|
Help me understand health insurance because I'm too stupid. I was reviewing the plan offered by my wife's job and it seems like it makes more sense to split and have her sign up herself. My current plan has the maximum out of pocket, $13,000 as a family, while her only has about $1,500 for the mid tier plan for individual. In terms of planning for a baby, it seems like a no brainer to split due to the lower out of pocket maximum and lower premiums overall. However, when I read my Empire Plan's Insurance Certificate, more specifically the Hospital section it looks like I'm only on the hook for a co-payment, if any. I created this table breaking down of the various premium scenarios and associated plan costs. I've also uploaded both plan descriptions. The Anthem Plan is through my wife while the The Empire Plan is mine Is there something I'm not seeing? There is also a financial incentive of $3,000 if I forego my insurance plan and sign up with my wife's. That would easily offset the $55 surcharge on my wife's plan. But if I'm interpreting my Empire Plan correctly, I don't really pay deductibles/out of pocket when I'm using in network providers.
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2015 01:21
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 7, 2024 18:53 |
|
|
At my old company, they restructured the health plan(s) for 2016 so that it's way, way more advantageous to have your spouse on a separate plan (at their seperate company).
|
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2015 01:31
|
|
|
glassyalabolas posted:Help me understand health insurance because I'm too stupid.
|
|
#
?
Nov 22, 2015 07:48
|
|
|
Quick question here, nothing too complicated...: My grandfather passed away last year and I got a share of a land coop thing he was part of. The dividend this year was $1500/yr for my share (1/6th). My uncle got 1/3rd and bought out the other uncles 1/3rd. He asked if I would sell him my share for the same price as the other uncle which was $15,000. So 10 years of this years revenue which was "average". It's a wine coop so some years it will be better and some years worse, but it's never going to be a huge money maker. Is 10 years of revenue about the right amount? It's in another country and it is a big hassle to wire the money and keeping it would require more paperwork, so I'm leaning towards yes.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2015 14:53
|
|
|
If you had $15k, would you buy into it? If not, get out.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2015 23:33
|
|
|
10x earnings is I think a pretty normal valuation for small, stable, low-risk businesses. I'm not an expert by any means, though. Without knowing all the details, on the surface it sounds like cashing out is a pretty good move. If you don't really know or care about the business, especially if it is in a foreign country, then taking the $15k now and reinvesting it elsewhere will probably serve you better in the long run.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2015 23:42
|
|
|
Most business valuations that I deal with are 3 to 6 times annual earnings. The 10 times offer is good and the money could be invested somewhere with control over the funds. No point waiting for it to turn into $0 per year.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2015 23:45
|
|
|
Are you in America and it's over in Israel or Egypt, or are you in London and it's over in Germany? Distance makes a big difference. If your uncle is cashing out it sounds like your grandfather was the one who initially invested and talked the family in to investing, in which case yes you want to cash out. Although if it's a truly $0 upkeep, even on bad years, it may be easier to just keep letting them wire $1500 in to your account every year. It sounds like it's a stable investment and it may be harder to sell for a fair price than just continue collecting on it. $15,000 for his share sounds high, I would decline, unless you can politely offer him ~$3,000 for it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2015 23:56
|
|
|
You read the situation completely backwards but the logic is the same. In which case, yes, he should accept the offer.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2015 00:03
|
|
|
It's in France and I'm in the US. My grandfather bought land his whole life out in the country and leased it to coops to use for winemaking. So it's used by a coop, it's not tons of land and it's just selling the shares of the wine coop part, if the land is ever sold I will get my 1/6th. So, sounds like it's a good deal! Thanks goons.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2015 08:18
|
|
|
I'm considering getting braces next year. As an adult.  Teeth, not legs! I don't have messed up-looking teeth, a couple look slightly off, but the main reason is that bite placement is starting to mess with my jaw.I have my finances under control to the point where I'm heading in the right direction and large expenses just push me back a bit. What's the best way, excluding skimping on quality, to save as much as possible? I want to use tax-advantaged money and pay up front for some percentage off. I'll be going wires because I'm told it's cheaper, and that Invisalign isn't as effective. If I'm paying for it, I want it to be effective. I have my HSA maxed for this year and will do the same for next year, but I'd prefer to keep that money in there. I read that you can't have both an HSA and a normal FSA, but you can put money into a limited-purpose FSA, max contribution being $2,550 for 2016. I don't believe my dental plan covers it, which sucks, so paying it up front should be around $4,000 I think. I have time to research before putting FSA money away, but it's something I'd like to just do and get it over with if I decide it's worth it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2015 21:32
