|
kaishek posted:Stupid question: It's interesting to hear that panhandling near an ATM is illegal in your area, though.
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2011 03:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 12:56 |
|
|
froglet posted:Unless your wife was being threatened, unfortunately there's not much you can do to get the money back, though you might be able to lodge a complaint with the police depending on the circumstances. Yeah, that's what I figured. Just an embuggerance!
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2011 03:20
|
|
|
Anonymous Robot posted:So, in the past couple of months I got my first credit card, which I've been using to build a positive credit history. This was the sort of general idea that was communicated to me by people I know, and the guy at the BoA branch that I spoke with. I know you posted this a couple days ago, but I wanted to respond because this question comes up a lot. If you use the card and pay it off to zero the same month, that does “count”. It builds up your credit just as fast as the person who waits for the statement to cycle before they make a payment. What you are doing is fine. Months when you do this, it will report as a “0” on your credit report. If you had a balance on the cycle date, it would report “C” assuming you were current, or if you were past due, it would report as a 1, 2, 3, etc based on how far behind you were. Where the confusion comes in is if there was zero activity, no balance anytime during the month, no purchases, no payments, the card would get reported as “N” that particular month. After 6 months in a row of non activity it’s not like it’s bad, but it doesn’t really build your credit either.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2011 16:39
|
|
|
kaishek posted:Stupid question: I was in the same exact situation a few months ago. Car broke down, no money, etc. Except it was a Japanese foreigner that lost his wallet and needed gas money to get to his family in Arizona. Took down my address, said he would return my money in the mail but I never got it. Lost about $80. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2011 09:22
|
|
|
I got this a few times, and I always try to offer anything BUT cash. I figure if they were legit desperate and hosed, they would take anything. If you are picky, then you must not really need it. My car broke down and I need some cash! I have AAA, want me to call a tow? No, I uh, need some money for the phone I have a cell phone. I need a place to stay. I have some free points on my Mariot card, do you want me to tell the AAA driver to drop you off there? ....nevermind
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2011 19:12
|
|
|
I had a guy come up to me at the train station, sad story about how his baby daughter was locked in his car with the keys and wallet, therefore he didn't have access to anything to call the locksmith to open up the car for him, but as soon as the car was opened he would pay me back, and he had picked me out of the crowd because I was the first white guy he had seen in 15 minutes! (he was white). Which was odd because as I looked around, at least a quarter of the people there were white.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2011 22:05
|
|
|
I have a chase visa already, but they do not support virtual credit cards. Do i have to open a card with either discover or citi bank to get this? I'd rather not take the credit hit for opening a card i don't really need except for the online buying protection. I know I'm not held liable for fraudulent purchases / identity theft but better safe then sorry, especially with how many websites & services are getting hacked and having their information taken (salted or not).
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2011 03:18
|
|
|
I have some questions. To start off, I got a job right out of school when the poo poo was hitting the fan (January 09) starting off at over $60,000 a year. Since I was worried the job would not last, I began stashing money away in my checking account and living off of credit cards instead. At first, I kept on top of things but increased job insecurity lead to making just a little less than full payment, then a little less, and then a little less. Long story short, these days I make about $100,000 a year. I have about $80,000 in my checking account (it was $95,000 but I had to get a good used car when my car was wrecked from hail damage as well as other emergency expenses, which made me glad I saved) but I have about $11,000 in credit card debt and $70,000 in student loans. It was about $90,000 but while I've been less than aggressive in paying off credit cards, I've been paying down maybe $1,500 a month on student loans. My biggest concern is that my credit card debt is to the point that I'm afraid it will get out of control. I have maybe $35,000 total in a total limit but I'm not going to go anywhere near that number. My questions to you all is this: 1) If I were to say "gently caress it" and pay off all $11,000, would that cause any issues (for instance, freezing my accounts to investigate). Would I need to notify my bank ahead of time to let them know I'm doing this? In the future, I'm going to pay off balances in full like I should have. While the job insecurity is there, it will probably always be there and having an empty balance is probably more beneficial than a five figure sum. 2) Is it worth aggressively tackling student loan debt? My interest rates range from 2.9 to 3.1 percent. My biggest concern is that I want a considerable pile of cash (which came in handy for $15,000 in emergency expenses I needed this year) for a safety net. I was thinking paying $1,000 a month or so minimum for student loans. I don't get any benefit of including the interest on my taxes since apparently it gets capped off at $75,000 a year incomes. 3) Are there any conservative investing and savings options? I'm going to go for an MBA next year and while my company covers it, in the case that I lose my job, I have to pay that amount back. Essentially I don't want anything that causes me to lose my rear end on something; this will be dipping the big toe in the pool as it were. In the future, if I end up feeling more secure, less financial obligations, etc. I can take some more risks. Or is that the way to approach it? In the end, I blame my financial ignorance and feelings of a lack of job security but at the same time, I'm trying to prevent poo poo from getting real. Thank you
