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It's her debt - let her handle it.
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Jul 5, 2014 20:51
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EugeneJ posted:It's her debt - let her handle it. This is a bad response. I've never met anyone irl who has split finances and not had it bite them in the rear end or clearly show something is wrong with the relationship. Splitting finances really makes thing weird. Instead of managing one pot, you're managing two. Instead of making sure one retirement is sufficient, now you have to control two, what happens when one underperforms and can't hack it at retirement? Does one get less amenities in retirement? What happens when one spouse has a great opportunity that may disadvantage the other spouse's income, but had a greater net increase? Economies of scale are a great thing. Make it work to your advantage. Even small things like being able to get into an Admiral Vanguard account will occur faster and make a big difference. Financial struggle is greatly lessened when both parties are on the same page, especially considering that the number one reason for divorce is money. Get that on the same page and you guys will clear most hurdles you come across. Since you guys are so close, I'd pay the debt off and be done with it. Then worry about savings and such. Dead Pressed fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Jul 5, 2014 |
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Jul 5, 2014 21:33
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She's not destitute - if the wife was unemployed and staying home raising kids, then ok, maybe the husband should step in and cover the debt
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Jul 5, 2014 21:52
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EugeneJ posted:She's not destitute - if the wife was unemployed and staying home raising kids, then ok, maybe the husband should step in and cover the debt Marriage is different than being roommates.
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Jul 5, 2014 21:55
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eddiewalker posted:Marriage is different than being roommates. If Iron Lung didn't fear resenting his wife after gifting her 12k, he would have just did it and not posted about it. I've been that guy before. It never ends well. Having her pay half of the debt would be reasonable.
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Jul 5, 2014 22:06
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I don't think anywhere in my post I indicated a fear of that, nor do I feel that way in the slightest. I'm happy to pay the debt down using the savings referenced, I just don't really know if it's the most prudent way to do it since I've never dealt with debt before. I'm asking about that, and the best way to go about paying it down, I'm not really concerned about who the money comes from, just that we pay it off responsibly. I just want the debt gone ASAP so we can focus on building and saving! We're young and in solid financial states so we can take the hit financially but 12k is still a big number to see evaporate out of savings (whether its ours or "mine"). I'm not asking her to re-fill the hole in that savings account either, I just didn't know how to proceed because being a single financial unit is very new to both of us obviously.
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Jul 5, 2014 22:42
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Iron Lung posted:12k student loan What is the interest rate on the loan?
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Jul 5, 2014 22:46
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How's her credit? If it sucks or is non-existent, that's the only reason I could see why she should go on a payment plan with the loan. Building credit is important if you're going to buy a house.
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Jul 5, 2014 22:49
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There are a few different loans (sub and unsub) and they range from 3-5% I believe. In other news I sincerely hate the fedloan payment system. I applied a 5k payment to a loan that zeroed it out, but because I didn't go through the "payoff" menu and actually hit payoff laon it still accrued interest for a month and a half before we realized it. I should probably get that login info... edit: Her credit ranges from non-existent to sucky I'd guess. Neither of us have had loans prior to this one, and she had some credit card issues when she was 17/18 and didn't know how to use them. I'd still rather just pay them off so we didn't have to carry the interest since we don't plan on owning a home for a very very long time. Iron Lung fucked around with this message at 22:53 on Jul 5, 2014 |
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Jul 5, 2014 22:49
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Iron Lung posted:There are a few different loans (sub and unsub) and they range from 3-5% I believe. In other news I sincerely hate the fedloan payment system. I applied a 5k payment to a loan that zeroed it out, but because I didn't go through the "payoff" menu and actually hit payoff laon it still accrued interest for a month and a half before we realized it. I should probably get that login info... ...I'm hoping that 5k was for your loan and not another one of your wife's
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Jul 5, 2014 22:52
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Iron Lung posted:There are a few different loans (sub and unsub) and they range from 3-5% I believe. In other news I sincerely hate the fedloan payment system. I applied a 5k payment to a loan that zeroed it out, but because I didn't go through the "payoff" menu and actually hit payoff laon it still accrued interest for a month and a half before we realized it. I should probably get that login info... It's a little hard to tell how much money you'd have left if you did pay this $12k loan off. Sounds like you each have personal accounts of $5k+, your Ally account with $24k, and then an unknown amount from your wedding gifts. Given that you are newly married and moving in the next month, you probably don't yet have a full understanding of what your combined expenses will be on a monthly basis. The typical and safe recommendation is to have 6 months of expenses in a savings account as an emergency fund. You may want to wait a few months for the dust to settle to get a full picture of your budget, and it sounds like you are on the right track by using YNAB. If in a couple of months you feel you can safely pay off the $12k debt and still have a solid emergency fund, then fire away on that loan payment. Are you putting away money for retirement?