|
|
|
Moneyball posted:I'm considering getting braces next year. As an adult. Adult orthodontics are not at all something to be ashamed of. Despite the expense, it's extremely good with money and good with health to preempt future issues, and bite alignment and jaw issues can turn into very serious problems down the line. I really highly encourage you to do it. Invisalign can be just as effective as metal except for the most severe cases, but it does require an orthodontist that specializes in it -- as well as being very diligent about wearing the things as close to 24/7 as possible. A lot of places just plug the scans into the computer and call it a day, which is fine for fixing a few minor crooked teeth but not fixing overall alignment problems. I'm finishing up an Invisalign treatment for bite/jaw alignment issues, and it has made a WORLD of difference. I just finished the first ~40 week treatment and my bite is almost all fixed, and I'm about to start a second 10 week round for fine adjustment. It's really just incredible how much they are able to fix in a year, and Invisalign has made it a pretty non-obnoxious process. Unfortunately Invisalign tends to be 1.5x-2x the cost of traditional metal braces, but they are so much less of a pain in the rear end. Most dental plans don't cover much in the way of orthodontics, so that's not terribly surprising. HSA/FSA is kind of your best bet if you don't have any additional reimbursements. I'm thankful that my company does $1200/yr in dental reimbursements, which I got to apply twice to my treatment. Disclaimer: I'm not an orthodontist and obviously don't know anything about your particular case, I've just talked a lot about it with my 3 orthodontists (they run a collaborative practice) that specialize in adult cases and Invisalign. Guinness fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Nov 25, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2015 21:45
|
|
|
So for all of you using Ally Bank for their online savings account, how has your experience been? I've been trying to get an account set up but my experience so far has been pretty lovely, which making me second guess setting up an account at all
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2015 22:02
|
|
|
vanilla slimfast posted:So for all of you using Ally Bank for their online savings account, how has your experience been?
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2015 22:07
|
|
|
Was wondering if I could get a quick sanity check on my current money situation. Graduated in May and am currently working my first adult person job. Maxed out my Roth IRA in July and I just became eligible for 401k contributions a couple weeks ago but the max I can put in is 50% of my paycheck. This still leaves me with a fair amount of excess and I've already got about 4-5 months worth of expenses stashed in a savings account so I've just been putting money into a taxable brokerage account with an identical portfolio as my Roth IRA (it's just one of the vanguard target retirement date funds). Am I screwing anything up here by doing this? I don't usually see taxable accounts being recommended but as far as I can tell I'm out of other options at this point.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 00:32
|
|
|
Roth IRA, 401k and HSA (if available) are the big tax advantaged ones. After that taxable is fine. Long term (> 1 year) capital gains and dividends still have a far lower tax rate than ordinary income.
nelson fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Nov 26, 2015 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 00:41
|
|
|
Dragola posted:Was wondering if I could get a quick sanity check on my current money situation. Graduated in May and am currently working my first adult person job. Maxed out my Roth IRA in July and I just became eligible for 401k contributions a couple weeks ago but the max I can put in is 50% of my paycheck. This still leaves me with a fair amount of excess and I've already got about 4-5 months worth of expenses stashed in a savings account so I've just been putting money into a taxable brokerage account with an identical portfolio as my Roth IRA (it's just one of the vanguard target retirement date funds). Am I screwing anything up here by doing this? I don't usually see taxable accounts being recommended but as far as I can tell I'm out of other options at this point. Will you be able to max your 401K contributions next year? If not, consider holding your excess as a cash cushion for the next month and then turbocharging your 401K contributions at the beginning of 2016 while you live off your cash cushion.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 00:55
|
|
|
vanilla slimfast posted:So for all of you using Ally Bank for their online savings account, how has your experience been? Excellent - no problems at all. What problems are you having?
