of the shop as both my mother and the business are waiting for insurance to come out to assess the damage and declare it totaled or not. The shop took her and set her up with a rental car until they can get things sorted out. So my question inevitably is: what is the best way she should go about handling the situation? She had just paid off her car and took immaculate care of it so it'd last her a few more years of commuting until she retires. The KBB value is around $5,000 at best. She doesn't want to try and take the business for all it's worth or anything, but she is now without her car because of their negligence. The shop was also open today despite her car still being there. Is this any sort of violation of any safety rules or regulations (we live in southern California)? Her insurance company told her to let them take the reigns and if things are not proceeding in a timely fashion or to her liking, to let them know and they'll handle it on her behalf. If the car is declared totaled, is the best she can get just the value of the car at the time of the incident? If she does only get the valued amount, it's barely enough to make a decent down payment and she'll be stuck with a car payment again, which is exactly what she wants to avoid. What's the best thing she can do to make sure she's made as whole as possible?

I could be off base here but I don't think her insurance should have to pay anything. The business should have insurance for the damage of the vehicle. That said, I don't think she will be entitled to any more than the vehicle is worth. Depending on what their offer is it may be worth consulting an attorney if she's unhappy.

When I talked to the insurance company of the person who was at fault in my accident, I used the phrase "make me whole." This is, according to a my friend who is an insurance agent, "insurance speak" for not gonna haggle, not gonna accept a token payment. It may not work, but is worth the attempt.

personalfinance

throwawayawayxz

t3_6b24wv

blues65

dhj7ehw

OldGuy37

dhjiyxj

Warren Buffett said he could make 50% returns with a sub $1M portfolio

I'm wonder how? Would it be investing more in small and micro caps? Should retail investors focus more on small/micro caps also?

Yes. He would be investing far more into small caps, micro caps, and mid caps. He doesn't invest much into them now because it wouldn't impact Berkshire much. He would have to pick a ton of them to make a large impact and he doesn't like to diversify. Diversification is what kills portfolio returns. It's common sense. That's why index funds and ETF's don't have amazing returns. He said something like this, "You only need 6 great stocks. It makes no sense to put money in your 7th best idea. Nobody has gotten rich from their 7th best idea, but many people have gotten rich off their first best idea. If you're going to spend time researching companies, it makes no sense to diversify more than that. I would put around 50% into my best idea." Not the exact quote, but the meaning is exact. So, he would find ONLY a few amazing ideas and concentrate his portfolio on them.He would then ride them until he found a better idea. He wouldn't buy other companies for the sake of diversification. He has to diversify a lot now because he manages SO much money. This moves me on to the next reason. When you have a lot of money, you can move the price of a stock pretty easily. That's NOT a good thing. You want to buy all the stock you can at the cheapest price possible and sell it at the highest price possible. If you're moving the stock price when you buy and sell, this creates a huge problem. Then you look at people managing a $1M portfolio. They would put 500k into their best idea under Warren Buffet's strategy. That 500k is going to be easy to invest and liquidate unless you put it in a penny stock. So, if his best idea appreciated a massive amount in a fairly short amount of time and it wasn't his best idea anymore, he could sell out easily and put it in a better idea. He said something like this, "I use to have more ideas than money and I would change stocks often." He also wouldn't put money into stocks like Tesla, Facebook, AMD, NVDA, Google, etc., right now. Pretty much all the stocks Reddit talks about, he wouldn't use. He would look for stocks that nobody is talking about for the most part. That's where you find the best ideas. He has said you have to find the good ideas by yourself. He would also look for stocks that are less correlated to the overall market. If the market is expensive, he will find stocks that are far less expensive that don't fluctuate with the market. He would also short stocks like he did in his old days. That would increase his uncorrelated returns, and possibly make him money in a correction or crash. He would also focus more on net nets. They can't impact Berkshire's portfolio much, so he doesn't spend time looking for them. If he was managing a small portfolio, he could look for them and make quite a bit. There are a massive amount of reasons, but I think I covered the biggest reasons. With a small portfolio you're not forced to diversify, you can buy and sell all the stock at the best price for YOU, and you have far more options within small caps, micro caps, mid caps, and whatever else.

