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Xenoborg posted:Is Mint not pulling transactions for anyone else? The account values/debts are right, but no transactions have come over me for in almost a week. Yeah, it has been about 5 days behind on my credit card transactions for about a week now. So for me, it does pull them, but it has been a few days behind each day.
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Aug 11, 2015 17:54
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On the topic of Mint: I've been using it for over a year and love it despite some glitches here and there. I am tempted to try Mint Bill Pay as well. Had anyone had any experience with it? I'm a little hesitant... A hiccup in Mint isn't bad, but a hiccup in bill pay could be devastating.
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Aug 11, 2015 19:31
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Fireside Nut posted:On the topic of Mint: I've been using it for over a year and love it despite some glitches here and there. I am tempted to try Mint Bill Pay as well. Had anyone had any experience with it? I've never used it since all but one of my bills is done via an email notification of auto-payment a few days before its due, but a few co-workers use it and seem to love it.
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Aug 11, 2015 19:32
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Fireside Nut posted:On the topic of Mint: I've been using it for over a year and love it despite some glitches here and there. I am tempted to try Mint Bill Pay as well. Had anyone had any experience with it? Does your bank not do online billpay? I've got it set up for all my recurring, fixed-cost bills (mortgage, insurance, internet, etc) and have the variable cost bills (utilities, credit cards) set up on their own autopay system through the provider. I feel like Mint already has way too much of my personal/financial info to trust them with even more voluntarily (though, you could say the same about the power company doing direct ACH debits from my account)
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Aug 11, 2015 21:09
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I have a question. Currently I have a $-10,200 school loan debt that I pay about $86 a month towards. I almost have in my savings account that amount of money to completely pay it off. But i'm not having economical hardships at all right now; should I pay it off? I foresee having to buy a new car in the next year or so, so I was debating on paying off the school loan or just saving up to buy a car outright. What do you goons suggest? Empress Brosephine fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Aug 11, 2015 |
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Aug 11, 2015 22:54
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canyoneer posted:Does your bank not do online billpay? I've got it set up for all my recurring, fixed-cost bills (mortgage, insurance, internet, etc) and have the variable cost bills (utilities, credit cards) set up on their own autopay system through the provider. I feel like Mint already has way too much of my personal/financial info to trust them with even more voluntarily (though, you could say the same about the power company doing direct ACH debits from my account) I just switched banks and had a setup like yours between the fixed and variable payments. It works fine but the process of switching all of the accounts over to the new bank got me thinking about a centralized tool. Like you said, Mint already has a ton of my personal info, but I trust them more than a lot of sites I currently give my info to. I definitely get your point though. I think I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes...
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Aug 11, 2015 23:03
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Abu Dave posted:I have a question. Moderation? Pay $1-2k a month to maintain a good buffer, and if you're finding you are not saving enough to replace that money, re-evaluate your pay off plan. If you end up with a significant surplus during this plan, then kill the sucker!
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Aug 11, 2015 23:19
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Fireside Nut posted:On the topic of Mint: I've been using it for over a year and love it despite some glitches here and there. I am tempted to try Mint Bill Pay as well. Had anyone had any experience with it? Eh, I like mint a lot for being able to monitor my accounts at a glance, but for whatever reason I like doing my payments for each bill through that specific company website and autopay (and then I make a calendar event to remind me). Obvious downsides, but it works for me.
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Aug 12, 2015 00:51
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ladyboy posted:Does anyone have any advice about how to choose an insurance company for term life insurance? Any company you recommend (in the US)? There are so many, and other than comparing quotes and making sure they have a good rating, I'm a bit lost on how to decide. I used these guys to secure several term policies. good because they do the legwork for you. http://www.accuquote.com/
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Aug 12, 2015 06:55
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Abu Dave posted:I have a question. What is the interest rate on the loan?