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 01:49
|
|
|
Guinness posted:Adult orthodontics are not at all something to be ashamed of. Despite the expense, it's extremely good with money and good with health to preempt future issues, and bite alignment and jaw issues can turn into very serious problems down the line. I really highly encourage you to do it. My regular dentist that explained things to me does Invisalign, not wires, and even he recommended wire braces. But that was mostly due to people not following through with proper instructions. I'll see what the specialist recommends. What I noticed about the FSA upon further reading is that unlike HSA and 401k, you set an amount to be contributed at the beginning of the year, and can't change it. So it would take all year to max out. If I get braces, I don't want to wait until a year from now to start. Does FSA reimbursement work like an HSA does? Say you spend 1,000 on medical costs out of pocket, can you request reimbursement afterwards? Or do you need to have the funds in the account already? In that case, I would have to lay out the entire treatment up front, wait until the end of next year, and then get some of it back. Instead of bothering BFC, who could give me definitive answers for this? I don't know if I trust the HR department at my company to know.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 01:50
|
|
|
Think of an FSA like a debit card/checking account that has pre-tax cash just for medical related expenses. Like a checking account, you can only spend what you have in it. Structure wise the only thing FSA and HSA have in common is medical related spending. As far as I'm aware there really isn't way to future reimburse yourself from an FSA like you can an HSA, since they really weren't meant to be used that way. Happy to be corrected tho.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 05:23
|
|
|
I've got a few quick financial questions, but they need a little backstory to explain: So, a few months ago I quit my job to help out my father at home. In return for me moving back home and helping keep his shop afloat, he lets me live at home free of charge, covers my bills (Car insurance, cell phone, etc.), and pays me enough to make my Student Loan payments with a bit of spending cash here and there. Basically, I went from making a few thousand a month to getting paid something like $600/mo but with zero overhead. Now that his shop is doing better, I've started floating my resume around to get back into the job market and I recently got a bite from a place about 20 miles away from my parent's house. Salary just over $35,000 a year. My dad has already said he'd be willing to float me another year to pay me back for the help, it seems like kind of a no-brainer to just keep staying at home, and pay off some of my debt with the money I'll save. I currently have something like $17,000 remaining on my student loans, plus $1500 on a credit card and a couple hundred in the bank. What I need to know is where my priorities should be for this next year. I was thinking that the best idea would be to concentrate on completely paying off the student loans. Even doubling the amount I currently spend, that would still leave me with enough after a year to cover the entire balance. Leave the $1500 on the card, making minimum payments, to help build some credit, (Holy poo poo my credit score is so hosed, ya'll don't even know) and after my loans are paid off move out and begin covering all my own expenses again. Alternatively, I could spend the first couple months building up a rainy day fund in the bank of a few thousand, then take a little longer paying off the loans. Or pay off the credit card first, and then pay off the loans. Oh, and also it would be super helpful if anyone knows how I should deal with the healthcare marketplace in the situation I'm in right now. My last job covered health insurance, and I was planning to just use my current (basically non-existant) salary for the healthcare.gov calculations to get a silver plan. If I do end up getting that job, would I be in any legal trouble with the health insurance agency I purchase from, due to my salary jumping like that? Am I legally required to inform them if that happens, and give them a chance to bounce my rate higher?
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 06:19
|
|
|
If the credit card has an interest rate, pay it off. Carrying a balance doesn't build your credit.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 06:38
|
|
|
The Mandingo posted:Carrying a balance doesn't build your credit.  Not knowing poo poo like this is why my credit score is already in the crapper. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 06:44
|
|
|
Captain Bravo posted:Oh, and also it would be super helpful if anyone knows how I should deal with the healthcare marketplace in the situation I'm in right now. My last job covered health insurance, and I was planning to just use my current (basically non-existant) salary for the healthcare.gov calculations to get a silver plan. If I do end up getting that job, would I be in any legal trouble with the health insurance agency I purchase from, due to my salary jumping like that? Am I legally required to inform them if that happens, and give them a chance to bounce my rate higher? The premium subsidy is based on your income for the year in which you receive it. So if you use your current 2015 income for the calculations to get a subsidy over the course of next year, but the actual income you earn in 2016 is much higher, you will likely have to pay back a portion or all of the subsidy you received when you file your tax return for 2016 (the one due Apr. 15th, 2017). I think you're supposed to inform them if your income changes so they can adjust the subsidy you receive so you don't get hit with a massive tax bill at the end of the year.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 07:51
|
|
|
Captain Bravo posted:
