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I have a question about my bank, and what sort of boundaries they have with regards to my money. I had about $100 in late fees owed to a loan through Citizen's Bank. This is the same bank I have my checking account through. Yesterday, the bank withdrew the $100 in late fees from my account and paid it towards the loan without notifying me or asking for my permission. I only found out today when I went to go purchase some stuff for dinner, and my card was declined. Now, I have no other money. The loan is maxed out, so I cannot withdraw anything from it. That $100 was supposed to last me for another week and a half until my next pay day. I am now penniless and hungry to boot. Is there anything at all I can do to get my $100 back? My current plan of action is to go into the bank tomorrow and close everything I have with them down and take my money elsewhere, because this isn't the first time that Citizen's Bank has screwed me over in one way or another, and I'm quite sick of it.
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# ? Oct 27, 2011 06:03 |
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# ? May 25, 2024 19:28 |
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neogeo0823 posted:I have a question about my bank, and what sort of boundaries they have with regards to my money. I had about $100 in late fees owed to a loan through Citizen's Bank. This is the same bank I have my checking account through. You likely don't have a good recourse other than to speak to a representative. Be nice and pleasant. Tell them your situation and ask for a break. It is likely that the way the agreements are written, they have the right to do what you just said, so it'll be on them to make an exception.
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# ? Oct 27, 2011 14:25 |
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neogeo0823 posted:I have a question about my bank, and what sort of boundaries they have with regards to my money. I had about $100 in late fees owed to a loan through Citizen's Bank. This is the same bank I have my checking account through. They don’t have to return the money to your checking account. Maybe you will get a manager who will be nice, but they don’t have to. You probably signed reams of paper when you got your loan, and I’m not saying you should have read it all before you signed it. No one does that and if they did, you would be there for 3 hours. But my point is what they did is completely standard and not out of line. This might sound cold, but their concern is to their shareholders, to reduce loan losses, and not how you are going to by groceries. A credit union would have done the same. If you are truly going to go hungry, you may need to go to your local food bank. It does makes sense to open another checking account at another bank or credit union when you get paid again. But recognize that you are broke. If $100 is all it takes to throw your life into turmoil, that is the definition of being broke. You need to be on a written budget, establish an emergency fund, live on less than you make, and have a plan to get out of debt. Listen to Dave Ramsey or download the podcast today.
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# ? Oct 27, 2011 16:37 |
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Zeta Taskforce posted:They don’t have to return the money to your checking account. Maybe you will get a manager who will be nice, but they don’t have to. You probably signed reams of paper when you got your loan, and I’m not saying you should have read it all before you signed it. No one does that and if they did, you would be there for 3 hours. But my point is what they did is completely standard and not out of line. This might sound cold, but their concern is to their shareholders, to reduce loan losses, and not how you are going to by groceries. A credit union would have done the same. Oh, I know I'm broke. I'm trying to find some kind of money to pay for bankruptcy. It doesn't help that poo poo like this happens and now I've got nothing again. I may indeed need to go to a food bank later this week, but now I'm more concerned with how I'm going to get back and forth to work, seeing as that's the only job I've got and it pays for my rent and utilities. I've got a friend who's a manager at one of the branches near where I work. Maybe she can do something for me...
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# ? Oct 27, 2011 17:12 |
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neogeo0823 posted:Oh, I know I'm broke. I'm trying to find some kind of money to pay for bankruptcy. It doesn't help that poo poo like this happens and now I've got nothing again. I may indeed need to go to a food bank later this week, but now I'm more concerned with how I'm going to get back and forth to work, seeing as that's the only job I've got and it pays for my rent and utilities. How much debt are you talking about? How does it relate to your income? Is this credit card debt, car loans, installment loans? If you can’t pay it, its better to let it go than starve, not have gas money, fall behind on utilities. Once you open a new checking account, that might be what happens. But depending on the type of debt and the amount, it may be better to fall behind on it, accept the dings to your credit, and catch up on it when you can, than it will be to declare bankruptcy.
