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Boondock Saint posted:So I'm in the process of finally closing out my checking account with BofA and moving all my funds over to my ING Direct accounts. My only worry is, Capital One apparently just bought them and while I don't see any issues yet, I'm trying to keep my options open for the future just in case Capital One does what they do best and ruin a good thing. http://www.creditunion.coop/
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Jul 14, 2011 17:13
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I don't know the first thing about finances but so I don't screw up things for myself later on in life, I'm going to try to get a credit card. Most likely a secured credit card through my credit union or a CareCredit card for dental expenses. The CareCredit thing might be down the line but for right now, the secured card is best. Is it possible to have NO debt at all with a credit card? This may seem like a stupid, obvious, common sense question but I'm starting from the ground up when it comes to learning about money and how it all works. So say I got a secured card, used it for nothing but gas. $40 every week or two weeks, depending on how much driving I do. I pay it off immediately each and every time I put gas in the car. Therefore, I should have no debt, nothing owed, right? Or, if I use it to buy lunch every day at work, less than $10~ every day of work. Pay it off immediately. No debt? I'm afraid to get a credit card because I'm absolutely terrified of getting myself into trouble with it, but my parents haven't taught me anything about how the real world works as far as stuff like this goes. I know I'll need a good credit rating for things later on in life such as apartments, cars, whatever, and I'm already 22. Most people I know have had credit cards since they were in high school (mostly thanks to their richy-rich parents who could pay them off in the blink of an eye). Please help me, but be gentle.  Most of the questions I'll ask about money will be very, very, very stupid.
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Jul 14, 2011 20:44
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question: I opened a visa through a credit union, but everything relating to the card is run by "fia services". I don't even look at balance info or pay my bill through the union's website. I've had the account for about 6 months and it's been fine, but I just want to confirm there is nothing weird about this setup. I use BoA for my checking and I am really considering moving to this credit union, just because I don't like supporting evil or worrying that one day BoA will screw me over.
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Jul 14, 2011 21:25
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silversiren posted:I'm afraid to get a credit card because I'm absolutely terrified of getting myself into trouble with it, but my parents haven't taught me anything about how the real world works as far as stuff like this goes. I know I'll need a good credit rating for things later on in life such as apartments, cars, whatever, and I'm already 22. Most people I know have had credit cards since they were in high school (mostly thanks to their richy-rich parents who could pay them off in the blink of an eye). Better to be scared and not gently caress up than to rack up 10 grand in debt thinking you'll pay it off later. Yes, you can have a credit card and have no debt. I have like 10 cards and have a $0 balance - no debt. It is an "open line of credit" which means you can borrow from it when you need it. If you don't need it, it sits there - your credit rating is based on how well you use your available credit. For a good credit rating, ideally it is good to have a lot of available credit (meaning people trust you to borrow from them). If you charge something (gas, lunch, etc.) it will show up on your statement. Every 30 days, that statement will close for the month and will tell you the payment due date. You have a choice to pay the minimum payment, or the entire balance (you can also pay the entire balance at any time). As long as you pay the entire balance for that statement by the payment date, you will not be charged interest. Basically, you can borrow money for around 30 days for free. If you don't pay the balance off, interest will be charged on whatever the balance is. You are usually penalized if you don't pay at least the minimum payment (if the balance is $0, the minimum payment will also be $0). Does this make sense?
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Jul 14, 2011 22:52
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kaishek posted:Better to be scared and not gently caress up than to rack up 10 grand in debt thinking you'll pay it off later. Makes perfect sense. Thank you very, very much.