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2011 07:18
|
|
|
The Experiment posted:1) If I were to say "gently caress it" and pay off all $11,000, would that cause any issues (for instance, freezing my accounts to investigate). Would I need to notify my bank ahead of time to let them know I'm doing this? In the future, I'm going to pay off balances in full like I should have. While the job insecurity is there, it will probably always be there and having an empty balance is probably more beneficial than a five figure sum. Unless you were taking it out in cash or something, there should be absolutely no reason for it to throw up red flags. It's also incredibly smart to pay down your credit card debt first as it's likely got the highest interest rate. If it's more than what you pay for your student loans, just pay the whole thing off in full right away. The Experiment posted:2) Is it worth aggressively tackling student loan debt? My interest rates range from 2.9 to 3.1 percent. My biggest concern is that I want a considerable pile of cash (which came in handy for $15,000 in emergency expenses I needed this year) for a safety net. I was thinking paying $1,000 a month or so minimum for student loans. I don't get any benefit of including the interest on my taxes since apparently it gets capped off at $75,000 a year incomes. That's a nice low interest rate considering the current inflation rate. So I don't think you need to be in a huge hurry to pay them down right now. There are ways to make a better return long term with your money and might as well do it with theirs. I would certainly be making your full monthly payments though and I guess you could throw in a little extra if it makes you feel better. As for a safety net, many people recommend at least 6 months of living expenses. You can go higher and should pick an amount you feel comfortable. Put this in a high yield FDIC insured savings account so you are at least making something off it. The Experiment posted:3) Are there any conservative investing and savings options? I'm going to go for an MBA next year and while my company covers it, in the case that I lose my job, I have to pay that amount back. Essentially I don't want anything that causes me to lose my rear end on something; this will be dipping the big toe in the pool as it were. In the future, if I end up feeling more secure, less financial obligations, etc. I can take some more risks. Or is that the way to approach it? You might want to check out the long term investment thread in this forum. One of the easiest and most conservative ways to go would be a high yield savings account I mentioned above. Make sure it's FDIC insured. There are a lot of options here and you should be able to pull in something close to 1 percent right now. ING Direct, HSBC, Ally, and American Express seem to be popular options. You may also want to look at putting some money into a Roth IRA. You can pull the principle out penalty free if you need it and it's a nice way to start for retirement. There is an annual limit on it so every year you miss out you don't get a chance to make it up. All your earnings from it from now till you retire would be tax-free. On the other hand, a traditional retirement account would allow you to save some money on taxes right now which might be helpful considering your income level. You seem to be doing very well for yourself financially. While being frugal and planning for worst-case scenarios is a good thing, you also don't want to go too far where you miss out on opportunities to make your position even better. Also, at your current salary, I'm assuming you will be able to continue to add more money to your portfolio. Niwrad fucked around with this message at 08:21 on Nov 26, 2011 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2011 08:17
|
|
|
The Experiment posted:I have some questions. First, I think you are doing really well. Most of us, myself included can't say that we are earning $100,000 2 years out of school, and in a nasty recession too. Nice job. I agree that you should pay off the credit cards immediately, and it's not a red flag. It is quite common. Think of all the balance transfers and debt consolidation loans. From the perspective of the credit card company, these are payoffs in full too. I would also pay off the student loans as quick as I could. I don't agree with the mentality that because they are at a low rate, you should pay them off slowly. You will wake up one day 20 years from now, and realize you still have them. Especially since you will get 1% if you are lucky, paying off 3% money doesn't seem bad. If you didn't have student loans, and a bank was offering a 3% loan, would you go out and borrow as much as you could to put it into another account so you could earn 1% so you could have a nice cushion? You do seem nervous for someone who is in such good shape. Do you have reason to believe your job is particularly shaky? Are you on a written budget? I think that if you didn't have student loan debt, no debt payment, you could live a very nice lifestyle even if you lived on 2/3 of what you make, and you would still consistently be saving a couple thousand a month. For the MBA, it sound like they can get rid of you for any reason and stick you with the bill. Might not be a good idea to go to the most expensive school with the assumption you won't have to pay for it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2011 14:28
|
|
|
You are in better shape than I am when you take everything into account, but I have to ask - what on earth was the logic in stashing money into checking and living on your credit cards? Were you anticipating losing the job and then just defaulting on the cards or something? I mean I completely understand being nervous about your job security and battening down as a result, but I don't understand the thought process of getting more debt as a result. Why wouldn't you just downsize your life as much as possible so that you would slightly less savings but be relatively debt free?
