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H110Hawk posted:Yeah do not use your debit card for daily spending or ever. You don't want to have someone steal your rent money and have it take 90 days to get it back. I mean, uh, I've been using my debit card with no problems for... hell, when was my first online order? Amazon, 2009? 2011? It's been the only way I've spent money for the last decade and I've only been dinged once and USAA covered me.
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Nov 6, 2020 22:33
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get a secured cc and stop doing this please 
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Nov 6, 2020 22:38
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StrixNebulosa posted:I mean, uh, I've been using my debit card with no problems for... hell, when was my first online order? Amazon, 2009? 2011? It's been the only way I've spent money for the last decade and I've only been dinged once and USAA covered me. Have you called USAA? I'd be surprised if they wouldn't offer you a secured card at the very least if you've been with them for that long.
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Nov 6, 2020 22:44
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StrixNebulosa posted:I mean, uh, I've been using my debit card with no problems for... hell, when was my first online order? Amazon, 2009? 2011? It's been the only way I've spent money for the last decade and I've only been dinged once and USAA covered me. "I've been driving around without my seatbelt on for years and I haven't died yet!" Using your debit card for anything but known-safe ATM access is an inherently risky activity that can be easily avoided by just not doing it. A credit card is much safer and less hassle in the event of any sort of fraud or dispute. Let the bank's money be on the line, not your own. Even if you eventually get made whole, having your checking account be at risk is just unnecessary. Not to mention other benefits of credit cards like rewards, which you are paying for as a consumer whether you reap them or not. I get being debt-averse, but come on. This is a forum & thread about optimizing your personal finances. Rejecting all debt as bad is an oversimplification to the point of being actively bad advice for all but the very worst and irresponsible people, who are probably not frequenting a dorky finance-related subforum of a dead internet comedy site (except zaurg). Guinness fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Nov 6, 2020 |
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Nov 6, 2020 22:58
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I'm working on it, I'm working on it. I'm still giving my parents the squinty eye for letting me do this for so long. Thank god for my boyfriend and weird nerd poo poo needing a credit card. I don't want a USAA-related card as that account is a joint one with my dad and um, no. The whole point of getting a new bank is that it's not tied up with my parents. Naturally Ally doesn't offer a credit card.  To make matters more complicated, I'll stop being a student if I can finish up this semester, so student cards are a bit of uh, well, I've applied for one and we'll see how it goes. e: "not being debt averse" for 10~ years I didn't know what a credit score was or why I'd care about one. A debit card was simpler and worked for everything I wanted so I never saw a reason to upgrade. I'm giving my parents and my high school a squinty-eyed look right now.
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Nov 6, 2020 23:32
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student cards are targeted towards students, who have no credit history. they don't actually check to see if you are a student. there's only so far you can blame your parents and your high school for a decade of ignorance, i'm afraid. fortunately you have come to a safe space! unless you're zarg. gently caress zorg.
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Nov 7, 2020 00:20
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The only thing I hate more than (at least what student CCs were in the early 2000s) were student-targeted bank accounts. M&T had one where it was a "free" checking account except that it converted to a premium $12-per-month account if you didn't make a deposit once per calendar month. However, my income only came in via direct deposit once per semester, so I basically couldn't do that unless I used the ATM and got charged a fee (no free ATMs including the M&T one on campus), then went to the bank to deposit it in person because ATM deposits didn't count. On top of that, whenever it converted to a premium account or whenever you called them to make them change it the gently caress back, it reset your account start date so that you were once again subject to the $100 early account closure fees if you closed the account. Add to this that basically everything was still done via snail-mail and in-person in 2001, so you couldn't just yank out the app and make a transfer and be done with it. Cash typically took 1-3 days to clear, checks 5-7 days, etc etc. It's amazing how much faster the consumer finance world is now than it was even like 20 yrs ago, let alone back into the 80s or 90s. I feel old. My first student CC had a 44% interest rate, with a default rate that I don't even remember. Maybe 60-something percent? I never missed a payment on it and got the hell out of it onto a drastically better Target card at first convenience. That's how bad it was... a Target Card was superior. 