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# ? Oct 27, 2011 17:50 |
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I am a complete newbie when it comes to investing and such, and I would like some advice from those who are more savvy. I'm in the Navy, and when I joined I signed up to the TSP (Thrift Savings Plan) and plopped 10% of my pay for roughly four years now into that. I also had 15000$ in savings just sitting in their respective accounts and recently had to dip into it for $5000. So I now have $10000 and my dad mentioned I should I should buy Certificate of Deposits and explained them. All this boils down to is I got some sort of retirement thing I don't understand (TSP) going, and am wondering what I should do with my other savings. I just had to use 5k for car issues, so should I buy a 5k CD and then sit on the other 5k for emergencies... and buy another 5k CD when I amass that much? As it is I just have the money sitting in savings accounts. I have no debt or anything crazy going on, just wondering as a newbie where I should start with making the most of my savings. I don't have any future plans as of right now, I got married last year but we keep or finances seperate. No children planned for the immediate future, and no house buying either. I just want to do something with my money so when those things do come into view I'll be somewhat prepared.
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# ? Oct 27, 2011 20:36 |
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CDs are a pretty bad proposition right now, even for being FDIC insured. Interest rates are incredibly low across the board, and you can often get an equivalent or even higher rate in a "high" yield savings account (ING, Ally, etc) right now without forfeiting liquidity. The only CDs that have higher APYs than high yield savings accounts tend to be long-term CDs, and even then it's only by a very marginal amount. For example, my ING Direct savings account is at 0.9% APY right now and has no penalties or fees for pulling money out. The only ING-offered CD that beats that is a 60-month CD at 1.1%. Ally has some better CD rates, with a 12-month at 1.03%, and their 60-month at 1.89%. So it depends on what liquidity is worth to you. If you want to stay liquid, move to a high interest savings account. If you don't mind not touching the money for 3-5 years, a CD from somewhere like Ally wouldn't be a bad idea, but there are better investment vehicles for that time horizon (but they aren't FDIC backed). Also, if the money is money you are okay with not touching for a long time and don't have an IRA already, consider opening one for the tax benefits. IRAs vary a lot, but most of them allow you to invest in CDs and mutual funds through the IRA. Others allow you to buy stocks and ETFs through the IRA. The maximum annual contribution is $5000 IIRC. Guinness fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Oct 27, 2011 |
# ? Oct 27, 2011 21:00 |
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Guinness posted:CD info Well now that I'm finally starting to inform myself this makes more sense. I have two accounts, one at Navy Federal and the other at USAA. They're low APY savings accounts (.30% / .40%) but I was looking at the CDs for each one and they're not terrible, especially this one at navy fed: USAA's options: Navy Fed's additional options: So I'm thinking that intial one from Navy Fed for the max $3000 would be a nice idea, then an additional 2k to USAA for maybe the 12-15 month option, then opening a high yield savings account like you mentioned so I can have some liquidity sloshing around but still gaining higher interest than my current stuff is. If I do this, would closing my current savings accounts with USAA and Navy Federal affect my credit score or anything? I use both banks with checking accounts/credit cards. You also mentioned other investment options that are not FDIC backed, would you mind expanding on them? vvv thanks! feverish and oversexed fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Oct 27, 2011 |
# ? Oct 27, 2011 21:49 |
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leftover posted:You also mentioned other investment options that are not FDIC backed, would you mind expanding on them? The Long-Term Investing and Retirement Savings Thread The Stock Picking, Analysis, and Trading Megathread (rich jerks itt)
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# ? Oct 27, 2011 21:56 |
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Zeta Taskforce posted:How much debt are you talking about? How does it relate to your income? Is this credit card debt, car loans, installment loans? I'm about $23,000 in debt, mostly from unsecured loans and credit cards. I rent and have no secured loans to pay off. I've already gone through my options and even posted a thread about it right on this board. Basically, I'm living far beyond my means, with monthly bills that are hundreds of dollars a month more than I make. I've tried to find more/better jobs over the last 6 months, tried to cut back what I could, but the sad truth is, all said and done, that I've got way too much debt for my income, and currently, bankruptcy is my only way out of this mess. Don't get me wrong, I wish there was an alternative. This isn't some problem that just cropped up last week though. I've been to the local CCCS, which would only have saved me $3/month total. I've been to all the banks and credit unions in the area looking for consolidation loans, to no avail. Basically, unless some kind soul feels like donating $23,000 to me, I'm going to have to suck it up, take the credit hit for 7 years, and move on with my life.
