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TraderStav posted:I'd really like to hear more about this FSA/HSA discussion. With the apparent benefits of an HSA, why would anyone ever select an FSA? In the past I have been disgruntled that I forgot to set up an FSA (with high costs of infertility treatment for my wife, it would have been a huge savings) and it sounds like an HSA has everything an FSA has, but is more flexible, doesn't destroy unused funds, and is disconnected from my employer... You need an HSA-eligible high-deductible-healthcare plan to be able to contribute to an HSA. If your employer's healthcare plan is not HSA eligible, then you are out of luck. I am in the same boat (my HSA was setup years ago when I was doing contract work and paid for my own healthcare), but am now stuck with the far inferior FSA plan at work.
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Aug 4, 2011 17:46
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JerkyBunion posted:Couple quick questions: Anyone?
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Aug 4, 2011 17:51
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TraderStav posted:I'd really like to hear more about this FSA/HSA discussion. With the apparent benefits of an HSA, why would anyone ever select an FSA? In the past I have been disgruntled that I forgot to set up an FSA (with high costs of infertility treatment for my wife, it would have been a huge savings) and it sounds like an HSA has everything an FSA has, but is more flexible, doesn't destroy unused funds, and is disconnected from my employer... FSA is useful if you've got medical needs now and can't wait for the balance to accure to pay for your medical bills. Since all your FSA money is available day 1, you'll have it ready if you need it. It's more useful to people with existing conditions where their medical needs require regular healthcare spending. For people without existing health issues, HSAs are really nice.
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Aug 4, 2011 18:20
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TraderStav posted:I'd really like to hear more about this FSA/HSA discussion. With the apparent benefits of an HSA, why would anyone ever select an FSA? In the past I have been disgruntled that I forgot to set up an FSA (with high costs of infertility treatment for my wife, it would have been a huge savings) and it sounds like an HSA has everything an FSA has, but is more flexible, doesn't destroy unused funds, and is disconnected from my employer... As 80k said, you don't always have the choice between the two. But sometimes there are advantages to an FSA - I believe FSA funds are eligible for more types of medical expenses than HSA funds, or at least they were before health care reform. Also, FSAs are usually offered on along with traditional medical plans which are generally much lower in deductible than the plans that go along with an HSA. If you know you're going to have a lot of medical expenses in the next year (pregnant, know about upcoming major surgery), going with the traditional plan + FSA might actually be cheaper overall to you than going with the high deductible + HSA. For most people in most years, though, HSAs are usually better.
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Aug 4, 2011 18:23
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KennyG posted:I generally look at short term savings or emergency fund need as debt. As in if you don't have it and something happens, it will become debt. So, the next thing after you are short term debt free, with extra income, is get yourself up to about $10k (roughly 6 months) in almost 100% liquid savings. You can do something like laddered CDs but all that effort isn't really going to get you much with interest rates the way they are. Personally, I'd just open an account at SmartyPig or Ally and put the money in there and forget about it. Don't touch it unless you lose your job or are the victim of a catastrophe. The rest of what you posted I get and it makes sense. It's this part I'm still having trouble with. I think the debt comparison and "get short term debt free" thing is throwing me off. The savings is not debt, it is liquid money in an ING savings account that I can pull out at any time. I do not currently have a need for this money, and I could count the times I've had to pull from my savings on one hand. What exactly are you saying I should do with the money in my Short-term and Long-term savings accounts? Just combine them into one account, get it up to about $10k and then leave it and stop contributing to it?