No shit, it's a widely known fact that Warren Buffet is a frequent regular of r/wallstreetbets We do that shit on the side, though. Too much time taken up by our fleet of yachts.

stocks

nbagenius2000

t3_6pwghp

kpe2868

dkssjke

ent4rent

dktf5kv

What are the risks of realtors becoming obsolete in the next 5-10 years?

Am considering a career in real estate and am concerned about the possibility of realtors going the way of the travel agent.

I work in residential real estate and I am in my early 20's, grew up seeing Uber putting taxi drivers out of business, travel agents going out of business, Airbnb radically changing hospitality industry, so I am a part of the generation that would love homebuying to be a point and click industry like online shopping. But trust me as an insider in the industry, its easier said than done. Redfin, Zillow and Trulia were the last radical disrupters in the industry and it has been a decade since they even innovated. One of them is a brokerage and makes money when people buy and sell using their real estate agents, and the other two sell ad spaces to real estate agents, so they depend on them to make money. They have combined raised more than a billion dollars, you would think with the money being thrown at them or to several other real estate disrupters, somebody by now would have made home buying an online shopping esque experience. There is too much money being paid to real estate agents ( 60 billion yearly in commissions) for somebody to not want to disrupt the model and get a piece of the pie. If it has not been done during the golden age of real estate innovation (2000-2010, thats when Redfin, Zillow and Trulia were founded), it tells you something. I always see a professional being paid to assist a homebuyer or seller. Now all that being said, while I see a professional (realtor/attorney, etc) being paid, I see commissions being reduced all across the board. It has already come down nationally on average to 5 percent from 6 percent. I also see the role of the realtor changing. Realtors have always been used for their informational expertise. This made sense when realtors were gatekeepers of info and when only they had access to the mls. Now, that the public has access to the MLS (atleast in the markets that redfin has a presence in), realtors are no longer the gatekeepers of the info. So, they should be more valued for their transactional expertise, as buyers can see all the homes online, even view properties on their own , but they do not know the transactional nuances post mutual acceptance. So, the realtor can really shine post mutual acceptance and take it from there till closing. I still see the value in a local specialist for buyers who are not familiar with the area, but I see the "transactional specialist" having a junior broker/showing assistant on his team who will serve as a local specialist for those clients to solve that problem.

I don't see agents ever being obsolete as there are vast differences between travel agents and real estate agents. First of all a vacation is just a planned expense that if you do it wrong has a cost of time/money/experience which will suffer but usually isn't a big deal. With a real estate agent you have disclosures, contracts, addendums, marketing, money (a lot more on the line than a vacation), time (also more), fraud, hazards like asbestos and lead based paint, physical hazards like a questionable floor among other things. These things will never be able to be automated and even if they could I doubt any site will ever want to take the risk of all that on them. In addition to all that you have a plethora of legal paperwork that needs to be properly submitted with a series of correct steps to actually buy the house where numerous hiccups can happen and will vary greatly. Like someone said I do think bad agents will get the axe but good agents will make you money in the time and hassle they can save you by helping you avoid common problems and missing important details. An agent should provide value and if they are not, find one who does.

RealEstate

fsjchris

t3_6870mg

adrian-monk-

dgwe9cj

MeggidoX

dgwoyar

Hacker used my CC linked to my GrubHub account but now I have his address and phone number. Can I involve police?

Hi all, Just got a large fraudulent order from my grubhub account that unfortunately had my credit card connected to it. I called the restaurant to cancel it asap but they couldnt. That being said, they gave me the phone number the person requested they use (instead of mine) and I have the person's address since it was delivered there. I called my cc company who is replacing my card and investigating but is there a way to handle this with police as well? Who can I contact to make sure this guy gets in trouble? Thanks

I would definitely call the police non emergency number. Best case they help you out, bust the guy, you get your money back, and any other stolen cards are confiscated / returned to their owners. Worst case they do nothing and your situation is exactly the same.

I remember this happening before on another sub. They called the PD and they arrested the guy. It can't hurt to call the non-emergency number and gives them the details of the situation.

personalfinance

esheena1

t3_dpzw7a

slickback503

f5ztayk

Code3LI

f60mjkp

First time in a new apartment, where do I learn to cook with no cooking experience?

