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Big first home purchase pending. Major jitters. Help!?

Wife and I found a house we LOVE in a good area of Los Angeles. Just freaking out a bit about the huge numbers we're staring at, especially as neither of us have owned before. 3 bed, 3 bath (inc. ADU) 1,850 sq ft. $755K. (FWIW, this is almost MEDIAN home price in LA). Current APR is 3.75% (up front 3.5 when we first found the home ). Not our FIRST choice neighborhood, but safe & trending upwards in prominence. Our combined yearly salaries are ~$215K (pre-tax). We have $85K down payment + closing costs, w/ alsonat least 6 months emergency fund remaining. ADU is a licensed single bedroom with separate entrance (+ separate mailing address) and has its own bathroom, kitchenette). Rentals airbnb ~$50/night or ~$800/month. We are confident we'll continue to earn more money each year and rent out the ADU when possible but we are also worried about being house poor!!!! 2 days until end of inspection contingency Any advice is much appreciated. There are many smarter minds than mine on here

Amigo, a house is not an investment, consider it as a home first then investment as a side effect of that. Make sure you love the place, the school, walkability, expected expenses etc. if on those terms it makes sense to you buy it. The market going up and down is irrelevant if you intend to hold it for a long time. Good luck! Which neighborhood is the property if you don’t mind me asking?

You are where my girlfriend and I would like to be in a year or so! We are looking to buy in LA as well. May I ask what neighborhood you guys bought in? If you are more comfortable, you can dm me too. Hopefully someone with more experience gives you some advice, but from my perspective, it looks like a normal deal! As long as you both see your jobs as stable, or easily replaceable, and you maintain that emergency fund (in the event you both suddenly lose jobs or something bad like that), I think you are in a reasonable position!

RealEstate

jmasonc

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mgebremichael

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Balys

f5w2dwv

Moving to San Diego from Boca Raton

So I am 23 years old and I am in a position in my life where I have an opportunity to move out to California to join a start up dispensary. (Some 1% friends are going to buy out current storefronts in the area) and I was offered a 6 month contract with a guaranteed $2400 a month after taxes so roughly 600 a week. My girlfriend and I are both employed down here in southflorida with me working 40 hours a week (12.50 an hour) and her working about 25 (13.00) altogether we currently make around $2800 a month. We are both in a position where we have no debt or leases holding us back and about 5000-6000 dollars saved up for a move. We each have cars (my 94 accord and her 06 focus) and would want to take those with us along with that our 2 cats that would come with. I was thinking that if we move over there we would buy a new bed a small desk for my pic and a small couch, the rest we can fit in our cars. But my big question for you guys is do you think I would be able to swing being able to live in San Diego comfortably with a 2400 dollar monthly salary? My gf would be working as well but it would be about a month before she finds anything guaranteed. We were looking at around $1200-1500 in rent somewhere near the city but not right inside and I believe our monthly grocery cost would be about $400 and our bills (phones utilities and Internet) would come out to be about 350 a month. I guess what I'm trying to ask with these numbers is it worth me making the move and going somewhere different in life? Should I try and figure out a way to make more by maybe taking a second job for 15 hours a week? I have looked up the cost of living and I see that is high but so was boca raton. Any opinions thoughts or anything are greatly welcome. I will be having to make the final decision in about 5 days and again any advice is welcome, if there is more you guys want me to add just ask and I will answer to the best of my abilities

I will be shipping my Honda for $1200 This is almost more than the car is worth, I'd look into paying someone to drive it there for you for half the price. Or even selling in FL and picking up a similarly used Honda in San Diego.

Just commenting to say congrats! I grew up in SD and went to High School in Boca. You can kiss that humidity good bye! Only thing i'll chime in with is I recently moved back to CA (Sacramento area) and gas is noticeably more expensive out here. Keep that in mind when you're looking for housing. I think I paid $2.69 last night. Eat lots of Mexican food when you get here. Also - since I recently moved from the east to west coast - plan your trip where you can stay at similar hotels so you can rack up rewards points and get a free night. It also helps when you stay at hotels that offer free breakfast, one less meal to worry about. Don't rush the trip, the country is beautiful. Hit the Grand Canyon if at all possible.

personalfinance

brotimusmaximus

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GoddammitCricket

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igotfiveonit

cyqs3u7

To pay off mortgage early, or use money elsewhere?

Hello, My wife and I are both 29 years old and bought our first house in March of this year. The house is in great shape, and we plan on being here long term, even into retirement if we can. We purchased the house for $485,000, and put $50,000 down for a total loan amount of $435,000 at 4.0% interest. The monthly payment excluding taxes and insurance is $2077/mo. Combined, my wife and I bring home $6,200-$6400/month. Prior to purchasing the house, we had been completely debt free for about a year and a half, so now our monthly expenses are just the necessities: water/electricity/gas/food/childcare and of course the mortgage. Now for my question: I’ve been playing around with mortgage payoff calculators, and found that we can pay off the mortgage about 9-10 years early if we pay an extra $6,000 per year towards the principal, and would be saving over a hundred thousand dollars in interest over that time. Now would be a good time to mention that in addition to the monthly take home pay mentioned above, I receive a bonus every year. It has increased each of the 5 years I’ve worked for my employer, and last year it totaled $32,000 (About 20K take home). In the past I’ve used this for any big purchases I had coming up (i.e. engagement ring/car/honeymoon/down payment on house), and to boost the emergency fund. My question is, would it be wise to put $6000 of this bonus towards the principal of our mortgage every year in order to pay it off early? I love the idea of being empty nesters at age 50, and not needing to pay for the nest. OR would that 6K/year be better served somewhere else? Am I over-romanticizing the idea of having the mortgage paid off by the time we’re 50 instead of 60?

There's no right or wrong answer. However, paying off the mortgage is a GUARANTEED savings of 100K. No matter what happens, that's guaranteed. Investing that money in the market is a POSSIBLE gain in the market of around 5% per year. However, it could be 10% a year or it could be a loss of 20%. There's no way to know. So you have to play the risk game. I would only consider paying off the mortgage early if I had good life insurance, fully funded 401K and IRA's and a healthy emergency fund. All of those should be happening first. At that point you should consider paying additional principal to pay the mortgage down quicker.

You are now paying mostly interests, so I'd say yes, pay as much as you can of the mortgage now. Unless you can find somwhere where your money will generate more than 4% interest, then put your money there!

personalfinance

AngryJirgins

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limitless__

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SirA_Bradley

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With mounting medical debts, should I change my approach to paying my bills?

Hey all, I posted in the weekday thread but did not receive any responses. Should I be doing anything differently? My medical debts are growing and I wonder if there's a better way to handle it Location: Texas, USA Age: 26 FICO Score: 733 Income: >Salary: $42k gross, paid every other Friday (benefits/taxes listed below in the current payments section) >401K: $3k approximately. I contribute 5% my employer matches with 4% >CD (1.98%, approx 7 months old...matures in September): $1,232.93 >Expecting approximately $1,200 in mileage reimbursements in the next two weeks, with an additional ~$200 the month after >Savings: $4,501.43 (plan is to be used for school so I dont need to take loans out) Debts: >Credit Card 1 (Interest: 11.24%): $6,333.46 >Credit Card 2 (Interest: 18.15%): $5,495.59 >Student Loans: >>1 (3.4%): $2,389.93 >>2 (6.8%): $421.30 >>3 (3.4%): $825.90 >>4 (6.8%): $3,855.16 >>5 (3.86%): $5606.73 >>6 (6.21%): $9,088.07 >>7 (5.84%): $10,945.17 >>8 (6%): $15,946.03 >Car (daily interest $0.22): $1,133.21 >Medical: approximately $20k and increasing by $130-$150 weekly, plus approximately $40 per month in medications Current Regular Payments: Car payment: $210 Rent, Utilities, and Groceries: $600 Phones (one work one personal): $80 Gas: ~$30 weekly Software Subscriptions: >Student Spotify/Hul Subscription: $5.40 monthly Student Loan: $5/month, plus whatever I have left from my paycheck at the end of the pay period CD: $75 every two weeks auto transferred Benefits automatically deducted from my paycheck: >Critical Care Insurance: $3.83 biweekly >Dental: $11.69 biweekly >Long Term Disability: $1.29 biweekly >Health Insurance: $145.13 biweekly >Vision: $2.95 biweekly >Short term disability: free >Life Insurance ($42k): free >Taxes: ~$250 biweekly Credit Card 1: minimum payment is $28, I usually pay around $200 Credit Card 2: no minimum payment. I use this card regularly for medical needs and incidentals, usually just transfer what I spend on incidentals over. I get cash rewards which is why I use it this way Tolls: as much as $40 weekly. Try to keep this to a minimum, but I work in one city and my medical appointments are in another so I have to use them often to make it on time. So...how should I proceed? Any advice or suggestions welcome

If you took $1100 out of your savings and paid your car off (which looks like it has high interest rate), you would then have and extra $210 a month to put toward that CC debt. If you freed up the monthly $150 payment that’s going toward your CD, you could have an extra $360 a month to work with.

I'd recommend setting up an account on undebt.it You already have all your debt info so it will take you no time at all (and it's free). This will really help give a proper overview of your debt situation and how to get it paid off. You could seriously have it done in less than 30min and have a whole new perspective on what it will take to pay your debt off. And I second the suggestions on listening to Dave Ramsey and others, dropping the CD and reducing savings to payoff debt.

personalfinance

acetanilide

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systemdreamz

elyeeo1

EliMP

elysp2p

What is your coolest, favorite, or most recent feature you've built into your spreadsheet?

Pretty straightforward. What do you like about your spreadsheet, or what have you done most recently to improve it? My SS has been pretty basic I'd guess for a while. I manually imput numbers on a generally quarterly basis. I've also input my target spending so it gives me FI and FIRE dates based on that. This is just aesthics, but recently I've added in conditional formatting to fade all rows in the past, highlight in yellow the current month, and also highlight incremental $1MM milestones. I want to look into automating balance pulls wherever possible, but that's a project for another time. So what do you like/what have you done recently?

I set up a Google Form for inputting expenses on the go, and it automatically feeds into my Budget spreadsheet and is totalled in the right place. I've gotten into the habit of recording transactions right when I make them, which saves me from sitting down and doing it all at once by trawling through bank statements.