Additionally, if you pay your balance in full every month you don't pay interest either, regardless of what the interest rate of your credit card is. Unfortunately once you start carrying a balance the credit card companies start charging you interest on each purchase individually from the day it was made, so before you can take advantage of this you need to pay off your credit card balance and get the credit card company to reset the "grace period". This typically requires paying the entire current balance in full two months in a row but can vary between credit card companies so you should call and ask once you've paid off your credit card. The best way to use a credit card is to simply pay the entire statement balance after you get your credit card statement and before the due date. You pay no interest at all while building your credit.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2015 18:40
|
|
|
EugeneJ posted:Excellent - no problems at all. The online sign up is straight-up broken in Firefox, at least for me. Tried on both Windows and OS X. Some kind of javascript bug or something, none of the buttons would submit. Got the online signup finished by using Chrome, told 3-5 days to hear back on the status of the application. They tried calling me earlier in the week while I was skiing with a basic voicemail that just said "call us back" Tried calling back, spoke to a rep who had no idea why I was calling. She kept putting me on hold to try and figure it out, unsuccessfully. I asked her if she should just have someone call me back instead of putting me on hold again and for whatever reason she couldn't. I tried to give her the confirmation number from my application but she kept cutting me off while I was reading her the digits. Finally got so frustrated that I hung up on her. Maybe I just got one of their junior varsity support reps since it was going into the holidays when I called v  vI'm sure they will try calling back tomorrow or next week, just have to be around to take the call instead of letting it go to voicemail again
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2015 04:55
|
|
|
vanilla slimfast posted:The online sign up is straight-up broken in Firefox, at least for me. Tried on both Windows and OS X. Some kind of javascript bug or something, none of the buttons would submit. Did they already pull the money for your opening deposit? That took like 4-5 days for me
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2015 05:12
|
|
|
EugeneJ posted:Did they already pull the money for your opening deposit? Haven't gotten that far. I don't even have a username/login yet
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2015 06:38
|
|
|
I've got a new online job, teaching European businesspeople English as a second language, and I love it. The hitch in the gig is that 1) I don't currently have a bank that accepts int'l money transfers so 2) I get paid via Paypal and 3) in Euros. I've only gotten one paycheck thus far, and I got paid €149.57 one partial, part-time month - and then paid PayPal €6.43 for the privilege of obtaining that small amount in my own account in USD. I'm trying to figure out how to rearrange things in order to not be paying big fees, especially as I'm anticipating this becoming my primary source of income (it's pure contract work, so the more I work, the more I make (also gently caress yeah Medicaid, I couldn't afford to do contract work otherwise)). I'm also a little confused because PayPal's fee system seems completely opaque. Is my best option to get another bank that accepts international money transfers? Either way, my next (larger) paycheck will come to me via PayPal, so I'm wondering whether I can get US Amazon gift cards (for groceries) without a huge fee. On a quick Google, the web sites offering Amazon GCs for PayPal money seem super scam-y. Plus there's the added complication that I'd love to buy the card using Euros (without first converting into USD). Also, I wonder if I can pay rent directly to my roommate/landlord with the money in Euros, although I don't just want to stick him with the conversion fee. Also, in general, is there a low-effort way to handle the decision of when to convert the Euros into USD? Maybe an email alert when exchanging Euros for USD hits a high?
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2015 20:53
|
|
|
I think bitcoins are the answer here
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2015 10:47
|
|
|
Two questions related to Canadian and Albertan taxes and small business stuff: When I file my taxes what should I file the gift my grandparents gave of 5000 dollars? What will it mean for me tax wise? Second, I earn a fair bit of secondary income as a musician and have updated some of my equipment for some drum gigs I've done. What do I need to do to right off some of it? Some of the income was cash but a lot of it is from official places like town councils and colleges who hired me. I also do clinics for schools so it's not like my income is under the table. Basically I'm trying to figure out how I can make my music pay me back a bit since I usually have just filed music expenses as non income earning expenses. Should I consider starting a business for some of it? Any benefit to this?
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2015 04:37
|
|
|
Is it possible to have a credit card billing cycle that is first of the month to last of the month, regardless how many days the are in a month?
|
|
#
?
Dec 2, 2015 04:19
|
|
|
Massasoit posted:Is it possible to have a credit card billing cycle that is first of the month to last of the month, regardless how many days the are in a month? Some CC companies allow you to change your cycle date so if you changed it to the 1st then sure.
|
|
#
?
Dec 2, 2015 07:49
|
|
|
What the gently caress bank doesn't allow international wire transfers. Putting cash under your dad's mattress doesn't count as a bank. If you're going to be doing anything international at all, you should get either a major bank like BoA, Wells Fargo, Chase, etc, or a really solid Credit Union. You should probably upgrade your cell plan to something like T-Mobile so you can make phone calls abroad.
|
|
#
?