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Aug 4, 2011 18:45
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GOONS ARE MEAN
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Am I being too paranoid about how much of a liquid (to varying degrees) emergency fund I keep on hand? Maybe I'm just in a different financial place, but so much personal finance advice I hear is to have a 1-2k emergency fund on hand at all times, and to me that just sounds dangerously small. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding what ya'll mean by emergency fund, as I interpret that to mean "poo poo hits the fan, lost my job, rent is still due every month until I find a new job fund". The way I've got things set up right now is pretty much a 3-tier system: - Checking/Savings at CU: I treat $3000 as "$0", and try to keep an additional 1-2k on top of that (so 4-5k total) to absorb all the day-to-day and month-to-month living expenses. Fortunately I'm earning over 6% on the first $1000, with a total blended rate being about 1% on 4k. I do all my spending on my CC in lieu of cash/debit, but I always want to have the balance due actually in my checking account at all times. That, plus rent and loans means I've got a total monthly cash outflow of like $2500 (vs. inflow of ~$5000). Of course, if I were in an emergency situation, spending would be cut down quite a bit to just the essentials ($1500-1700/mo). If things got really bad for the long-term, I'd obviously move to a cheaper place when my lease expired. - "High" yield Savings (ING Direct): 15-20k cash at 1%, available within 3-5 days. This covers me for about 1 year's basic living expenses (rent, loans, food, etc.) and is non-volatile. This, plus the CU accounts, is what I consider to be my true "emergency fund" totaling to about 20-25k. - Long-term investments: Everything beyond the above, with the mentality of once money goes into this tier of savings, it is not to be touched for a long, long time. Essentially, forget that it even exists. So.... am I just being hyper-paranoid? Should I be locking up more of my cash cushion in long-term investments? I'm already putting a healthy chunk into long-term savings as it is, though sometimes I wonder if I should be doing more. Still, there's something comforting knowing I could go unemployed for a year or more (which I hope is a very unlikely scenario, but you never know...) without having to live like a pauper.
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Aug 4, 2011 18:47
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JerkyBunion posted:Anyone? sure. You'll take a minor hit if you close them as your available credit and mix numbers will go down. We're talking a VERY small hit. Nothing that wouldn't right itself in a few months through increased age of the remaining accounts. There are loan people here who would advise you to close any active account that you don't need, citing the risk of unattended accounts. I personally think this is FAR too conservative, especially for someone who uses an account aggregation service like Mint. I know within 24 hours when something has been charged and if it's something like an activity fee, I may be out the $5 or $10 but I can take steps immediately to prevent the next one. I'd rather have the flexibility if I needed it. It's pretty much personal preference. If you are the type who can be late on payments simply because you forgot to send it in, then I would close it out. If you are very organized financially and use tools regularly that will help you keep track, I'd say go for it. Personally, I would have at a bare minimum two CCs in your wallet from different issuers (banks and card processors). That's just me. As to the savings question, I personally use a smartypig account for my short term /emergency savings. It's very easy (forget the stupid social/media networking bullshit). It will have zero consequences.
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Aug 4, 2011 18:53
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Guinness posted:Am I being too paranoid about how much of a liquid (to varying degrees) emergency fund I keep on hand? Maybe I'm just in a different financial place, but so much personal finance advice I hear is to have a 1-2k emergency fund on hand at all times, and to me that just sounds dangerously small. The size of your emergency fund depends entirely on the size of your expenses, especially cash ones like rent. Generally the people who post here have relatively low expenses, so if you see $1-2K thrown around that's probably why. But if you have higher expenses, then it's going to be more. The rule of thumb I've seen most often here is 3-6 months of expenses, but it's very situational.
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Aug 4, 2011 19:10
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Sophia posted:But if you have higher expenses, then it's going to be more. The rule of thumb I've seen most often here is 3-6 months of expenses, but it's very situational. Thanks. Yeah, I know that higher expenses definitely means higher emergency fund threshold. The 3-6 months rule seems to make more sense, but even that still seems dangerously small to me, especially in the current climate. I feel more comfortable with 12+ months, but maybe (probably) I'm just more risk-averse than most people v  v. I'm just trying to gauge how much my approach differs from "the norm", but I guess there really isn't one huh?