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# ? Oct 28, 2011 00:36 |
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neogeo0823 posted:I'm about $23,000 in debt, mostly from unsecured loans and credit cards. I rent and have no secured loans to pay off. I've already gone through my options and even posted a thread about it right on this board. Basically, I'm living far beyond my means, with monthly bills that are hundreds of dollars a month more than I make. I've tried to find more/better jobs over the last 6 months, tried to cut back what I could, but the sad truth is, all said and done, that I've got way too much debt for my income, and currently, bankruptcy is my only way out of this mess. Somehow missed that thread. Bad mod. I think you mostly got good advice in that thread. Unless your income prospects improve, there is no way you can pay this debt. No responsible bank is going to give you another loan, and it wouldn't matter if they did. Interest rates are not the problem. My boss likes to say that it is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. I'm not sure if you declare bankruptcy today, but if you decide to, we are still friends. But you need to stop paying the debt though. They were dumb to give a young guy with a shaky job and very low income that much money. I still say you and your gf need to be on a written budget, you need to pay cash and use debit cards for stuff, learn the difference between needs and wants. You are unbankable and you should have no expectation of using loans, credit cards, and lines of credit to see you through life's peaks and valleys. If you go a year without paying on your debt, your credit will be destroyed. But you will either be making more money, you will have saved something, and you can start settling the debt. Or if they start suing you and getting judgments and garnishing your wages, then you can declare bankruptcy, but by then hopefully you will be able to afford the attorney and you won't emerge from bankruptcy as broke as you are now. I'm also perplexed as to your girlfriends plans to pursue a dual degree in anthropology and the other thing, theatre? basket weaving? and what she intends to do with it Buffalo. Either way you said something about her financing a car with her parents. Trust me, that is going to end in disaster.
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# ? Oct 28, 2011 03:17 |
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Well, in a year, assuming I remember to, I'll post an update thread about the whole experience. Hopefully everything will turn out ok.
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# ? Oct 28, 2011 04:24 |
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Sorry to double post, but I have another question. Are there any services in Buffalo, NY that offer aid to those who are facing bankruptcy? Literally everything I've been trying over the last couple of months has either fallen through or proved to be a dead end. I need $1400 to declare bankruptcy, which is a huge sum of money for me. At the rate I'm going, short of robbing a bank, winning the lotto, or finding a cache of hidden Nazi gold in my basement, I'll never have that much money.
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# ? Oct 28, 2011 21:30 |
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neogeo0823 posted:Sorry to double post, but I have another question. Are there any services in Buffalo, NY that offer aid to those who are facing bankruptcy? Literally everything I've been trying over the last couple of months has either fallen through or proved to be a dead end. I need $1400 to declare bankruptcy, which is a huge sum of money for me. At the rate I'm going, short of robbing a bank, winning the lotto, or finding a cache of hidden Nazi gold in my basement, I'll never have that much money. Do you have any electronics you could sell?
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# ? Oct 28, 2011 22:09 |
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illcendiary posted:Do you have any electronics you could sell? Not really. I have my computer, but then how else would I get advice from this forum? My car isn't really worth selling either, and I need it for transportation more than anything else right now.
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# ? Oct 28, 2011 22:59 |
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neogeo0823 posted:Not really. I have my computer, but then how else would I get advice from this forum? My car isn't really worth selling either, and I need it for transportation more than anything else right now. If you're going to declare bankruptcy, wouldn't it make sense to cease payment on all of your debts? How much are you paying a month? How long would it take to accumulate the $1400? Good point to note, you can't discharge your student loans in bankruptcy.
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# ? Oct 28, 2011 23:55 |
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TheShrike fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Nov 18, 2016 |
# ? Oct 29, 2011 04:56 |
Kontradaz posted:I'm in college and just got a part time job. Gonna be earning about 500 bucks a month. What type of budget should I make and how much should I put aside in my savings? I really feel like if I don't do a budget or something I'll be wasting all the money away :\
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# ? Oct 29, 2011 05:29 |
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TraderStav posted:If you're going to declare bankruptcy, wouldn't it make sense to cease payment on all of your debts? How much are you paying a month? How long would it take to accumulate the $1400? Good point to note, you can't discharge your student loans in bankruptcy. No student loans, no car payments, and I rent. Without the bills, I spend ~$660/month on necessary things, like gas, food, rent, utilities, etc. I currently make $7-800/month. Even scrimping and saving as much as possible, it'd take me at least 6 months to save up what I needed.
