|
So my friend is looking to invest her retirement, and she went to a Primerica presentation. I seem to remember them as an MLM that should be stayed away from, anyone has any good sources regarding that? She's convinced that their investment products are the best deal she can get. She's also convinced that Mary-Kay is a great way to make money. The reason she got dragged to the presentation is that her friends got a debt consolidation deal through them - basically, they borrowed money to put in their (Primerica) RSRP, enough that they can use the tax return to pay off their debt. Apparently they're using the RSRP as a guarantee on the loan or something, and everything will be paid off in five years instead of twenty. I'm pretty convinced that this is a terrible idea, but I'm having a hard time putting "why" into words. It makes absolutely no sense to me, and I'm kind of pissed that someone with a goddamn management degree thinks that pyramids and MLMs are legal and great ideas.
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 17:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 07:49 |
|
|
rectangular posted:Our adviser wants us to bump the emergency fund up to $15,000 with the inheritance, which is fine. He doesn't want us to pay off the loan too early, as he thinks it's valuable to improve my husband's credit over time. This seems unnecessary to me, but I figure we can at least put a total of $600/mo towards the loan so we're not paying it off for 9 more years. He wants us to put the remaining $11,500 from the inheritance into a house fund, and says that this should be our priority. I figure we can contribute an additional $1,000 to it every month, if that's what he thinks is best. What's weird to me is that he's advising that we not use the quarterly money to fund our IRAs, but instead put that money in the house fund as well. This seems kind of crazy to me. Am I wrong in thinking that it's a bad idea? There are a number of things in here that would change recommendations: What's the interest rate on your student loans? How old are y'all? What's the market like for houses that you want? Do you expect what you need in a house to change over the next 10 years? How did you run up 8500 in cc debt? (This has more to do with the sustainability of your budget) In general, I'd recommend making retirement savings a habit, even when you're saving for other goals as well. This way you're not struggling to catch up later in life, and you're more used to living on less of your income. That said, I don't think many people are comfortable with the financial discipline necessary to get there, so the advice you got was more geared to the general public.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 17:51
|
|
|
FrozenVent posted:So my friend is looking to invest her retirement, and she went to a Primerica presentation. I seem to remember them as an MLM that should be stayed away from, anyone has any good sources regarding that? She's convinced that their investment products are the best deal she can get. She's also convinced that Mary-Kay is a great way to make money. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/employment/primerica.html If I search for "Company + scam" on google and the first page of results are all people claiming it's a scam, it's probably a scam.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 17:56
|
|
|
moana posted:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/employment/primerica.html Yeah, but there's also a few sites run by Primerica that explain in detail how it's not a scam. This friend tends to take things at face value. Thanks a lot for the link. Do you know where I can find something regarding their financial products as opposed to their employment / recruitment programs?
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:02
|
|
|
rectangular posted:My husband recently inherited $25,000 from his grandmother. We also just learned that we will be receiving $7,000 quarterly from a family trust. He comes from a wealthy family, so their financial adviser is working with us. I'm a little iffy about some of his recommendations. - increase emergency fund to 6mo full expenses, so ~20k with your current expenses. - pay off debt as rapidly as possible - fund IRA monthly/biweekly, budget for it, not just with quarterly income - IRA limit is $11k a year / 12 months = $916.66/mo, your budget gives you $384 in monthly spending money on top of this retirement savings - initially use quarterly income to wipe out remaining student loan debt, then use it to round up your savings So, I'd take $10k and put that into savings, and $6,500 and throw that at student loans. Then pay the monthly minimum and every quarter pay $7k against the student loan. Or $5k loan / $2k house savings. I think you should consider investing more money, too. If you guys are only doing an IRA, you're only investing roughly 13.8% of your gross income. This is a good number, but 20% would be a great number. Personally I'd want to get rid of the debt first, while maxing IRA contributions. You'll be debt free by spring 2014, and in a position to have about 20k saved for a downpayment by end of 2014. An alternative I see is holding off on IRA contributions to pay off loan faster and accumulate more money for a downpayment for a house. This is where it becomes a personal thing. Do you want to own sooner than later? Does 9-15 months matter to you(mo could be way off, depending on housing cost..) The best thing is definitely to eliminate debt and fund retirement, but you have personal choice here too, and buying a house may be something you value more than maxing retirement in the short term.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:05
|
|
|
Unless the trust income is very unreliable, I don't even see the point of having a $10,000 emergency. I would say $5000 would cover any short term cash needs.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:08
|
|
|
What is the percent interest on the student loan? How long will you receive money from this trust fund? If it's close to guaranteed income, he could be correct in suggesting that you not immediately pay the student loan. Furthermore, he might be correct in suggesting a house fund. Do you expect to be buying a house in the next 5-7 years? No, an emergency fund of 5000 is not enough. Your expenses point you at a bit lower than 3,269.25 per month among the two of you, and a 6 months time would suggest that 15,000 is a good amount.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:12
|
|
|
ntan1 posted:
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:16