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Aug 4, 2011 19:13
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Yeah, that's possible. For me I tend to go with 6 months but highball my expenses, which gets you to roughly the same mental place. I also know that I would slash my expenses to the bone in a heartbeat if necessary, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to have that mindset, either. In terms of whether or not you're doing the "most" with your money, it depends on whether or not having that cash on hand makes you feel enough better to outweigh the potential gains you could get if it was invested more aggressively. It sounds like it is, so I wouldn't worry about it too much! You're right that there really is no normal, it's just what's prudent and comfortable for you.
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Aug 4, 2011 19:17
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Guinness posted:Thanks. Yeah, I know that higher expenses definitely means higher emergency fund threshold. The 3-6 months rule seems to make more sense, but even that still seems dangerously small to me, especially in the current climate. I feel more comfortable with 12+ months, but maybe (probably) I'm just more risk-averse than most people v To give one more echo, 3-6 was the norm in 2007/2008. Most people would talk now in terms of 8 or 9 with 6 being the low end. Finding a job can be difficult right now if you are laid off. I personally am aiming more at the 6 month target but I have actually worked out an 'economic disaster' emergency plan with my partner of how we are going to deal with either of our incomes being interrupted. Just like with having too much insurance, there is such a thing as too much of an emergency cushion. As is the current topic in the Long Term Investing thread right now, if you have too much money in your emergency fund you end up wasting a significant portion to inflation. 1% return vs 3% inflation = -2% real return. Get a large enough principle like say $100k and that really starts to matter. What was $100k, after just 5 years is now $90k. Edit for math skilz 
KennyG fucked around with this message at 03:03 on Aug 5, 2011 |
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Aug 5, 2011 01:38
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KennyG posted:To give one more echo, 3-6 was the norm in 2007/2008. Most people would talk now in terms of 8 or 9 with 6 being the low end. Finding a job can be difficult right now if you are laid off. I personally am aiming more at the 6 month target but I have actually worked out an 'economic disaster' emergency plan with my partner of how we are going to deal with either of our incomes being interrupted. Not trying to split hairs, but a 2% return in a 3% inflationary environment would be a -1% real return.
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Aug 5, 2011 02:40
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TraderStav posted:Not trying to split hairs, but a 2% return in a 3% inflationary environment would be a -1% real return. Your right, I meant 1% return. People would be  over a 2% simple interest return right now. I was double checking my math and had a dyslexic moment.
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Aug 5, 2011 03:02
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Puppy Milliner posted:I just got a collection account that was not mine succesfully removed off my credit report through Experian. Do I need to dispute it again with the other 2 reporting agencies, or does it kind of propogate to them? Yes. You do need to dispute it with Transunion and Equifax. I would also periodically check your credit at least annually and make sure it doesn't pop back on. It can happen either by mistake or even fraud. Collection agencies have been known to try to collect debts that have already been paid. Some people are either so clueless, overwhelmed, or afraid they pay it anyway. If your luck is like my luck, it will reinsert its self right before you are trying to do something big.