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Jul 5, 2014 23:02
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EugeneJ posted:...I'm hoping that 5k was for your loan and not another one of your wife's Nope, I haven't had any loans, it was for her highest interest/dollar amount loan. She's my partner, and I am fine supporting her financially since I know she would do the same for me if I went back to school. mtr posted:It's a little hard to tell how much money you'd have left if you did pay this $12k loan off. Sounds like you each have personal accounts of $5k+, your Ally account with $24k, and then an unknown amount from your wedding gifts. Given that you are newly married and moving in the next month, you probably don't yet have a full understanding of what your combined expenses will be on a monthly basis. The typical and safe recommendation is to have 6 months of expenses in a savings account as an emergency fund. edit to avoid a double post: We would definitely be able to afford 6-12 months of living off an emergency fund even without that 12k. Our monthly costs won't change much from our current situation, rent will just be slightly higher than what we have been used to (we've lived together for 4 years so we have most of it down pat). I'm also fine with us paying down some of the loan now and waiting on the rest until things settle, that makes sense to me too. I do, I've been contributing to a vanguard roth IRA for the past few years (Admiral Fund, whatup). I'd like to max that out with the leftover money in the Ally account for 2014, and once she starts making more I want her to get started on one as well. Iron Lung fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Jul 5, 2014 |
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Jul 5, 2014 23:04
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Iron Lung posted:Nope, I haven't had any loans, it was for her highest interest/dollar amount loan. She's my partner, and I am fine supporting her financially since I know she would do the same for me if I went back to school.  So you've already paid off 5k of her debt and are contemplating paying off another 12k of her debt Or have you paid more than 5k of her debt already?
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Jul 5, 2014 23:14
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EugeneJ posted:
You've made your point. He clearly doesn't agree with you. Why are you beating the issue of "her debt" vs "his debt" into the ground when he's asking a completely different question?
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Jul 5, 2014 23:20
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IllegallySober posted:You've made your point. He clearly doesn't agree with you. Why are you beating the issue of "her debt" vs "his debt" into the ground when he's asking a completely different question? Seriously. For most people, when they get married, one person's debt becomes both people's debt. This is literally what joint finances are.
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Jul 5, 2014 23:27
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IllegallySober posted:You've made your point. He clearly doesn't agree with you. Why are you beating the issue of "her debt" vs "his debt" into the ground when he's asking a completely different question? Because the sane thing to do as a couple is go on a repayment plan if your combined income is less than $50k/year. She could leave him next month and he's out approximately $20,000 of *his* money. The couple hasn't produced any money together yet - why not wait a year, make sure everything's fine with the marriage, and then decide if you want to throw extra money at the loan? He seems like a great guy. Just don't want to see him get burned.
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Jul 5, 2014 23:28
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EugeneJ posted:Because the sane thing to do as a couple is go on a repayment plan if your combined income is less than $50k/year. He (they) wants to be debt free. They have money to pay it off and have money left as a reserve. Why pay a year's interest if you don't have to? Throwing money away is not sane. EugeneJ posted:She could leave him next month and he's out approximately $20,000 of *his* money. They've been together for four years. Why would she bolt immediately after getting wed off? This isn't the runaway bride. EugeneJ posted:The couple hasn't produced any money together yet - why not wait a year, make sure everything's fine with the marriage, and then decide if you want to throw extra money at the loan? What difference would it make if he waited a year, paid it off, and then split? None, except now you're paying interest you don't need to. If this is/was a fear of his in the first place, he just straight up should not have gotten married. Iron Lung, you sound like you've got your stuff straight (and almost the exact same as my wife and I) . Combine the accounts, pay the debt off, and move forward as you've outlined already. You (and now her) are killing it, and if you guys keep it up you'll be really well set up. Dead Pressed fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Jul 6, 2014 |
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Jul 6, 2014 00:43
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Iron Lung - what is your wife's income going to be compared with yours? This is what troubles me: quote:Our combined monthly income is approx. $4k which will start increasing very soon when my wife can start gaining clients. Is she doing Mary Kay? Real Estate? Or something more reputable? If you plan on taking care of your wife - that's fine. But don't phrase it like you're both co-pilots in the marriage if you're the one who's keeping the plane above ground.
