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froglet
Nov 12, 2009

You see, the best way to Stop the Boats is a massive swarm of autonomous armed dogs. Strafing a few boats will stop the rest and save many lives in the long term.

You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs. Vote Greens.

polyfractal posted:

-Are there any good spreadsheets to use for budgeting? Use Quicken? I'm considering Mint as well

I've only heard good things about Pear Budget, and there's plenty of free budgeting spreadsheets available for download on the Microsoft Office website.

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polyfractal
Dec 20, 2004

Unwind my riddle.

moana posted:

If it were me, I'd close the old card, put something small and automatic on the first card, and get a new rewards card to use with everything else. I'd apply for the new card first before closing your old one, just in case they reject you or whatever.

No this is awesome, and it's why you should be looking at a rewards card (better rewards are offset by higher rates, but you won't have to worry about that because you never carry debt). Don't listen to anyone who tells you it's good for your credit to carry over debt month to month, they are wrong.

I use Mint and have never had issues with it, but I don't do much with my budget. There is a budgeting thread linked in the OP and so is Pillowpants' SA Mart thread where he will make a kicking budget for you for dirt cheap.

Thanks for the advice. Out of curiosity, I always heard to never cancel your first card because it has so much history/credit already on it. My first card has a $10k limit, 13% interest and some rewards (dunno how they compare to others - I'll be cashing in about 10k points soon for $100 cashback I think). Still go ahead and close it?

froglet posted:

I've only heard good things about Pear Budget, and there's plenty of free budgeting spreadsheets available for download on the Microsoft Office website.

Great, thanks! Pear looks handy, and I just go a copy of Quicken from my Dad. I'll try them both out and see what works the best.


In other news, I reopened a savings account at my local bank (got closed due to inactivity or something, I was keeping all my cash in checking). It has a laughable 0.10% APY. I'll definitely be investigating some online options :v:

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

polyfractal posted:

Thanks for the advice. Out of curiosity, I always heard to never cancel your first card because it has so much history/credit already on it. My first card has a $10k limit, 13% interest and some rewards (dunno how they compare to others - I'll be cashing in about 10k points soon for $100 cashback I think). Still go ahead and close it?
No, I meant close the other one (the second card), put something automatic on the first one to keep it around forever, and pick a new rewards card. Your question was "Should I close out the second card" and I was just differentiating between that one and the new one you would get by calling it "old". Sorry, I was a bit unclear.

polyfractal
Dec 20, 2004

Unwind my riddle.

moana posted:

No, I meant close the other one (the second card), put something automatic on the first one to keep it around forever, and pick a new rewards card. Your question was "Should I close out the second card" and I was just differentiating between that one and the new one you would get by calling it "old". Sorry, I was a bit unclear.

Oh right, I see now. Thanks for the clarification :)



Edit: More questions:

-I'll be making about 2500 a month pre-tax, which comes to about 1900 post-tax. What do people do with the money that is going to eventually go towards taxes? Stash it away each month in a high-interest savings account and don't touch it until April? I'm wary of using that money for anything since it is going to be required later.

-This particular job will be a two year contract. My employer will match 5% of my income for a 401k, meaning 1500 a year. Should I even bother with this 401k since it isn't much and I'll be changing jobs in two years? It feels like throwing it all in a Roth IRA might be a better choice.




polyfractal fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Jun 5, 2010

dopaMEAN
Dec 4, 2004
I think this is obvious but my fiance wanted me to post:

I'm about to start up a grad program where my tuition (26k) is waived and I get 22k stipend. The financial aide people just offered me 46k in student loans, 8.5 of which is subsidized (no interest accumulation until I finish my PhD). I have about 4k in credit card debt, interest rates of 11, 13, and 16%. Should I take the subsidized loans to pay off that debt?

dopaMEAN
Dec 4, 2004
second, related question:

I have 25,625 in unsubsidized student loan debt, 6.8% interest rate. If I can get 8.5k in subsidized loans at the same interest rate every year, is there any reason I shouldn't just take out new sub loans and pay off my unsub? Would it seem weird if I'm taking out new loans and giving them large payments?