Hi! My SO and I just moved into a new apartment and are beginning living on our own for the first time. Neither of us have any cooking experience at all and I hear about making home cooked meals all the time and how much money you can save. Where do I learn the basics and simple meals we can start with? At the moment, we're starting with the absolute basics.

Welcome to adult life. You will find all the instructions you need on YouTube. No I'm not kidding, this is how everyone does it now a days. The world is just a lot of people running around doing random shit they learned on YouTube and nobody has any idea how or why the whole thing keeps on going. Best of luck. Don't take things to seriously. :)

PF tip, start with cheap pots and pans and utensils, then, when they fall apart, it proves you use them and you can justify spending more for a quality version. You'll need a [basic set]( And some good knives and a cutting board. As an alternative, watch for estate sales and you can often find inexpensive quality tools. Once you have the tools, think about food you like to eat and look up recipes. Then find Youtube videos for cooking and cutting techniques.

personalfinance

DetroitEXP

t3_7p9124

cowmandude

dsfedot

secretWolfMan

dsff0nb

Need to set up father, 61, for retirement using $180k in cash & ~$30k annual income. No debt, owns home, on SS disability/medicaid.

I need to get my dad set up for retirement. We're going to see a CFA on Thursday, but I wanted to get some information going into the meeting. His financial situation is thus: He receives around $1000/month in social security disability payments and $9,000/year in cash rent for farmland he owns. He is also on medicaid. He owns his home and has no outstanding debts. He recently sold a home and is sitting on $180k in cash, mostly from the sale, in the local bank (before this year's income tax on the proceeds!!). There is also a chance he may need to pay back some SSDI funds in the future, maybe ~30k but I'm unsure. The farm land he owns is valuable and I would like to have it remain in the family if possible. My main concern is that his current monetary assets are enough to keep him taken care of as he ages. How should we invest them? I can see him being tempted by an annuity because he is quite risk averse, but I was thinking about some of the money in a Betterment smart saver account and the rest in a Betterment personal investment retirement account. What am I missing? What else should we be considering? EDIT: Typo, he gets about $23k/year pretax.

The farm land he owns is valuable and I would like to have it remain in the family if possible. Valuable but only bringing in $750/mo? Is there anything else to be done w/ the property to bring in more money?

How does $1k/month in SSI plus $9k/year in rent equal \~$30k/year of income? Does your father have earned income or self-employment income that would qualify him to make contributions to retirement accounts? If his income is just SSDI and rent, he can't contribute to an IRA.

personalfinance

jonelson80

t3_afxykj

Pobox14

ee24rqx

minorcommentmaker

ee37fay

Can I buy insurance to pay for all the stuff health insurance doesn't cover

There are Indemnity insurance plans, HMOs, PPOs and EPOs. EPOs means 'exclusive provider organization' which means you have to see an 'in network' medical professional at an 'in network' facility to engage in 'necessary' medical care that is 'billed appropriately' (basically 4 ways you can fall through the cracks financially, minimum. Out of network provider, out of network facility, care insurance deemed unnecessary and balance billing). The trend is moving towards EPOs, which means if you get any 'out of network' coverage you are on the hook for it. With health care getting more and more expensive I forsee insurance with more and more gaps and loopholes hitting the market to keep costs low. So what can a person do if they are stuck in an EPO plan? Is there some kind of insurance that covers what insurance won't cover? Like a medigap policy but for the private market? Here is what I'm wondering, lets say I have a high deductible EPO through work. Can I buy an indemnity plan that will cover everything that my regular health insurance does not, but which has a $3000 deductible per year? That way if I get into a major accident, accumulate 400k in medical bills and my insurance only agrees to cover 300k of them, I am not on the hook for the other 100k? I'm ok with the deductibles and copays. But the narrow networks, balance billing and issues like that worry me about health care spending.

What you're looking for is "supplemental" insurance: "hospital" insurance, "catastrophic" insurance, "major medical" insurance. And there's probably some sellers out there who'll sell you some insurance to cover the gaps in whatever the "supplemental" insurance won't pay.