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Jul 14, 2011 22:57
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silversiren posted:I don't know the first thing about finances but so I don't screw up things for myself later on in life, I'm going to try to get a credit card. Most likely a secured credit card through my credit union or a CareCredit card for dental expenses. The CareCredit thing might be down the line but for right now, the secured card is best. Is it possible to have NO debt at all with a credit card? This may seem like a stupid, obvious, common sense question but I'm starting from the ground up when it comes to learning about money and how it all works. Don’t be hard on yourself. You are 22 and debt free. That is an achievement, even if you were not trying. Where would you rather be, student loans of $80,000 with another $15,000 in credit cards and shifting money from one to the other to make the minimum payments? Or no credit? It’s incredibly easy to establish credit. Six months after you open up the first account you will have a credit score. If you are never late on it within a year you will probably be somewhere just shy or just over 700. If you have a thin credit history and you are trying to buy something like a car, the ability to make a down payment always impresses the lender. Also, tons of places will rent to people with no credit or even bad credit. How many homeless people have you met who blame bad credit for being on the street? I am of the opinion that if you borrow minimally and take care of your finances, your credit will take care of itself. I’m also of the opinion that zero credit history is way better than having excellent credit but using so excessively that all they did was give you rope to hang yourself with. I’m a loan officer and I see so many people who try to outsmart themselves and they wind up with 8 different accounts and every purchase must be this strategic affair about what gives them the most points, and they end up getting in over their heads. As far as accounts, I wouldn’t touch care credit with a 10 foot pole. I would stick to a visa or master card issued by a reputable bank or credit union. Also, if you can get it, overdraft protection on your checking account is nice. It works like a line of credit attached to your checking.
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Jul 14, 2011 22:58
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Xguard86 posted:question: I opened a visa through a credit union, but everything relating to the card is run by "fia services". I don't even look at balance info or pay my bill through the union's website. For what it's worth, this is how it was when I first got a credit card through Suntrust. I belive that FIA is just a big company that handles the administration of cards for people that don't want to bother actually setting it up in house. When Suntrust finally set up their own card division, I got a new Suntrust card and the FIA card was spun off as a weird unaffiliated account. I still have them both. The only thing that I would tell you is to pay attention when you are applying for future cards; if the new card you are applying for is also a FIA card, they may just split your credit line between the two cards instead of giving you a new line. (ie, if your current card has a $2000 limit and you open a second FIA card, you might just end up with two $1000 limit accounts). This happened to me, and I was also not able to do a balance transfer to the new one.
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Jul 14, 2011 23:03
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Xguard86 posted:question: I opened a visa through a credit union, but everything relating to the card is run by "fia services". I don't even look at balance info or pay my bill through the union's website. It's kind of ironic, but FIA services *IS* Bank of America. It's kind of hush hush, but when a credit union needs a quick infusion of cash they sometimes sell their credit card portfolios to one of the big banks. It was probably more popular 5 or 10 years ago, but some credit unions still do it. The big banks lust after credit union card portfolios because they were generally underwritten responsibly and they perform well. They also know they are hated and people will pay their beloved credit union first if they run into problems. Because of that, Bank of America probably paid a preminum for the accounts. If the credit union had 10 million in receivables, BofA probably paid $11 million for it. Just for fun, google Bank of America payment address and FIA services and see if you see similarities.
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Jul 14, 2011 23:10
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I'm in a screwy (awesome!) scenario that I could use some help with. My company got sold, and I'm going with it, but just today we found that that we'll be getting an incentive for making the move in the form of a cash payment. My job is salaried but has never paid any kind of bonus of any significance, so I've got 0 experience with how these work for tax implications (and I'm not even sure if it's going to be considered a "bonus" for tax purposes in the first place). How do I plan for this tax-wise? Is withholding typically taken from these automatically? If not, what % do I need to set aside as a "worst case" tax payment on the back end? Are there any other considerations I should be taking into account to setup beforehand, like a way to throw the money into my 401(k) or something like that that I should be looking for? Thanks.
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Jul 15, 2011 01:27
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Bonus are withheld at a higher rate, so you will receive less money in your paycheck today. However at the end of the year when you are filing, it is still taxed just like all other compensation. No need for you to do anything different.