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Aug 12, 2015 11:27
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I need some help, folks. About 3 years ago I started making a mess of my finances (for various reasons involving a miserable relationship, a resulting alcohol habit and several moves) and it's slowly but steadily been getting worse ever since. I need to fix this poo poo before it becomes the norm for the rest of my life. Ideally I want to move to a different state in about 6 months and start saving to buy a house, and that ain't gonna happen if I keep hemorrhaging money. The Good I have excellent credit. 759 as of last month. My combined credit limits total $20,500. In this way, I'm better off than basically all of my friends, but I guess I could just have lovely friends. I'm also just 4 short months away from paying off my car. The Bad My current debts: Visa from my CU - $2,862 @ 7.99% Citi Visa - $1,050 @ 11.49% Amex - $633 @ 12.99% Car loan - $738 @ 6.95% I also recently got a speeding ticket, my first ever, which is gonna be another $350 I know it's not an obscene amount (no school loans etc) but this is the first time in a while I've actually looked at them all at once, and I have no loving clue how I let my cards get to this point  Even as a teen with my first CC I never spent more than I had.The Ugly My monthly income is roughly $1500, or $750/check. Mandatory monthly expenses are: Rent - $415 Utilities - roughly $50 Car Payment - $200 Car insurance - $140 Cellphone - $40 Plus variable amounts for stuff like gas & groceries, I try to budget $100 & $180 respectively, which totals $1,125 and that's not even including CC payments  after those (I've been paying $100/month on each of the 3) I'm left with $75 spending money per month. I am not good at sticking to this budget, which is why my debt has been growing constantly, and I'm really not sure how to break out of this cycle. I'm also bad at keeping track of my expenses. I've tried using Mint, but I didn't like it and it constantly disconnects itself from my bank. Lately I've just been using a spreadsheet on Google Drive, which actually helps a LOT when I do it consistently, but I've been having a hard time building the habit. Usually what happens is, I'll be consistent with it for 4-5 days, then "forget" (i.e. blow it off) for a few days and spend way too much during that time, get back to it and realize just how much I overspent, get really depressed about it and stop... rinse and repeat. Generally when I overspend it's either food (buying lunch/snacks rather than bringing them to work) and impulse buys (I seriously nearly bought a unicycle yesterday). I know I need to cut down on my spending, but even if I stick to that paltry $75/month left over after my expenses, that still leaves me with no savings, no buffer, nothing.I feel like my monthly expenses are way too high, but I'm not sure where I could possibly cut them.I'm stuck in this apartment until March, and even if I wasn't, I live in fuckin' California where everything is expensive. I was lucky to find rent this low as it is. Luckily my car is almost payed off, and I'm hoping once that happens my insurance premium will also go down, but in the mean time my debts keep on stacking up. Is there any way out of this?
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Aug 12, 2015 20:25
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Mostly your income is way too low. Are you job hunting? Developing skills? Meanwhile cut up the credit cards and use cash for everything.
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Aug 12, 2015 20:36
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:What is the interest rate on the loan? 6%
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Aug 12, 2015 20:40
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Nettles Coterie posted:I need some help, folks. Do you absolutely need a car? Because I'm not sure you can afford one at your income level. Selling it would immediately eliminate your insurance payment (which is likely about to increase with your ticket), your car payment, and gas + maintenance costs , and you could use the money to pay off the debts and buy yourself a bike. I'm not sure what public transit and bike access is like in your area, but it's worth thinking about. il serpente cosmico fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Aug 13, 2015 |
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Aug 13, 2015 02:15
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I can't really tell from your post, but is your alcohol addiction still an ongoing thing?
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Aug 13, 2015 03:23
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I was reading a bit of that awful "I will teach you to be a millionaire" site, but he does make some great points in between a lot of awful ones. One of them is that you can only cut so much of your spending. At some point you're going to have to start earning more. I don't know what sort of work you do to only make $750 on a bi-weekly paycheck, but I'd consider taking on an extra job if you have the free time. Possibly delivering pizza if you want something quick and easy to get- even with a ticket. That will of course cause expenses to go up, but I imagine anywhere in California is going to get you good tips. How much free time to you have?
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Aug 13, 2015 03:29
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It's kind of hard to balance these factors - interest rate on the student loan, vs. how badly you're going to need a car, vs. what kind of car you get. 6% is a high enough rate on the student loan that it's worth making it a high priority, but... how badly do you need the car? What kind of car are you looking at and what kind of rate can you get on it if you have to take a loan for part of the cost? Do you have some ideas about that yet?
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Aug 13, 2015 03:34
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I was working about 80 hours a week at a movie theater making about what you are, it was loving awful I worked too much and never had any money and was slowly sinking further in to debt I would go find an office temp job somewhere and work your rear end off to get a temp-to-hire position (they only give those to the top ~5% hardest working temp workers) to get you out of making minimum wage and pulling a full 40 hours a week As others have said, you're not building wealth right now, you're sustenance living, with a not insignificant debt habit. You need to make more money before you can afford the luxuries to cut them again. Can you roll over all your credit debt to a single card? Often times they will give you 0% APR for six months if you roll over debt which would free up some cash flow at least temporarily, and put you on a lower % when the six months is up.