There isn't insurance for this because it isn't something you can quantify the risk for. With EPOs your emergency coverage is still covered out of network. Yes you need to be vigilant to make sure you stay in network, but it isn't as hard as you are making it out to be.

personalfinance

Five_Decades

t3_4kgfui

AllTheyEatIsLettuce

d3espjj

GotPerl

d3eriwu

Do I change the locks again?

Bought a house. Changed locks. Hired general contractor before moving in and provided him and his team with a set of keys. General contractor will be done next week. Do I change the locks again? Ugh...I should have thought this through better the first time.

My brother just went through this and had put a keycode lock on the door, and just erased the code when they were done. You can set multiple codes and set a specific one for the contractors so you don't have to change your own code. They are under $100

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RealEstate

wanderrrrr

t3_6yf156

listen-

dmmwu7s

LocationBot

dmmtwxm

I'm a 17 year old wondering what to do with my money.

First things first, I've read through the sidebar and FAQ, and it was pretty helpful, but I feel as a lot of it does not apply to me because I'm not yet an adult. I am a 17 year old junior in highschool. I work for my dad and make about $7000 a year. Right now I have about $1500 saved up just sitting in my checking account. I have a savings account with a different bank that has $100~ in it. I know the first step is to set up an emergency fund, which I'm going to do later this week. I am going to close the savings account and open one up with the same bank that I use my checking account with. I am also listening to Dave Ramsey, and he said if you make less than 20k a year to have an emergency fund of $500, which seems reasonable. Along with that, his advice is to put away enough to last you 3-6 months if the source of income was cut off. Since I am living at home, my only real expenses are gas and food (barely). I figured adding an extra $300 or so to my emergency fund would be enough. That leaves me with about $700. I want to invest some of this money for college or anything I need in the future. I also plan on saving a percentage of every paycheck (which tend to be around 200-400 bi-weekly). My main questions are, what are the best options for me? I've never invested any amount of money before, and I don't even know where to start. What can I do now to better myself later in life? I really appreciate you taking the time to read this, and any advice is welcome. If there is more you need to know, just let me know.

Are you going to college right when. You graduate high school at 18? Investing in the short term like that can be pretty risky. Most people on here would recommend a high interest savings or maybe a 12 or 18 month CD based on your schedule or plans.

I'm new to investing, but I would recommend opening an account at Vanguard and investing in some ETFs like VOO. 0 commission and very liquid. Don't buy common stock, because you'll be paying trading fees.

personalfinance

Mrunclesam

t3_1zcvir

ben7337

t1_cfsj7jc

cfsj7jc

Kieldro

t1_cfsixg5

cfsixg5

Could you guide me in investing in my future? Have a job offer in San Francisco, and I'm not sure about how bad the cost of living will be or if it's worth moving for.

So I know all of the horror stories about SF's rent and housing costs but it seems like most of the absurd prices are in the city. I'm okay with commuting and can even commute up to an hour if I need to. This job's hours would be great - most likely only 4 days a week. Possibly even 3. If it's 5 days, I would only be on site for 3-4 hours a day. Anyways, the job is located near Balboa Park, which is right in the heart of the city. Here's my situation: Currently live in Birmingham, AL. Live in a nice 3 bedroom house in one of the best school districts in the state for $1450/month. Commute times are less than 20 minutes for each of us. Married to a teacher and have a 4 year old son. Wife is pregnant and is due in June. Wife makes $57k/year and I make $40k/year. We have $20k in savings for my wife to use her sick leave and FMLA to stay home for the first year of our next kid (slight chance it would be 6 months, but she's planning on the full year). Job in San Francisco will pay me $70k/year with full family benefits and the chance for a $10k/year bonus. It also comes with a guaranteed raise of ~$2k/year with the possibility of higher income based on continuing education. So it's really the first year I'm worried about. My wife is really insistent on taking the first year to focus on nursing and being a mom. Her resume is stellar, and I feel confident she could get a teaching job. Elementary school teachers average $70k in the Bay Area, so that would put our combined income at $140k in year two. Another thing to consider is our general unhappiness in Birmingham. It's a good city with a great cost of living, but we've had some hardships the past two years including the loss of family members and our closest friends have moved away. I'm also working a difficult job right now that doesn't pay much or offer benefits and I'm often away from home. The job in SF would actually use my degree and be something I would be passionate about. It might include some evenings, but those would be traded off for being home during the day and every weekend. We've also always talked about moving to a new part of the country but never had the opportunity to. What are the rent prices/home prices like away from the city? How far would I need to go to find a good school district in an affordable area on $70k/year? How possible is it to survive on $70k/year with $20k in expendable savings? How possible is it to live a nice middle class life in the Bay Area on $140k/year? Should I x-post to /r/SanFrancisco?