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Jul 15, 2011 01:35
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T0MSERV0 posted:I'm in a screwy (awesome!) scenario that I could use some help with. My company got sold, and I'm going with it, but just today we found that that we'll be getting an incentive for making the move in the form of a cash payment. My job is salaried but has never paid any kind of bonus of any significance, so I've got 0 experience with how these work for tax implications (and I'm not even sure if it's going to be considered a "bonus" for tax purposes in the first place). You'll need to talk to your HR, as it's handled differently by each company as to how they want to deal with it. My annual bonus is withheld at my normal rate, and does not have 401k taken out of it. This way I do not have more than I am supposed to have taken out. That being said, I've worked at places where they will withhold as if that is a normal check and take too much out. edit: Oh, congrats on the bonus!
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Jul 15, 2011 01:36
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Part of the reason I'm asking here is because I can't talk to HR: The sale hasn't closed yet and I'd be talking to the people on the wrong side of the deal. I'm just trying to figure out what kind of questions I need to prep/ask/etc. so when I DO finally get to talk to the new HR side I'm prepared. E: ...and thanks for the congrats! I'm PSYCHED about this. T0MSERV0 fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Jul 15, 2011 |
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Jul 15, 2011 01:44
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T0MSERV0 posted:I'm in a screwy (awesome!) scenario that I could use some help with. My company got sold, and I'm going with it, but just today we found that that we'll be getting an incentive for making the move in the form of a cash payment. My job is salaried but has never paid any kind of bonus of any significance, so I've got 0 experience with how these work for tax implications (and I'm not even sure if it's going to be considered a "bonus" for tax purposes in the first place). Supplemental wages under $1M are withheld at 25%. Your state would also have a supplemental wage withholding rate. Your profile says Cincinnati - Ohio's supplemental withholding is 3.5%.
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Jul 15, 2011 03:12
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Zeta Taskforce posted:Don’t be hard on yourself. You are 22 and debt free. That is an achievement, even if you were not trying. Where would you rather be, student loans of $80,000 with another $15,000 in credit cards and shifting money from one to the other to make the minimum payments? Or no credit? What about having multiple lines of credit, like several credit cards? Does this help out or hurt? Should I just stick with one card and be satisfied with that?
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Jul 15, 2011 04:07
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silversiren posted:What about having multiple lines of credit, like several credit cards? Does this help out or hurt? Should I just stick with one card and be satisfied with that? If you need 2, then go for it. I don't think its bad to have 2 and it can be nice to have a back up in case one is blocked or compromised, you are not left stranded. Things like credit mix are a very minor component to your score, but for that part, having 1 is probably about 80% as good as having 2 or 3. Having 4 or 5 it starts to drop off a bit, but it's not that bad. Having 6 or more it starts to look increasingly bad. Whatever you decide on, never being late and keeping your balances low is about 2/3 of your score.
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Jul 15, 2011 05:50
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silversiren posted:What about having multiple lines of credit, like several credit cards? Does this help out or hurt? Should I just stick with one card and be satisfied with that? I think Zeta is a fan of not having lines you won't use. I'd say have two for sure. Make one an Amex and your other a Visa/Mastercard. I really enjoy having an American Express but it isn't always accepted. I always advised having 3 each through a different lender but am personally only at two because I haven't found a third that can provide anything better. Different lines (especially different types) are beneficial but as time (and on time payments) make up the bulk of your score, to me there's no reason to take anything on that you don't really need. edit: I swear I am viewing SA in a time void tonight; he answered.
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Jul 15, 2011 05:57
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Zeta Taskforce posted:It's kind of ironic, but FIA services *IS* Bank of America. It's kind of hush hush, but when a credit union needs a quick infusion of cash they sometimes sell their credit card portfolios to one of the big banks. It was probably more popular 5 or 10 years ago, but some credit unions still do it. ahh god dammit this is an industry of criminals. At least they paid a premium. I am an escort, not a whore!
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Jul 15, 2011 15:41
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Huh, I didn't realize that FIA was BoA. That makes sense though, the second card I opened was a BoA card and it seemed strange that they were card servicing through FIA as well. I guess not so much though!