Dec 2, 2015 08:13
|
|
|
Capital One 360 doesn't. I got on the goonwagon with ING who got bought out by Capital One. I wasn't aware that not accepting international transfers was uncommon; I closed my BoA account because of fees. I'll find a good local credit union and ask about the transfers. Thanks! edit: thanks to you as well Mortley fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Dec 3, 2015 |
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2015 00:01
|
|
|
Get a google wallet card.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2015 06:30
|
|
|
I could use really use a second opinion (or more) here. My grown daughter has gotten herself in very deep debt and now that she's come clean about it, I'm trying to give her advice about how to dig out. Forget the spending habits that got her here, I've no trouble advising on that and it's on her to change or not. Take these figures as granted: Average monthly takehome: $900. Monthly budget for necessities: $600 = $300 Monthly surplus on average (+/- $100) All of her cards have been canceled by the issuer, her credit is probably hosed, I hope that doesn't affect her ability to get student loans next year. Debts not including unsubsidised Student Loans in deferral: code:The plan I was going to suggest is sort of a debt snowball: Every month, -Earmark $600 for budget -pay the minimum on Best Buy and Bank CC to avoid late fees because they're affordable ($5 + $25) -Throw anything else she has at Victoria's Secret till it's gone (a month or two) -remain delinquent on Macy's, Chase & American Eagle 2) Do the same for Macy's card till it's gone, remaining delinquent on Chase & American Eagle 3) Do the same for Best Buy till it's gone, remaining delinquent on Chase & American Eagle 4) Do the same for Chase since she might stand a chance of paying that minimum payment, remaining delinquent on American Eagle 5) Do the same for American Eagle. Worries/questions -What, if anything, can she do about American Eagle with a $423 minimum payment? It goes up by $35 plus interest every month, and she can't even afford the minimum now. -Is this terrible advice, telling her to ignore some of these altogether until she can get smaller ones knocked out? What could happen to her?
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2015 02:30
|
|
|
Remy Marathe posted:daughter post Is her credit hosed at this point? If she isn't behind on payments and still has a decent credit score, have her apply for a couple new cards that have 12-18 month no interest promotions and have her do balance transfers to the new card(s). That way she can pay down the debt without having it gain more interest.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2015 04:19
|
|
|
EugeneJ posted:Is her credit hosed at this point? If she isn't behind on payments and still has a decent credit score, have her apply for a couple new cards that have 12-18 month no interest promotions and have her do balance transfers to the new card(s). That way she can pay down the debt without having it gain more interest. On top of this, if she can't make more money she needs to lower her monthly bills. Cut the cable, eat rice & beans, etc. Additionally, treat the underlying condition - getting this far into CC debt as a student is some poo poo and she needs to understand what money is.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2015 04:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 7, 2024 18:53 |
|
|
This is not the best course of action depending on card issuer as they may continue to charge delinquent/late fees, but have her make calls to her card companies and see about negotiating lower payment options. I was able to negotiate with Discover - on an $8k debt (don't put student loans on your credit card, kids!) they allowed $100/mo payments and no more interest charges as long as I paid on time every month. So with them calling me for 6mo check-ins to see if I could pay it off yet, I kept throwing $100/mo at the card. I paid off ~3k over almost 3 years, and with that history of regular monthly payments behind me the company agreed to write off half the outstanding amount and let me "pay in full" a lump sum of $2500ish (which I threw my entire tax return at). If she can negotiate a payment plan she can continue to pay $10, $50, whatever per month toward the AE card while snowballing the lower-minimum-payment cards. Many issuers will* accept partial balance payments to keep the card from deliquency, as long as she shows a good faith attempt to pay on the debt. *they used to, anyway - this was several years ago and I don't know how things have changed with the new credit regulations in place. Or you could try the balance transfer thing but that's what got me $8k in debt to Discover (I transferred a debt from Citi to avoid interest, and then couldn't pay it down). Be sure if she goes that route that she can pay off the balance on the new card before the promo period ends! Edit: And yeah, see what she can cut out of monthly expenses because that's a huge amount of debt for someone who's still borrowing for school loans on top of it... Double-edit: What could happen to her? Well, the companies could sell the debt to collections agencies, who are basically demons in suits and will make her (and your) life miserable and add hundreds or thousands of dollars of "fees" to the debt they're trying to collect. Depending on your state laws they could garnish her wages or take her to court for the money. Her credit score will get worse (if it hasn't hit rock-bottom already) every month that she has delinquent accounts, although snowballing the debt will at least cushion that blow. And if she is delinquent on any federally owned debts they will deny her student loans next year, although if she's still in school full-time and deferring the loans she already has, she's safe from that until 6mo after graduation. Faerunner fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Dec 6, 2015 |
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2015 04:41
|
|