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Aug 5, 2011 03:25
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OK so here's what I think I'm going to do:pre:Double payments on student loans Student Loans 1 310 Student Loans 2 170 Investments Roth IRA 420 401k 500 Savings Car Insurance 75 Car Purchase 400 Gifts 100 Vacation 300 Emergency 300 The retirement contributions come out to $11,000 a year, which is 13.5% of my gross income currently, so I think that's not too bad. This also gives me like $75 leftover to cover my disability insurance plus random small irregular/misc expenses like haircuts or if I go over in some category or whatever. How does that look? Also, for the car purchase I plan on making in like 5 years... should I keep this in my ING savings account or do you guys think I should invest this somehow since it's a few years out? My HSA does provide investment options but only like 10-20 possible funds, I am going to have to look them over to see what's any good. Lowest expense ratio I saw at first glance was like .85. I guess Vanguard has spoiled me. I will also re-evaluate my 401k holdings and contributions since I set those up years ago as a dumb college kid. Could probably use some help with those but I guess those are questions for the retirement/investment thread. sighnoceros fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Aug 5, 2011 |
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Aug 5, 2011 03:45
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Guinness posted:Thanks. Yeah, I know that higher expenses definitely means higher emergency fund threshold. The 3-6 months rule seems to make more sense, but even that still seems dangerously small to me, especially in the current climate. I feel more comfortable with 12+ months, but maybe (probably) I'm just more risk-averse than most people v I'm with you, but of course everyone's situation is different. I've generally kept 12+ months worth of living costs as an emergency fund. KennyG posted:As is the current topic in the Long Term Investing thread right now, if you have too much money in your emergency fund you end up wasting a significant portion to inflation. 1% return vs 3% inflation = -2% real return. Get a large enough principle like say $100k and that really starts to matter. What was $100k, after just 5 years is now $90k. It is true that holding too much cash will drag down your returns over the longterm. But I do think it is worth discussing the tendency for people to be particularly afraid of holding cash during low interest rate environments (this post is not necessarily directed at you). It really does not matter whether cash is currently underperforming inflation right now. What matters is the risk premium that riskier assets have relative to cash. I doubt that has changed much. When cash is returning -1% real and stocks are returning 2% real, is it really worth taking on the risk of stocks anymore so than when cash is returning 1% real and stocks are returning 4% real? In both cases, the risk premium is the same. (one might argue that in the former case, your need to take risk goes up and thus one should increase equity allocation, but that kind of talk is dangerous. Seriously, in a weak economy... just suck it up, work harder, and save more.) I know it is hard to accept a negative real return in cash right now, but take comfort in that over the longterm, t-bills and cash equivalents average 0.5% to 1% over inflation. If cash equivalents yield below inflation for extended periods of time, it is an annoyance but not one that should be acted upon. There is no free lunch. Low interest rates tend to make people start playing hot potato with their cash. But wise investing requires patience and fortitude. IMO, the discipline to hold cash during a low interest rate environment is just as important as the discipline to buy during severe bear markets. Of course I am talking all within the context of holding stocks, cash, and bonds according to your asset allocation and/or emergency fund needs. 80k fucked around with this message at 08:19 on Aug 5, 2011 |
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Aug 5, 2011 08:11
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Hi, I was hoping someone could take a look at my household budget (2 adults, 1 cat) and let me know if things look okay. I also have a few questions about savings and whatnot at the bottom. I apologize in advance for the wall of text:pre:Main Income: 3200 Expenses: Bicycle 35 Internet 67 Utilities 200 Education 125 Lovelyn Blow 150 Mr. Lovelyn Blow 150 Joint Blow 75 Groceries 400 Rent 550 Pet food/Vet 50 Misc 100 Savings 1000 -This budget leaves about $300 unaccounted for to serve as a buffer in case we go over at any point, and it will go into savings every few months -We live in a small college town while I finish up my (funded) Masters, so we both commute on our bikes and with the (free) bus system. The bike fund is basically used for repairs and maintenance such as yearly tune-ups, new tires, etc -The internet bill is very high but unfortunately non-negotiable. The rental community we live in owns/runs their own cable company and will not let us get service from any other company (I tried - they blocked the Cox Cable guy from hooking us up). This pays for cable internet and TV, and they will not let us get ONLY internet  -Although my University is paying for my tuition and my health insurance, they are not paying for the student fees that amount up to about $500/semester, nor do they pay for books (which I usually buy used online or check out from the library) -The blow money is quite high and we usually don't