I’ve been adding a new feature every month or two but one I really liked that I added recently just for fun is future projection if 401k max contribution limits (currently 18.5k) based off of historical increases in contribution limits. Pretty cool making a projection based off of those assumptions.

financialindependence

atlhart

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rubicon511

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jrosace

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Under age 21 so ineligible for 401k contributions, company has been deducting from my paycheck anyways. What can I do?

I'm 18 years old. I work full time for a software company. I've been with them since April 2014. When I was hired, I was told that my company offered a 401k plan but I am ineligible because I'm under age 21. I was okay with that, and I assumed that that would be the last that I heard about my 401k. However, I just took a look at my last paystub and I noticed a deduction of $105 with the label "401k". I checked each paystub and that deduction has been present since January 2015. I contacted HR and they said that the old HR director set up automatic enrollment for the company's 401k. I was told by the old HR director when I was hired that I would not be enrolled since I was under 21. Apparently, I was enrolled without my knowledge. To date, I have "contributed" $1,500. However, that 401k account is not valid since I am under 21. Apparently I don't have any way to access the funds. HR told me "due to federal regulations, we are unable to reimburse you the money you contributed". But apparently I cannot access it myself either. How do I handle this situation? I'm pretty pissed off. They've taken $1,500 from me under the guise of a "401k", but I don't even have a 401k. Thanks UPDATE: Just got an email from HR. They contacted Fidelity and they had to close my account and withdraw the funds. I'll get a $1500 check in the mail soon along with a 1099 to report the taxes. Thanks for your help!

First, don't worry, you'll get your money one way or another. There's no federal regulation requiring you to be 21, that's part of their plan policy. And violating your own 401k plan policy is bad news and they may have to compensate you additionally for their mistake. If HR isn't being helpful escalate to legal. If that doesn't work or you don't have a legal department point HR at the EPCRS ( and if they don't start the process in a timely manner escalate to the IRS yourself. Failure to be in compliance puts them at risk of having their 401k plan disqualified entirely.

Hey buddy, As a freelancer who doesn't know much about shit, I do know that my 1099s didn't have their taxes withdrawn, and you may be liable to pay taxes on that 1099 thats different from your other stuff, or may need to be reported on taxes differently, depending on your dependency. I would add a follow up question about that. Just looking out, but don't know much, cheers mate.

personalfinance

[deleted]

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c2reason

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Is it true that mortage lenders only look for the 4 C's? Capital, Collateral, Credit, and Capacity? Are there any other factors for first time buyers?

[I ran across this that details everything the lenders look at when going through the mortage process.]( I was wondering in your experience if there are any other factors that will weigh in on your mortage other than the 4 big C's?

Seems like a pretty meaningless saying to me. Pretty much every piece of information that is even arguably relevant to a loan is probably in some way connected to one of those categories - so saying those are the "only" factors that the lender looks at essentially eliminates nothing from consideration.

That's pretty thorough/accurate. They will want to see several seasoned tradelines with a good payment history on your credit report. If you've never had credit previously, it could potentially be problematic. Used to see this a lot with first-time buyers.

personalfinance

[deleted]

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J_WalterWeatherman_

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lovetron99

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cnr04n0

Tenant lied, why? and what could or should I do?

I started renting a full home to a company that provides care and support for people with developmental disabilities. The company itself cares for one type of development disability. We were told by this company that they were renting the home and this type of disability(Down Syndrome) was going to be staying on my property. However, I was on my property today fixing a lock, and the young adults/teenagers, that were being cared for were not this type of disability. I received a payment from a company with a different name. It was still a youth care company, however, this company takes in troubled youth that need to be watched because of their troubled behaviour not there actual developed disability. I am not saying they have no disabilities, but they are not whom I assumed was staying in my rental. The company did not inform us any changes. They do not claim to be partners on any website. &x200B What do or should I do? I am still getting paid full. Though I believe they are higher risk of damages to the house.

So the tenant you rented to isn't the same entity that is sending you the checks?? Have you questioned them on this???? You better check that your lease actually prevents subletting.

It will probably be significantly quicker and possibly even cheaper to have an attorney handle this, but you could go to the city and see if they are even allowed to conduct this type of business at this location.

RealEstate

jpen290

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roamingrealtor

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Jaimeser

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Bought a put spread last week, expired ITM, but market opened up and I am stuck with a loss?

Wondering if someone could give advice on what to do or how to handle this in the future. This is on ToS btw. I bought a 187.5/182.5 put spread in HD last week. HD ended the week at 187.42. I thought the position would close automatically and I collect .08. However, I checked my positions today and found out I have -100 shares of HD. Not only that, the stock went up at open to 190. So now I am short the stock and have to close it or eat more losses as it climbs up? That really sucks. Is the best thing to do in these types of positions just to close them before expiration? Do I have any other plays here?

Yes, for any positions this close to being ITM it is best to close at least the short side before expiry. This must have occurred AH and perhaps this article may help in the future: You can sell a covered Put to help work your way back as a suggestion.

The first thing you have to understand is that yes, you bought the right (not obligation) at 187.5 to put shares to someone else, but your broker automatically exercised this contract for you (this is the default). If you don't want them to do that as the buyer, you have to tell them. What this means for you now is your broker bought 100 shares of HD at $187.5 and sent them along to whoever had the other side of your contract. Now you are short 100 shares of HD and owe your broker. The higher the price goes up now, the more you owe, so you need to watch this carefully and get out soon or otherwise hedge yourself. Next time, close the position on the day of expiry (or sooner). Take the money and run.

options

LoL4You

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ScottishTrader

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whitethunder9

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Feeling financially behind in life

28yo F, good job but always struggling to save anything! People say you need to start thinking about your retirement plan, emergency savings fund, house deposit and my friends have fancy cars, luxury holidays, designer clothes and nice homes, some with children, but I haven't saved anything. I feel so behind! How do you actually save, what do you give up that actually makes a dint in your savings plan?

my friends have fancy cars, luxury holidays, designer clothes and nice home You may be surprised; I'd bet that they haven't saved anything because they're blowing their money on these things. Generally, high savers don't spend a lot on luxury goods. "The Millionaire Next Door" talks a lot about this, if you are interested. How do you actually save Figure out where your income is going now; make a full analysis of how every cent that you earn is spent. Find ways to reduce expenses; you may find that it will be pretty obvious depending on the result of the previous step. Now that you have lower expenses, save the left-over income. ??? Profit! Of course, if you don't already have an emergency fund, that should be the first thing that you save for - read the article and check out the flowcharts [here](

Saving is a habit. Once you start the habit, it does get easier......but the 1st step is the hardest. If you have a bank with a good online banking......setup an automatic transfer to a savings account. This way the habit is on auto pilot and you don't have to put a lot of thought into it.

personalfinance

adultingishard101

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TrainFan

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drumpfFOREVER

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How to properly handle renting situation between family members?

My parents own two properties in BFE. Younger brother lives with them. Because of an IRS situation they can't sell one house for 2 years and the other for another 4. Over the last year I've gotten all of their immediate financial obligations in order, the IRS is no longer breathing down their neck, and they're moving so my mom can get a lung transplant. But my younger will be staying there. They won't be signing the house over to anyone yet, but in two and four years the houses will be signed over to me. They'll be putting the bills in his name so he'll responsible for them. I've encouraged them to look at creating a renter's agreement with my brother. tl;dr on the brother - he's an ungrateful fuck that was gifted a house worth about $30k as long as he cleaned out my dad's stuff. And he refused to do it because "I shouldn't have to clean the house, it's not my stuff." I know nothing about renting properties, I have googled it, but if anyone has any experience with a similar situation I'd love to hear what to avoid or do from this sub since it's been instrumental in helping me and my parents get back in a good spot. When they can finally gift the houses to me in a few years they will be sold and the money will go to my parents retirement account. My 28 year old brother will be kicked out, he'll have to fend for himself. Legally and ethically, what are my and my parents best options?

They need to write up a rental agreement/lease and have him sign it. Then he's legally considered a tenant and if he disobeys the terms of the lease you can have him evicted and he has no recourse.

When they can finally gift the houses to me in a few years they will be sold and the money will go to my parents retirement account. I'm a little confused. Why are they giving the houses to you so you can sell them and give the money back?

personalfinance

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LooksAtClouds

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ELI5: Why do people keep saying the Nordic nations (especially Sweden and Denmark) are heading into serious economic and financial issues in the coming years that might drastically reduce their standard of living?

If this is correct, what mistakes have they made and what wrong policies have they implemented down the years to trigger this?

The Nordic countries have created a very supportive social security and education system through employing a tax system that favours your everyday person. The issue is that this system funds itself a lot through the taxation of big business. Big businesses tend to think about profits and have discovered that the Nordic system does not favour their operations. As a result they move away. This leaves a lot of highly educated and experienced people without work. Sure, those laid off have nothing to worry about since the system has their back, but with major tax revenue gone the system has less income feeding it. All the time more and more people are dependent on it. You can see where this is going. Eventually, the profits won't be able to cover the costs. This is a gross simplification of the issue, but I hope you get a taster of what is happenning.

Who is saying this? What specifically are they saying? What evidence to they have to support what they are saying? At least a citation where you heard someone say this would be necessary to make this question answerable.

explainlikeimfive

Dearest_Caroline

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ConventionalBrony

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WRSaunders

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Robinhood makes option trading literally retard friendly

Be me, get interested in the market and trading options. Spend hours watching YouTube videos and reading forums. I mean I even got 40 pages into my Intro to Options Trading book I ordered off of Amazon! Still have a very basic understanding of how they work. Last night while completely wasted I decided to sign up for option trading on Robinhood. Telling them that I had literally no experiance trading options, they obviously gave me permission to trade on their platform. Started reading their descriptions on option trading, everything started to click. I could literally feel the autism being pumped into my bloodstream via the app. Thanks to Robinhood, I have a complete understanding on how options work. They even have this neato graph with pretty colors on their discover tab that tells you everything you need to know! I am a goddamn expert at this. If I buy calls or puts, the worst that can happen is me losing my premium right????