You will find it close to impossible to live in San Francisco or vicinity on $70k per year. Even if your wife makes the same amount, it will be super tight and you will end up commuting a long distance from an exurb with lower cost of living. Balboa Park is about halfway between the city and SFO airport. You don't want to look for housing on the other side of the Bay, in Oakland, etc. or further north, because the commute times and tolls will kill you. Nor can you afford to look in the city or south down the 101 through Silicon Valley toward San Jose. (You really need to be grossing $200k+, as a floor, to start considering close-in housing.) You might look across the lower Bay at the Fremont / Pleasanton area, but that's a terrible commute also. Sorry, don't mean to be a downer, but you'll be horrified at how little $70k or a joint $140k gets you after housing prices and taxes.

Don't do it. Housing prices are stupid (and public schools are shit). Also, I don't know if it is a startup - but be weary of tech jobs that promise few hours. The only workable part, would be if you went ahead lived a shitbox to save $$$, while she stayed back (with inlaws?) but having kid 2 on the way that sounds very stressful. Keep looking for other jobs in areas not as crazy expensive. Ask around for hiring agencies that move in your field, then get hooked up with them.

personalfinance

SanFranAlabam

t3_7f7ll6

AnotherPint

dq9ykst

Dr9

dqao3g8

Just lost my $100k job.

So here goes my story. I have worked for a company for the last 4.5 years, directly out of the military. My military experience was 6 years of nuclear power plant operations, which was what my civilian job was supposed to be. I worked at a power plant under construction that got cancelled. I have no real civilian experience and very little managerial experience. My family is used to a lifestyle of making $100,000. How do I find a job making the same amount or transition my family to a more frugal lifestyle?

First of, your family needs to understand that the times have changed, at least for now. While you are searching for a new job, everyone needs to help by not spending money needlessly. Pay your mortgage or rent, pay your utilities, pay minimum required amounts on any debts (hopefully none?), but make sure to spend as little as you all can on things like food and transport etc. "Fun" and "going out" expenses are not going to happen for a while, because shit just hit the fan. You can take them out to a really nice restaurant once you've secured a new job (and have gotten your first paycheck).

Sorry about this my friend, I heard about this on the news. My best piece of advise is that for now, you will need to live frugally, don't eat out, minimize unnecessary purchases etc. Your best bet at finding a new job will be relocation, since you mentioned you have a family, this may be very difficult, but according to my google search there is only 61 Nuclear power plants in the country which means your options are limited. I wish you the best of luck, don't be afraid to move, and update us later on once you find a job at another nuclear station.

personalfinance

Jas1621

t3_6qt82n

Voerendaalse

dl02f5d

TheAm3rican

dl0bzoj

Is ti worth paying off old debt if the collection agency won't remove from credit report?

Hello everyone. My wife and I are starting to think about buying our first house. In preparation, I ordered my credit reports to see what needed to be cleaned up. I have 3 negatives on my credit reports that total about $4,000: Repossession of vehicle Student Loans (government held) Charge-off from University of Phoenix I've called all of the above companies, spoken to several people, and offered to pay/settle if they delete the items from my credit reports. All have agreed to take my money (of course), but they all said that they would just report that the account is "paid in full" or "settled". So, since they won't remove the info, should I pay them? I know that these debts are mine, and don't mind paying them. But, if it's not going to help my ultimate goal of getting approved for a mortgage, I don't want to waste $4,000 either! Thanks for your help!