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2011 15:49
|
|
|
My fear with my job is that the economy was so shaky in 2009 that while the company had strong financials (looking back, the company made more money than ever during the recession), I had no idea if they were planning to lay anyone off. I just wanted to get to the point where I felt comfortable that in a worst case scenario, I could make it for an extended period of time without any income but without worrying about paying the bills. I think I hit that point but it is a mental thing that I'm going to have to start correcting. My thought regarding money is never to get into deep poo poo. I put off getting an MBA for a while because I wanted to save up the amount it cost for me to go to school, even though the school will pay for it and that there will probably be no issue. I will look into high yield savings accounts, Roth IRAs, and paying down student loan debt fast. Since I have an American Express credit card, I wonder if there is some incentive with getting an account with them for savings. I doubt it but I will check it out. Thanks for the advice everyone. Ashcans posted:You are in better shape than I am when you take everything into account, but I have to ask - what on earth was the logic in stashing money into checking and living on your credit cards? Were you anticipating losing the job and then just defaulting on the cards or something? I mean I completely understand being nervous about your job security and battening down as a result, but I don't understand the thought process of getting more debt as a result. Why wouldn't you just downsize your life as much as possible so that you would slightly less savings but be relatively debt free? I was very frugal, to the point where I spent less money than I did as a college student. While utility bills and rent was paid by check or direct from the bank, everything else was credit card. If I had a car repair, I put it on plastic. I bought groceries and gas and all that stuff on credit cards. The problem was that I had a very set budget. Essentially I hated the idea of spending more than $700 a month and would keep things that way. Even if it meant not paying down all of my credit card balance. Often (bills would be maybe $100-200 a month), I could make it but there were some sudden larger expenses (ie, car repairs) that would cost a couple hundred alone, I would not pay off the balance in full. My thought was that if I pinched the pennies further, I can take care of the excess in the next bill. You can see what happened and over time, it accumulated to about $11,000. My thought after a while was that I made so much money that I never risked default and if poo poo hit the fan, I could pay off the balance quickly. In the event of losing my job, I would not default on them but instead pay the minimums. If I had $50,000 saved up with $10,000 in credit card debt, my assumption was that it was better to pay the $100/month minimums on the credit card and slowly draw from my savings. If I pay it all off, I have only $40,000 to live off of. Yes, I understood how little principal is paid with a minimum payment but this was survival mode. So I did cut back on expenditures but I had a rigid idea of what monthly expenses should be in order for me to save money and aggressively pay down student loan debt. While the credit cards carried higher interest rates, my thought was that the student loan amount was so oppressive that I wanted to take care of that first. Not the smartest decision but well, here I am. So far, I managed to pay down approximately $20,000 worth of student loan debt. With $70,000 to go, I still have some more work to do but that will be a slow grind.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2011 23:18
|
|
|
CCs have such high interest rates, it's kind of insane to carry that kind of balance if you don't have to. Given that you plan to pay that money off eventually anyway, what you're basically doing is paying for the security of having saving... that you'll end up using to pay off your credit card eventually anyway  Clearly your student debt is a different issue and the cost of that debt is not nearly as high as your credit card and you also don't have the ability to just pay it off. Everyone has said to and I hope you understand the importance of just paying off your CCs immediately. Then start paying off your student loans as quickly as you comfortably can. Being 100% debt free is an incredible feeling and you should try to experience it ASAP.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2011 23:31
|
|
|
As a present for graduating from nursing school, my parents may be giving me $18-25k. I'm going to be out of work for a couple of months, and plan to use about $5k or so of that supplement my wife's income until I start working. As for the rest, is there a better option than dumping it into our joint checking account? I was think I should put it into an ING account where I can access it if I have unexpected bills or an extended unemployment. Once I start working, my intention is to use the balance of that money to pay off the $35k in student loans I've acquired. What say you, BFC?