Man_of_Teflon
Aug 15, 2003

I've been working a bunch of terrible jobs for a few years now and barely been breaking even. This past Friday I was offered and accepted a job with the federal government that pays a lot more than I make now.

I'm looking for some advice on... what to start doing with all this money. What's the best way to pay off my debts, and what to start saving away and in what fashion.

Current financial situation:

Debt:
$1,229 @ 2.99%, $140/mo Credit Card (used to buy motorcycle, fixed APR for 10 more months but will be paid before that at this rate)
$10,192 @ 3.99%, $240/mo Car Loan (borrowed against equity during refinancing to buy motorcycle.)
$4,870 @ 5.00%, $63/mo Student Loan
$24,564 @ 4.75%, $206/mo Student Loan
$15,304 @ 6.75%, $155/mo Student Loan

Assets:
$1,000 cash
'08 Accent (worth maybe $9,000-9,500)
'06 DRZ400SM (worth maybe $3,500-4,000 given condition/location)

Monthly expenses:
$500 rent
$425 student loan payments
$240 car payment
$140 credit card payment
$120 vehicle insurance
$90 health insurance
$90 cell phone
$30 internet
$75 gas/electric (averaged out)
$90 gasoline
$50 groceries (I work in food service right now so I have tons of free food)
$100 going out (I am extraordinarily cheap, this is conservative)

Total Expenses: $1,950/mo
Add in some unexpected expenses (pretty good about these) and let's round it up to $2,000/mo I spend.

Current income working 7 days a week (post tax):
Job 1: $900/mo
Job 2: $850/mo
Job 3: $650/mo
Job 4: very irregular so just to be conservative, $0

Total Income: $2,400/mo

My new job with the federal gov. will have a salary of $42,500. I know that I want to put 5% of this into the TSP or 'thrift savings program' which seems to be the gov. equivalent of a 401k, to get the full matching benefit. I'm pretty comfortable with my current lifestyle and don't think I'm going to immediately move into a place that costs twice as much or change my spending too much.

In what order should I start paying off debts and saving? What else do I do with all the money?

Man_of_Teflon fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Jun 5, 2010

amethystbliss
Jan 17, 2006

dopaMEAN posted:

second, related question:

I have 25,625 in unsubsidized student loan debt, 6.8% interest rate. If I can get 8.5k in subsidized loans at the same interest rate every year, is there any reason I shouldn't just take out new sub loans and pay off my unsub? Would it seem weird if I'm taking out new loans and giving them large payments?
I'm no financial expert, but using lower interest student loans to pay off the higher interest credit cards seems like a good idea so long as you still try to save some of that stipend to put toward debt throughout the year.

I too am considering taking out subsidized loans to pay off my unsubsidized loans in order to save a few hundred dollars in interest over the next few years. I don't think they really care if you give them large payments, though I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any reason why this might be a bad idea.

Engineer Lenk
Aug 28, 2003

Mnogo losho e!

amethystbliss posted:

I'm no financial expert, but using lower interest student loans to pay off the higher interest credit cards seems like a good idea so long as you still try to save some of that stipend to put toward debt throughout the year.

I too am considering taking out subsidized loans to pay off my unsubsidized loans in order to save a few hundred dollars in interest over the next few years. I don't think they really care if you give them large payments, though I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any reason why this might be a bad idea.

Most of us would caution against using student loans to get rid of CC debt because it's not dischargeable in bankruptcy. Using subsidized to get rid of unsubsidized is fair game, though.

Man_of_Teflon, I think your best bet is to split the money leftover each month between emergency savings and putting more into your retirement (Roth IRA after you max out your matching funds), since all your debt is manageable and at some very low interest rates. When you have a better emergency cushion (5 or 10k), you have two good strategies - paying off the car or paying off your student loans posthaste. I'd tend towards the car even though the interest rate is slightly better, because no one is going to repossess your degree if you get stuck in a jam and can't pay, and there are hardship forbearances for the student loans.