Go to creditboards.com The resources and help there are way better than you will get on here. You can probably get the repo and the charge off removed by writing the right letter. You dont confirm or deny the amount. You work on getting it removed by a technical fault on the entry or the process. We used to post the letters here. But the obey, conform, pay crowd doest like them.

Tell me, would you rather loan money to someone who took too long to pay you back, or to someone that never paid you back? It's in your best interest to pay it off, and its likely a lender will take that into consideration in the future.

personalfinance

rpainter011

t3_462kr6

monkeywelder

d01w755

Ranquish

d01vpv8

Starting a family and we are clueless about expenses.

Both of us work and are in our early 30s. No debts. All student loans paid off. We use our credit cards for groceries, eating out etc. well within budget. Recently moved to CA. We'd like to buy a house to stay in but monthly mortgage payments are too high so we've put that off for now. We'll be renting for the foreseeable future. We're having a baby this year and are re-budgeting our finances. The questions we have are: How much should we aim to save each year for future costs of the kid? How much should we expect the first year costs of a child to be? I know daycare is the most expensive at 3K/mo but are there other expenses that we need to account for? We want to get a new credit card that would help earn points for purchases(Amazon/target for baby stuff, groceries, daycare payments? etc.) made this year. What's our best option? Do we need a college savings account right away? I've heard of 529 but not sure when to start. Are there any other expenses that we should account for? Sorry if we sound like we're clueless. The truth is we are and want to be prepared for what's coming.

"Baby stuff" isn't a credit card category, but Target has a 5% cash back store card. If you have Amazon Prime, the Amazon credit card is 5% cash back too. The Amex Blue Cash Everyday gives you 3% back on groceries. 2% from something like the Citi Double Cash is probably the best you can do on daycare payments. Would I be correct in assuming that you're both highly compensated professionals? Because if not, it might make sense for the lower-earning parent to just stay home and care for the kid until school starts. Raising children is one of those situations where an investment in time can be worth far more than an investment in money. For example, research suggests that routinely having dinner together as a family improves academic performance and decreases chances of juvenile delinquency. Paying extra for private schools or prep courses probably won't do nearly as much as you reading with your child and having dinner with your child.

3K a month?? Where are you looking at for daycare?? I live in Los Angeles and my daughter nursery school is like 1,100 and it's a good one.daycare is a bit more but still should not be more than 1,500.

personalfinance

redditchic

t3_crx707

Varathien

exakg8r

MillennialModernMan

excygaj

ER visit deemed, non emergent. Drained my HRA now asking for more money. What can I do?

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask, if not, I do apologize.   Back in November, my daughter started getting hives very badly. One day, they were on her feet. The next day they were on her legs. Then, on Thanksgiving day, the spread from her waist up her torso, neck, and were beginning to develop on her face.   Needless to say, we freaked out and took her to the ER. After running a test (I don't know which one), they called it an allergic reaction and gave her a shot, prednisone I believe.   Later on in December, we get a bill in the mail like I we were told for some $5000. I called the ER and they stated that the Doc determined it wasn't emergent, and so insurance wouldn't pay. I contacted the insurance agency and they wouldn't budge, believing the doctor's analysis over my explanation.   I went to the doctor earlier this week for an unrelated issue and was informed that my HRA was maxed. The ER filed it on my insurance this year, drained it, and still want over $3500.   I feel like I've paid them all that they deserve, and since we're now in May, it's been sent to collections. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, this is in Texas if it makes much difference.

You need to file an appeal with your insurance and if that fails a complaint with your state's department of insurance. Just because trained medical professionals determined it wasn't actually an emergency doesn't mean that the ER wasn't justified, for e.g. if you suddenly have serious chest pains you wouldn't call your insurance you'd call 911 or got to the ER. In your case lookup the symptoms of anaphylaxis or angioedema attack and if your daughter was experiencing anything along those lines make sure you mention that. Double check what they gave her because it seems like prednisone is given for anaphylaxis.