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# ? Oct 29, 2011 15:41 |
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neogeo0823 posted:No student loans, no car payments, and I rent. Without the bills, I spend ~$660/month on necessary things, like gas, food, rent, utilities, etc. I currently make $7-800/month. Even scrimping and saving as much as possible, it'd take me at least 6 months to save up what I needed. TraderStav is right. Just stop paying the debt. BFC seems to be in near universal agreement about this. At your income you are in such a deep hole you will never see the end. A larger income, its more than manageable, but you need to eat today. Stop making payments on your debt. You are building up bankruptcy into too big a thing. You don't have a debt problem. You have an income problem. Bankruptcy will not give you an income, will not make it easier to keep your car's gas tank full. It will solve surprisingly few of your day to day struggles. It will legally discharge the debts. Meaning your creditors won't get paid. Which is what will happen when you stop sending them money (or open up a new checking account and they can't take it anymore)
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# ? Oct 29, 2011 17:28 |
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Oh, I haven't paid my creditors in about 2 months. I'm also currently getting between 8 and 12 calls from them a day, but that's beside the point. I guess I didn't make my previous post clear enough, but I'm making as much as I said, but I'm not paying into any of the bills, except for necessary things, like rent and utilities. So I'm maiking $7-800/month, but only paying ~$660/month in necessary things, not CC bills or anything.
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# ? Oct 29, 2011 17:55 |
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I just got caught up on the thread from where someone was asking about USAA. I have USAA for banking and insurance, and they are easily one of the best companies I've ever worked with. I, along with several friends had issues with their mortgage department though, and ended up going with someone else. Is anyone interested in having a bank reviews/suggestions section in the OP or to start a megathread about them/local credit unions? xaarman fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Oct 30, 2011 |
# ? Oct 30, 2011 06:39 |
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Kontradaz posted:I'm in college and just got a part time job. Gonna be earning about 500 bucks a month. What type of budget should I make and how much should I put aside in my savings? I really feel like if I don't do a budget or something I'll be wasting all the money away :\ I will say my personal advice is put away as much as possible now. And if you have a weekly meal plan and rent is paid for by loans, its honestly really achievable, since that is the one big expense. Set a goal of "I want XX amount in my savings." Put as much as possible to hit that first (assuming no credit card debt). I recommend a goal of $3,000 savings, $1,000 checking. That's what I had when I got out of college and it really really loving helps once you are out of college and on your own. The other nice thing is that (at least at BoA) you can get a higher savings rate when you put more money in it. I get a 1.0% ish interest rate and the only requirement is I must keep $2,500 in there at all times. Its high and not for everyone, but even when i have been really really hard for money, it keeps me from going under $2500. Also, open up a credit card now, and buy a candy bar each month and pay it off. It is possible to graduate from college with some savings and good credit, and it is worth it. Once you hit that, buy yourself something with the next paycheck. Good to reward yourself. In terms of budget that is up to you, I usually use Mint.com to set a general budget. That's probably the main achievable goal, I would guess you could look into investing next, which if you get to that point you can quickly get some mad savings built up for later. From my research the king of early investments is a Roth IRA, so I would research that. Worst case, make it a goal to have that XX amount in savings, so you can start up a Roth upon working. I made the mistake of not starting a Roth then, and it gets harder to start it as you move, switch jobs, etc. The big thing is to start.