Yes. For buys you can only lose your premium. If you are selling calls or puts you have to make sure have enough cash to cover if they exercise. Selling naked calls can be particularly risky since your risk is theoretically infinite. You sell a naked call on the wrong biotech stock right before they announce they cured cancer, and your only way out is the rope.

Username checks out. And that's funny, Fidelity told me "Hell no, boi!" when I applied for options and said I have 0 xp. I trade leveraged ETFs instead. But Robinhood would be like "No experience? No problem!"

wallstreetbets

The_Pandemonium

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I just won $50,000. Trying to figure out the best use for the money...

Okay: $2,000 in credit card debt Student Loans: $3,150 @ 6.8% $4,900 @ 6% $3,000 @ 6% $34,500 @ 5.1% I can choose to have them take tax out or be liable for taxes next year. I rent and have a decent job. I need help figure out how I can pay the least in taxes as possible as well as deciding if I should throw all of it at my debt or not. Thanks!

We're taxes taken out already? That's important to find out. I suggest taking all of it and paying off all your debts 2k+3150+4900+3k+34500= 47550 That would leave you with 2450. Take that and save it. Then take the monthly payments you've been making on all those bills, and put it in savings every single month. You have lived with out it for this long, you can keep doing so. If taxes were not taken out of the 50k, that money you're saving up will also help with taxes for covering it

Quite simply, unless you believe you can invest the money to earn a better return than all your debt, just pay it all off. Regarding the taxes, if you think you can save the money through the rest of 2016 to pay a bill in early 2017, pay off the debt now. If you don't think you can, have them withhold and just pay off the debts as much as you can from highest rate on down.

personalfinance

burnmoney

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energizerabby

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GreenVisorOfJustice

d1xx431

Investment in teens/early twenties

Hi PF! Im currently at a position where I'm making enough money to have the option to invest maybe £100 (don't worry I've already put money in savings etc!) so I'm just wondering what useful tips do you have to help me start investing at a young age?

That early, it would be best to save cash to invest in your future. Education / College. OR, like others said, gym membership/quality of life etc. Look into personal finance books rather than investing books. Not spending an extra $5k on a car you don't need will make you better off than investing a few hundred dollars now. Early in life = savings rate more important than return on investments Find a career path you enjoy and get to it with little to no debt. If you still have money, follow the sidebar and invest in low cost mutual funds/etfs.

i would suggest investing in school or some form of education first so that you will have a better chance at earning more. that being said, try to make it a habit at putting down at least 10% of your earnings in your savings account for when you need it most.

personalfinance

harrywr

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Rufio6

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coo56py

OhitsSarah

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coo5ln7

ELI5: If inflation hovers around 1%-3%, does a 2.5% raise at work just mean you're keeping up with inflation?

& if that's the case, does ones standard of living just remain constant? (assuming you stay at a 2.5% increase year-over-year)

More or less. Inflation is a measure of the average price of goods in an economy, so assuming your spending is relatively average with regards to category (food, rent, transportation) then your cost of living increases with inflation. As such, a raise of roughly the rate of inflation is just keeping you at the same level.

Yes, in theory, but it is much more complicated than that. For example, have we had inflation or deflation on phones? An iPhone can be $700. But it also replaces: stereo, TV, maps, compass, letters, and on and on -- well more than $700 worth of stuff. Home prices have gone way up, but if you measure "dollar per square foot per person", or "hours worked per square foot", housing prices are way down. And then there's all the things that didn't even exist in the past that are commonplace now. So while in the short term you are falling behind with your standard of living, in the long term your life will be far, far better even if you just hold steady.

explainlikeimfive

mdrmoya

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WithMyxomatosis

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hblask

ec7vtco

Amazon Stock? Smart to invest?

Hi, I am Lucas, I am 14 and I have wanted to invest for about a year and a half. Last night I got Stockpile, which allows you to buy fraction stocks. Right now I have enough to buy about 1.58% of a share, not 1.58 shares. Would this be a smart investment? I plan to put much more money when I get it. Amazon Stock has grown a LOT. Also I don't wanna hear shit about crypto here, just saying.

I wouldn't invest $25 if you have to pay a $1 fee. That's a 4% fee. When you sell you would have to pay another $1 fee. So that's 8% of your initial investment eaten up by fees. So this app looks great, but wait until you have enough to invest so that your fees would be below 1%. So for buy and sell that would be $2 in fees, $200 initial investment.

I was exactly like you when I was 14. It’s good that you’re interested in building a portfolio now. The first thing I did was learn how to look at charts. I learned about trends, support and resistance, and trend reversals. I zoomed way out on charts and found things with favorable risk:reward. Find a company that is still viable and earning but the price has been suppressed. Some good signs are spikes in volume which indicate accumulation. Also with $25 you may have more success by depositing into something like wealthfront. I use it and I’m very happy with it.

StockMarket

LucasMediaGroup

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zacharypch

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itawyola

dvjnvke

Why isn't Disney a buy?

Title says it all - at 17 P/E, it isn't terribly bubbly, massive market power, and the Marvel hype going on. Are there any reasons why this stock is a bit anemic at the moment?

People have mentioned ESPN already. The reason: ESPN makes up a higher portion of Disney's revenue than everything else combined. The parks, marvel, star wars... And ESPN is not doing well

Because when I want to watch sports I go on google and type in the sporting event I want to watch followed by “reddit live stream”, and I don’t have to pay for espn bullshit which is a huge piece of Disney

stocks

MoonJaeIn

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josh4

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WCat37

dvzyryc

Advice on how much $ to put in before selling

Bought house for 135k 3 years ago, realtor floated 160 as asking price. Need 155 from house as it is to break even. Carpets and paint not in great condition. Having new carpet installed next week for a little over 1800. Question is how much will paint affect the value? We have some drywall patches in kitchen ceiling, living room wall (small), and wall at top of stairs. We had a leak in the tub faucet a while back that required the holes in kitchen ceiling and top of stairs wall. We also have a dark purple "accent" wall that is the back wall of the house and wraps around the outside of kitchen counter. All paint could use a redo and fresh coat. Painter quoted 1500 for what I want to do, which is basically everything but the bedrooms, specifically making the large purple wall a lighter more neutral color. He also quoted 500 to just touch up the trouble spots. If we do the full paint job at 1500, is it going to be worth it considering we need 155 as is, and realtor wants to list at 160? We would need closer to 160 with these upgrades, so probably list at 165? Would new paint and carpet allow us to list 5k higher? Carpet replacement is already a done deal, paint is still up in the air.

It's unlikely anything you do will get you the money back, however, if the carpet is really shot then you might scare off some buyers if you don't do it. Personally I'd DIY the paint, you're too close to the break even point to be able to afford a painter. It's very risky that you will get that money back but you have to cover the repairs or you'll scare people off (and possibly cause problems for your appraisal...) Do the paint before the carpet shows up though. These are the kinds of things that may make your house more marketable, although it may not help it sell for more. This is a very location-dependent question. But even NAR admits nothing you do to a house returns $1 for every $1 you spend.

As little as possible, we paid to have the carpet cleaned and stretched. And new window screens, but in hindsight we could've done without it. And we paid for a little bit of painting.

RealEstate

finkelton18

t3_6vuw43

wamazing

dm37boi

Redman_Goldblend

dm3a34g

Am I being too aggressive finding a job?

I am an engineering student and the summer break is here. During the summer, I like to be a server at restaurants so I can earn money fast. I also like working during the nights and having the mornings to my self. However, when I apply, I tell them I am available anytime and for long term employment. I applied to about 6 restaurants all ready. Its been 2 weeks since my job hunt and I have yet to get a call back for an interview. One technique I do is I wear professional clothes (dress shirt/pants, tie) and I cold call restaurants to see if they have any openings. If they do, I walk in, fill out an application, and sometimes I have an interview right there. I have had 3 interviews so far. I really need to start working again and I am getting nervous. No one has called me back yet. Is it ok if I start calling these places after a week to see if they can schedule a second interview or not? Is this too aggressive? Is it too aggressive if I wear my professional clothes and start walking in to upscale restaurants and ask to speak with a manager to introduce myself? I am bold enough to do this, but I don't know if this will hinder my chances. I am desperate for work. What can I do so I can be successfully employed quickly? There are 3 restaurants that I have applied to online. Is it too aggressive if I call them letting them know I applied online? What about if I just walk in and drop my resume off along with letting them know that I filled out the application online?

You are a college age student, and summer is coming up. They know you are seasonal the moment they see you. Lying about that probably doesn't get you any points.

Call them back, be persistent. 1 and done is not good enough. You have to follow up with them. You have to "remind" them to call you back and give you the job. Remember you are an engineering student, THAT MEANS NOTHING TO THE RESTAURANT, call them back and tell them you're are still interested and are just following up. When it comes to Restaurants, 9/10 the persistent candidate wins. Also, why the hell are you wearing a full suit to a Restaurant either? Bro go after an engineering intern if you wanna suit up for the app.

personalfinance

thesquarerootof1

t3_4ljmub

Mainsil

d3nvf60

a51St1llFly

d3nx0jo

Im 18 and im about to go homeless by Nov 3rd. My long term girlfriend broke up with me a fortnight ago, I was forced to drop out at 8th grade, I held my first job for 3 months when I was 16, and employers seem like they just don't want to hire me. Any advice I can get? What should I do? :(

Edit 2:28 PM: Im currently in NJ for those of you who asked/wondered. Edit 11:55 PM: Thank you Reddit for all your advice and help! My day went from unhappy and despair to feeling hopeful and full of spirit. Edit 10/25 10:41 PM: Spend the day filling out applications for restaurants and then turning them in. Frankly, I dont know why im still updating this post.

Do you have parents or other family or friends that you can move in with? Otherwise you're most likely going to have to look up what youth homeless shelters exist in your area & how you can get into them.

Get you GED or go back to finish. It will absolutely blow, but you will be better in the long run. (Do it via night achool if you have to.) Then college?

personalfinance

paccom193

t3_78gppq

lilfunky1

dotnbpa

RTwhyNot

dotx3ji

Investing $45k in taxable account - one time transfer or smaller monthly transfers?