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Aug 13, 2015 04:10
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The only thing that is gonna solve that dude's problem is income. Once you clear a little more income, you should probably snowball your debts.
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Aug 13, 2015 13:56
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In the meantime, maybe apply for a Chase Slate to get free balance transfers and 0% for a year or more to consolidate that credit card debt. That way, making the minimum payment each month won't eat you alive in interest payments. But yeah, you need to find a way to supplement that income you have.
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Aug 13, 2015 21:49
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slap me silly posted:It's kind of hard to balance these factors - interest rate on the student loan, vs. how badly you're going to need a car, vs. what kind of car you get. 6% is a high enough rate on the student loan that it's worth making it a high priority, but... how badly do you need the car? What kind of car are you looking at and what kind of rate can you get on it if you have to take a loan for part of the cost? Do you have some ideas about that yet? I don't have any ideas about that yet, it's just kind of been a blue sky idea. I would get a winter car, like a Impreza. My current car isn't in dire straits, it's just getting up there in age and is a huge gas guzzler (02 Ford Explorer).
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Aug 14, 2015 01:31
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If anyone doesn't have a CapitalOne 360 savings account there's a promo running where you deposit between 5k and 50k and maintain the balance for 90 days to receive between $50 and $500. Not a bad deal for a good savings account, though unlike credit card promos I do believe you are required to pay tax on the bonus.
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Aug 16, 2015 08:48
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asur posted:If anyone doesn't have a CapitalOne 360 savings account there's a promo running where you deposit between 5k and 50k and maintain the balance for 90 days to receive between $50 and $500. Not a bad deal for a good savings account, though unlike credit card promos I do believe you are required to pay tax on the bonus. Yes, you are required to pay tax on the bonus, and if you have ever had this account or an ING Direct account you can not get the bonus.
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Aug 16, 2015 20:53
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Currently I have around $6,000 in my 401k. My employer has matched me since I have started contributing to it. I have no plans of leaving the company but hypothetically speaking, if I do, what happens to my 401k balance? According to the "When you leave" manual, it says: If the vested balance in your 401(k) account exceeds Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000): Please contact the customer service department of Fidelity Investments for information on how to close out the account and receive a distribution. You may also choose to defer receiving a lump sum distribution until a later date. If you elect to defer the distribution of the 401(k) account, monies in the account will continue to be invested in the same funds with Fidelity Investments. Telephone exchanges and account balance inquiries will continue to be available to the employee through Fidelity however you will not be eligible to make further contributions to the account. Would I be eligible withdraw my full amount of my 401k if I need the extra cash? What kind of penalty should I expect? Will the amount that my employer matched be taken away? This link answered some of my questions: http://money.usnews.com/money/articles/2011/08/08/401k-withdrawal-mistakes-to-avoid Busy Bee fucked around with this message at 05:59 on Aug 17, 2015 |
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Aug 17, 2015 05:55
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Busy Bee posted:Currently I have around $6,000 in my 401k. My employer has matched me since I have started contributing to it. I have no plans of leaving the company but hypothetically speaking, if I do, what happens to my 401k balance? According to the "When you leave" manual, it says: If you leave with more than $5,000 in a 401(k), then your employer is required to let you keep the money in that account if you desire. You can also take a distribution (take the money out, and put it somewhere else). If you have less than $5,000, then they are allowed to force you into taking a distribution. The amount your employer has matched might or might not be taken away, depending on the vesting schedule. The employer match on a 401(k), and other retirement contributions, can have a vesting period - anything from immediately to a few years. If you leave the company within the vesting period, they take back the match. It's also possible for employer contributions to vest incrementally over a few years - so you might get to keep 33% of the match after the first year, 66% after the second year, and the whole thing once you've been at the employer for three years. If you leave the company, then yes, you can take the money as a cash lump sum. However, this is a really, really bad idea. It's taxed as ordinary income, plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you're under age 55. Even if you expect you'll need to raid your retirement funds as an "oh poo poo, this emergency is bigger than my emergency fund" measure, it's still a bad idea. Instead, you should roll it into another tax-advantaged retirement account. You can shift money directly from a 401(k) to an IRA or another 401(k) at a new job, and it's not a taxable event. Generally, the smart thing to do is to put the money into an IRA, although it may impact your ability to do a backdoor Roth in the future if you earn more than the Roth limit. If you do end up so desperate that you need to break into your retirement fund, taking hardship withdrawals from an IRA as you need to is at least likely to be a bit more tax-efficient than getting the whole lump sum. In any case, the employee manual is terribly written - it implies that you're required to take the lump sum distribution to yourself. This is also a very bad idea; if at all possible, you should set things up to transfer directly from Fidelity to whatever institution will hold your new retirement account (probably Vanguard for an IRA, or whoever manages the 401(k) at your new job). It's certainly possible to get the check, deposit the balance of your old account into a new one, and dodge the taxable event, but it means you'll have to deal with recordkeeping headaches and withholding rules. Better to just let Fidelity handle that nonsense. So, in summary: when you leave your job, make sure your money stays in a tax shelter (old 401(k), IRA, or new 401(k)). You may or may not keep the match, or only keep some of it, depending on your company's vesting rules. You can get cash when you quit, but it's never, ever a good idea.