spend that much, so we might reduce it and throw the rest into savings -We have about $3,000 in our emergency fund and are adding $1k/month to it QUESTIONS: Does the budget look alright, more-or-less? We don't have much in the way of long term goals at the moment. We decided before we got married that kids are not for us, and if we ever choose to own a home it will not be in the foreseeable future. We just want a comfortable retirement as early as possible. Right now our "emergency fund" is just in our regular checking account. I want to move the money to a different bank that will give us at least SOMEWHAT of a return, but Mr. Lovelyn says that because the rates are so low, it's not worth the potential risks (the bank changing the policy to add fees/charges and us not knowing about it because we're too lazy to read the mail, the hassle of moving it over if we need it, etc) since the amount is so low. Is he right about this? If so, at what point would it be "worth it" to move the money to a MMA or similar account? He is also concerned about liquidity. I will be getting paid $10,000 for this academic year through my assistantship. I want to use this to max out my Roth IRA and start/max out one for Mr. Lovelyn. Mine is currently in Chase and I believe has fees/penalties associated with moving it to another bank (like Vanguard); does anyone have experience with either getting these waived, or getting the new bank to cover them? Thanks in advance 
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Aug 6, 2011 02:12
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Lovelyn posted:
I'd start budgeting some money for your legal defense or rehab. I guess at least your budgeting your real expenses. It may not seem like much but 10% of your income is going to blow... That will almost fully fund a ROTH IRA for one of you in a year. After 40 years, that's $1.25m, TAX FREE. Your in the finance thread asking if your spending too much in one area or another, I'd say this is your big one. Where is your Phone expense? is that rolled into utility? As to your internet drama, if it was worth it to you, you could inform your landlord that their policy is anti-competitive and likely a violation of the Sherman anti-trust act and in any event violates the FCC's regulations that as a communications provider they have submitted to. They are using their position in one area to exert pressure on the market in another. SCOTUS posted:On May 26, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals upheld the FCC’s order banning cable companies from entering into exclusive contracts to provide telecommunications services in multi-unit developments such as apts & condominiums. If you are saving $1000/mo you could quite easily be saving enough money to top any 'surprise' fee that an ING/Ally/SmartyPig would spring on you. Even at 1%, if you have $12,000, that's $10 mo. None of them are going to have a $10 monthly fee. After 1 month you are ahead. ING and Ally would have the benefit that you could use a debit card/atm so there would be no liquidity issue.
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Aug 6, 2011 03:29
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KennyG posted:GOOD ADVICE I completely agree that the blow amount is way too high, and like I said, we don't go anywhere near that. I'm open to decreasing it. What % of income is recommended for blow/entertainment for two people? And what should we do with that money, consider it savings? My paychecks from school will go to max out our Roths Phone expense doesn't exist at the moment, my brother is nice enough to have me on his family plan and doesn't require me to pony up $10/month, and my partner has a similar arrangement with his family, although that will be changing in November when he will be switching to pre-paid. Regarding my so-called internet drama, at the moment I would prefer to not challenge it, simply because I have to live here until May and I don't want the leasing office getting petty/vindictive. I appreciate the info though, it's really interesting and confirms how shady they're being. [E/N] I asked my partner to read your post and he's still unmoved regarding the savings. He said having so many accounts with multiple banks would stress him out. He said he'd consider it if we could get one with a large national bank like Wells Fargo but the rate is abysmal 
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Aug 6, 2011 04:53
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Lovelyn posted:[E/N] I asked my partner to read your post and he's still unmoved regarding the savings. He said having so many accounts with multiple banks would stress him out. He said he'd consider it if we could get one with a large national bank like Wells Fargo but the rate is abysmal Mint.com No stress. I find it easier to manage my accounts than I ever did when all I had was a Chase account with linked Chase credit cards. The problem with most banks is that their websites do a great job of not showing you the fees they are charging. You can have Mint send you an email or text. Also, please look into a small credit union and get away from the big banks. With FDIC $250k protection the only reason to be with a big bank is if you like rough non-consensual anal sex As to your first question. Try cutting it in half, and then maybe after 6 months try doing it again. 5-10% isn't unreasonable for an entertainment budget but if all you ever do is blow, then that kind of makes you a coke head... (I really didn't mean that as mean as it sounds, my point is if really isn't a problem and it's purely recreational, try and mix in some other activities.)