I would do what the first commenter suggested. Definitely file a complaint with Texas's insurance commissioner. You should also file a formal complaint with the hospital and ask for a review or investigation into the doctor's care for you. You could also try disputing the hospital bill by claiming that it should have been made clear to you that your daughters situation was a non-emergency before treatment was administered. Try and record all phone calls if you can. Make it clear to the doctor involved, the hospital, and your insurance company that you are not going away until one of them admits that an allergic reaction is an emergency or that they wrongfully administered medication that was not needed.

personalfinance

krull01

t3_8k9x5a

ahj3939

dz60yub

JaguarNoah

dz63md5

I owe on money on my taxes? Third year I've owed on taxes. 25 y/o, single, ~$30k/year

Taxes aren't simple. At least they aren't to me. I feel like I must be doing something wrong because this is the third year that I've owed extra money on my taxes. I make about $30,000 a year as an apprentice electrician in Kansas. Last year I worked 12 weeks in Iowa and about 4 months in MO. I also worked one day a week at a local pizzeria and make about $1,500 over the course of the year. I'm 25, single, and living at home. To be honest I don't know if I claim one or zero and I have never been clear about which one I should do and how to change it if I'm doing it wrong. I started doing my return with TurboTax and after entering all my W-2 info I owed almost $1,000. I am shocked. How does something like this happen? I am putting off filing my return for a couple weeks until I figure out what's going on and I'm using the VITA program to file my taxes for free. Any advice or clarification would be very appreciated. Thank you.

Just a hunch, but since you work multiple jobs each one probably withholds as if you are in a lower tax bracket than what you end up in when you combine it all.

To be honest I don't know if I claim one or zero and I have never been clear about which one I should do and how to change it if I'm doing it wrong. Your pay stub might say S-1 or S-0 or something like that on it. You would fill out a new W-4 at your electrician workplace. Use a lower allowances number to have a little more taken out of each paycheck. The IRS Withholding Calculator web page can be used to figure out what a good allowances number is for you. You can enter that you have 2 jobs. It will tell you what number to use for each W-4 so you won't under-withhold. It might say for you to use "1" on your electrician job and "0" on your pizza job, for example, rather than "2" and "2."

personalfinance

Copper_Lontra

t3_44otiw

_head_

czryjmo

wijwijwij

czrqpm2

Grandparents want to setup a 529 but we hear it can kill your financial aid chances?

They are really pushing a 529. We appreciate anything that they want to contribute but don't know if 529 is the best option. We have heard that if you have money in this plan the schools will see it on financial aid applications and you'll end up paying full price and not get tuition assistance. We want to keep the money in a trust or bond or something (suggestions?) that won't affect her ability to get financial aid. Does anyone have any advice?

529 plans not owned by a parent or the student aren't considered assets when your expected family contribution (the amount a Federal formula expects your family and you to pay for college) is calculated. Distributions from non-parental 529 plans are considered income of the student, but it only shows up on your FAFSA your junior and senior years if you made distributions for your first two years. Student income directly reduces financial aid. The FAFSA uses tax return data from 2 years prior. As such, unless your grandparents are planning on paying for all of your college education, a 529 plan would make sense as long as you use it for your last two years.

Hmmm, save and pay for college yourself, or not save and have your neighbors pay for your kid's college...quite a pickle. Generally, if your kids work hard, get reasonable grades, focus on the ACT/SAT (i.e. study, take, study, take) and apply to colleges where they are in the top 25% or so of the applicant pool, they will get scholarship/grant offers from the school. If they also then apply for the lots and lots of scholarships that are out there for $1,000 here and $2,000 there, AND choose their college wisely (as defined by one they can afford) they will be able, with your help, to attend and graduate from a fine institution with the knowledge needed to succeed in the marketplace. 6 kids, we paid for half their college (through 529's), they paid for half (through working, scholarships, and grants). There ARE unethical scams out there where you can take all the money you've saved for the kid's college and stick it in a life insurance product (thus hiding it from the financial aid folks), and cash that out after college is done to pay off whatever loans you or they may have taken out. But I repeat, unethical (IMO).

personalfinance

3amvomitsesh

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hawkspur1

eikzcxt

Romarion

eilcrc1

Am I being scammed somehow?