Sold some company stock and have $45k in cash from the proceeds that I'd like to put into my personal investment account with Wealthfront. I think I recall some comments suggesting depositing smaller amounts over time rather than one large deposit (something about dollar cost indexing? idk...), but I can't recall exactly. My questions are: Is multiple smaller deposits spread out over time (say monthly) advantageous vs one single large deposit? If so, why? If the above is true, what is the "large" threshold? 20k? 50k? 100k? etc. Does my 45k meet said threshold? $45k doesn't seem large enough to worry about details like this and delaying investing it sounds to me like missing out on growth, but I wanted to check with the community because I've only been putting smaller monthly amounts into this account until now (potentially). FWIW this account of mine is roughly 35% US Stocks, 25% Foreign Stocks, 19% Emerging Markets, 10% Dividend Growth Stocks, 6% Municipal Bonds, and 5% Natural Resources. Thanks in advance!

Research has shown lump sum investing to generally be more advantageous than dollar cost averaging. Time in the market beats trying to time the market and all of that. However, if dollar cost averaging it into the market is what allows you to feel comfortable enough to actually put the money in, then by all means do so. The worst option would be to try to be perfect and then have fear stop you from doing either option.

I would say put it in over the course of the year. But, like you said it isn’t a huge amount unless you plan on pulling out soon. I did something similar with my Betterment account. Put it in the higher interest saver account (2% at the time). Then rolled it into two accounts, one aggressive and one that was more moderate each month for about a year. Seems to help level it out.

personalfinance

butterscotchchip

t3_e68cj1

ElementPlanet

f9ogd2q

Orian3030

f9ogch4

Top 5 investing books in order?

I'm 21 and working for a company that requires me to do a lot of mindless work with my hands at the moment. I've got a lot of time and I can listen to my music or whatever while I work. I recently started listening to investing podcasts, started with money tree investing. They kept bringing up this book Outliers, a book my dad actually gave to me a long time ago and I never got to reading. Basically I found it on YouTube and downloaded the audio and listened to it in just a few days, got me thinking that I could actually learn a lot about investing while I work this mindless job. So like the title says, list your top 5 investing books in the order that you think I should listen to them! You get bonus points if I can find them for free.

The best investing books you probably won't be able to find in audio, because it's a hard medium for the subject, but here are five books that are important for investors that I know are available out there in audio... Fooling Some of the People All of the Time - David Einhorn Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist - Roger Lowenstein (this one should be free out there) When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management - Roger Lowenstein The Black Swan - Nassim Taleb The Most Important Thing - Howard Marks If this doesn't get you started, shoot me a PM and I'm sure I can think of some more.

I really think Jack Brennan's (of Vanguard) book "Straight Talk on Investing" should be mandatory reading high schools. It's so incredibly easy to understand for beginning investors and offers general personal finance advice along with it.

investing

Really_Need_To_Poop

t3_3gp7zv

RAW019

cu07tp8

cocoanutter

cu1jd94

fall of chinese stocks

Any thought on the recent fall of the chinese stocks $NEW, $IQ, $BILI, $HUYA, $SOGO ? Do you think it is the effect of the tariffs or is just the backslash to the initial high rise?

I think that these stocks got completely hyped up, people were posting about them what seemed like every single day on here and some people chased hype/momentum without having a view on the companies. Momentum can turn swiftly and this is what that looks like. If someone has a long-term view on something like IQ, they're probably happy to potentially get further opportunities to add. If people were tourists and just followed hype and have no idea what they bought into and just bought because people were cheerleading it on here, those are probably some of the people continuing to sell that and other names today. The trade concerns are an aspect, but IQ was up 100% in a month; chase insane momentum like that and don't be surprised when the momentum stalls out and this happens.

Company | Symbol | Price | Daily Change | 52W Change :-------|:------:|:------:|:------:|:------: iQIYI Inc | IQ | 35.28 | -9.14% | N/A Bilibili Inc | BILI | 15.77 | -4.08% | N/A HUYA Inc | HUYA | 35.65 | -6.26% | N/A **[13-Week Price Moves]( - [52 Week Price Change]( - quote-bot by [echoapollo](

investing

xcorgan

t3_8t1nkb

dvdmovie1

e13xs49

echoapollo_bot

e13xkq9

Heloc as part of emergency fund

Hi- When I look at my emergency fund balance in a high yield savings account, I often wonder if I’m missing out by not putting that money to better use. Because I have a heloc available, does it make sense to reduce the amount of cash in the emergency fund to 2-3 months of living expenses and to redeploy the rest. That way, I’d still be able to cover myself for short term issues but could leverage the heloc if it ever was something beyond the 3 months. Yes, I know the first step is to stop looking at the balance in the emergency fund. Thoughts?

A lender on a HELOC can cancel without warning. Say if your ability to repay suddenly changes, if you lose your job, if the price of your house tanks, etc. You know, things that might coincide with an emergency. I think it's not a terrible idea as a backup. But it should be one tool among many. It can't replace a cash stash.

Makes sense to me ... just make sure you have plenty of equity in the home. Don’t want real estate prices to collapse and have a lender that won’t let you borrow when you need it most. I’ve done something similar. I keep a few months of cash available and a lot of months in a brokerage account in index funds. It would be terrible to sell equity ETFs in an emergency during a down turn, but I work in a stable industry and accept that risk.

personalfinance

joelharris1980

t3_8evf7c

clarkbmiller

dxycvuu

DanvilleDad

dxyd1pn

Can someone please tell me who the hell thought that the tariff shit is a good idea? I am genuinely curious, i mean hasn’t the administration seen how badly the markets have reacted last few weeks?

This shit is getting exhausting. Its pretty apparent they(administration) don’t care. Please speak at the polls next time.

“I don’t hire a lot of number-crunchers, and I don’t trust fancy marketing surveys. I do my own surveys and draw my own conclusions.” - Donald Trump, Art of the Deal

Dude’s name is Peter Navarro. The Trump Administration somehow managed to find the two worst economists (Navarro and Cohn) in the entire Democratic Party and brought them into the White House.

wallstreetbets

Waitwhonow

t3_89om7l

TonySu

dwsg7mj

AllianceRebel

dwsstjr

Feeling overwhelmed and like a failure at 26.

Hi pf, I don't exactly know where to begin. I grew up very poor and was never educated on making smart financial decisions. I watched my mother literally destroy her future by making terrible choices and I've tried to avoid following in her footsteps, but I'm not perfect and I've made mistakes. I'm reaching out here to get advice on how to fix things. For the past few months, my financial situation has really started to spiral out of control and I'm so overwhelmed I don't know where I should start. I have a BA and got pregnant right out of college, so now I have an almost 2 year old as well as a husband. I managed to land a job making $43k but I was driving apprx. 100 miles a day, and I couldn't take the commuting stress anymore and my car started having problems so I left. Despite searching for months I wasn't able to find a closer job that pays that much. I'm starting a new job this Monday making about $33.5k. Removed husband's income for reasons explained in the comments. Here is a break down of my expenses. Monthly Bills/Debts: Rent, $1100 Internet, $70 Electric/Gas, $200 Phones, $170 Food, $200 Hul , $16 Car Payment, $255 ($12.8k total remaining balance) Student Loans, $321 (Total balance is like $35k, currently in forbearance and I'm going to have the payment recalculated) Personal Loan, $95 ($325 total remaining balance) Renters Insurance, $10.75 Credit Cards: Target, $650 Kohls, $150 Amazon, $500 Synchrony, $700 Misc: $90 in unpaid taxes Savings: $75 I feel so stupid and ashamed for wracking up the credit card debt and taking the personal loan. One thing I've learned about myself is that when I get stressed or anxious, I tend to spend money to feel better. I'm working to overcome this flaw. I haven't been able to pay the credit cards since July, and I've been too scared to call and talk to the companies (stupid, I know). My husband and I were fighting for a while, so I was trying to handle everything by myself. He has just started contributing again financially this past week, so I'm hoping that we can now get caught up and get rid of some of this debt. I really need help prioritizing this disaster and I would truly and deeply appreciate any input!

27k + 33.5k is a monthly take home of roughly $3,400 The expenses you listed total up to $2,438 So I'm sure on top of that you still have gas, car insurance and a number of other things? Right of the bat I see that you NEED to cut down your cellphone bill, you can be paying $60/month or less for two phones from Republic wireless, straight talk or project fi just to name a few. Also see if you can switch internet providers to cut the $70 down to less, I'm personally paying $20/mo. Next, gas/electric, any way you can run the AC less, leave less lights on? $200 is on the high side, depending on what climate you live in. So I've already found you in excess of $100 in savings each month. You've found a way to start paying less toward student loans, so there's more savings. With this money you need to get your CC's paid off. Make a list of highest to lowest interest rates for the cards and pay off the one with the highest rate and pay the minimum on the rest, keep this up till they are all paid off. If you are able to put $200/mo toward them you'll be able to pay them off within a year. You may be able to do more? Your budget has a savings rate of almost $1000/mo, did you miss some expenses?

Don't think you listed car ins. but that stuff can be gauging. What are you currently paying/ with who? I recently switched to geico and cut my bill from 400 to 130

personalfinance

moon_ripe

t3_51fdbb

yowen2000

d7bi7xq

Swizzle44

d7bk731

My wife got a job as a 1099 employee. Should she start a business?

My wife is a psychologist and is a contract worker. She'll earn around 50k a year based on clientele. What makes sense for her to do tax-wise? Should she start a business? Stay individual? I don't know a ton about it and plan on talking to a CPA but I'd like to have an idea as to what we might talk about before we meet.

If she is an independent contractor(if she recieves a 1099, then she is generally an independent contractor, assuming the 1099 issuer is properly classifying her as an independent contractor), she has a business for tax purposes and should file a Schedule C and Schedule SE with her tax return. She could form a legal business entity for liability/legal purposes, but for income tax purposes, it is treated as a business already. Edit - To add, she might want to confirm if she actually meets the IRS defintion of an independent contractor or employee. See the below link for more info:

The ideal business structure depends on your goals. How much of the 50k do you want to put towards retirement? To maximize that amount you need to maximize salary, and there is little advantage in starting a separate pass-through entity. If you don't want to maximize retirement contributions and your wife can reasonably take a salary less than $50k, then there is some potential payroll tax savings in having a separate entity. In the $50k range the savings may not be worth the hassle.

personalfinance

ellenbrook

t3_7ryclu

pro1911

dt0iv2c

Citryphus

dt0l10t

How to cope with not keeping up eith the jones'?