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Aug 17, 2015 07:16
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Space Gopher posted:words Thank you, that clarifies a lot of things. So moving forward, I'll need to figure out what the vested period is at my work. I feel like I heard something about it being a minimum of two years but I'm not positive so I'll have to double check. I also have a investment account + Roth IRA account set up with a family friend who is a financial adviser. I'm hoping I will be able to roll it into that account that is held with TD Ameritrade... that's something I'll ask him next time I see him. Although I already contributed $2k into my $5.5k Roth IRA limit for this year so....
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Aug 17, 2015 08:12
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I'm not sure if this sort of question goes here, or in some sort of "renting" thread. either way I've been pretty bad at money and life in general in the past and I need to at least get some advice somewhere. Basically the deal is, I was on drugs for a while, then went to a suboxone dr, it helped me out, I got out of the poo poo area I was staying, found a better job, etc. I'm trying to figure out what I can safely "afford" so to speak. I know what I can absolutely afford, but I have no idea at what prices things become "a bad idea" which is what I'm trying to figure out here. I'll just go ahead and list what I make and my different options for renting in the area. Before I do that, I'll also mention right now I'm staying with my mom, so I'm saving a good deal of money up. I asked her to stay for 3 months, so I'm hoping to have at least 3 grand, or close to it before moving out. As far as my income, it's a bit weird. For the most part a regular week consists of 50 hours one week, 60 the next, and after tax I average 580 dollars between the two weeks(so 2330 for 4 weeks). However I do sometimes work extra and make more. As far as bills, my car is paid off, and should last a while longer. My dr visits are 150 every 2 months, plus about 40 a week for my meds, but insurance should kick in soon at my job and that'll drop to 20-30 dollar copays I think. Here is the deal with apartments in the area. There is one right by work that's mostly within walking distance, and also near a lot of other businesses. However it's the "fancy" ones, so rent is about 660-680 for a 1 bedroom. There are cheaper options available, around 580-620, but they are further away and in kind of bad areas depending on exactly how cheap you go, and I'm really paranoid about what might happen if my car were to break down. Even if I had a large savings, I work so many hours, it would make me miss a lot of work dealing with poo poo like that if I were suddenly without transportation, so being close to work would bring me a huge peace of mind as well. I'm just not sure if the expensive apartment is out of my range or not. It's getting late so I'll go ahead and post this, however I wouldn't be surprised if I'm leaving anything crucial out, but I'll check back and update any info that you guys might deem pertinent. Also forgot to mention, I absolutely am not doing roommates this time, or I at least want to give it a shot if possible. A lot of bad experiences in the past. I apologize if this post isn't very coherent, any free time I usually have are after working 10-12 hour shifts and I'm usually tired.
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Aug 17, 2015 08:54
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I would go with the apartment near work personally. Like you said, it's insurance if the car breaks down. Plus you can get exercise if you walk to work. And you can save money on gas and wear and tear on your car.
nelson fucked around with this message at 12:07 on Aug 17, 2015 |
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Aug 17, 2015 12:03
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Don't discount doing whatever will help you with your addiction. If living close to work without roommates will help keep you clean, it's worth the extra money.