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 00:33
|
|
|
I opened a Lowes card to buy a washer/dryer, got six months interest free, paid it off and felt happy about using Lowes for an interest free loan. Now I kind of want to cancel it. I've had open lines of credit since 2005, so it's not like the length of time would affect much, right? I just don't like a credit card sitting open that I'll likely never use again
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 00:44
|
|
|
Oxford Comma posted:What say you, BFC? Personally, set aside $1-5k for an immediate emergency fund. Then fund ROTH IRAs to the max ($5k/individual) then go after debts 100%. Omne posted:I've had open lines of credit since 2005, so it's not like the length of time would affect much, right? Length of time each line has been extended does play a factor in your credit score. However, the amount it matters shouldn't be a consideration if you have another line of credit and don't want to have a card open you don't use. It wouldn't be worth the hassle if the information got into the wrong hands, IMO. Dead Pressed fucked around with this message at 01:40 on Nov 28, 2011 |
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 01:37
|
|
|
Have a few finance questions that I'm having a hard time with: 1) A firm has a committed line of credit with a max of $10 million and an interest rate of 8.5% (EAR) with a certain bank. The commitment fee is 0.5% (EAR). The Firm borrows $2 million at the start of the year and then repays it at the end of the year. What is the total cost of the loan? Answer: $210,000 2) A business is offered a $1 million line of credit for 3 months at an APR of 8%. The bank requires that the firm keep an amount equal to 12% of the loan principal in a non-interest earning account with the bank as long as the loan remains outstanding. What is the actual three month interest rate paid, expressed as an EAR? Answer: 9.41%
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 02:07
|
|
|
Busy Bee posted:Have a few finance questions that I'm having a hard time with: $2M * 8.5%=$170,000 (10M-2M)*.5%=$40,000 $170,000+$40,000=$210,000.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 03:03
|
|
|
Back in 2007 when I had no credit (college kid, never needed it) I got a BoA visa ($500 limit, $29/yr, 19.9% apr) and a Capital One Mastercard ($500 limit $45/yr 21.49%), and a Exxon gas card thing that had no fee and I actually lost it after 2 months, paid the balance down to zero and they just closed it like 6 months ago. Also last December, Capital One increased my limit to $2000. Since July of this year, I got an Amex Charge Card ($50 fee, no apr) and also a USAA Amex credit card ($3000 limit, 17.49% apr, no fee). I just did a balance transfer of my existing balance on my CapOne card to my new Amex credit card. My balance is about $1100 and I'm paying that down fairly quickly. None of my other cards have balances. Well, my charge card does, but I use it like cash since I get crazy rewards and don't spend more than I make or whatever. Should I close my Capital One and BoA cards? I don't need a higher credit limit really, and the new Amex one is bigger than those two old ones combined. I'm just not sure of the impact on having credit lines almost 5 years old get closed, etc etc etc.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 03:41
|
|
|
dunkman posted:Back in 2007 when I had no credit (college kid, never needed it) I got a BoA visa ($500 limit, $29/yr, 19.9% apr) and a Capital One Mastercard ($500 limit $45/yr 21.49%), and a Exxon gas card thing that had no fee and I actually lost it after 2 months, paid the balance down to zero and they just closed it like 6 months ago. Also last December, Capital One increased my limit to $2000. Why close it? Keep it open and buy a candy bar every month, longevity is a big plus with credit scores and reports.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 04:09
|
|
|
I guess you missed all of the annual fees he's paying?