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Jul 6, 2014 00:56
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So I have a good five month unemployment fund saved up. I'd like to stick it somewhere other than my savings account in order to keep it growing. Is something like a Vanguard account a good option? I want something relatively low risk.
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Jul 6, 2014 01:25
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The answer to your question is basically "leave it in the savings account". I think we rehashed that question two or three pages ago.
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Jul 6, 2014 02:36
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EugeneJ posted:If you plan on taking care of your wife - that's fine. But don't phrase it like you're both co-pilots in the marriage if you're the one who's keeping the plane above ground. IL, I'd suggest having individual accounts and a joint account, paying bills from the joint account and putting extra spending money in the individual accounts. That way you can buy each other presents and spend your fun money however you want without having any oversight from the other person. People have chimed in before saying that different ways work- anything from individual accounts and splitting bills to pooling everything. It just depends on how your relationship works and how much privacy you want with your personal spending. I'd pay it off as soon as you know what your true expenses are and have them covered with an emergency fund.
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Jul 6, 2014 03:22
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EugeneJ posted:
EugeneJ posted:Because the sane thing to do as a couple is go on a repayment plan if your combined income is less than $50k/year. CelestialScribe posted:So I have a good five month unemployment fund saved up. I'd like to stick it somewhere other than my savings account in order to keep it growing.
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Jul 6, 2014 04:03
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izorpo posted:If you are living in the Northern Territory and you have any desire to see the country, which you obviously do, I would tell you definitely drop some cash on a car that will let you do it. But I'm biased, I've spent a lot of time touring Australia and love it. It sounds like your time in the Territory is probably limited to a couple more years? Take advantage of it while you can. It's a lot harder when you have to drive 3000km to see that part of the country. Your finances seem pretty sound, you can get a reliable 4WD that will suit you nicely for $10K. I am in a bit of a similar situation in that I'll have to spend some cash to replace mine in the next couple of years, but I wouldn't live in Australia without a vehicle that lets me enjoy what we have. Any advice on what kind of car? Thinking Toyota Hilux dual cab. I've seen a few 2005~ go for 15-20k.
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Jul 6, 2014 04:40
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Suspicious Lump posted:Studying in Australia! Hey, a question I might be able to help with! For starters, I would recommend finding out how much you owe on HECS. The reason I'm saying this is because the federal budget has changed the rules, so instead of it being indexed to CPI (i.e. inflation) it will be indexed to 10 year treasury bonds, which can be up to 6% per annum. This will start happening as of 1 June 2016, which is a while off but if you're doing a PhD this may very well impact you. Also, there has been a revision of HELP repayment thresholds, which means if you earn more than $50,638 you will have to start paying off HECS. For reference, this year you will only have to start paying off HECS if you earn more than $53,345. So, if you're wanting to go the route of undergrad -> honours / masters -> PhD in Australia, the government is going to financially screw you over. I guess it's still a pretty sweet deal in comparison to America? On the bright side, if you make voluntary payments greater than $500 towards your HECS debt you will get 5% of the payment amount forgiven from your debt. So yeah, find out how much you owe and consider paying some of it off in the next 2 years because you might be in for a bit of a shock otherwise. So if I were in your position I would do the following: 1. Keep $10,000 in an easily accessible savings account as an emergency fund 2. Make a realistic savings goal for the 4WD (figure out what model, features, condition you're willing to pay for) and save towards that 3. Find out how much owed on HECS (whip out your Tax File Number and call the ATO on 13 28 61 to find this out) and put leftover money towards the HECS debt 4. If your contract expires in the next 6 months, network like hell. Attend seminars and networking events to get your name out there 5. Try and qualify for whatever grants and scholarships available to PhD candidates Disclaimer - I'm rather cautious and I am particularly wary of the government changes to HECS. That said I am pretty sure at most universities in Australia there are few (if any) tuition costs for doing a PhD if you're a citizen because the university gets some pretty huge incentives for their PhD students, particularly when they graduate.