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Aug 6, 2011 05:41
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I don't think he means "blow" in terms of slang for cocaine, he means it as money that you blow on random miscellaneous stuff. It's a colloquial thing. My mom referred to her disposable spending money as "blow money" sometimes as well.
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Aug 6, 2011 14:03
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Sophia posted:I don't think he means "blow" in terms of slang for cocaine, he means it as money that you blow on random miscellaneous stuff. It's a colloquial thing. My mom referred to her disposable spending money as "blow money" sometimes as well. Correct - this is a drug free home I think I picked up the term from the Zaurg thread (or one of the others), where he was referring to his entertainment money as Hookers and Blow and then just Blow. That being said, I guess for now I can leave it at 10% for entertainment?Thanks for the advice!
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Aug 6, 2011 14:57
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KennyG posted:I'd start budgeting some money for your legal defense or rehab. I guess at least your budgeting your real expenses. It may not seem like much but 10% of your income is going to blow...  I was like, well at least she's budgeting it....Well then, I retract my statement. 10% for entertainment/stupid expenses is a very reasonable amount.
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Aug 6, 2011 18:58
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I've just graduated from a long college run, and have landed a well paying job, however I now have a small mountain of student loans staring down at me. I have a couple basic questions regarding student loans and I apologize if they've been covered already. All of my loans are fixed rate subsidized or unsubsidized types, and currently about 15-20% of those loans are at a fantastic 1.87% interest, while the remainder are at a less pleasant 6.8%. I don't really have any other debt currently beyond the student loans. 1) Is consolidating all my loans that great of an idea? I see the benefits of only paying one payment monthly, however to my untrained eye it seems like long-term it would be more efficient of me to keep the loans seperate. As my loans exist now, I could specifically pay down the higher interest ones quickly, while just paying the minimum on the loans with the better rates. Are my assumptions correct in that this would save me more money long-term? Or would the amount saved be pretty inconsequential? 2) Should I focus all my "extra money" towards paying down my loans, or should I balance it between loans and investments? My current thinking is throwing everything at the loans, while donating just enough to my 401k to meet my job's matching. In my mind it seems the stock market is incredibly volatile right now, while paying the loans would always deduce a specific amount from long-term interest payments. 3) I have a well paying job, but also a mountain of debt. I'm kind of a fool and have never owned a credit card until now beyond a Kohl's store card, just using a debit card for all my transactions. As I understand it, not owning a credit card will damage my credit opportunities in the long run. Is this true? Because I'm pretty sure most credit card companies will just look at my mountain of student loans debt and deny me all but the shittiest cards I'd want to apply for. So I guess my question is: is my logic correct that I need a card, and it so, how should I go about acquiring a card with the hope of in the future obtaining one of the nicer rewards type cards?
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Aug 7, 2011 06:02
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Student loans will build credit. I had about 70k in loans coming out of school. With those and 1 year of a credit card I had a 727 credit score. Pretty good, IMO. Personally, I would contribute enough to get full match and put the rest into paying off loans. Yeah, you need to invest early, but paying loans off is a 'guaranteed return', as is 401 match. Sounds like you've got a good plan. Consolidating does something 'like' taking all your loans, averaging the total interest, adds 0.1% and groups them together. Dependent upon your desires, I'd just keep them separate and pay off the high interest ASAP. Once those are down maybe you could think about consolidating then or something. Or not. I wouldn't count yourself out on a card. I got a 5k limit with about 60k in student debt when I applied. You won't be hosed on credit, as you'll have history with you s. loans, but using one or two cards responsibly won't hurt. Just my opinion.
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Aug 7, 2011 06:17
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I skimmed through the thread and if this was asked and answered, then I must have missed it but are there any good personal finance software packages / services for non-US folks? Mint looks cool but I can't make it link to my non-US bank accounts or show things in Euros like I need. I used to use MS Money several years ago when I lived in the US but it seems like the product has been discontinued for the most part. Does Quicken handle non-US accounts well?