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Jul 15, 2011 18:21
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I guess this counts as a newbie personal finance question, but is anyone real familiar with Quicken 2011? I made myself an account on my boyfriend's copy and it worked good for the first little bit, but lately every time I change pages or try to click anything a message pops up that says "You need two accounts to do a transfer. Would you like to create another account?" I have no idea what it's talking about, I'm not trying to transfer anything. I'm just trying to re-categorize some stuff and it's getting really annoying since it comes up literally anytime I click something. I only have one account, which is already added to it.
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Jul 16, 2011 15:52
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Are you possibly trying to put it into a category in square brackets? That's the only thing I can think of, since Quicken treats square bracket categories as other accounts (for example, to transfer money from CheckingAccount to SavingsAccount, I put a purchase in the CheckingAccount register with the category [SavingsAccount]).
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Jul 16, 2011 18:32
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Zeta Taskforce posted:If you need 2, then go for it. I don't think its bad to have 2 and it can be nice to have a back up in case one is blocked or compromised, you are not left stranded. Things like credit mix are a very minor component to your score, but for that part, having 1 is probably about 80% as good as having 2 or 3. Having 4 or 5 it starts to drop off a bit, but it's not that bad. Having 6 or more it starts to look increasingly bad. I have two credit cards - the first was opened exactly a year ago, and the newer one with a 2.5x higher limit was opened in April. I pay off my balance in full each month for both cards, so no worries there. If I intend to build up a good credit history, do I need to put a charge on both cards each month? Or do I just need to keep one active, or do I even have to charge them at all (i.e. keep them open but unused)?
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Jul 16, 2011 21:17
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Is buying additional disability insurance generally a good idea? I have a financial advisor that's trying to sell it to me. If he's full of it I'll just switch to someone else I suppose.
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Jul 17, 2011 07:11
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In a few weeks I have to move into an apartment and my roommate is making me pay three months rent upfront. The total cost of the rent and deposit will be around $2k. As an unemployed college student, I don't have nearly that much money on hand, and my financial aid for the fall semester won't be deposited into my bank account until three weeks after the rent is due. Since I will have enough money to pay off whatever loan I get within the month from that financial aid, what would be the best way to go about borrowing the money? In other words, are there incredibly short-term loans that would be more favorable than loans that are of a more conventional length or a cash advance? Also, I have pretty good credit but I am unemployed, have no collateral, and I don't have anyone that could co-sign the loan. Given the relatively small size of the loan and the quickness in which it'd be repaid, will I have a problem finding a reasonable one? If it matters, the current extent of my debt is a few thousand dollars worth of subsidized loans.
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Jul 17, 2011 15:40
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HondaCivet posted:Is buying additional disability insurance generally a good idea? I have a financial advisor that's trying to sell it to me. If he's full of it I'll just switch to someone else I suppose.
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Jul 17, 2011 16:44
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I've just gotten a new job after being unemployed for a year. If I'm willing to work long hours (12+ per day, as many days as I like), I can be grossing close to $50,000 per year. My wife currently makes about $15,000 per year as a grocery store manager (lovely I know). With all this money that will be coming, we decided to do what any sane person would do. Completely give up our independence, and move in with my mom and step father  . Basically we're looking to save up for a house, and maybe pay off our car while paying a mere $300.00 for rent and utilities, down from a ridiculous $890+ per month.On top of paying off this debt, I'm interested in getting my credit score higher so we can hopefully get a good mortgage interest rate next year. Here are the numbers, maybe a cool Goon can help us make some sense of what the best method of reaching our goals would be. Financed / Revolving debt: $12,000.00 car loan (7% APR, $220.00 payment) $6245.00 credit card debt ($4295 in collections, 16% APR on remaining, $50.00 payment) $2000.00 in back taxes (12% APR, $100.00 payment) --- Total $20,245 Non-Revolving Debt: $3000.00 to a family member $1200.00 semester college bill --- Total $25,245 Other monthly expenses Rent + Utilities: $300.00 Groceries: $200.00-$250.00 Home Business ([expenses]-[income]): $150 Car insurance: $110.00 Misc (i.e.: contraception): $100.00 Eating Out: $50.00 Entertainment: $70.00 Gas: $60.00 Pets: $60.00 --- Total $1065 Expected Combined Yearly Income (Net) From 9/17/2011 Onward: $50,760 What would be the best way (and what would be the best order) to: 1) Raise my credit score (all collections are mine, 520 FICO) 2) Bring our debt as close to $0 as possible 3) Save for a modest house (~$75,000), to purchase ASAP. We also have about $1,200 in cash we would like to use to start the slow process of chipping this debt away.