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# ? Oct 30, 2011 16:37 |
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I want someone to back me up on this: our office just got visited by the friendly local Aflac representative who was selling a number of different types of supplemental insurance. Some are for cancer (if you get diagnosed, you get cash settlements depending on different events) or accidents, or hospitalization of any sort. I did the math based on the premiums charged, and it seems that unless something really really terrible happens they just aren't a good idea at all. I realize that this is the entire point of insurance, but it seems that best case scenario is you wind up breaking even - like for the accident plan, you'd have to get injured so severely that you have to see a doctor 3 times per year, or get injured so badly you are hospitalized for 18+ hours every three years to just break even on your premium payments (settlement money is equal to premiums paid). They sell a hospitalization plan as being great if you are planning children, and a google search turns up tons of mothers raving about it. Given that it costs ~$800 per year, and you have to have it for a year before you can get paid out, it just seems like you're very likely to pay more in premiums than you get, unless you have a kid at 1 year plus 1 day. Are these people raving about it just bad at math, or have they planned it so well that they are having very well-timed children? I'm torn in that all of this stuff seems like a good idea at face value, but the math doesn't work out. Yet, enough people are complimentary of it that I feel like maybe I'm missing something.
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# ? Oct 31, 2011 04:16 |
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Well, sort of six of one / half dozen of the other. For a healthy person, most of those types of specific things aren't going to make sense - better to just try to get some kind of comprehensive catastrophic coverage to cover a broad range of potentially high-cost medical situations. What will happen with those kinds of narrow coverage is that people who know they are at-risk (family history of cancer, do dangerous hobbies like rock-climbing) will be more prone to purchasing them, meaning that Aflac has to jack up the premiums, meaning healthy people are getting a bum deal. However, on the pregnancy thing, that type of coverage can work out especially if 1) people are bad with saving money 2) they're worried about complications in pregnancy or 3) they would be the type to skip out on prenatal care and check-ups or try to get out of the hospital ASAP because of the cost. Paying for something like that in advance, especially if it provides good coverage as it seems to, can really take a lot of the stress off of baby-having and can mean the mothers get more care than they would if they were paying as they went. It might also give them access to better quality of care than they could get normally. Again it would probably be stupid to sign up for it if you weren't going to have a baby for quite awhile, but if you were going to start trying, I can see doing it if you can afford it. The extra cost might be worth the peace of mind.
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# ? Oct 31, 2011 04:34 |
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Sophia posted:Well, sort of six of one / half dozen of the other. For a healthy person, most of those types of specific things aren't going to make sense - better to just try to get some kind of comprehensive catastrophic coverage to cover a broad range of potentially high-cost medical situations. What will happen with those kinds of narrow coverage is that people who know they are at-risk (family history of cancer, do dangerous hobbies like rock-climbing) will be more prone to purchasing them, meaning that Aflac has to jack up the premiums, meaning healthy people are getting a bum deal. Interesting...I hadn't thought about it in those terms. I'll revisit that later when it is closer to baby-time, I suppose.
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# ? Oct 31, 2011 15:57 |
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I think you're right in a general sense though: People are terrible at risk assessment in that kind of situation, the insurance companies know it and use it to make money.
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# ? Oct 31, 2011 16:49 |
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Yeah, that wasn't an endorsement to buy the insurance or anything. I don't work for Aflac. It might not make sense for you at all depending on your situation. I was more talking in the theoretical, that there can be hidden benefits, either financial or behavioral, to insurance that can make it viable even if on a pure numbers analysis it doesn't stack up. In general I personally think purchasing insurance for guaranteed events is kind of silly.
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# ? Oct 31, 2011 17:01 |
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How bad are these car dealers that offer "no credit check" car loans? My credit's ok, but it's becoming a bit hassle to get a (smallish) bank loan for a used car since I'm self-employed and haven't filed taxes for last year yet...
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# ? Oct 31, 2011 21:35 |
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fyo posted:How bad are these car dealers that offer "no credit check" car loans? My credit's ok, but it's becoming a bit hassle to get a (smallish) bank loan for a used car since I'm self-employed and haven't filed taxes for last year yet... There is a booming subprime market, they use their own credit scores and risk based pricing, you will pay much more then prime rates. Some of it is fairly exotic and may appear to be a bastard combination of a lease and a loan. Some repo at 10 dpd. Good luck!
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# ? Oct 31, 2011 21:39 |
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fyo posted:How bad are these car dealers that offer "no credit check" car loans? My credit's ok, but it's becoming a bit hassle to get a (smallish) bank loan for a used car since I'm self-employed and haven't filed taxes for last year yet... You might want to read this thread http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3400792 My experience as a loan officer is that people who get crappy rates on cars don't get in trouble by paying high rates. They get in trouble when all they can get are high rates and in spite of that they decide to get the Lincoln Navigator and finance it over 84 months to make the payments "affordable" Your options are to go through a normal bank or credit union first to see what they can do, pay cash for a beater, and your least best option is to go through a place like that. But its not suicidal to go to a place like that if you borrow very low and pay it off as quick as you can.