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Aug 17, 2015 12:12
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Drunk Driver Dad posted:renting It sounds to me like you're deciding whether to spend an extra $100/mo to get a much better living situation. It's a no-brainer in my opinion as long as you can tweak your budget to handle it. In general your income is high enough for a $680 apt.
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Aug 17, 2015 13:41
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Another vote for the slightly more expensive but closer apartment. Here's a different way to frame these alternatives that you might find helpful, DDD: If you chose the more distant apartment, what would you be doing with the extra $1,200 per year?
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Aug 17, 2015 13:45
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Right now I have three bank accounts: - One checking at Bank of America - One savings at Bank of America with a Keep the Change program (the interest rate is terrible and there's also a yearly fee, and also fees if I transfer money too many times in one month) - One savings account at Ally Bank I've developed a pattern of immediately moving money from my paycheck into the BoA savings, and moving the money from my BoA savings to Ally once I have more than $1.5k in my savings. The idea was: a) separate "spending" money for gas and groceries from "emergency use only" money (i.e., when I needed a couple hundred dollars to replace tires that went flat and were out of warranty) b) if a vendor accidentally double-charged my account or someone stole my debit card and went on a shopping spree before I noticed, to have a separation so that way they couldn't get to all of my money. However it really bothers me that I'm paying a fee on the BoA savings account so I'm leaning towards keeping my emergency/daily use money in one checking account and moving anything more to the Ally account. The main thing stopping me from closing my savings account is B, but I feel like the bank would compensate me for identity theft and I have my credit card as a back-up if someone really did spend everything in that account.
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Aug 17, 2015 14:04
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To add on to a), you can have as many account as you want at ally. I have a checking and 5 savings accounts. They all get the same interest rate and you can transfer between them instantly. Mine for example are General Savings, Scheduled (things like IRA or auto insurance), Entertainment, New Computer, and Vacation. And I distribute to them based on whats left in various mint budgets at the end of the month.
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Aug 17, 2015 14:21
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Trying to buy a house in the Seattle metro sucks guys/gals. I have one townhome I've found at $280k that is just perfect for us. We put an offer in, (our 5th offer so far) and it sounds like the sellers are totally on board, (a first) but drat, FHA loans are not approved. I'm only about $2000 short of the down payment going conventional. I let my parents talk me into buying their house 5 years ago so I'm boned out of first time home buyer programs and I've already cashed that place out to get where I am now. (my parents are terrible at money and had a full mortgage at 65  )So... convince me why I shouldn't take $2000 from another source like 401k or something like that to get this deal done today. I have some stock options too but only 1/5th of them are vested and it's not that much anyway.
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Aug 17, 2015 18:12
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glompix posted:So... convince me why I shouldn't take $2000 from another source like 401k or something like that to get this deal done today. I have some stock options too but only 1/5th of them are vested and it's not that much anyway. You will probably be paying a few thousand above and beyond the exact down payment in closing costs, plus you will have moving expenses, decorating, repairs, etc. So it probably won't be $2k, it will be like $10k+ that you need, and you would have to pay a penalty and tax so really like $15k in 401k withdrawals. With all that said, if you have $100k+ in your 401k then sure go for it. Edit to add: when I bought my house for $500k it appraised for $490k so I got a last minute surprise to come up with an extra $8,000 to maintain the 20% equity ratio. So that can also happen.
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Aug 17, 2015 18:26
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Droo posted:You will probably be paying a few thousand above and beyond the exact down payment in closing costs, plus you will have moving expenses, decorating, repairs, etc. So it probably won't be $2k, it will be like $10k+ that you need, and you would have to pay a penalty and tax so really like $15k in 401k withdrawals. No penalty for up to $10k withdrawal from 401k if being used for first time, primary home purchase. It just gets taxed as regular income instead.
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Aug 17, 2015 20:07
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canyoneer posted:No penalty for up to $10k withdrawal from 401k if being used for first time, primary home purchase. glompix posted:I'm boned out of first time home buyer programs
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Aug 17, 2015 20:09
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At the very least make a 401k loan instead of a withdrawal. Still a bad idea but at least you don't permanently lose the space in your 401k.
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Aug 17, 2015 20:24
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Closing and furniture and bullshit like that I have covered. Good to know about the stuff I'm not eligible for though. More for me to bitch at my parents about.
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Aug 17, 2015 23:33
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themaninblack fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Apr 30, 2016 |
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Aug 18, 2015 07:21
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