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Aug 7, 2011 07:40
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Where is a good place to keep your emergency fund? I've had mine in a money market account and I'm making basically no money in interest. Would a simple savings account be better? My emergency fund is larger than normally discussed (ie more than 5k)
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Aug 7, 2011 15:31
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agentq posted:Where is a good place to keep your emergency fund? I've had mine in a money market account and I'm making basically no money in interest. Would a simple savings account be better? My emergency fund is larger than normally discussed (ie more than 5k) It should be more than 5k. It's supposed to be 6-8mo expenses, or 3 at the very least. I'd say just keep it somewhere reasonably liquid. You need to be able to access it within a few days or immediately. I keep mine in a different bank from my checking because it used to gain more interest and it makes it more emotionally separate from my okay-to-spend money.
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Aug 7, 2011 17:32
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Eggplant Wizard posted:It should be more than 5k. It's supposed to be 6-8mo expenses, or 3 at the very least. I'd say just keep it somewhere reasonably liquid. You need to be able to access it within a few days or immediately. I keep mine in a different bank from my checking because it used to gain more interest and it makes it more emotionally separate from my okay-to-spend money. Sounds good, I'll look into the ING/Smarty Pig accounts people have been talking about. I think a standard saving account with USAA probably isn't the way to go.
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Aug 7, 2011 18:01
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keiran_helcyan posted:3) I have a well paying job, but also a mountain of debt. I'm kind of a fool and have never owned a credit card until now beyond a Kohl's store card, just using a debit card for all my transactions. As I understand it, not owning a credit card will damage my credit opportunities in the long run. Is this true? Because I'm pretty sure most credit card companies will just look at my mountain of student loans debt and deny me all but the shittiest cards I'd want to apply for. So I guess my question is: is my logic correct that I need a card, and it so, how should I go about acquiring a card with the hope of in the future obtaining one of the nicer rewards type cards? Perversely, I think, student loan debt is considered "good debt". Having debt is not necessarily considered a negative on your credit score. Where is does become an issue is your "percent usage" - i.e., if you have a 5000$ credit limit, and are carrying a 4900$ balance, they will see that you are not able to manage credit you have been given. If you have student loans, and are paying them off/in deferment and show up as "never late" - you are managing your debt well and therefore a "good risk" for them.
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Aug 8, 2011 00:14
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Credit Card Question: I went to check my credit card score and found out that my account information was mismatched somewhere. Oh, right. I legally changed my name last year and never updated my credit cards. I was able to check my credit rating in my old name (FAKO score was around 660), but I figure updating that information is a good idea. Would changing my name on the cards do it, or is there something else I need to do? What about my credit card account that's closed, but that I owe money on?
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Aug 8, 2011 01:19
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Is there a new bankruptcy thread since the one linked in the OP is closed? Alternately, any Chicago area law goons who handle Chapter 7's or know a lawyer who does? I have no student loans anymore, make less than the Illinois median income and do not own a house or car. State law always me to exempt $4K worth of poo poo, which I don't even think I exceed. My buddy's uncle is a lawyer, but he's on vacation right now and we're not sure if he does financial stuff. I'd rather not go with a lawyer that advertises on late night TV.