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# ? Oct 31, 2011 22:15 |
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Thanks for the input. Hm, even thought it'd be a smallish loan, reading that thread makes me think I should just put in the extra effort and go through a bank. For these sorts of car loans, if you sign for x number of years, you have to pay the interest for all those years no matter how soon you pay the full amount, correct? As opposed to banks where I understand you can take a 2-year loan then pay it off and 6 months and it's done..
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# ? Nov 1, 2011 16:58 |
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fyo posted:Thanks for the input. Ultimately this would be a question for them, but my guess is that it would be a simple interest loan without a prepayment penalty. But they will get you in other ways. Places like that know that their target buyers are don’t have a lot of options, and will likely charge a premium on what might be vehicles of questionable quality. Because they are dealing with a lot of rif raff, you may also find that their customer service and basic people skills are lacking and that they keep their buyers on a very short leash. Since you read the thread, you probably saw the link at the end, but it is an interesting read. http://www.latimes.com/business/buy...56.story?page=1
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# ? Nov 1, 2011 17:23 |
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how much am I losing by putting my retirement savings (over my employer match) all in my 401k as opposed to opening a Roth IRA for the extra? Do I need to correct this right away, or just keep it in mind if I change jobs or whenever I do a big financial review? I already have a vanguard account for my non retirement stuff, I assume its not too complex to setup with them and have an automatic withdrawal from my savings account every month? I know this depends on my current income and future income plus tax rates, so I'm just asking a general "This is a X/10 importance level".
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# ? Nov 1, 2011 21:57 |
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Xguard86 posted:how much am I losing by putting my retirement savings (over my employer match) all in my 401k as opposed to opening a Roth IRA for the extra? Do I need to correct this right away, or just keep it in mind if I change jobs or whenever I do a big financial review? I already have a vanguard account for my non retirement stuff, I assume its not too complex to setup with them and have an automatic withdrawal from my savings account every month? I've done math on pre vs post and I found that it's pretty close either way.
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# ? Nov 2, 2011 03:25 |
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xaarman posted:I just got caught up on the thread from where someone was asking about USAA. I have USAA for banking and insurance, and they are easily one of the best companies I've ever worked with. I, along with several friends had issues with their mortgage department though, and ended up going with someone else. One other thing I'd recommend, Fidelity has a Cash Management Account. It's essentially a checking account and FDIC insured. No fees, no minimums, they cover ATM charges. If people have an IRA or other investments with Fidelity, might as well set it up. You can use their mobile check scan service too if you carry $2500 in your portfolio. xaarman posted:Is anyone interested in having a bank reviews/suggestions section in the OP or to start a megathread about them/local credit unions? I think this would be a great idea if the mods are down. Can cover reviews of online banks and perhaps updates on savings account rates, features, and so on. There seems to be a lot of people asking about these banks as they become more profitable. I'd be willing to set one up too if people felt it didn't overlap too much on other threads.
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# ? Nov 2, 2011 03:57 |
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Niwrad posted:I think this would be a great idea if the mods are down. Can cover reviews of online banks and perhaps updates on savings account rates, features, and so on. There seems to be a lot of people asking about these banks as they become more profitable. I'd be willing to set one up too if people felt it didn't overlap too much on other threads. Go for it. Only thing is if you personally decide to do it, stick around to modify and update the OP as needed.
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# ? Nov 2, 2011 04:21 |
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Niwrad posted:I think this would be a great idea if the mods are down.
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# ? Nov 2, 2011 04:38 |
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Zeta Taskforce posted:Go for it. Only thing is if you personally decide to do it, stick around to modify and update the OP as needed.
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# ? Nov 4, 2011 00:23 |
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# ? May 25, 2024 19:28 |
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My bad, I made a checking/savings account one right after you did. Not sure how much they overlap. But feel free to merge whatever you want out of my post if it's duplicating efforts.
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# ? Nov 4, 2011 01:33 |