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 04:19
|
|
|
OK people, I know I’ve already said it before, I’m sure I will again, but it’s OK to close an account. You don’t need to hold onto old credit cards and collect them like you are making a precious charm bracelet. If they are charging annual fees, if it was a one shot zero percent purchase deal that you don’t intend to repeat any time soon, if you don’t like the customer service, it is a legitimate decision to close it. I’m not saying you have to, but don’t hold onto them out of fear. Don’t worry, if you realize some point in the future you don’t have enough credit cards, there will be someone somewhere who will be more than happy to give you one. They are not hard to get. Or you can remember to buy a candy bar every month and remember to pay it off. I don’t really care, you will be fine either way.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 16:38
|
|
|
Okay, I'm sure this info is here somewhere, but--is there any reason I might be missing not to open a second checking account primarily for the signup bonus? I have a Bank of America checking account, into which my paychecks are automatically deposited. I moved recently, though, and there's no BoA near my new place. There are Chases everywhere, though, and one semi-close to the new place. I wouldn't bother opening up a second account normally, but in this case, seems possibly worthwhile. I get $150 for opening up the account, and have a second bank to go to for ATMs. The main downside I see is that I have to keep a $1500 cushion in that account to avoid fees, but I can do that. And: any downside if I close that account after the required 6-months-to-keep-the-$150 period, in case I don't need it? Relatedly, what is the general view on whether it's worthwhile to get a new credit card primarily for the signup bonus? Haven't done it yet because, well, I just don't need $100 that badly, but it also seems silly to leave money on the table. I have two cards with Chase: my student card, which I used to build credit, and my current Freedom card. $4000 limits both. I pay off the Freedom in full every month, and I use the student one once every couple months as I remember, and automatically pay that off, too. I really don't need a ton of credit, but given that BoA is offering me a rewards card of nearly the same quality as the Freedom with a $100 incentive, should I take it, and use that card for long enough to get the bonus? Ultimate effect on my credit positive or negative?
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2011 23:16
|
|
|
Zeta Taskforce posted:OK people, I know I’ve already said it before, I’m sure I will again, but it’s OK to close an account. You don’t need to hold onto old credit cards and collect them like you are making a precious charm bracelet. onefish - I'm trying to get a bunch of my friends to open an ING account with a $100 balance just so we can both get $50, it's not a bad thing if they don't plan to ever use it again, though some bank will close down accounts that are inactive for x amount of time so just ask those questions along with any fine print or any requirements to receive the bonus when you open the account.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 18:07
|
|
|
Dead Pressed posted:Length of time each line has been extended does play a factor in your credit score. However, the amount it matters shouldn't be a consideration if you have another line of credit and don't want to have a card open you don't use. It wouldn't be worth the hassle if the information got into the wrong hands, IMO. Yeah, that's what I meant. Since I've had longer lines of credit open and in good standing, it wouldn't matter if I closed an account that was only open for a few months. Sometimes I worry I've got too much stuff open, just begging for an issue to creep up.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 19:30
|
|
|
onefish posted:Okay, I'm sure this info is here somewhere, but--is there any reason I might be missing not to open a second checking account primarily for the signup bonus? Is your move permanent? Did you move across town and there are no bank of America's there or did you move to a new part of the country that BoA doesn't service. There is no reason to have a bank of america account without the 'convinience' of all the local branches. Most in this thread will tell you not to be with BofA for any reason but it's even worse if you aren't getting the only thing they bring to the table (their ubiquotous locations) As far as taking advantage of offers: Depending on the type of account some banks may pull your credit report when you open an account so they'll be much like opening a credit card. This may not be a bad idea if you can manage it and you aren't bad at keeping the details straight. Less than 2 or 3 hard pulls a year wont hurt your credit appreciably, but get up higher and lenders start getting nervous. This really only matters if you plan on applying for a home loan in 18-24 months... All of this not withstanding, just remember that it's not free money. Setting up these accounts, making the minimum purchases or fulfilling the requirements takes time. It may take you several hours to get a hundred bucks. If you're time is that valuable, it may not be a great deal on an hourly rate.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 19:30
|
|
|