|
|
|
Good point. I'd personally still be very uneasy with only $5000 in case of larger purchases, however. $10,000 should be enough.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:21
|
|
|
keroppl posted:Is there some reason you're ignoring the $7000 dumped on them every 3 months? Depending on how the trust is managed that payout could be tied to returns and designed to exhaust the fund. I would be hesitant to put any money I don't have direct control over down as guarranteed income for planning purposes.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:32
|
|
|
Ok, let's see if I can catch all the questions. The loan is at 6.55%.  I'm 30, he's 35. We live in San Francisco, so the housing market is ridiculous. Getting a $500,000 2 bedroom house in a moderately lovely neighborhood would be a steal. We rent from my parents, because the rental market is also ridiculous. No plans to leave the area, but we'd like to have a kid or two in the next few years. We both feel very strongly that houses are places to live, not investments, so we're not looking to buy a place only to upgrade in a few years. I would hope that we're able to buy a house in 5 years, but my husband would prefer sooner. The debt comes from 2 factors: my husband was never taught to budget, and he has only worked 4 months in the past 2 years (got a PhD, couldn't find anything but a lovely contract job, now hired in an unrelated trade position). I didn't know the extent of the debt until recently, but I believe it was mostly "good living" stuff - we love good food, both cook a lot, he likes fancy wines & scotches, etc. I think we've got the budgeting thing sorted now - YNAB is really good for him, because he sees only the money available in a given category. We've stuck with a slightly leaner version of this budget for 2 months. In January, I'll be able to start contributing to my company's 401k. They match 3% if I contribute 6%. The trust will continue until his mother's death, at which point he & his sister will inherit her estate. I definitely like the idea of funding the IRAs ourselves & bumping up the emergency savings a bit. I'm a bit miserly and don't really trust windfalls, even though logically I know the money is coming to us without strings attached.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:41
|
|
|
With your wages you should seriously think of moving elsewhere unless his mother is very rich.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:44
|
|
|
FrozenVent posted:So my friend is looking to invest her retirement, and she went to a Primerica presentation. I seem to remember them as an MLM that should be stayed away from, anyone has any good sources regarding that? She's convinced that their investment products are the best deal she can get. She's also convinced that Mary-Kay is a great way to make money. Primerica isn't really a pyramid scheme, but it is MLM. What that means is she will barely get anything by selling financial services and most of her theoritical earnings come from recruiting more people to sell under her. That is why her friends were so willing to give her the presentation and make her drink the Kool-aid. The way 99.9% of these work is a few of their immediate friends and family will buy something, mostly out of pity, and they get to be so annoying recruiting and selling that no one wants to hang around them anymore Zeta Taskforce fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Sep 5, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 18:44
|
|
|
Pay down the loan ASAP. *Clarification: keep your emergency fund of course, but that interest rate is high enough that I would try to get rid of the debt first before putting money into retirement accounts. ntan1 fucked around with this message at 19:36 on Sep 5, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 19:33
|
|
|
moana posted:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/employment/primerica.html Primerica is a legitimate company. They were owned by Citigroup for 20 years and now trade publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the code PRI. So... no, not a scam.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 00:26
|
|
|
Primerica, Inc. is a multi-level marketing company[6] which sells financial products and services using a hybrid model of direct selling, franchising and distribution. So... yeah, a scam.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 00:39
|
|
|
Nocheez posted:Credit Karma is full of poo poo. They have me at about 730, and on my last credit report (I just refinanced my house) I was in the low 800's on the actual FICO score. I wonder if it varies from person to person? Karma has me at 720 and my FICO number is actually 725.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 01:28
|
|
|
grack posted:Primerica is a legitimate company. They were owned by Citigroup for 20 years and now trade publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the code PRI. If you want to get pedantic about the word 'scam', then no, they're not a scam. They don't take your money, run, and stop answering your calls like a genuine Ponzi or pyramid scheme. But they sell terrible products at terrible prices with deceptive sales practices, which most people would call a scam. Any idiot with a pulse can become one of their "financial advisors". Their products are an awful value. Their financial advising consists of filling out household income, assets, and a few other factors into a program, hitting a button, and then selling the They exist in the same space as payday loan places, predators operating in bad faith without any regard for the financial well-being of their customers.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 06:51
|
|
|
Alright, whatever. I've seen Primerica clients in my practice before, mostly people looking for second opinions on their existing portfolios. Products weren't the absolute best in the world but they weren't bad, either. Maybe it's different in Canada since we're much more highly regulated up here.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 07:22
|
|
|
FrozenVent posted:Yeah, but there's also a few sites run by Primerica that explain in detail how it's not a scam. This friend tends to take things at face value. If a company has to go to great lengths to explain why they aren't a scam, that's not really a good sign.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 15:26
|
|
|
ObsidianBeast posted:If a company has to go to great lengths to explain why they aren't a scam, that's not really a good sign. Doesn't have the same punch as "is prince gay?, but it's up there.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 15:58