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Jul 17, 2011 23:25
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SleepDeprived posted:In a few weeks I have to move into an apartment and my roommate is making me pay three months rent upfront. The total cost of the rent and deposit will be around $2k. As an unemployed college student, I don't have nearly that much money on hand, and my financial aid for the fall semester won't be deposited into my bank account until three weeks after the rent is due. They want three months rent upfront *because* you are an unemployed college student. This is a nearly unreasonable amount of upfront rent in general, and you should triple check to make sure that the money is not a security deposit and that you're not being screwed some other way. quote:Also, I have pretty good credit but I am unemployed, have no collateral, and I don't have anyone that could co-sign the loan. Given the relatively small size of the loan and the quickness in which it'd be repaid, will I have a problem finding a reasonable one? What is reasonable? Suppose your answer is 15% APR, meaning that (speaking simply) for a $2k loan for approximately a month, the lender receives $25 interest. Yet the risk that something happens and you don't receive your anticipated funds is hard to evaluate and requires specific knowledge regarding your status at your university and your lender. $25 isn't worth making the phone call to see if you're even enrolled, let alone eligible and actively receiving federal student aid. Your issue is that the amount is too small and the loan term too short for any lender to bother looking at except for ultra-high risk payday loan types.
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Jul 18, 2011 00:02
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baquerd posted:$25 isn't worth making the phone call to see if you're even enrolled, let alone eligible and actively receiving federal student aid. Your issue is that the amount is too small and the loan term too short for any lender to bother looking at except for ultra-high risk payday loan types. I might suggest that you try something like prosper.com, or one of the other p2p lending sites. someone would probably take it on and you can repay it early without penalty.
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Jul 18, 2011 04:26
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My company has an employee stock purchase plan where employees can commit a certain percentage of their pre-tax salary to purchasing stocks. Basically they take a percentage out of every paycheck, then at the end of a six month period (Jan-Jun or July-Dec), they take the money contributed in that window and purchase shares at a discounted rate (15% off the lower of the stock's price on the first and last days of the buy-in period). Am I crazy, or does this result in basically a guaranteed return on investment every six months? At worst, you'd be buying stock on, for example, Jan. 1 for 15% off what the price was on Dec. 31. So if the stock price remains about the same, you basically have gained (1/0.85) or ~17.5%. Even counting the tax liability on profit (short term capital gains tax for my bracket is 25%) and the commission paid to the bank in charge, this still comes out to about a guaranteed 10% gain. Am I missing something or would it be crazy not to max out this contribution assuming I am perfectly liquid?
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Jul 18, 2011 05:08
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illcendiary posted:ESPP No, you're right. For me it works out to be around 8% if I've done the math right, but there's nothing else I can think of that will give me that type of gain in that short of a term. Hopefully the stock has gone up so it's even more, but even with the short-term gain taxes it's a nice extra perk.
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Jul 18, 2011 06:13
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illcendiary posted:My company has an employee stock purchase plan where employees can commit a certain percentage of their pre-tax salary to purchasing stocks. Basically they take a percentage out of every paycheck, then at the end of a six month period (Jan-Jun or July-Dec), they take the money contributed in that window and purchase shares at a discounted rate (15% off the lower of the stock's price on the first and last days of the buy-in period). Cisco has this and it works exactly like this. In fact, they "lock in" the buy rates for 2 years, and reset if they get lower. Since CSCO is in the loving shitter right now, the new locked in price if you were contributing in the past 6 months is $13.27. Even if CSCO hits $60 by 1/1/12, the ESPP buys it at $13.27. The ESPP plan is a guaranteed 15%, less fees and taxes, but if the stock goes up you can make much, much more. Assuming you have the cash, max it the gently caress out.