Hey friends, I consider myself pretty savvy WRT scams, but I can't seem to figure this one out. I got 2 emails today from a hotel on the other side of the country. One is a receipt from my latest stay 12-Apr-2018 through 13-Apr-2018. The other email is confirmation on my upcoming reservation for 11 nights. I have never been to this hotel before and have not made a reservation. The emails have my name, phone number, address, and [obviously] my email correct. I called the hotel [by googling the name and number] and they confirmed that I have a reservation and that I previously stayed there. They confirmed all my details, and even said that I have stayed there many times in the past. I told them that I've never been to their hotel and have no plans on staying there in the future. They said the guest probably just has the same name as me [this doesn't explain why they have my email and address and phone number]. They gave me the last 4 of the credit card that this was booked under, and it's not one that I own. So, I panicked and checked my credit report from Equifax and Transunion. Nothing out of the ordinary. Is there a scam going on here? Why would someone use my information to book a room, but use their own credit card? Am I just being paranoid? Please assist. EDIT: So I did some more research, and the parent company of this hotel own a hotel that I stay in frequently in my city. This would explain why they have my information in their system. I called the hotel again and asked them to double check the ID tomorrow when the guy checks in. Hopefully it's just a mistake and the clerk just selected the first entry with a matching name. I'll check back tomorrow and keep you guys updated.

I remember when I worked at a Crowne Plaza Hotel (part of the Intercontinental / holiday inn group), guests would frequently ask for the rewards card to be added to their reservation, even though they didn’t have the card on them. We had a database we could look up, and often they would give us a first and last name, and when we searched it would only tell us their city or something similar. They’d say “yep that’s me”, we would link the card and whatever. In your case, they may have used your rewards card number, which prefilled your personal information to their booking - which would then send you a copy of the invoice and confirmation of the next booking

I get emails all the time on Gmail for a person with the same name. Gmail doesn't register the . between first and last name sometimes. Like johnsmith to Gmail is the same as John.smith

personalfinance

christhebaker

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todjo929

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rooster7869

dxdbviv

When does PF support buying a new car?

I would love to purchase a 2017 honda civic hatchback and drive it till death. Since Hondas are generally reliable, depreciate slowly and I'm probably going to drive it forever, would it be considered a decent choice?

Never, but I want the same car so I won't be too angry if you do the following: Buy with cash without touching your emergency fund If you're not able to do that: You do have an emergency fund 20% down No more than 36 month loan Payment + insurance + gas is less than 15% of your take home You're already saving for retirement

I would spring for the Accord. We just traded a Ford Focus for a 2016 one and the difference in size and comfort is worlds apart. Also, averaging 35.5 mpg overall in the 3500 miles we've had it. As for affording it, the rule of thumb I've heard is your vehicles shouldn't total more than half of your yearly household income

personalfinance

asdf123jk

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chocolate_soymilk

dnhxlrm

rocksinpockets

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How should I pay off my mortgage early?

I owe around 55k in my mortgage still. I have around 40k in savings but want to hurry and become 'debt free'. Now I'm not too savvy with mortgage loan lingo, so I've come here to look for advice from you guys. I'm wanting to drop around 20k into my mortgage at the end of the year. (I've been saving all year, thanks Dave Ramsey). Should I put this extra money into the principle of the loan, escrow, or should I slowly pay it off? My mortgage payment is around $500 but I've been putting an extra $500 into the principle every month.

Please keep in mind the following things while make a decision. The interest rate or any rate of returns with your savings. If your savings are sitting in a bank with paltry interest rate (less than 1%) and you dont intend to invest your savings in other areas such as stocks etc., it makes financial sense to pay off mortgage early to save off interest. If you already paid most of the mortgage and left with 55k, most of your payments are now going towards Principal. So any savings you think you are getting by paying early are minimum. Try this sample calculator and adjust your early payments to maximize your situation.

Way to go on working your way out of debt! You want to apply it to principal. Don't let the other people on here try to tell you to invest the money in stead of paying down your mortgage... Keep following the steps! Speaking of the steps, don't spend down your emergency fund in order to pay your mortgage off faster.

RealEstate

synthrockftw

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intuitive_comment

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