|
|
|
Mister Kingdom posted:I wonder if it varies from person to person? Karma has me at 720 and my FICO number is actually 725. I'm sure it does vary, but that's the point. It's not very good if it's not fairly accurate for everyone.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 16:34
|
|
|
His FICO score used for the mortgage was probably not Transunion which would explain the difference.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 19:04
|
|
|
Yeah, credit karma only polls transunion's data as it's a transunion service. It should be fairly accurate but it's not the whole picture.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2013 23:35
|
|
|
So you may remember my post from two weeks ago about treading water. We are doing great at following the budget this month except now my husband has decided to get a new computer. A custom built, $1300 computer.  Obviously, I can't budget us out of a $1300 hole, so how do I best mitigate the damage? I'm torn between telling him to either apply for a credit card in his name with 0% interest for 12 months or pull the $1300 out of savings.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 20:59
|
|
|
Cancel the purchase? How would getting a credit card do anything if you already paid for it? Divorce?
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 21:01
|
|
|
I didn't see your post from two weeks ago and obviously don't know anything about your situation, but if you are "treading water" how can your husband justify a $1300 expense on something like that?
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 21:02
|
|
|
Me in Reverse posted:Cancel the purchase? How would getting a credit card do anything if you already paid for it? Said computer has not yet been purchased, but he has decided that it will be purchased. Revengeanceful posted:I didn't see your post from two weeks ago and obviously don't know anything about your situation, but if you are "treading water" how can your husband justify a $1300 expense on something like that? Because his current system is five years old and can't run Total War: Rome II and he can have it paid off in a year and it will be his birthday and Christmas present and he'll only buy two video games in that year and he will stick to the budget with complete faithfulness and he agreed to let me cancel the cable. (This was when the system was only $900 and being purchased outright in December.)
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 21:35
|
|
|
Yeah, I'm sure he'll buy a new gaming pc and only buy two new games. If you can't convince him otherwise, bring that price down to $700. That can easily get him something that will run all games and blow his current pc out of the water.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 21:49
|
|
|
I have a modern really good high quality computer, with 16g of memory, a good graphics card/processor, ssd, and even I didn't spend 1200 on the machine. Newsflash: $1200 is a ripoff.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 21:53
|
|
|
Brennanite posted:Said computer has not yet been purchased, but he has decided that it will be purchased. Then tell him he better start saving whatever discretionary/fun money he gets toward the purchase and maybe in a few months, he can afford it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 21:58
|
|
|
Brennanite posted:Said computer has not yet been purchased, but he has decided that it will be purchased. Oh please! When I spec out the computer I would like to build that would easily play that and then some I come in at HALF that cost for a decent middle-high end system. And that's to replace the machine I currently have that's 8 years old that cost the same and has probably had an additional $250 in upgrades and is still chugging along like a champion. That $1300 machine is a sinkhole and isn't fooling anyone as to how much more money will be thrown into it with games and other crap. If he really wants a new machine he can do the research that it needs and get the right high end parts now for the best performance per dollar while still leaving room for upgrades if and when money becomes available. e: Oh you guys can't even really afford ANY machine for $1300 let alone 600. Make a deal with him. If he gets to cause this much pain to your shoestring family budget, you get to ram a broom handle up his rear end so he'll see how much this is really going to hurt. Don't do this if you think he'll enjoy it... SeaWolf fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Sep 9, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 22:01
|
|
|
I wouldn't settle for damage control, he's still thinking in a buy-now, pay later way, and talking about spending $1300 he doesn't have on a toy when you guys have a child and are living on a break-even budget. I don't care how mad you are at this, it's not mad enough. Until his messed up thinking regarding money changes (or you rein him in some other way), there's always going to be something like this that destroys months of hard work and sacrifice in a single stupid flash. Does he know how many months of surplus, living on a tight budget, it will take to amass $1300? Is he that intimate with you guys' finances, or is this budget thing more of a pet project of yours in his mind? Is he comfortable taking that surplus away from the other things you guys need but lack- like emergency funds, next car funds, etc.? Most people when they fully grasp what's going on with their money won't do things like this in your situation. I don't care how he begs or bargains, insist he buy it outright with money he's saved. By the time he's amassed $1300 the real way he might be less quick to blow it like that. And yeah don't buy the 5 year old computer bullshit. Depending on what peripherals he's able to reuse from the old computer, he could probably upgrade what he has to cope with Rome II for closer to $500. He can't even afford that though, seriously. You guys are close to the wire and this is a $500+ video game system. It's irresponsible as gently caress.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 22:01
|
|
|
Brennanite posted:Said computer has not yet been purchased, but he has decided that it will be purchased. Since you are barely treading water financially, how about your husband get a second job and earn money for his family instead of spending his free time sitting in front of a $1,300 toy? I know I'm being games negative here, but how old is this child that you married?