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Nov 7, 2020 00:32
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Sundae posted:The only thing I hate more than (at least what student CCs were in the early 2000s) were student-targeted bank accounts. M&T had one where it was a "free" checking account except that it converted to a premium $12-per-month account if you didn't make a deposit once per calendar month. Oh god, thanks for the horrible memories with Wells Fargo. I opened a college checking account as a freshman at WF since there was a branch right next to campus, plus it was the early 2000s so ATMs were more relevant. Being the college account, it had no fees and no minimum balances or activity. You know, an actual decent checking account. Turns out that loving thing had a countdown timer on it, and after 4 years on the dot it automatically converted into some platinum-level bullshit with a $15/mo fee. The day that got sprung on me I went into the branch to complain/switch, and they were total dicks about it, offered no better alternative account type, and did not offer to refund that fee. And being a broke rear end college student even one $15 fee stung quite a bit, much less every month. So I closed the account and switched to a credit union, that I'm still using 10+ years later. gently caress Wells Fargo forever. Guinness fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Nov 7, 2020 |
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Nov 7, 2020 00:46
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StrixNebulosa posted:I don't want a USAA-related card as that account is a joint one with my dad and um, no. The whole point of getting a new bank is that it's not tied up with my parents. If your dad qualifies for USAA, so do you. You can open a solo account. On the one hand USAA is famous for their member service, on the other, they are notoriously risk averse. So I don't know if they will solve your CC problem. It's worth a call to find out, though.
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Nov 7, 2020 03:12
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Read the actual contract for your debit card. Mine (also USAA) has protections in line with credit cards. Once my rent payment got stolen (check stolen from the mail, yes mailing checks is dumb but my landlord requires it), and when I told them, it was back in my account the next day. Other debit cards may be different, but read the contract to know what your situation really is.
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Nov 7, 2020 06:26
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i like nice words
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Anne Whateley posted:Read the actual contract for your debit card. Mine (also USAA) has protections in line with credit cards. Once my rent payment got stolen (check stolen from the mail, yes mailing checks is dumb but my landlord requires it), and when I told them, it was back in my account the next day. Other debit cards may be different, but read the contract to know what your situation really is. It's not that they don't have protections; it's that until those protections are activated / while things are "investigated" you are broke. None of the other checks you wrote or the auto-pays you put down give a poo poo about whether your account was drained by fraud or by Funkopops - they're going to bounce anyway, your landlord is going to charge you late fees + bounced payment fees, etc etc. Don't let your money be what's held up by the fraud investigation. Example: I spent the first month of college at the university library because someone managed to draw down my account with an ATM card in spite of there not being one issued against my account. It took Astoria Federal a month to sort out the investigation and return my $$$, and in the meantime I couldn't afford my textbooks so had to hang out in the reference section to do my homework.
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Nov 7, 2020 20:44
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SlapActionJackson posted:If your dad qualifies for USAA, so do you. You can open a solo account. On the one hand USAA is famous for their member service, on the other, they are notoriously risk averse. So I don't know if they will solve your CC problem. It's worth a call to find out, though. Seconding this- try opening a solo CC account with USAA. I think this is your best move from what I’ve read here- you should get both the benefit of existing customer history, plus your own established individual account.
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Nov 8, 2020 07:25
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I took out a secured loan from my credit union for $1000 to get started, they charged me like $14 in interest over the year and if I really needed the money I could have gotten it back at any time.
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Nov 9, 2020 03:50
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Quaint Quail Quilt posted:I took out a secured loan from my credit union for $1000 to get started, they charged me like $14 in interest over the year and if I really needed the money I could have gotten it back at any time. As in 1.4%? Got any more of that free money?
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Nov 9, 2020 03:58
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H110Hawk posted:As in 1.4%? Got any more of that free money? Yeah, this doesn't seem believable, even now. More likely Quaint Quail Quilt is quite confused about what actually happened.
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Nov 9, 2020 04:00
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Maybe it was CD secured and they only charged 1.4% over the CD rate. I know my bank will do CD secured personal loans, the rate is 3% over the CD rate though.
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Nov 9, 2020 04:11
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H110Hawk posted:As in 1.4%? Got any more of that free money? It wouldn't be 1.4% - remember that the interest payments go down as you pay off the loan. It's about right for 3% interest. e: for what it's worth, I looked up what my credit union offers, and they do CD secured loans at 2% margin, and share secured loans (backed by a savings account) at 3% margin Space Gopher fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Nov 9, 2020 |
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Nov 9, 2020 04:20
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H110Hawk posted:As in 1.4%? Got any more of that free money? Anyway around $1 a month I think it was. Got me from zero credit score to like 630 in a year, although I did get a card after 6 months.
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Nov 9, 2020 17:11
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Quaint Quail Quilt posted:Is it not 0.014% ? Space Gopher posted:It wouldn't be 1.4% - remember that the interest payments go down as you pay off the loan. It's about right for 3% interest. The gopher is more correct than me, $14 on $1000 over 12 months is something like 2.6% now that I punch it into a calculator. It cannot be 0.014% because the faulty math I did of $14/$1000 = 0.014 = 1.4%. I think you forgot to multiply by 100 to get %.