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Jul 6, 2014 05:35
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moana posted:That's a really loving horrible way to view it and I feel sorry for your wife or future wife if you think that being co-pilots in a marriage has anything to do with how much income you're bringing into the relationship. EugeneJ just likes to troll the finance threads. He was the same guy who was insistent on keeping all his funds in cash until retirement, never investing, retiring on 500k in 40 years, and trusting social security more than the stock market. As far as the husband/wife thing: Imo make a plan for what you want to do for the next 6/12/18 months and then if paying it off seems to match that plan then just pay it off. Your accounts are combined now, what would you do if the debt was yours?
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Jul 6, 2014 05:55
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Suspicious Lump posted:Any advice on what kind of car? Thinking Toyota Hilux dual cab. I've seen a few 2005~ go for 15-20k. That happens to be what I own. A '99 petrol that now has over 300K on the clock. Remember though that the quality of Toyota vehicles went into serious decline sometime around 2008. I would recommend older Toyotas but you'll need to do some serious research. A 2005 for $20K would want to have reasonable mileage but I don't know the market in Darwin or wherever you would be buying. It's easy to tell other people to spend money but seriously, the thought of someone living in the Territory for years who likes (or thinks they will like) camping and travelling, and them never getting to do it, makes me want to cry. I'm doing the Kimberley later this year and have to drive 3500km to get there. I won't be doing it with the '99 Hilux though.
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Jul 6, 2014 06:00
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froglet: Good advice, I've been keeping an eye out for when the new senate comes in and as soon as anything gets passed regarding HECS then I will be treating it like debt. As far as I know it has always been if you earn 50k+ then HECS repayments start kicking in, what changes are you referring to? Darwin is a tiny town so job opportunities for me are limited but I'm perpetually networking because of my big mouth, plenty of researchers are keen to take me on as a PhD candidate and I've got a very high chance of securing a living allowance scholarship + topup from my research institution. I think I've made up my mind on buying a new (used) car. The question is now what the best method of doing it is, I think once my savings hit 40k I will redirect my savings budget towards a new car. izorpo: Why not in the Hilux? I've been looking at hilux diesel for fuel efficiency, dual cab for space and 4x4 for safer driving in the bush (try crossing a swollen road in a toyota starlet... gently caress). Anything to keep an eye out for?
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Jul 6, 2014 06:49
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Suspicious Lump posted:As far as I know it has always been if you earn 50k+ then HECS repayments start kicking in, what changes are you referring to? Nope. This past financial year you would only have to start paying back HECS if you earned >$53k (gross). The change I am referring to is the fact that your HECS debt will be charged interest (instead of being indexed to inflation) and the threshold for repayments to kick in has been lowered. Anyone with HECS debt will run the risk that the interest will outstrip their minimum payments, particularly if you're in an industry where there's high qualification requirements but average pay.
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Jul 6, 2014 07:33
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Suspicious Lump posted:izorpo: Why not in the Hilux? I've been looking at hilux diesel for fuel efficiency, dual cab for space and 4x4 for safer driving in the bush (try crossing a swollen road in a toyota starlet... gently caress). Anything to keep an eye out for? Love the Hilux, just not keen on doing such a long trip and the Gibb River Road (relatively remote, parts of it can be in poor condition) in a petrol with 300 000 Ks on it. If it was a diesel, or I lived a bit closer, or it was my only option, sure I'd do it no worries. I have access to a much newer Prado though so I'll be using that. A pre-2008 Hilux diesel with less than 250 000 Ks that's been looked after will take you just about anywhere no worries. You'll probably have to go with something around 2002 in that criteria for your price range. Just get a good mechanic you trust to go over it before you part with any cash. You can read some 4WD magazines but they'll just convince you that you need a bunch of expensive accessories that you don't really need. Knowledge of basic recovery techniques and safety of such is essential though. You have to take it real easy if you're not travelling with a second vehicle.
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Jul 6, 2014 08:08
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I'm not sure where to put this question, but. My dad and I are closing our Bank of America checking accounts out (seriously sick of the fees...). What would be a good online bank or credit union to use? I have an address in the US still, so I would like an American bank when/if I return home in a couple of months. My credit is a mess (thanks, mom) that's slowly being rebuilt, but I don't know how that would affect it. Would I need some sort of poor credit/second chance bank account?
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Jul 6, 2014 13:36
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Aerofallosov posted:I'm not sure where to put this question, but. If you don't need physical branches, then Ally or Capital One 360 are good options. I have used Capital One 360 (previously ING Direct) for several years now with no issues. I also keep another account at a local credit union in case I need a physical branch, but I can count on one hand how many times I've had to go in to a physical branch over the past 8 years or so.
