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Duckman2008 posted:You can still buy $10k worth of I Bonds a year, so not bad to look at that either. I did this and put the rest of the excess into index funds. Thanks everyone!
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Jun 3, 2021 21:34
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Just a question for the thread. I refinanced last August, and went from 310k balance on a house worth 330k, to a balance of 300k with a new value of 400k. (property values are out of control). I also have a HELOC of $50k. Since then my income has gone up a bit (plus Mrs Jerkface went back to work), and I'd like to consider doing some home improvement. I have plans drawn up by an architect and I'm in the process of getting them approved by the city and getting quotes from builders. The project will likely cost $120k to complete (small addition, add a bathroom, etc). That said, I know that it's possible to do a cash out refinance, but likely I don't have 120k worth of equity (I guess 120k + more so I'm not at 100% LTV) in the house , however after the improvements, compared to neighboring house values, the house will for sure be work 450-475k. I'd much rather borrow the money inside a mortgage instead of a personal loan or HELOC, since it'd be cheaper/tax benefits of interest to have a higher mortgage balance. I'm also willing to wait a year or so, and paydown the balance, save a little more and then refinance for a smaller amount of cash, if doing a refi only a year later is ill-advised. It's just not practical that I can save $100,000 in the next year, but have room in my budget for another 500-600 mortgage while still maintaining a nice e-fund and not being over leveraged per month. I'm sort of rambling here, but I'm looking some non-biased guidance from internet strangers.
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Jun 14, 2021 18:46
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Cash out refi will most likely cap you at 80% LTV. So it probably is not a worthwhile option.
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Jun 14, 2021 21:54
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spwrozek posted:Cash out refi will most likely cap you at 80% LTV. So it probably is not a worthwhile option. Yeah, I called the mortgage guy that I worked with when I refinanced last year. He explained that to me, and mentioned about a home improvement mortage (homestyle loan through FHA), where they appraise the house based on the improvements and the mortgage amount goes into escrow and when the project is done they issue a payment to the contractor and then close on the mortgage. It looks like it's my best option, so I'm going to start looking into that now. There's no cap on LTV, but if you go over 80% you get PMI back. It's something to consider. I think I'm going to try to save up as much as i can before next spring, and then get into this.
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Jun 14, 2021 22:05
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Am I missing something? You want to put 125k towards home improvements which will net you 50-75k in added value?
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Jun 18, 2021 15:14
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Sounds like a typical home improvement to me. He's not doing this just to sell the house for a profit; it's so the house will have a feature he wants and will enjoy
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Jun 18, 2021 15:16
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Basic CC question: is there a limit where you have "too many" credit cards? I have 5 currently, one of which I do not use anymore since I only snagged it to get 50k bonus points or something like that a few years ago. I'm about to open a Costco CC, and thought "huh, 6 CCs seems like a lot." I know closing one negatively affects my credit score, so I'm wondering if I should open the new one and close the old one, or just.. leave the old one? I should set up some kind of monthly fee on it since that'll keep it as a net positive to my credit score, as far as I'm aware? I have a good credit score currently, ~805, and don't really need a great score for anything imminently since I just closed on my house, but I'm just wondering if either of my above mentioned options are better than the other.
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Jun 23, 2021 17:13
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The length of time that you've had a credit card matters for your FICO score, so if there's a big gap between when you got your first and second cards, closing the first one can hurt you a lot.
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Jun 23, 2021 17:18
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ultrafilter posted:The length of time that you've had a credit card matters for your FICO score, so if there's a big gap between when you got your first and second cards, closing the first one can hurt you a lot.  The one I'm contemplating closing is only ~2.5y old, it's nowhere near my oldest card. I'm def not closing that one anytime soon, it also has my highest possible credit amount; I'm just unsure of the more recent one that I haven't used in.. at least 6 months. I honestly think the card itself is somewhere in storage, maybe in my little documents safe.
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Jun 23, 2021 17:22
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Johnny Truant posted:
There might be a "too many" cards where it starts to hurt your credit score, but 6 isn't it. You're fine keeping it open, but it also probably wouldn't hurt your score much/at all to close it. I have a similar amount of cards and opted to keep a similar situation card open, but there have been cards in the past that got annoying, or that I just didn't want to bother with that I closed, and it was fine. I think the true min/max thing would be to keep it open to keep letting it age and have more available credit, but if you have a decent amount of available credit elsewhere, the impact of closing it is going to be extremely minimal. If you do decide to keep it open, make sure it is on autopay and be sure to watch for ToS changes or annual fee additions and such (having to monitor it is one argument of closing it). Basically, it doesn't matter, do what you want. Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Jun 23, 2021 |
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Jun 23, 2021 18:09
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Finally hit 850 FICO. Thanks for all the advice, thread.