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Nov 9, 2020 18:49
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Referee posted:Seconding this- try opening a solo CC account with USAA. I think this is your best move from what I’ve read here- you should get both the benefit of existing customer history, plus your own established individual account. Thirding. My father was a retired service member and I have been banking on my own with USAA for the entirety of my adult life. I got my first credit card (which I still have open, but don't use) with them as a student with relatively no credit history.
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Nov 10, 2020 00:44
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Assuming USAA is like most other banks/credit unions, you can also open up separate checking/savings accounts with USAA that your father isn't a joint on (you don't even need to close the one that he is a joint on).
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Nov 10, 2020 02:17
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I bought a condo a couple of years ago and I'm trying to lower my monthly housing payments to increase the amount I'm saving for retirement. My mortgage is $2000 per month once I include the rent from my housemate in the extra bedroom, and it should drop a couple hundred dollars when my residential exemption for property taxes kicks in this quarter. The interest rate on my mortage (~475k) is 3.7% on a 7-year ARM, and I'm definitely staying in this place for the long haul. Refinancing seems like an obvious choice, but I'm also paying off a 401k loan I took out to avoid PMI. Monthly payments on the loan are $475 and I have $17k remaining to pay off. Should I pay off the 401k loan faster or refinance? I have $40k in savings and could pay it off immediately, but the furnace, central AC, and water heater are nearing end-of-life and I want to reserve a good amount for maintenance. I have no other debts or significant expenses, and net monthly income is $5700. Bubbacub fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Nov 12, 2020 |
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Nov 12, 2020 02:02
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Bubbacub posted:I bought a condo a couple of years ago and I'm trying to lower my monthly housing payments to increase the amount I'm saving for retirement. My mortgage is $2000 per month once I include the rent from my housemate in the extra bedroom, and it should drop a couple hundred dollars when my residential exemption for property taxes kicks in this quarter. The interest rate on my mortage (~475k) is 3.7% on a 7-year ARM, and I'm definitely staying in this place for the long haul. Yes refi your way into a 30 year fixed asap before anyone wises up and raises rates. You stand to save a whole % and not have the ARM looming over you. Put the extra back into your 401k.
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Nov 12, 2020 02:22
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H110Hawk posted:Yes refi your way into a 30 year fixed asap before anyone wises up and raises rates. You stand to save a whole % and not have the ARM looming over you. Put the extra back into your 401k. Cool thanks, that's kinda what I was figuring. Getting refi quotes now.
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Nov 12, 2020 02:53
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See if you can get a cash out refi and knock off that 401k loan, assuming prices have gone up enough to give you cash back options.
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Nov 12, 2020 03:31
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Hey folks, is there a thread on this forum that can help me figure out if my elderly parents have been drawn into a forex scam?
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Nov 13, 2020 22:16
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Kestral posted:Hey folks, is there a thread on this forum that can help me figure out if my elderly parents have been drawn into a forex scam? Right here. But if they have this immediately becomes a "Call a lawyer, call the police" situation. You should call them and ask that they stop anything in progress if you believe they've been involved. Most likely they have. "Hey cash this check made out for too much and send me back the USD excess" is a scam every time.
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Nov 13, 2020 22:21
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Kestral posted:Hey folks, is there a thread on this forum that can help me figure out if my elderly parents have been drawn into a forex scam? I mean, if you have to ask chances are exceptionally high that they have. Forex is not something that normal retail traders do. They are largely YOLO bets placed by people who are victims of brokerages/platforms.
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Nov 13, 2020 23:49
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Edit: Removed for privacy purposes - many thanks to H110Hawk and Motronic.
Kestral fucked around with this message at 06:50 on Nov 14, 2020 |
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Nov 14, 2020 00:56
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Sounds like you need to call the SEC and drop a dime on Jason. You should have an intervention with your parents, and demand that they talk to a lawyer prior to further engaging with this con artist. "Don't believe me, please consult an attorney. You've literally been scammed by this person once. If they were a successful investor they wouldn't need your money." You should also tell them to talk to the police, but they won't. H110Hawk fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Nov 14, 2020 |
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Nov 14, 2020 01:04
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I'm sorry, but your parents aren't really fit to handle their own finances. But probably not unfit enough to have a court do anything about it.