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Aug 8, 2011 04:26
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keiran_helcyan posted:I've just graduated from a long college run, and have landed a well paying job, however I now have a small mountain of student loans staring down at me. I have a couple basic questions regarding student loans and I apologize if they've been covered already. How much debt are we talking about? What is a small mountain? Like Dead Pressed said, I don’t see much point in consolidation. Student loans are fixed rates now. It made more sense a few years back because they used to be variable when they were originated and consolidation fixed the rate along with doing a weighted average. Now it just does a weighted average. For investing, I would hate to see you give up your match, so I would do that (no Roth IRA) until they are paid. It is true the stock market has been especially volatile, but you are talking long term money and the volatility will average out. That said, I would still throw everything at the loans. I don’t care if you pay the 6.8% first, or smallest first, but even when you get to the ones that are 1.87%, I would still pay those off earlier too. It’s easy to say that they are so low and view it as free money, and you can get more return elsewhere, and you probably can, but they just get annoying once you have had them for 10 or 12 years. If you want or need a credit card, you should get one. But you have plenty of credit history with these loans. If you never go late on the loans and your debt to income ratio is in line, don’t worry, some bank will be more than happy to give you money. You don’t need to get a credit card if you don’t want/need one. BTW, your debt to income ratio is calculated by adding up your required payments in relation to your before tax income, so having a mountain of debt is not a disqualifier. What is a disqualifier is if your payments are so high that you can barely afford them.
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Aug 8, 2011 21:41
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RabbitMage posted:Credit Card Question: Even with your old name, because the bank still has your date of birth, social security number and address, these accounts should still be on there just fine. Even if you moved, they would be matching a previously known older address. I would officially change your name and go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com a few months later to make sure nothing weird happened. But I would be surprised if those unchanged cards were not on there even now.
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Aug 8, 2011 21:45
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OK, so I have a question about emergency funds. Is it better to be paying off short-term revolving debt or to be building up an emergency fund? I have practically no savings having just graduated and spent myself into a corner. After fixed expenses such as rent, car payment, car insurance, etc. (but not including groceries or just "spending") I have about $1700 a month left over, and 100% of which is going towards paying down the remaining $4500 or so of credit card debt I have. My plan right now is to cut spending and pay down my credit cards as fast as possible so as to eliminate that portion of my balance sheet; the question is whether or not I should be putting everything left over towards that plan or if I should keep some of that liquidity around for emergencies or to make cash purchases instead of putting everything on my credit cards like I usually tend to do.
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Aug 8, 2011 23:24
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TheShrike fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Nov 18, 2016 |
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Aug 8, 2011 23:36
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illamint posted:OK, so I have a question about emergency funds. Is it better to be paying off short-term revolving debt or to be building up an emergency fund? I have practically no savings having just graduated and spent myself into a corner. After fixed expenses such as rent, car payment, car insurance, etc. (but not including groceries or just "spending") I have about $1700 a month left over, and 100% of which is going towards paying down the remaining $4500 or so of credit card debt I have. I'd tell you to go the "Dave Ramsey" path since you can pay it off so soon. Build a 1k emergency fund then pay 100% into the debt you've got. Once that's paid off, build a nice 6+ month emergency fund. The likelihood you'll experience a catastrophe greater than 1k in the next 4 months is pretty drat small, so that's the plan I would take.
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Aug 8, 2011 23:48
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Kontradaz posted:I'm in college right now. I have a Visa Credit Card with a savings and checking account that I've been adding money to. I want to get a separate Credit Card that's not joined with my parents account that I could deposit money into and use it online with. Which one should I get and how do I go about doing it? illamint, would your parents be able to float you cash in case of a true emergency? If so, I wouldn't worry about building an emergency fund and just slash that debt as soon as you can.
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Aug 9, 2011 00:26
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moana posted:illamint, would your parents be able to float you cash in case of a true emergency? If so, I wouldn't worry about building an emergency fund and just slash that debt as soon as you can.
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Aug 9, 2011 00:42
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illamint posted:Parents are probably worse off than me, but between other family members I could probably come up with something. Certainly not for more than a month or twos worth of expenses, though, hence the concern. I think I'll do what Dead Pressed said and work towards having $1000 on hand, and then I'll go from there. I've got a 0% balance transfer offer from Citi that can let me consolidate my higher-interest cards into one, so I can take what I would've been paying on those and put it towards some savings. Make sure it doesn't have a balance transfer fee if you do choose to do that. Most do now.
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Aug 9, 2011 14:11
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