24yr old M make about 45k before taxes. Soon to be debt free (3700 left to pay) I have 2 forclosed homes that are a "work in process". We are really pumping money into one of them right now and will hopefully be done soon. Then i can marry my fiance and move out. (One house is for my parents). I've recently said myself a very strict budget with money that goes straight into the house and money that goes directly into my savings really trying to establish that and manage my spending but the problem is I drive a beat-up truck that I can fix so I don't need one but I feel a lot of negativity towards the fact that all my friends around me have nice cars and I don't it's really starting to drag me down my fiance is not materialistic and neither are any of my family but it really really grinds me some times. How do you deal with not buying something that you want? Or trying to get a newer vehicle without needing it? (Sorry if this comes off as a humble brag but I do find myself really struggling to keep my head on right my plans are good but my wants are starting to get the better of me) and to make matters worse I am selling my very nice motorcycle so that I can fund my house project a lot faster.

So you're ahead of the Smiths at least. And they're ahead of the Browns. One day you'll catch the Joneseses and then you'll be trying to keep up with the Gateseses. Be happy with what you have, that's the only way. You can strive for better of course.

I grew up below the poverty line, rarely made purchases that were wants, even now that I'm out of college and making money, my mom refuses to let me buy household items (vacuum, pots, etc.) that are older than me (27M) because they still technically work. I've become so use to this that if anything, I have trouble spending money. I might end up spending a few hundred dollars on black friday and ultimately return 80% of the purchases.

personalfinance

squeezethecatssack

t3_6vke2z

FattyMcButterPantzz

dm0vgdt

DoctorSnoopy

dm0vftf

20% house down payment???

Hello All, I am considering buying my first house this year. Once I get my bonus from work in March, I should have enough for about a 10% down payment, closing costs, and moving costs, while maintaining an emergency fund. If I wait another 8 to 12 months, I could probably have enough for a 20% down payment (but I would rather not wait). I have been living in a one room studio apartment for the last 4 years while paying off my student loans. I'm ready to move, and quite honestly I feel as if the rental market is overpriced in my area (especially when compared to the price of buying) so moving to a larger apartment does not really seem to make sense. My current rent is $800 per month and I'm looking at houses in the $100k to $150k range. Is there anything fundamentally wrong with the strategy of buying with about 10% down and paying extra throughout the first year to build my equity up to 20% and get out of PMI? Are there any other disadvantageous to a sub-20% down payment other than PMI and a potentially higher interest rate? Thanks!

You need to check the fine print on whatever mortgage you get. Some mortgages require that PMI stay on for at least 5 years and the new FHA loans state that PMI cant be removed. Keep in mind that you can borrow from your 401k for your first mortgage down payment. Does buying in your area make sense as far as your career is concerned? If you lost your job after a year, would you have to move? Can you picture yourself living in that location for at least 5 years?

There is some trickery you can do with the sale price. You'd have to ask your real estate agent, but a common theme down south where I live is to ask for money from the seller. It's odd, but people do it. So say someone is asking price 135k. If you can get them to agree to 125k, but still buy it at 135k and have them give you 10k back at closing.. You'd still of course need 20ish k to make the 20% but it's an option to explore.

personalfinance

jacoby77

t3_2v6qld

lockd0wn

t1_coexhzy

coexhzy

cod3r__

t1_cof1p3k

cof1p3k

5 reason real estate investors need attorneys?

Folks, can anyone give me 5 reasons that real estate investors need attorneys? The first one I can think of is to conduct closings. Then do foreclosures. But after that, my mind goes blank. Thanks in advance.

There's a difference between when you should use an attorney and why you should use an attorney. It sounds like you want to know when but you should know why before asking when. So why use an attorney in real estate? Real estate law can be complicated and can vary a lot between states, counties and even cities within counties. There's a lot to know and there isn't an expectation that anyone should know everything (including attorney's too). Wait? Did I just say attorneys don't know everything? Yes, yes I did, because they don't. BUT, attorneys are professionally liable for the guidance and information they give to their clients. That means if they screw up you can sue them for giving you bad or incorrect guidance that damages you in some way. Hiring an attorney is like taking out an insurance policy on a contract or transaction you are doing. They are required by law and their bar association to have your best interest as their priority. So now that we've talk about the why it's easier to see when an attorney can/should be used. Any time you sign a contract or enter into an agreement where you are expected to perform some sort of action expecting something in return, it may be a good idea to consult an attorney. In real estate there are a lot of situations where we do the above and usually there's a lot of money or some other asset in play. Having someone who's advising you on these situations who is professionally liable for their advice gives you an extra layer of insurance on the contract/deal/agreement.

It really depends on the state. Some require an attorney for closing paperwork, while in other states that is all handled by title companies. Other than that, the other reasons should be obvious. Evictions, contract issues, lawsuits, etc.

realestateinvesting

rkim777

t3_d3688p

Two_Luffas

ezzl7v8

AccidentalFIRE

f00gexi

Is the 17.5K limit for 401Ks per person or per household?

This is a pretty simple question, but google isn't really turning up the answer for me. The wife and I both have 401Ks, and we're looking to contribute as much as we can. Is that limit per person or per household? Additional question - Is the 17.5K limit based on your salary (I contribute 17.5K and my employer matches for some amount) or based on the total (The amount I contribute PLUS employer matching is a total of 17.5K)? Thanks for the help!

The limit is per individual, so you and your wife (if you both maxed out your 401k contribution space) would be able to contribute $17.5k each for a total of $35k. Employer contributions do not count towards the individual limit.

It is $17.5k per working person. And it's the same amount regardless of income. For example, I don't work so we can only contribute $17.5k into my husband's 401k this year, and we can do one Roth IRA account.

personalfinance

MrDannyOcean

t3_2jvy64

aBoglehead

t1_clfjv9n

clfjv9n

SiriusFinance

t1_clfo9ks

clfo9ks

Sister needs a $23,000 loan

My family has a history of making poor financial decisions. This has trickled down to my sister not learning good financial strategies. She bought a 2018 car, with all the bells and whistles, that costs her \~$435/month for 60+ months. My sister does not even make $1,000/month, so you can see how that is terrible for her while in school. She recently missed a payment and had her car repossessed. The bank wants her to buy the car in full for $23,000, and they will not accept a catch-up payment. To ensure she does not get stuck with the loan an no car, my family got approved for a home equity loan. However, the home-equity loan takes thirty days to process, and the car is going to auction on January 13th. To ensure she does not lose the car, my family wants me to take out a $23,000 personal loan. They will pay me back with the home-equity loan. I am on the edge of telling my family that I cannot do this because my sister already failed out of college with student loans that I co-signed for. I am afraid that something will happen, and I will be stuck with a $23,000 personal loan that I cannot pay for. So, what would you suggest I should do for my sister, my family, and for myself? Any advice for myself or my sister is deeply appreciated! EDIT I appreciate the advice from everybody! I have decided not to go through with the loan, and I want to get a plan to present to my family, so we can do what is best for all parties. EDIT 2 The consensus is overwhelming, and I agree with everybody here. This is going to be some tough love, and I know this will hurt my relationship with my family. However, the right thing to do is get my sister on the right financial path, and, if I am lucky, I can help my family get on the right path too. I will be freezing my credit, so you may all put your minds at ease. Thank you to everybody who has given advice and some tough love!

I am on the edge of telling my family that I cannot do this because my sister already failed out of college with student loans that I co-signed for. I am afraid that something will happen, and I will be stuck with a $23,000 personal loan that I cannot pay for. So, what would you suggest I should do for my sister, my family, and for myself? Any advice for myself or my sister is deeply appreciated! Fool me once... You've admitted your family makes bad financial decisions. Don't take financial advice from them. Your sister is not the first person to have a car repoed. Let her live with the consequences of her actions.

Good lord... You're going to take out a loan, to pay a loan, to pay a loan? Do you see the problem here!?!? If there is no way she can catch up on payments, then let the car get repossessed and sold off. I know that sounds horrible, but your family needs to learn this lesson. I have actually had a car repossessed before. It's scary, but what's going to happen is after they sell the car at auction (for less than $23,000) your sister, or whoever the poor sap who cosigned, is going to get the bill for the remaining amount. DO NOT get a loan to pay that off. Save the cash up. Here's why. It will almost immediately going to go to collections because the bank thinks if she couldnt pay her car payment, she definently cant pay $10,000+ in a reasonable amount of time. You start saving the cash and make offers to the collections company, and once you strike a deal and get it in writing, you can probably get rid of this debt for significantly less than she actually owes. DO NOT try to keep the car. It sounds like none of you guys can afford it.

personalfinance

Spiritj00

t3_ejz3fk

SexyRexyMACrexy

fd3e2tl

thereal7777

fd9qyyw

So, I have roughly $2800 in debt.. and I'm 17.

Hi. I really hope this is the right subreddit x.x; I'm 17 years old, and I am gearing up for my FAFSA and loans soon. My dad decided to show me how to check my credit and get a credit report whilst we were talking about managing money and whatnot. I had left for a bit, until he calls me into the room, staring at his computer- I, with my social security number, have debt from 2005-2006, which roughly amassed to $2800. We have no idea how this happened, so he printed out the entire report for me. I got home to my mom, asked what the hell, and apparently we had our 'identities stolen'. I am the only one affected by this- her debt is just from her own skeletons in the closet. I digress. I'm not sure what information helps you out, but the first bit of debt, I guess, is $1,924.78 with the original creditor from Capital One bank, and now it says my account is owned by 'LVNV Funding LLC'. The second is from HSBC Bank from Nevada, N.A for $755.02, and also held by 'LVNV Funding LLC'. Basically, I'm asking 'what do?' I'm rather lost and confused on how to get this settled, considering I was what- eight? nine? - When these accounts were opened up. They've provided a number for me to call them, but I was told I had to wait until I was 18 to do so. My college applications are February 15th, next year. FAFSA starts January 1st. My Birthday is January 19th. No one has given me any clear answers and I'm worried about what this will do towards loans and stuff, all for college. Will having a negative credit score really screw me over before I even began? How long does this stuff take to go through? Anything that helps would be greatly appreciated. [edit] Thank you everyone who gave me advice!

Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your reports. Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You need to contact only one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will then place an alert on their versions of your report. TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790 Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374- 0241 Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 Source: /consumer/idtheft/idt07.shtm

Maybe I'm just not understanding, but why do you think this is a case of identity fraud? Typically a credit report is based off of SSN. Wouldn't it just be possible that someone used your SSN a few years ago, without attempting to take over your identity? It's even possible that maybe someone used the wrong SSN by accident. You shouldn't have to take too many steps. Call the bank, and tell them that you are listed as having an account with them on your credit file. They will search for the account by SSN. If it's not your name, just tell them to remove the SSN from the account and update it with the correct SSN. It will then be removed from your credit file.

personalfinance

LemonyArtist

t3_12dtoa

cataringso

t1_c6u8mq0

c6u8mq0

matty_nice

t1_c6ukr2r

c6ukr2r

I'm a quadriplegic who has $380,000. Is it worth using Merrill Lynch for a 1% management fee?

I am a 41 -year-old quadriplegic and I received some money for damages. I started the portfolio with Merrill Lynch in October of 2005 and since then it has appreciated approximately 5.21% a year since then. The rate of return of the S&P 500 since October 2005 is 8.46%. I have a balance of 65% stock and 35% bonds which is invested in a mix of mutual funds, bonds funds, and ETF's. I'm wondering if I'm just better off putting it all into the S&P 500. I'm nervous to manage my money so I was thinking about index funds, but I just don't know if it's worth paying Merrill Lynch 1%. I plan to withdrawal approximately $10,000 the year for the foreseeable future. Should I continue with Merrill Lynch? Many thanks in advance.

Please don't listen to any of this. You're not a 30 year old who is saving for retirement. You're in a very different position. Vanguard DIY to save one percent means you become your own planner and portfolio manager. You need a specific rate of return with as little risk as possible. It's possible Merrill is doing a better job of that even after taking their cut. You can't compare your performance to anything without providing exact holdings and your portfolio mandate. This is a great example of when not to take advice on the internet. Paying someone 1% to help you build a mandate and manage your risk is entirely reasonable.

I'm not an investor yet or traditionally so I may not have any business giving advice but I've been looking at Charles Schwab for when I finally get some debts taken care of and I have enough saved. In my city at least you can open an account with them for 1000 dollars minimum. They still charge fees on what you earn and all that (I think) but it might be something to look into. What the others are saying about managing the money conservatively is probably good advice for anyone I'd think.

investing

pukkkapc

t3_3gb1ne

Whyzze

ctwj7lj

Pisceswriter123

ctwrjbr

Best questions to ask during an interview with a brokerage?

Im in the process of getting my real estate license and in order to prepare, I've decided to apply for administration assistant positions. During my interview process I have been completely upfront about wanting this position to gain some behind the scenes knowledge and eventually become a salesman. I recently interviewed for one position (it would be for a small brokerage that focuses on commercial real estate) and both myself and the owner are completely on the same page about preparing me to transition after I receive my license. My first interview with him lasted almost 3 hours! He explained a little more about the details of the position, the company, etc, and I asked a lot of questions (probably about 15). However, my second interview is coming up with the him and his partner and he very instant that I have more than 15 additional questions prepared. Im all for asking questions, but that seems excessive. Here are some examples of questions I have asked, or will ask in my next interview: Do you have a plan in place to target certain markets? Specifically upcoming markets. If cannabis becomes legal there will a tons of shops popping up. Do you have any plan in place to target that market and make it a smoother sale? How long does it take to close an average deal? With a buyer/with a seller? Is there any point where a buyer or seller was working with you and then they chose to stop the relationship - if so, why? Have you ever stopped the relationship with a client - if so why? What are some of the craziest tactics you have done to get your foot in the door? What is the longest client relationship you have had? What will be some of my responsibilities? How will communication work between myself and the partners? What is the average price of a building you sell? How many sales does the average salesman get in their first year? How much does your average salesman make? On average, how many clients become repeat clients? How do you keep the connection with them over the years? What areas do most people struggle in? What areas do you see most people excel in? Where do you see the company in 5 years? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Since this position is new for your company, where do you see it going in the next 3 - 5 years? Are there conferences you attend annually? Or plan to attend? How is the idea that "amazon is taking over and stores no longer need a store front" effect your business? How do you advertise? What other quality questions would be good to ask? Again, the owner said about three or four times that I needed more questions for my second interview. Thanks!

What are your commission splits? What percentage do you offer to your private money investors? What percentage do you give me when I bring you a new private money investor? Do you lend to other investors? If so what is the percentage that you charge for lending?

Ask how much desk fees are if they have them How much is the franchise fee if there is one Ask how much their monthly advertising fees are & if they have one ask how much your commission split will be.

RealEstate

[deleted]

t3_evs4l6

cyberrawn

ffxsz30

stardust54321

ffyfjy5

Why would someone buy a negative interest rate bond?

Is there an aspect to this I'm missing? From what I've read you invest in the bond, and when it matures, you get less money back. So where's the appeal?

If you have a lot of money, past what will be insured as a bank deposit, and you need it to remain nearly that same amount for years while maintaining some liquidity, what would your other options be?

Buy it then swap it out through the cross currency swap market for USD. Due to FX forward rates and basis spreads between JPY and USD swap curves you'll get a positive yield.

investing

Church323

t3_4smta2

Fearspect

d5ahblz

stoneeus

d5amv9c

In 2010, Michael Burry revealed that he was betting big on agricultural land with water on-site. How is his investment looking now?

He was buying up the raw land directly, not via any instrument.

This was the investment reasoning as stated by Burry in an interview and it's not even known whether he still owns what he invested in (some have said he invested in almonds, which does fit with the food/water thesis below, as almonds require serious water) in this regard. "The last line of the movie, printed on a placard, is “Michael Burry is focusing all of his trading on one commodity: Water.” It sounds very ominous. Can you describe this position to me? Fundamentally, I started looking at investments in water about 15 years ago. Fresh, clean water cannot be taken for granted. And it is not — water is political, and litigious. Transporting water is impractical for both political and physical reasons, so buying up water rights did not make a lot of sense to me, unless I was pursuing a greater fool theory of investment — which was not my intention. What became clear to me is that food is the way to invest in water. That is, grow food in water-rich areas and transport it for sale in water-poor areas. This is the method for redistributing water that is least contentious, and ultimately it can be profitable, which will ensure that this redistribution is sustainable. A bottle of wine takes over 400 bottles of water to produce — the water embedded in food is what I found interesting." (from:

Funny you bring this up because there was a recent WSJ article yesterday on almond investing. I've provided an excerpt below: ============= In the Australian state of New South Wales, Harvard University is developing around 1,480 acres of former potato fields and other farmland, building a new dam and planting trees that will take about three years to bear their first edible crops. It is part of a growing bet on almonds by the college’s endowment, which is adding to around 1,235 acres of almond plantations it already owns near a township called Hillston. Hundreds of miles away, Harvard is trying to sell an Australian sugar-cane plantation that it bought in 2016 and recently disposed of a dairy farm in New Zealand. Almonds are shaping up to be a more lucrative endeavor for pension funds, endowments and other institutions with very long-term investment horizons. Global production of the oval-shaped tree nut is forecast to hit a record 1.3 million metric tons this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

investing

devilsadvocado

t3_85g0j3

dvdmovie1

dvxm85l

NeverRelapseItsATrap

dvye4ob

What's the point to adding bonds to a Roth IRA if I'm investing until I'm 65?

The way I see it, if I'm going to have my Roth IRA until I'm 65, why not just go for maximum gains? I don't care about huge downturns, I just care what my money will be by the time I'm old. I believe doing something like 100% SPY or 100% VTI sounds like I'll have way more gains than if I had a portfolio with bonds, but I see a lot of advice on having a "balanced" portfolio for your risk tolerance in a Roth IRA. Is the purpose of having it balanced/diversified just so in case of emergencies you can withdraw your contributions and not end up being -50% down during a downturn/recession?

Used to wonder the same. After cross referencing leaders in the field and reading their books closely, I found that they want you to add bonds so that you don’t experience as much as a decline when stocks suck. Bonds generally do better when stocks are doing bad. It takes a strong willed individual to ride out the downturns and in reality there’s no avoiding it anyway. As you age and thus need to rely on your retirement portfolio, increasing your bond holdings makes sense because you don’t really have time to ride out the market ups and downs. It largely depends on your personal situation and risk tolerance.

I'm 70 and my investments are 100% stocks. I do keep $50k in cash and CD's though. So not fully invested. Bonds have a cycle like most investments and now is not the time for bonds.

investing

loopey33

t3_bnfmv8

coolman2311

en55on7

txholdup

en7xpu1

Do I lower my 401k contribution to save for a house downpayment?

Saving for a house is a priority right now, but obviously contributing to my 401k is important. Do I lower my contribution in order to be able to save more for a down payment? Or is it more important to contribute as much as possible to my 401k? (If i lower, I wouldn't go below the max company match because I don't want to give up that free money).

if i lower, I wouldn't go below the max company match because I don't want to give up that free money Sounds reasonable. If you want a house, it's OK to divert some funds. Alternatively look at a Roth IRA to hold the money instead in a low risk fund. You can pull all contributions penalty and tax free, and avoid the early withdrawal penalty on the gains when using the money for your first house.

Yup. I prioritized my student loans over my 401(k). Now that I paid off my student loans, a house down payment is the 1 thing in my life and I'm not changing my 401(k) contribution until it's done.

personalfinance

ahhhhhpoop

t3_4giq1n

ronin722

d2hurai

Wolfie305

d2hzlhe

RIM changes its name to Blackberry, will trade as BBRY. Alicia Keys announced as Global Creative Director. Q10 and Z10 announced.

What do you think? Is RIM (or, Blackberry) finally getting their shit together?

i was surprised at the significant drop today. (though i am prejudiced, as i'm long). i bought some lottery ticket calls expiring friday, hoping for a bounce back to pre-release levels by then. longer term, i'm long about 10% of my portfolio in shares at $15.