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 22:05
|
|
|
"I let you cancel the cable so let me take a years worth of savings from that (if not more) and blow it on some frivolous entertainment for myself"  How is he this clueless about your situation? I can't imagine the fantasy land he's in that this makes justifiable sense.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 22:06
|
|
|
Brennanite posted:Because his current system is five years old and can't run Total War: Rome II and he can have it paid off in a year and it will be his birthday and Christmas present and he'll only buy two video games in that year and he will stick to the budget with complete faithfulness and he agreed to let me cancel the cable. (This was when the system was only $900 and being purchased outright in December.) This sounds like how I would attempt to bargain with my parents to convince them I needed a Playstation when I was a young boy. "But Mom if you get me it I won't hit my sister for a whole year and I'll get straight As on my report card and I'll only want Final Fantasy 7 for it those games last like 80 hours anyway it'll last me a super long time!" How old is your husband?
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2013 23:52
|
|
|
If your husband thinks he will enjoy Rome 2, he's probably headed for disappointment. Head over to the Rome 2 thread and see how much the people who love the series are disappointed by the game. It either runs like garbage or looks like garbage, even on high-end systems (like mine). I pre-ordered and unlocked on day 1, and I think I'm going to stop playing it for a few months, to wait for some performance patches and balance tweaks that will make it more fun. There are some stability issues and huge, game ruining bugs in there right now. Sell toys to buy toys. I financed my last system build (for wayyyyy less than $1300. "custom gamer PCs" are for rubes) by selling a rifle that I didn't take out as often as I'd like to. In addition to that, I also set aside money for months leading up to when I finally pulled the trigger at Newegg. Have him sell his older games, PC/console hardware, Magic cards, comic books, bicycle, swords, or whatever else to get there. Even after building my computer and re-using an old keyboard/mouse/monitor, it took me 4 months to build up enough discretionary savings to buy the fancy keyboard/mouse that I wanted. That is how responsible adults buy things. Brennanite posted:he agreed to let me cancel the cable. There are a couple of problems here. One is that your "savings" from cancelling the cable isn't true savings unless you are actually, you know, saving it. Cash money put aside. In my house we facetiously call what you're doing "non-spendings" instead of savings. You're just redirecting your consumption spending, not actually saving money. The cable sounds like something that you didn't want, but he wanted, right?. So he "allowed" you to cancel a cable subscription you didn't want in exchange for you promising to buy him a computer? Your husband needs to start acting like a responsible husband and father. Be a man, dude.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2013 00:21
|
|
|
I need more credit, but I don't know what I should do next. I have one credit card with a paltry credit limit that is now (after my first six months) eligible for a credit limit increase. Should I request a large (more than 100%) increase to my credit limit or should I get a new card? I'm consistently over 20% of my total available credit but never carry debt. Is there any one card that would be likely to offer me the highest credit limit with a fair credit score and a good income? Thanks.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2013 02:30
|
|
|
Holy crap, this hit a nerve. Lots of replies.SeaWolf posted:Oh please! When I spec out the computer I would like to build that would easily play that and then some I come in at HALF that cost for a decent middle-high end system. And that's to replace the machine I currently have that's 8 years old that cost the same and has probably had an additional $250 in upgrades and is still chugging along like a champion. That $1300 machine is a sinkhole and isn't fooling anyone as to how much more money will be thrown into it with games and other crap. He says he's done the research and this is the option he thinks is the best. He isn't willing to upgrade his system because he says it's too hard to find a new motherboard w/processor and power supply that is compatible with his current video card and RAM. He won't sell his current system to finance the new one either because he wants to keep it as a backup in case he needs parts to fix the new system. (We don't currently have a backup, but he says he would feel better if we did, so whatever.) Remy Marathe posted:I wouldn't settle for damage control, he's still thinking in a buy-now, pay later way, and talking about spending $1300 he doesn't have on a toy when you guys have a child and are living on a break-even budget. I don't care how mad you are at this, it's not mad enough. Until his messed up thinking regarding money changes (or you rein him in some other way), there's always going to be something like this that destroys months of hard work and sacrifice in a single stupid flash. To be clear, the budget is tight because it includes money for paying down the credit card. We do have a small emergency fund. And yes, he is aware of how long it would take to save up $1300, that's why he wants to get a loan or do a payment plan for it.  