Hello, BFC. I am a poor person and I would like some help getting out of debt and maybe, MAYBE even getting to save some of the money I've earned. I have worked at Starbucks for the past 5 years making about $20,000 - $22,000 a year. Recently, hours have dried up and I'm worried about paying my bills in the future, so I took a look at exercising my stock options to help pay some bills and provide a financial cushion so I can look for a new job while working for Starbucks. I have discovered that, before taxes, I have $6,783.39 in exercisable options. What can I do with this? 1) I have no idea how much of that money will be lost to taxes. Thoughts? 2) My credit card debt is horrible. I owe 6,358.01 at 29.9% APR on a credit card I've had since 2003. I've been working hard to pay off this balance for some time now, but it's pretty slow going since I am wretchedly poor. 3) I owe $2,651.51 in student loans, which I have had no trouble paying regularly. 4) I have absolutely no savings to speak of. 5) I am currently spending approximately $1000/mo. on rent, debt, food, and bills. My initial thought was to cash out and pay as much of my credit card off as possible. Following this year's tax return, I'd hopefully be able to pay off the card and close the account forever. This should leave me at least an extra $200/mo. I'd want to use that money to start a savings account and increase my student loan payments to pay them off within a year. I would also like to keep a little on the side ($600-$800?) before paying off any debt to help me be able to comfortably pay the bills until I get more hours/get another job. Is this feasible? Is it even a good idea? Please help.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 21:00
|
|
|
liquidswordz posted:2) My credit card debt is horrible. I owe 6,358.01 at 29.9% APR on a credit card I've had since 2003. I've been working hard to pay off this balance for some time now, but it's pretty slow going since I am wretchedly poor. Honestly, though, until you get a better job you're not going to be able to be financially secure. You know this. Post your resume in the resume/CV thread, let's get working on getting you a job that pays more.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 22:51
|
|
|
I second moana's advice on getting rid of that credit card debt as soon as possible. Paying near 30% is a killer and makes it hard to get your head above water. I would be putting any extra income you have towards that right now and leave open the available balance in the event of an emergency until you build up some savings. Also, depending on what your credit score is at, you might look at a balance transfer with another card. You'll have to be disciplined and not use it for anything else. But you can often find low introductory rates for a balance transfer for 6-months or a year. Basically move that money over to a card that is at 7% as opposed to 30%. Could save you around $1000 over the year. I would even try calling up your credit card, telling them you have an offer elsewhere to move the balance and see if they can improve the rate. It's a longshot, but I've heard of places going down for a short period of time.
|
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2011 22:59
|
|
|
liquidswordz posted:Hello, BFC. I am a poor person and I would like some help getting out of debt and maybe, MAYBE even getting to save some of the money I've earned. So do you own stock or not? What exactly is your option?
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 02:47
|
|
|
First, thanks for the advice so far, guys, I really appreciate your help.moana posted:These are the two main points and you need to address them as soon as possible. Read through tuyop's thread if you want an idea of how important an emergency fund is. Do you have any other kind of safety net, like parents you could move in with in case everything goes to poo poo? If you do, then I would feel better with you throwing all your cash at the debt. If not, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place, especially if you're not secure in your job. If you do have to declare bankruptcy, better to have paid off the nondischargeable student loan. I'm not familiar with the process of exercising options so hopefully someone else can weigh in there. Right now, I really don't have any kind of safety net and I haven't had one for the last four years. I know that the sensible thing to do is have at least $2000 in savings in case of emergencies, but with the amount of money I make and debt that I have, I haven't been able to save anything. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to rectify that situation. I guess if worse came to worse, though, my girlfriend's parents would help us out. I'm really hoping I'm not at the point where I should consider declaring bankruptcy, because I'm not nearly panicked enough if I am. I agree that finding better employment is crucial to my financial security. I have a lead on a new job and will post my resume here and in that thread by Friday to be critiqued. Niwrad posted:I second moana's advice on getting rid of that credit card debt as soon as possible. Paying near 30% is a killer and makes it hard to get your head above water. I would be putting any extra income you have towards that right now and leave open the available balance in the event of an emergency until you build up some savings. I'm considering two plans right now: Plan A: Cash out the stock options and come out with around $5500. Again, I don't yet know how much of the $6700 would be lost to taxes, so I'm estimating a little over $1000 as the capital gains tax is 15%. $2000 goes to a shiny new BECU savings account to start a savings plan, $500 to the checking account to make sure I can keep ahead of my bills, and the remaining $3000 gets sunk into the credit card leaving me at around $3500 there. Plan B: Starts out the same but is a little more risky. Pull $500 to the checking account for the reasons stated above and then sink the remaining 5k into the credit card leaving me at less than $1500 on the card. Hopefully, that is a low enough balance to find a new card that I can transfer the balance to and pay off over the next year. If I throw my tax return at it, I should be able to pay off the balance very quickly