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Jul 18, 2011 06:34
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Inverse Icarus posted:Cisco has this and it works exactly like this. Is that legal? My company used to use a similar method (now it's a six-month period) and it ended in a pretty significant legal issue. Regardless, I agree with maxing it out, I just thought there were tighter controls on the time period now.
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Jul 18, 2011 07:16
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transient posted:Is that legal? My company used to use a similar method (now it's a six-month period) and it ended in a pretty significant legal issue. Regardless, I agree with maxing it out, I just thought there were tighter controls on the time period now. The offering period is 24 months (4 6-month buy cycles), and it restarts if the price drops. No idea on the legality but that's how it's worked for a while now.
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Jul 18, 2011 07:31
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illcendiary posted:My company has an employee stock purchase plan where employees can commit a certain percentage of their pre-tax salary to purchasing stocks. Basically they take a percentage out of every paycheck, then at the end of a six month period (Jan-Jun or July-Dec), they take the money contributed in that window and purchase shares at a discounted rate (15% off the lower of the stock's price on the first and last days of the buy-in period). Yes, this is a good deal on company stock, but nothing is guaranteed. You may purchase your shares for $13, but if the company tanks you could lose your investment. What are the required holding periods for the stock? If you can turn around and capture the 17.5% return instantly, that's a good deal, otherwise you are then exposed to market/company risk and you need to make sure that the Risk/Reward is in balance for the trade, which is what it is.
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Jul 18, 2011 14:03
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As far as I can tell, there isn't a minimum holding period, so you can sell as soon as the stocks are purchased. Last week I sold the shares I purchased from the January-June period, and I had held them for about a week and a half or so.
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Jul 18, 2011 14:36
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illcendiary posted:As far as I can tell, there isn't a minimum holding period, so you can sell as soon as the stocks are purchased. Last week I sold the shares I purchased from the January-June period, and I had held them for about a week and a half or so. Do you have to elect to purchase them at some previous date? Such as saying in January you'd buy 500 shares, and obligated to at whatever price they have?
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Jul 18, 2011 14:48
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No, I just elect to contribute a certain percentage of my gross salary at the start of the 6-month buy-in date. I can also change that contribution percentage (or cancel entirely) once in the 6-month period. So for this current period (July-December), I'm currently contributing 3%. I can change that contribution percentage once (I'll probably increase it). Then, using the principal I've contributed over that six month period, they buy whatever shares can be afforded, discounting the lower of the stock prices at the beginning and end of the six-month period by 15%.
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Jul 18, 2011 15:14
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That sounds pretty standard...I had the same thing at the last place I worked. 15% discount, buy every 6 months.
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Jul 18, 2011 15:15
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Devvo posted:I have two credit cards - the first was opened exactly a year ago, and the newer one with a 2.5x higher limit was opened in April. I pay off my balance in full each month for both cards, so no worries there. In order for the accounts to count fully towards your credit score, you do have to use both cards regularly. If you don’t use a card for 6 months or more, it is considered inactive.
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Jul 18, 2011 15:52
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Zeta Taskforce posted:In order for the accounts to count fully towards your credit score, you do have to use both cards regularly. If you don’t use a card for 6 months or more, it is considered inactive. drat, really? If I just add a few charges onto each of my "inactive" cards, are they magically considered "active" again? I'm not sure why I stress about my credit score so much since I never take loans out for anything.
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Jul 18, 2011 16:06
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illcendiary posted:As far as I can tell, there isn't a minimum holding period, so you can sell as soon as the stocks are purchased. Last week I sold the shares I purchased from the January-June period, and I had held them for about a week and a half or so. There's a little lag when the stocks get purchased and become available in your account, but it's a day or so in my experience. You can sell them immediately, but then they get taxed as normal income. If you hold the stock for over a year before selling, it is taxed as capital gains (capped at 15% currently). If you make a lot of money or have a lot of stok to sell, it might make sense to hold it for a year. Then again, look at CSCO right now
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Jul 18, 2011 19:00
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