He clearly doesn't really understand the budget and definitely thinks it's a pet project of mine, but I'm working on acquainting him with it.canyoneer posted:Brennanite posted: Actually, he wanted to keep the cable. I thought it was stupid since it was $75/month and we already had HuluPlus, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Also, my husband is way old enough to know better than to spend $1300 we don't have. We had a big fight over it after he got off work and it pretty much came down to "I can have $50/month of the money I earn to use on the only thing I love besides my family." He did agree to wait until Black Friday sales to buy it. He's also been skimming $30 off of every paycheck to help save up for it. Which I encourage, I just need to account for it in the budget. He also agreed to see if he can get a credit card in his name with 0% for 12 months. He swears he can have it paid off by then. Finally, aside from this bizarre computer lust, he is a very good and responsible husband/father. Edit: Wait a second, $30/week + $50=$180/month, which is more than our entire entertainment budget! Well, I guess we will discuss that when I go over the budget with him.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2013 03:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 12, 2024 07:49 |
|
|
Brennanite posted:To be clear, the budget is tight because it includes money for paying down the credit card. We do have a small emergency fund. And yes, he is aware of how long it would take to save up $1300, that's why he wants to get a loan or do a payment plan for it. Your emergency fund isn't for a completely unnecessary gaming computer. It's for something like your child getting sick and you needing money upfront before insurance can reimburse, or your house burning down or something. All this is doing is adding another $1300 to the credit card debt you've been trying so hard to pay down. Brennanite posted:Finally, aside from this bizarre computer lust, he is a very good and responsible husband/father. He's essentially saying that his own Computer want is worth 9 months of entertainment for both of you since that's how much it costs and that's really the category it should come from, though I think you can tighten things up a bit in the food category as well. Either way, he's not going to be the only one who feels the repercussions of this purchase and it's pretty selfish considering its to play a video game. Plus, he's also being a baby about needing Cable when you have plenty of other forms of entertainment, so it seems lke it's not a bizarre computer lust, but a more general bizarre technology lust. As mentioned in the thread, have you talked to him about selling some of his other toys to finance buying the computer? He must have old games and things sitting around. You've been posting in this thread for awhile and it seems like you're going backwards instead of forwards:: On 2/25/11 - You were officially free of Credit Card Debt 5/5/11 You were talking about cutting Cable and switching it up to Netflix/Hulu + Antenna but apparently a change as simple as cable hasn't been done in 2 years On 2/17/12 (about 1 year exactly after getting out of Credit Card Debt) - You were now back in Credit Card debt at $1320 8/29/13 - You now have $3000 in Credit Card Debt and are considering adding another $1300 for a computer Edit: Does your husband actually manage the finances with you? You need to challenge him to find out where this $1300 will come from in the budget WITHOUT touching your very small emergency savings or going into more debt. Whether it be him pulling in more money through a side job or selling things, him saving part of his entertainment savings each month until Black Friday (and not just pulling $30 out of his paycheck and still spending his usual amount on entertainment), or you guys agreeing as a family that certain areas can be reduced without too much sacrifice. Has he even shown he has a viable plan to pay off the $1300 in a year (not just some imaginary promise but hard numbers of what will change to free up $1300 in the budget?)? Will he get a second job? Where will the money come from to pay it off? It seems you guys have been operating at a deficit and getting further and further into credit card debt since 2011. HooKars fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Sep 10, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2013 04:06
|
|