and be free of credit card debt. Additionally, that would leave me with more money left from my paychecks to open a savings account and start building that emergency fund. The risk is in not having that emergency fund immediately accessible. Honestly, I'm leaning toward Plan B right now. I feel like aggressively getting out of debt ASAP will do me better in the long run than being conservative with this money. Fraternite posted:So do you own stock or not? What exactly is your option? Every year, Starbucks grants a certain number of stock units to partners. After a year, 50% of the stock vests and the remaining 25% vests over the next two years. Stock is awarded at a price determined by the board each year, according to the price of the stock when it is awarded. Because I have never exercised my stock options I have a lot available to me, including a large grant that was given in 2008 when our stock was in the shitter. From what I understand, I can exercise these stock options at any time to receive the current value in cash, minus the initial cost of the stock at the price it was locked in at when it was granted. If I cashed out all my available stock options today, I would be given $6,874.47 before taxes. If I am correct about the capital gains tax (and there is no reason to think I am), then I currently have $5,843 available to me at this time.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 03:29
|
|
|
liquidswordz posted:I'm considering two plans right now: Plan B is the better option and here is why. You can still use the available credit on your card as an emergency fund. And instead of paying 30% interest on a balance you keep while you have a savings account, this way you'll only be paying 30% if you have an emergency. Basically with Plan A you are guaranteed to be paying 30% on that $2000. On plan B you only pay 30% on that $2000 if you have an emergency and need the card. I was also a Starbucks guy years ago. Not sure how I cashed out the stock though. Isn't it called Bean Bucks or something like that?
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 03:46
|
|
|
My credit has been wrecked for a couple years. I suffer from Bipolar Disorder I (with psychotic episodes), which has lead to several expensive hospital visits that I could not afford, and maxed out credit cards to pay for meds and whatever. Not to mention a major car wreck a month ago (another 6 grand in hospital bills, and yes that is after insurance!). The problem is I am having trouble finding any decent job because it seems employers love to do credit checks these days! I have very positive sounding interviews, then don't hear back. I pulled up my credit report and it turns out the positive interviews pulled my credit report within a few days of my interview, one even told me they would be doing one before making an offer and asked me if I had anything "negative" in my credit report that they should know about beforehand. This is getting VERY frustrating. In my opinion this practice needs to be outlawed (as it has in a couple of states), how the gently caress can I make money to repair my credit if I can't get any decent job because of poor credit? I really don't see what my personal finances has to do with job competency/work performance/personal character. Any advice? Should I consider a bankruptcy so I can at least start the repair process? I am seriously considering going on disability, doing a bankruptcy, and living with family in the meantime. I estimate I have about $12000 credit card debt, $9000 hospital debt, $1000 with several other companies. Plus I am currently unemployed since I just moved across the state. I do have an interview tomorrow but if I don't get that job I don't know what to do, as I just found out a credit check will be involved 
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 05:03
|
|
|
Niwrad posted:Plan B is the better option and here is why. You can still use the available credit on your card as an emergency fund. And instead of paying 30% interest on a balance you keep while you have a savings account, this way you'll only be paying 30% if you have an emergency. Yeah, I also feel like the more aggressive approach is the right way to go, but I'm putting Plan A out there to see what the consensus is. Starbucks has changed A LOT in the last four years. It's not such a great place to work at anymore, but finding out that I have a few thousand dollar sitting around was really nice. The stock options have gotten more complicated, though. We're now granted restricted stock units instead of "bean stock" and I have a bunch of different information and accounts that I don't understand. Fortunately, Fidelity is really helpful. I'm hoping to hear more from people on the forums over the next couple of days before I make any decisions. Big thanks, again, to anyone with advice, questions, or just thoughts.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 05:06
|
|
|
liquidswordz posted:Yeah, I also feel like the more aggressive approach is the right way to go, but I'm putting Plan A out there to see what the consensus is. Now is a great time in the cycle to sell SBUX, if you want my amateur-rear end opinion. You're near the 52-week high, and that's just not the case (to put it mildly) for most stocks. Take the money and run. Fraternite fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Nov 30, 2011 |
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 16:35
|
|
|
liquidswordz posted:First, thanks for the advice so far, guys, I really appreciate your help. Lots of great ideas flying around here, and I won't counter any of them. I think you would greatly benefit from heading to your local library and picking up Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover. This is basically written up just for you my man.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 17:17