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Nov 14, 2020 01:09
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H110Hawk posted:Sounds like you need to call the SEC and drop a dime on Jason. You should have an intervention with your parents, and demand that they talk to a lawyer prior to further engaging with this con artist. "Don't believe me, please consult an attorney. You've literally been scammed by this person once. If they were a successful investor they wouldn't need your money." You should also tell them to talk to the police, but they won't. Thaaaat's going to be a fun conversation, I need to start arming myself for it. Unfortunately there's no way they or I can afford an attorney, so it's down to the SEC. Edit: Motronic posted:I'm sorry, but your parents aren't really fit to handle their own finances. Very true, and it's so intensely frustrating that helping them is so difficult / borderline impossible. Thank you both for your help. Kestral fucked around with this message at 01:28 on Nov 14, 2020 |
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Nov 14, 2020 01:12
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I'm not sure if there's a better thread for this, I thought about asking in the tax thread but I wasn't sure if that was the right place. My partner is starting an Etsy business selling resin statues (good profit/low labor per unit) and in case it actually makes money I want to track expenses and income, is there any simple free software for that besides an Excel sheet? I can be a spreadsheet monkey but if there's something simpler that she could use I'd prefer that. At least for this year it would be running as a sole proprietor, if it takes off maybe I'll help her form a single member LLC.
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Nov 14, 2020 22:23
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22 Eargesplitten posted:I'm not sure if there's a better thread for this, I thought about asking in the tax thread but I wasn't sure if that was the right place. My partner is starting an Etsy business selling resin statues (good profit/low labor per unit) and in case it actually makes money I want to track expenses and income, is there any simple free software for that besides an Excel sheet? I can be a spreadsheet monkey but if there's something simpler that she could use I'd prefer that. At least for this year it would be running as a sole proprietor, if it takes off maybe I'll help her form a single member LLC. The free tier of some online business accounting software would seem to be the most appropriate. I got a friend set up on CloudBooks a while back.
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Nov 14, 2020 22:33
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Thanks, I'll look into options. She's technologically capable but even worse with money than I am, and if anyone here remembers me from 2-4 years ago that's a loving accomplishment.
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Nov 14, 2020 22:43
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Thanks, I'll look into options. She's technologically capable but even worse with money than I am, and if anyone here remembers me from 2-4 years ago that's a loving accomplishment. I mean, maybe that's too much then? A dropbox folder full of receipts tallied in an excel doc for cost of good sold might be enough to start.
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Nov 14, 2020 23:51
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One thing I've seen recommended is opening a new bank account only for the business. Then, you can just look at the transactions to see what the income and expenses are. Gotta be disciplined not to use it for anything else.
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Nov 15, 2020 00:43
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That is definitely a good idea, that's what I did when I was doing gig economy work back in early '18.
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Nov 15, 2020 02:07
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Looking for some opinions on when refinancing isn't worth it. I have roughly $170,000 and 11 years remaining on my mortgage. I refinanced away from a 3.65% APR 30 year mortgage to a 3.00% APR 12 year mortgage back in March. My credit union was running a special where the total closing costs (paid up front, nothing rolled into the loan) was about $300. A no-brainer, especially since I really did not like our previous servicer. Now, with rates dropping a lot more, I was expecting to refinance again. I was quoted 2.375% interest with $1400 closing costs (for a 2.445% APR) for a 15 year mortgage. So, fresh off refinancing to drop .65% from my rate, I expected it would be a no brainer to do basically that exact thing again. As an aside, I will be paying any of these off on the initial 12 year schedule (so, 11 years and change to go). I realize with historically low interest rates, it might make mathematical sense to get a 30 year and pay minimums, but I have psychological and other reasons not to do that. Also, we picked this house out as a long term house. It is in an area with plenty of jobs in my field and I'm married with my family situation not set to change. Obviously unexpected things could come up, but my plan is to ride this mortgage out. So with all that said, running the math: With my current mortgage, I will pay roughly $29500 interest over the next 11 years. With the new mortgage, I would pay $23800 interest, plus the $1400 closing costs for a total of $25200. That means over 11 years, the difference is $4300. When I started this process, I 100% assumed I'd be refinancing but, I dunno, that doesn't seem worth it to me. I guess I want a sanity check because as a long time BFCer, it feels wrong to leave almost $4500 on the ground, but that's the direction I'm leaning. Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 18:37 on Nov 18, 2020 |
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Nov 18, 2020 18:35
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Grumpwagon posted:Looking for some opinions on when refinancing isn't worth it. I have roughly $170,000 and 11 years remaining on my mortgage. I refinanced away from a 3.65% APR 30 year mortgage to a 3.00% APR 12 year mortgage back in March. It's not worth it. Just ride it out unless you're looking to extend your term back out to 30 years so you have a tiny payment.
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Nov 18, 2020 18:42
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