I don't see that they are offering anything Apple and Android aren't already offering. Unless they have some advantage over the big boys I'm completely missing I don't think they'll be a real competitor in the market.

investing

leveragethis

t3_17kg48

badbrutus

t1_c86jg4m

c86jg4m

elight86

t1_c86bngw

c86bngw

Ray Dalio explains how the economy works and how interest rate affects it

Just came across Ray Dalio's youtube account by luck and watched his video on how the economy works which I thought was very insightful and well explained, especially how the central bank uses interest rate to keep the economy under control. Would recommend subscribing and watching his other youtube series too! Hopefully this helps someone out there [ray dalio explains the economy and interest rate]( Side note: who else thinks he has a sexy voice?

With the new tax plan, we're now experiencing massive deficit spending during a more massive economic boom. A huge tool traditionally only used to prop up a deflationary economy is now being used to extend a growing economy.

Incidentally, does anyone know if there are any good takes on this by academic economists? As in, where it generally falls in terms of different schools of economic thought, where it disagrees with orthodoxy and how (and what the orthodoxy says about those disagreements), that sort of thing. I checked for mentions of Dalio on /r/askeconomics and they seem only [partially]( [impressed]( ... but [the one mention of Dalio ever]( that Reddit's search found on /r/badeconomics turns out to basically be exactly what I asked for, just really brief. I would love to read a more detailed take because it's really annoying to keep seeing links to something called "How the economic machine works" and not really know enough economics to be able to be properly critical of it.

investing

theGreenishGiraffe

t3_bkqu2a

lulzcakes

emj2jzz

Ari_Rahikkala

emk2pv5

Anyone use "envelope method" with a credit card? If so, how do you do it?

I want to reign in some of my spending (especially food); it's not disastrously high, but I want more to show for what I make. The envelope method sounds like a good one to me, but I don't want to miss out on credit card points. Anyone have experience with this? Tips or suggestions? I'm assuming the best way is to buy visa/amex gift cards with the cc, but I've never had one before and I've heard of issues with them being accepted. Also, I'm afraid of always leaving a small balance on the card at the end of every week or month. Any suggestions or recommendations?

I found YNAB very good for this, since when you make a credit card transaction you're in effect taking money out of the virtual envelope immediately. They have a free trial if you wanted to see what you think of it.

I second using Mint budgets, which you can customize however you want. Be sure to set their alerts so they yell at you over email or text message if you hit your budget in any category.

personalfinance

theBullMousse

t3_1wklvb

c2reason

t1_cf2uve6

cf2uve6

FacelessBureaucrat

t1_cf2um2e

cf2um2e

I just did my taxes and ended up owing on my 2016 taxes. Turbotax says I can contribute to an IRA and deduct... Help/suggestions?

Hello everyone, As the title suggests, I just started my taxes for last year and found out I owe about $1500. I ran a calculator on the IRS website last year and it recommended for my situation (married with no children) that I should claim a 2 on my W4 allowances as this would provide a good balance between a larger check coupled with a smaller return. Well, as you can see, this backfired on me, and now I'm stuck owing the IRS more money instead of getting a return. While I am nearing the end of my taxes, Turbotax requested my permission to check and see if I would qualify for an IRA. This message appeared: Based on your info, you can save on taxes this year with an IRA. Opening and contributing to an IRA (individual retirement account) by April 18, 2017, is an easy way to deduct up to $5,500 on your taxes this year and set yourself up for a brighter future. I know what an IRA is and currently do not have one but I'm trying to understand this message and how it applies to my taxes for this year. Basically what it boils down to is I would MUCH rather my money go to an IRA rather than the IRS. Is this a dollar-for-dollar deduction or how does this work and how could it help me in my current predicament? Thank you for your help.

basically, you pay up to $5500 out of pocket and put it into an IRA. then you can deduct the same amount you contributed. this won't translate into a direct 1:1 dollar deduction from the taxes you owe. since you likely pay 25% taxes, each dollar you contribute to the IRA will allow you to pay 25 cents less on taxes. since you owe $1500, you need to contribute $6000 to owe $0. (but 5500 is the max for IRA, so you'll still owe a small amount)

I have w-2 wages and self-employment income. I am unable to contribute to an IRA from my workplace. Can I not take advantage of this tax credit using net pay I have already received?

personalfinance

BaconMcShitlord

t3_5r3msg

jaksblaks

dd45ehf

moneydooder

dd4g7mc

Duped by my aunt and Primerica

Well, I was that idiot who didn't t use reddit like I should have, and looked up more things about Primerica before investing. Back track my Aunt is a very good lady who's had a great track record of her own personal finances. She helped me when I was in high school to invest and save and by the time I was 22, I was able to buy a nice little home for myself and daughter. So when she said here's a way to invest more money I thought SURE! WELL I AM STUPID. Now that I've spent over ten hours reading horror stories and realized I've wasted close to $1000, I need help. How to I just end my relationship with Primerica and also not hurt my aunt? TL;DR How to I remove myself and finances from Primerica?

Your hurting her more by not telling her what's up. If shes reasonable and intelligent giving her the facts should wake her up. Do it in a caring manner. If she doesnt see it and gets mad at you well I dunno, other option is to lie and pretend

What is scaring you off from Primerica? It’s not an MLM scam if we’re being honest. It’s a general agency like any other. Same setup and pay structure for the reps as Northwestern Mutual just with different products and systems in place. When I was a kid, my mama taught me that I shouldn’t jump off of a bridge just because my friends were doing it. I think the same thing applies here. If your investments are returning well then why would you change them? If they’re not returning well, perhaps you should have a conversation with the investment advisor at the company. My advice, don’t believe everything you read in the internet. Do your own research, check your own portfolio, and make an educated decision. Moving investments and insurance companies because you read some things on Reddit doesn’t seem well enough thought out to me. No offense.

personalfinance

SwankySiren

t3_b9enzn

Jack2423

ek3yz9z

dickieh2

ek4zyuf

22, got my first job, How should I save to move out and pay off my loans?

So after months of interning and freelancing, I just got a full-time job. My salary is 50K and I have 28K in student loans to pay off. I've been making monthly payments of $297 since December. I live at home with my parents in South Brooklyn and commute to my office in Soho, which takes about 40 minutes. I know realistically it's better to stay with my parents since NYC rent prices are insane, but I'd really like some independence. I'd be willing to live with roommates, but I also have no idea what my rent range should be? With my modest salary and student loan debt, how can I start to save up to move out? Is it possible to move out by the end of the year?

There comes a time when every bird has to leave the nest. You want some freedoms, and that's perfectly reasonable/normal. That said, living with your parents, while having a real job is a once in a lifetime opportunity. If your relationship with your parents isn't just outright terrible, I would seriously spend some time trying to talk yourself into staying a bit longer. With a good budget, and 18 months time, you could move out with a very nice nest egg, and $0 in debt. That is a powerful gift to yourself. Whether you're moving out in 2 weeks, or are willing to take that 18 months, I would definitely consider getting roommates. You live in one of the most expensive real estate areas in the country. Splitting those costs 2 or 3 ways, can really help with that.

50K is about 4.2K/month, so your target max rent range is 1100-1400/month, depending what your other sorts of bills are.

personalfinance

picsturb

t3_4c7wf5

alek_hiddel

d1fs4jz

yes_its_him

d1ftvxh

Can a provider charge a fee "outside" of my policy?

Hi all, I have Aetna insurance at Work with an HSA. My wife had our 3rd child this year and because of the bills, we met our out-of-pocket maximums for the year. My son's head is slightly mis-shapen (he's 4 months old) so we went to an Orthotic that was recommended by our primary care physician (they wrote a prescription for an evaluation) for a corrective helmet. The orthotic is in-network with Aetna. anyway, when I go in to the office they tell me there is a $50 office visit charge. I tell them I don't want to pay that because I've already met my max out of pocket for the year. She tells me "insurance companies won't pay this but i'll put it through anyway". Aetna denies the claim a few days later, so I call and ask Aetna. They tell me the charge is put through with some medical billing code that basically means "do not pay this' and it was also labeled as a Home Visit. Aetna told me I should be covered, and to have the Orthotic company re-bill this as an Office Visit (which is what it was). I call the orthotic back and she says it's standard practice that they invoice the $50 because Aetna won't pay the Office Visit charge (Despite what the office says to me). She then tells me the office visits take them time and it's not "fair for me to expect them to do the analysis for free, since some people don't actually qualify or get the helmets". (FWIW, my son DOES qualify and IS getting the helmet, which "includes all future office visits" and costs over $2,000. I feel like this is sketchy of the orthotic. It's only $50, which I can afford, but something about the whole thing seems weird to me. They were booked out weeks in advance and our appointment was only 15 minutes when we were there so it feels to me like they are basically just assuming they can take in probably an extra $500 + per day to the office if they only have 10 visits a day, which they probably have way more than that. Am I missing something here?

I'm in healthcare benefits administration, and this is fraudulent billing, which can cause this provider to be charged with fines, be registered as an offender, and can have insurance company contracts cancelled. It's a big deal. If you're in the states, contact Aetna and your state's Department of Health Fraud Department. You can find contact info for these departments at NHCAA.org It may be a small amount of money from you, but they may be doing this on a larger scale, and it can cause future claims to be denied for yourself and for others, or to be retro-billed (i.e. claim is approved, services rendered, then claim denied by insurance causing the patient to owe the amount later or be sent to collections, etc., which may be really detrimental for some patients). It can turn into a big legal mess if left unchecked. Do yourself and your community a favor and report it. It's rather low impact for you, as the patient (or caregiver) to report. You just lookup the #, call and give them the details, and you're done. Then the fraud agencies are responsible for the legwork and investigations.

If their contract with Aetna specifies they can’t do that, it’s their fault for signing the contract. There are a few reasons you could be on the hook, like if this was a valid code and Aetna said it was not medically necessary. But they have to bill it properly as an office visit and get a rejection before you even consider such things.

personalfinance

hallo_its_me

t3_eb8fmq

OrneryPanduhh

fb3h2vy

wildtimes3

fb3otmc

Turbotax cant file because someone else already filed.

I guess someone filed under my social security number before me and so I can't file. TurboTax says to file paper and I'll get a form back from the IRS. Is that really all I can do for now?