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Jun 23, 2021 19:29
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I currently have 10 cards open (maybe 11) and have closed at least 3-4 more in the past two years. My credit score is still in the 800s so if there's a point where it seriously hurts I haven't found it.
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Jun 24, 2021 14:12
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My mother and mother-in-law sent me a letter saying they want to "invest in stock for [my daughter's] college fund." Before they do something incredibly stupid and/or useless, I want to do my homework and direct them appropriately. Does anyone have a reliable resource I could read on what the different options are, pros/cons, etc? I know there are 529 plans, but that's about the limit of my knowledge and I don't know much beyond that. My daughter is one year old and lives in California, but her grandmothers are in WI and NY.
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Jun 27, 2021 21:29
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SlapActionJackson posted:See E.g. https://www.road2college.com/best-strategies-to-pay-for-college-with-529-plans/ Quoting myself from earlier about this topic. The type of account and account holder can impact financial aid treatment, so you might want to think about that. If you'll still be earning SV money when your daughter starts you might not get much financial aid anyway.
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Jun 27, 2021 22:58
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Sundae posted:My mother and mother-in-law sent me a letter saying they want to "invest in stock for [my daughter's] college fund." Before they do something incredibly stupid and/or useless, I want to do my homework and direct them appropriately. Does anyone have a reliable resource I could read on what the different options are, pros/cons, etc? I know there are 529 plans, but that's about the limit of my knowledge and I don't know much beyond that. My daughter is one year old and lives in California, but her grandmothers are in WI and NY. If you have a great relationship you can always open the account for your daughter at fidelity or Vanguard and give them the deposit slips, or show them how to do online transfers. In addition to the above advice on what a 529 does to fafsa money.
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Jun 27, 2021 23:02
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Those articles tickle my min-max brain but otoh: you’re not doing it wrong by saving money for your kid’s education no matter how you do it. Offshore Cayman Island Account > Min-maxed legal money squirreling with grandparents and staggered payment plans > whatever 529 > index funds in a taxable brokerage account >>>> Northwestern Mutual advisor >>> checking account >> under mattress >> not saving at all Just do whatever is most convenient to the people that are going to be giving you money. So what if your kid / you get a $2000 larger tuition bill on a $20k total payment? Your grandparents want to give you $10000! Enable them!
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Jun 29, 2021 14:07
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I'm posting on behalf of my mother, who wouldn't understand this forum is if I tried to explain it to her. She wants to quit renting (rental units are extremely expensive here) and to buy a house. She makes rather a good deal of money (rather a tremendously great deal for her area -- only doctors make more) but has next to zero in savings? That's for a number of reasons, but mainly because her husband left her. They've never been divorced, as such, but he took most of the liquid cash. The other part is H&R Block, who filled out her (their) taxes wrong and they owe $10,000 to the IRS as a result. There's a question of a down payment. What if I payed it? What sort of liability would I have on the property? I'll tell you frankly, until everything fell apart, it wasn't unusual for them to buy and sell properties within a few years of one another -- within a few months, really. Rarely did they come out behind in these transactions, buy I could never understand them.* The area is Farmington, Maine and surrounding towns, but she'd rather remain in-town near the college where I live. (*That did not stop until they moved south, to North Carolina. I'm gay and told her that wasn't going to happen. Massachusetts or north, that's always been the agreement. I think she thought I was bluffing, but I got an apartment and stayed right where I was. She lasted nine months down there before her return. Then she kept up the house every sixth months habit until the H&W Block shell broke.) PersonFromPorlock fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Jun 29, 2021 |
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Jun 29, 2021 19:56
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Why in the hell does she want to buy a house in the place you're going to college? It's not like, once you're done with college, you're definitely staying there. As with nearly every question of "should I buy a house" the answer is probably not; she should keep renting for the next n years, build up some savings to replace what was lost, then look into buying once she has a down payment ready.