|
|
|
liquidswordz posted:Yeah, I also feel like the more aggressive approach is the right way to go, but I'm putting Plan A out there to see what the consensus is. I think there is near universal agreement that you need to sell the stock and do something. I’m less of an expert with individual stocks, but I do know that as of 12:20 Eastern time on 11-30-11 the market is up huge, SBUX is along for the ride, up 3.3%, and a brief look at the financials and price, it’s been on a tear since 2009 and it doesn’t look cheap anymore. Sell it today and put it in a savings account while you ponder your next decision. Even if it wasn’t screaming sell me, it’s never a good idea to have too much of your world invested in one stock. I second the Dave Ramsey recommendation, and you can listen to the radio or podcast today even if you can’t find the book right away. But don’t do something only because there was consensus here, or Dave told you to do it, or someone here said something, myself included. You have to believe in it. But this is a great conversation to have. One bit of advice I specifically disagree with is to intentionally underfund your emergency fund in order to throw a larger amount on the credit card. I understand the reasoning. Your emergency fund will earn about 0.5% interest. Your credit card is charging you 60 times as much. The math makes sense. Where I disagree is your behavior is more important than the math. The way I look at this, selling this stock is a one shot windfall. Short of winning the lottery, this is your last best chance to pay it off. You have already identified it as the problem. You need the mentality that you will NEVER use this card EVER again. Having an emergency fund that is too small all but guarantees you will need to go back to it out of necessity. Where I disagree with Dave is I wouldn’t close it YET. You don’t want to cut everything up in a moment of passion and have something happen, and the only thing that allows you to buy medicine is having that card. But it needs to rise to that level of emergency, and it needs to be a moment of serious reflection if you get there. So it’s possible to have an emergency fund that is too small. But you don’t want to have one that is too large either. You do have an uncomfortable amount of debt in relation to your income, you are broke, you do need to feel your back against the wall; that will make you hungry enough to make the needed sacrifices to lower expenses and increase your income, and make sure this is a temporary situation. I think if every time you look at your bank account and you see a few thousand in there, that could lull you into a false comfort and if something happens where you need it, you will scramble less to limit the damage and be prone to throwing more money at the problem than you have to. Dave recommends people have a starter emergency fund of $1,000 and I agree that this is a good compromise for most people.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 18:24
|
|
|
I just got home from work and immediately sold all my vested stock. I won't have any of the money until at least Friday to see how this shakes out, but I'm feeling good about the whole thing. My next step is to work on my resume and post it here and in the resume thread for critique while I wait for accounts to settle. Then, on Monday I'll be following up some leads in a job hunt and making some choices with the money. I'll also try to take a trip to the library before the week is out to check out the Dave Ramsey book. For the millionth time, I'd like to thank everyone here for the help and recommendations. It's given me a great confidence boost to get out there and fix my problems. The $10 I paid for this account is the best investment I've ever made. As always, I'm all ears for any more comments, questions, concerns, or advice. You guys are the best.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 18:43
|
|
|
Meta Ridley posted:My credit has been wrecked for a couple years. I suffer from Bipolar Disorder I (with psychotic episodes), which has lead to several expensive hospital visits that I could not afford, and maxed out credit cards to pay for meds and whatever. Not to mention a major car wreck a month ago (another 6 grand in hospital bills, and yes that is after insurance!). I don’t have any magic words for you. But I’m not sure bankruptcy will do what you need it to do in the time frame you need it to happen. It also costs money hire a bankruptcy attorney, which you don’t have. That said, unless you are interviewing for very well paying jobs, I don’t see any realistic way that you can scrape together enough money to pay or settle this debt either. I agree with your reasoning that you have messed up credit because you have no money, so you need a job, which you can’t get because you have messed up credit. How are you eating now? I think you have to look for whatever you can, whether it be part time, seasonal, temporary, anything that gives you some money today but the flexibility to allow you to keep interviewing for something more permanent. In the meantime, it’s probably pointless to make any debt payments and you will eventually need to declare bankruptcy.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 18:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 12:56 |
|
|
liquidswordz posted:I just got home from work and immediately sold all my vested stock. I won't have any of the money until at least Friday to see how this shakes out, but I'm feeling good about the whole thing. What city do you live in? What do you want to do, what are your skills/background? Ever consider freelancing? It's not some hard to thing to figure out how to do, if you have a talent just start offering it at a fair $/hr rate.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2011 19:04
|
|