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Jul 6, 2014 13:52
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Aerofallosov posted:I'm not sure where to put this question, but. Schwab, /thread. No fees for anything ever, they reimburse every ATM fee, no forex charges if you ever travel, etc. etc. etc. Their CS is all American and knowledgeable and they are all-around great.
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Jul 6, 2014 15:28
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I don't mind not having a physical branch. My dad will probably go to the local credit union. Mostly, I wanted to have an American bank account and make sure I have checks for direct deposit if needed if/when I return back to the US. Those look pretty good, so I'll check out the three suggested.
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Jul 6, 2014 16:04
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Thanks for the advice all, I think we are going to proceed as follows: 1) pay off a chunk of the loan now from someone's savings and set up a payment plan so we don't get hit with any fees. 2) once we move and the dust settles we'll pay the rest off immediately if it makes sense (should be about 3 months from today since we're moving in the next month). OR we might just tackle it all now since it should be totally 100% fine. But probably option one and two.moana posted:IL, I'd suggest having individual accounts and a joint account, paying bills from the joint account and putting extra spending money in the individual accounts. That way you can buy each other presents and spend your fun money however you want without having any oversight from the other person. People have chimed in before saying that different ways work- anything from individual accounts and splitting bills to pooling everything. It just depends on how your relationship works and how much privacy you want with your personal spending. This was the other part of what I was asking the thread for, what are the mechanics of this? Just set up direct deposits for our paychecks to both go to a joint account and then dole out the money from there? How do we figure out how much fun money we get per month? I need to read a book I think. I also can't wait to move so we'll know how much our real monthly expenses our, which should make this easier to figure out. Vilgan posted:As far as the husband/wife thing: Imo make a plan for what you want to do for the next 6/12/18 months and then if paying it off seems to match that plan then just pay it off. Your accounts are combined now, what would you do if the debt was yours? I think this hits the nail on the head for me too. If it were just mine, I'd pay it off immediately in one go and never think about it again. EJ, not that I want to drag this out any further, but my wife is not a flight risk. Our 5 year anniversary is next week and she certainly didn't marry me in the hopes of being rich - if so she picked the wrong guy. We've taken turns supporting each other over the past few years, it just so happens that at the moment my monthly income is greater than hers. She just graduated cosmetology school, and is currently assisting at a very high end salon. Her goal is to do exactly what her mentor did or at least get close: loving hustle in her first year out of school and assisting and make close to 100k  . Of course this is a pretty lofty goal, but even if she only makes it half way, she'll still be making more money than me. So if anything, she should be worried about me! Once she has a client base she can easily make double or more than my salary, which is p cool if you ask me.
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Jul 6, 2014 16:45
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Iron Lung posted:first year out of school and assisting and make close to 100k
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Jul 6, 2014 16:53
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slap me silly posted:God drat, now considering a career change. Seriously. I keep telling her I want to go to hair school too but she won't let me. Good stylists in high-end salons can make bank, its insane. Her boss/mentor clears $1400 on a good to normal Saturday. One of our friends in NYC made 40k last year working full time. When she came in for our wedding 2 weeks ago, she had already made that much so far this year and and is able to do that working only 4 days a week. It's pretty awesome.
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Jul 6, 2014 17:00
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Wow, that sounds nice. And none of the banks listed requires perfect credit? I wasn't sure if I should edit that in or not...
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Jul 6, 2014 17:07
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Banks don't really care about your credit score unless it's absolutely horrendous, or you're trying to get a loan. Now if you have an history of kiting checks, or laundering money, or wire fraud... They might not be so eager to take your money.
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Jul 6, 2014 17:26
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FrozenVent posted:Banks don't really care about your credit score unless it's absolutely horrendous, or you're trying to get a loan. Now if you have an history of kiting checks, or laundering money, or wire fraud... They might not be so eager to take your money. Right - most banks use ChexSystems to screen applicants for fraud/liability. Read more about it here: http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post--1-million-customers-are-blacklisted-by-banks
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Jul 6, 2014 17:28
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Iron Lung posted:This was the other part of what I was asking the thread for, what are the mechanics of this? Just set up direct deposits for our paychecks to both go to a joint account and then dole out the money from there? How do we figure out how much fun money we get per month?
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Jul 6, 2014 19:15
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