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Jun 29, 2021 21:28
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If you just pay the down payment for her, without agreements or documentation or anything else, it'd be a gift. The bank will probably want explicit confirmation of that (like a signed piece of paper from you that says "this is a gift with no expectation of repayment ever") when she goes to get a mortgage. They'll review her finances and will want very much to know about any possible on-the-DL six figure loans that might be floating around. In general it sounds like a very bad idea to get involved with her finances. Renting might suck and be expensive, but that doesn't mean you're obligated to give her down payment money. Paying closing costs every six months to a year is just crazy - moving regularly is a textbook example of when it makes more sense to rent than buy. Her actions don't speak well to her ability to manage her own financial life. If she has a high income she can save up a down payment herself.
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Jun 29, 2021 21:40
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silvergoose posted:Why in the hell does she want to buy a house in the place you're going to college? It's not like, once you're done with college, you're definitely staying there. As with nearly every question of "should I buy a house" the answer is probably not; she should keep renting for the next n years, build up some savings to replace what was lost, then look into buying once she has a down payment ready. Space Gopher posted:If you just pay the down payment for her, without agreements or documentation or anything else, it'd be a gift.
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Jun 29, 2021 22:10
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Sundae posted:My mother and mother-in-law sent me a letter saying they want to "invest in stock for [my daughter's] college fund." Before they do something incredibly stupid and/or useless, I want to do my homework and direct them appropriately. Does anyone have a reliable resource I could read on what the different options are, pros/cons, etc? I know there are 529 plans, but that's about the limit of my knowledge and I don't know much beyond that. My daughter is one year old and lives in California, but her grandmothers are in WI and NY.
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Jun 30, 2021 16:08
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Vanguard runs the Nevada 529, not Utah.
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Jun 30, 2021 20:12
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FACKER posted:Vanguard runs the Nevada 529, not Utah.
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Jun 30, 2021 21:12
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FACKER posted:Vanguard runs the Nevada 529, not Utah. Pennsylvania as well. Or at the very least it's all Vanguard funds.
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Jun 30, 2021 21:16
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And if everything you have is in fidelity already - new Hampshire is run by them and has access to a cheap index fund. I don't think it's as cheap as Vanguard but it's not crazy. Certainly not enough for me to care with the several grand between the two kids.
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Jun 30, 2021 21:47
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I have an HSA. I've read before that it can be beneficial to pay out of pocket for expenses but hold on to the invoices and instead reimburse myself at a much later date. Is this because my tax level is potentially more favorable when I'm older, or maybe because it allows a larger amount of pre-tax money to be invested for a while in the meantime? So far most of my current expenses have been rather small and I've elected to pay straight from the HSA because it doesn't seem too worthwhile to keep receipts around for decades just to save a few bucks. It seems to me like the advice I've read applies to expenses from larger procedures or situations with consistent recurring medical charges. Is there a general rule of thumb or method that could help me determine when it's better to hold off on reimbursement as opposed to paying straight from my HSA balance?
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Jul 1, 2021 19:48
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Every dollar saved is beneficial on the long term for the same reason you save for retirement. Whether you want to deal with saving every $5 receipt from now until eternity is up to you, or just $20, or just $100, etc. My insurance gives me quarterly "health statements" which can be really meaty if I use out of network services. Some services I believe allow you to stash receipts with them? Start a Google Drive folder (or whatever cloud storage you already use) and slap them in there at your leisure and don't fret about missing some. Then in 20 years if you really need an influx of cash, hit "reimburse." The other side of the coin is when you get old you will DEFINITELY use more medical services, which unless things change dramatically, will still cost you an arm and a leg. Which incidentally, if you need arm and leg prosthetic your HSA would cover. So if you can not use the money now, the odds are extremely in your favor that you will spend it when you're 65+.
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Jul 1, 2021 20:30
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Also:quote:If you still have an HSA balance after the age of 65, you can take withdrawals out of your HSA for non-medical expenses penalty free. Taxes may still be applicable to your withdrawal amounts, similar to Traditional IRA withdrawals, but you would avoid the 20% penalty from the IRS.
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Jul 1, 2021 20:44
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Dying without consuming all of your HSA seems really unlikely, no matter how large / well-funded your HSA is. I guess it depends on how correctly insured you are throughout your life.
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Jul 1, 2021 21:01
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DNK posted:Dying without consuming all of your money seems really unlikely, no matter how ... insured you are throughout your life. Honestly
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Jul 1, 2021 21:03
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I just like the idea that the HSA is great for medical. But if you’re ever worried, it can turn into a fund for whatever you want once you’re old enough. So it’s basically just another retirement account.