If you are a victim of identity theft, the Federal Trade Commission recommends these steps: File a complaint with the FTC at identitytheft.gov. Contact one of the three major credit bureaus to place a ‘fraud alert’ on your credit records: Equifax, 1-800-766-0008 Experian, 1-888-397-3742 TransUnion, 1-800-680-7289 Contact your financial institutions, and close any financial or credit accounts opened without your permission or tampered with by identity thieves. If your SSN is compromised and you know or suspect you are a victim of tax-related identity theft, the IRS recommends these additional steps: Respond immediately to any IRS notice; call the number provided or, if instructed, go to IDVerify.irs.gov. Complete IRS [Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit]( if your efiled return rejects because of a duplicate filing under your SSN or you are instructed to do so. Use a fillable form at IRS.gov, print, then attach the form to your return and mail according to instructions. The normal processing time to resolve a tax related ID Theft case is generally within 120 days, but complex cases may take 180 days or longer. Continue to pay your taxes and file your tax return, even if you must do so by paper. After you file your federal return, the only IRS number you should call is 1-800-908-4490, M - F 7am - 7pm local time.

I had this happen last year. It was a horrible experience. I had to file the police reports for the identity theft. They recommend that you change any passwords associated with your financials. This includes student loans, credit cards, 401k, etc. The reason is that your tax application has all of your passwords, such as mother's maiden name, work info, along with your ss#, dob, address, email address, and anything else you'd usually use to lock the account.

personalfinance

Anon_8675309

t3_4d2apf

these-things-happen

d1n4zoe

shesosunny

d1njhrh

I need to break up with a Realtor. What do I do?

My fiance and I are looking to purchase a house before we get married in September. We've already calculated income, had the proper discussions about what happens if one of us leaves the other at the alter, talked to lenders etc. Our mistake, however, has been using a realtor who we stumbled into by accident. We are FTHBs, so we're inept and clueless. I foolishly hit the contact agent on Zillow and we've been stuck with him about a month. We haven't signed a contract with him. He doesn't send us many listings, and when he does, they have hardly any relation to what we are looking for or in the right neighborhoods. He's also advised we offer full asking price on any home we've liked so we're likely to get our closing costs covered by the sellers. We've looked at dozens of houses and are feeling like we're wasting our time with this guy. Again, we haven't signed a contract, but I don't know how to go about breaking up with this Realtor. What do I do?!

Call him and let him know you no longer need his services. It's really that simple. If you want to make the conversation easier, feel free to lie. Say that you personally would LOVE to keep working with him but instead your fiancee is forcing you to work with a friend/relative of hers. "you know, the old ball and chain, amirite?" It's not necessary, but if it makes you feel better then go ahead.

He doesn't send us many listings He may have several flaws, but I want to educate you a little bit on this so that with that realtor or any realtor your expectations are kept in check. Realtors are not gatekeepers of info any more. We have as much access to data and listings as much as the public (disclaimer-this might be market specific). In markets where Redfin has a presence, the public has as much access to data as realtors. Realtors get their info from the MLS, its a database where all relevant real estate data is stored. Redfin pulls that data from the MLS and is updated every 15 mins or so. Yes, you can argue that realtors have pocket listings, and the public thinks that its some sweet deal. But c'mmon thats .5 percent of the market, I put that in the same category as short sales and foreclosures. Why would you want to go fishing in a pond where there are 2 fishes? Go fishing in a lake where there are 100 fishes. So, yes long story short-In the 21st century, you has as much access to data as realtors. If you use "saved search" on Redfin, you can adjust your search parameters, like from simple stuff like 3 bedrooms,2 bath, 1500-1800 sq ft in XYZ area to complex and advanced stuff like built 2010 plus and hoa less than 100 and include only 2 car garages, etc. Every time, there is a listing that matches this specific criteria, you get an email or a push notification. Thats it!, why do you need the realtor to send you this info? In fact, the odds are you are going to see this info faster than your realtor because the realtor is out the field dealing with showings, inspections, writing offers, etc. So, you dont need your realtor to send you listings, thats the pre internet way. The new age way is you get listings to you automatically, its faster. Then, when you think you are interested in seeing a house in person or write an offer, thats when a realtor steps in.

RealEstate

celadonshopper

t3_4bnwij

MrDaveyHavoc

d1auxde

adrian-monk-

d1bcnka

Thoughts on betterment?

Hi all. What are your opinions on investing funds in a robo-trader like Betterment as opposed to simply buying various ETFs directly? I've heard various arguments for and against mainly revolving around fees but also would be interested to hear thoughts on their diversification strategy. Thanks

I'm a fan. You get a better distribution more true to your risk profile compared to your standard 3 fund or four fund account. It rebalances constantly, better than you can do as a single person maybe monthly or quarterly.

I am a Wealthfront supporter over Betterment. The allocation always made more sense to me and is simpler which is helpful for tax reasons. I do like Betterment's user interface more, but I weight allocation over interface.

investing

wedgetailedbeagle

t3_70nfsc

Reddit-Hivemind

dn4huu7

1noahone

dn4n9m5

Aspirational 1st Time Homebuyer. Self Employed. Wife Has Terrible Credit. I live in NYC. Am I screwed?

I would like to be a homeowner some day very soon. However as the title says I have several things stacked against me. What can I do? Here's background: I am self-employed as a technology consultant and have been that way my entire career. 1099s only. No W-2s. My income fluctuates wildly year to year and I currently have an enormous tax bill as I bumped up a tax bracket in 2014, which when paid off will knock my savings to zero. I've been married 1 1/2 years and my wife has awful credit (but improving, slowly). My credit is fantastic. Right now we live in NYC (Brooklyn) I work from home and she commutes to a good job in Manhattan every day. We piss away an ungodly amount of our income on rent and NYC living expenses. I'm really itching to apply that to equity on a house. My wife is from Los Angeles where we would like to move back to in a few years. My father in law is not wealthy but holding onto $50k for us to buy a home (under the condition we buy a house in California at some point..) In Southern California, $300k barely gets you into a 600sqft 1BR condo in a crummy neighborhood. But oddly enough it seems like a 1 hour train commute from Manhattan has some pretty affordable real estate that's not even in the 'hood (aka New Jersey). I've seen listings for under $200k. So the question is - is there any hope for us? Should I just call this homeownership business a pipe dream and just hope I get a business windfall that buys us a house in cash one day? Or are there options?

You have no savings and are planning to move across the country in a few years? Why would you want to buy a house now? Save as much as you can and buy one after you relocate, if you do, and once you have enough for a 20% down payment plus all the other contingencies involved with buying a house.

Where have you looked at home prices in SoCal? The inland empire has plenty of decent homes in decent neighborhoods for $300-$400k. Not to mention, LA Metro is aggressively expanding the light-rail trains to the point that park and ride to downtown from the inland empire will be very feasible.

personalfinance

[deleted]

t3_34apwp

FacelessBureaucrat

t1_cqsugjz

cqsugjz

b3arstate

t1_cqsx8ju

cqsx8ju

Warren Buffet still reads about 5-6 hours a day.

How much do the rest of you read every day?

I read about 1-2 hours a day, I wouldn't expect the common person to be able to read 5-6 hours a day like buffet because that is basically half of his job (research).

500 pages a week is what he reads, apparently, even though it's repeated everywhere that it's 500 pages a DAY. Even some fairly high profile bloggers, who should probably check the fact, repeat it.

investing

Zaandreey

t3_33tgfp

portugal-thematt

t1_cqo8n9s

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bozwood

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Help! Argentinian drowning here

Hello! Like the title says, I'm from Argentina. Currently, we are in big trouble, the previous goverment lead by Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, has a great chance to recover again the power. So, the markets went bad, affortunatly, I moved my savings to a fund that invests in bonds from Latin America (Chile mostly). But, i had a some of my savings in argentinian stocks, that i sold last friday (THANK GOD). Yesterday, the market went bad, because of last saturday elections: &x200B [Alberto Fernandez (with Cristina Fernandez) went with 47.66&37;]( [ Argentina drowning ]( What would you do in my place? Where should i put my money in case that my country decide not to pay bonds and restructure our debt? The last chance of Macri is in November, when it will be the last votation. What would be a good refuge from value? This low is very similar to 2008, and I really don't know what to do. I would appreciate some word of support. Thanks to all that will response to my calling of help. (Sry for bad english)

I can't comment on stocks/finances since I'm kind of retarded but may I recommend an alternative money making venture if shit really hits the fan (EG you don't have a job)? Classic World of Warcraft is being released soon and if you roll a Mage you can AOE farm pretty easily for gold. Sell this gold for real world money (preferably USD). This isn't a joke, for example [WoW gold (on retail) is worth more than the Venezuelan Bolivar]( The only upfront investment is a subscription (it's like $150 for a 12-month sub) so I'd suggest buying one before your currency tanks if it's looking like the election will head in that direction. Genuinely, best of luck man.

hello fellow argentine. i'm a bit optimistic, i dont think F&F are morons, i dont think they will default if they can. im betting that by october 2020 they will not default, with this assumption (wishful thinking) i am buying around 1k usd in AO20 which right now is like buying dollars at 33 pesos, with an interest rate of 8%.

wallstreetbets

sebacard

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Zerole00

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higgs_bosoms

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Help: What should I do with a $8000 check?

Posted this in r/finance, but was told to post here fingers crossed I am going to receive a check for $8000. The thing is I definitely don't want to spend it. Not ONE penny. I know I should invest, but I have NO idea how or even where to begin. I've been told to buy stocks, buy gold, get a CD, Roth IRA, and more I couldn't keep track of. Anyone with expertise in this matter? Useful tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

If you don't have an adequate emergency fund, then start one. Just a savings account that is there for financial emergencies only, such as losing a job, unexpected deaths, posting bail, etc. If you have high interest debt, pay that off. If both of the above are already taken care of, then start a Roth IRA and put $5k in a target retirement fund and add the other $3k next year (you can only contribute $5k/yr). I recommend Vanguard.

What is your ultimate goal? To have these funds contribute to your retirements? Eventually to buy a house or boat or education? What is your situation? Do you have an emergency fund? Are you in debt?

personalfinance

hotchimichanga

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mackstann

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