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Jul 1, 2021 21:05
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DNK posted:Dying without consuming all of your HSA seems really unlikely, no matter how large / well-funded your HSA is. I guess it depends on how correctly insured you are throughout your life. It really depends on not just your circumstances, but also your attitude towards end-of-life. Do you want to be a "do every treatment possible" kind of person, where the doctors will shatter your sternum giving CPR after your fifth Code Blue of the night? Or you spend your last two years on chemotherapy drugs that make you feel terrible? Or even just so drugged out of your gourd that you aren't conscious enough to interact with those around you? Hopefully it doesn't come to anything like this, but there's an awful lot of really terrible ways to die. Think about how you want to die. Write it down (it's an "advance care directive"). Don't let other people make the decisions for you, because they'll probably choose something contrary to your wishes.
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Jul 1, 2021 21:10
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:Honestly for sure. A knee replacement is about $50K and medicare covers 80%, give or take. I have been saving for years in the HSA and am up to a cool $26K. that is going to go REAL quick when I am old.
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Jul 2, 2021 00:55
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:It really depends on not just your circumstances, but also your attitude towards end-of-life. Do you want to be a "do every treatment possible" kind of person, where the doctors will shatter your sternum giving CPR after your fifth Code Blue of the night? Or you spend your last two years on chemotherapy drugs that make you feel terrible? Or even just so drugged out of your gourd that you aren't conscious enough to interact with those around you? Hopefully it doesn't come to anything like this, but there's an awful lot of really terrible ways to die. This stuff can be DIY'd, but if you have any questions or concerns about it, you can(and should, if you can afford it) talk to an actual lawyer about it. And don't think you don't need one because you're below some arbitrary age - poo poo can happen at any time.
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Jul 2, 2021 23:05
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I know that YNAB is considered the gold standard for budgeting apps here. I've been using it for a couple of months free with the college program, and while I really like the expense tracking tools, I don't find myself using the budgeting aspect, ever. Can anyone suggest an alternative they like that is good for just expense tracking?
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Jul 6, 2021 03:11
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Mint. Market leader for expense tracking by far. Free. ~90% accurate at tagging transactions by category. Easy to set up. The major downside is that it’s owned by Intuit.
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Jul 6, 2021 12:32
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How the hell do credit scores work? Actual specific question: I have no history of loan payments, thanks to circumstances. Just bought a car with a 48-mo loan at a good rate. I'm looking to get a mortgage in the next few years. My credit score is specifically being kept down by a lack of recurring payments. Is there weird voodoo math by which I end up saving more money by not paying off the car loan early because it pushes the credit score up, thereby lowering the rate on my mortgage? Obviously this is an art and not a science because every lender will interpret numbers and information differently, but someone here might have reasonable general advice.
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Jul 6, 2021 13:41
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DACK FAYDEN posted:How the hell do credit scores work? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/raise-credit-score-fast Obviously some of what they’re gonna say is oriented around their products. That said, the main thing for credit score is it’s basically an established history of paying borrowed money on time, while also not having more than 30% of outstanding debt. You do not have to go crazy, get 5 credit cards , or take on a lot of debt. But, if you do not have a credit card, the simplest way to build credit is to get a free credit card , use it like your bank account, and pay it off every month. You can even just say, use it to just pay Netflix once a month and pay it off, and it will show the same credit boost as if you used it for every purchase. To emphasize : do NOT carry a balance on a card, pay it off in full every month. Keeping a balance does not help your score and the interest credit card companies charge is absolutely not worth snd should be avoided at all costs. Long story short: get a credit card and pay it off every month and it’ll fix itself.
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Jul 6, 2021 13:47
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A few extra months of on-time car payments isn’t worth the interest it will cost you by not paying it down as quickly as possible. Plus having a low balance vs the original loan amount looks good which luckily ties in with the fact that the earlier you make big principal payments the more you save.
Dross fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Jul 6, 2021 |
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Jul 6, 2021 20:50
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Duckman2008 posted:Long story short: get a credit card and pay it off every month and it’ll fix itself.  Dross posted:A few extra months of on-time car payments isn’t worth the interest it will cost you by not paying it down as quickly as possible. Plus having a low balance vs the original loan amount looks good which luckily ties in with the fact that the earlier you make big principal payments the more you save.
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Jul 7, 2021 01:02
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