Man_of_Teflon
Aug 15, 2003

I read a bunch about Roth IRAs (knowing nothing about them) and it seems quite possible that I would be able to contribute the maximum $5000/year.

What type should I open with? Are there any recommended funds/brokers/whatever?

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
Vanguard is a popular recommendation around here because of its low expense ratios. You should decide yourself whether you want to manage the allocation passively or actively - if you don't know much about investing, it's okay to just stick everything into a Target Retirement fund for now (a lot of the bigger investing companies will have these as an option). As you become more knowledgeable about what kinds of things you want to invest in, you can move your money to different funds to create your own allocation.

Your personal desired allocation will depend on things like how old you are, when you plan to retire, whether you are very risk-tolerant or not, things like that.

MaineMan
Jan 10, 2006
/edit: Nevermind

Engineer Lenk
Aug 28, 2003

Mnogo losho e!

MaakHatt posted:

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, but I am looking into getting a credit card and I'd like to know what the options are for somebody with only student loans as their credit so far. I'd also like something with rewards, but I guess I can't be too picky at this point in time.

Student loans are usually a pretty good start. Get a free estimate of your credit score from Quizzle or CreditKarma and you'll have a better reference point of what sort of credit cards you'd be approved for.

Qaz Kwaz
Jul 24, 2003
What's your email? I've got some shitty posts that you NEED to read.

Man_of_Teflon posted:

I've been working a bunch of terrible jobs for a few years now and barely been breaking even. This past Friday I was offered and accepted a job with the federal government that pays a lot more than I make now.

Congrats! The best thing for overcoming debt is your income.

Man_of_Teflon posted:

Current financial situation:

I would sell your car and even your motorcycle. If you want to get out of debt quickly having a $11k car loan isn't the best way to start. You could sell the motorcycle and car and have enough to cover the difference in car value to your loan AND buy a beater. The car and motorcycle are 1/5 of your debt that can be wiped out pretty quickly. A tenth of your monthly income is disappearing to this!

Car insurance--have you shopped around? Dropping your deductible might be a good idea (if you're not accident prone).
Phone--somewhat expensive. Are you tied to this?

Student loans--have you consolidated? Those rates are pretty high. Consider this--if you didn't change your payment at all you'd be paying for these until June 2022. TWELVE YEARS!

A new scenario:
After adjusted expenses (less car insurance, slightly cheaper phone, NO car payment), assuming this wipes out your car/motorcycle-related loans from their sale, and NOT getting a better interest rate (though I'm positive you can), here is your new outlook

Monthly payment: $1,101. Student loan payments + extra income + $240 (no car payment) + $20 (cheaper phone) + $30 (cheaper car insurance). Toss EVERYTHING extra you have at this debt. Raise? Put it all towards debt (though this figure doesn't include raises).

Debt / Amount / Total interest / Months to Pay / Payoff Date
Student 1 4,870.00 73.08 7 Dec-10
Student 3 15,304.00 1,257.72 23 Apr-12
Student 2 24,564.00 2,988.92 43 Dec-13

THREE AND A HALF YEARS! You just shaved 9 years of debt payments off your back.

Qaz Kwaz fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Jun 6, 2010

Engineer Lenk
Aug 28, 2003

Mnogo losho e!

Qaz Kwaz posted:

:words:

THREE AND A HALF YEARS! You just shaved 9 years of debt payments off your back.

I've already weighed in on my thoughts on MoT's strategy, but I strongly disagree with most of this advice, and would prioritize retirement saving and maintaining a comfortable quality of life over paying off all debt as quickly as possible. It's more appropriate to talk about downsizing lifestyle when your income dries up or you've been consistently living above your means as with credit card debt.

It's like crash dieting - good for the immediate goal, horrible for long-term financial habits.

In particular, driving to become completely debt-free without learning what's important to you to spend money on will likely result in hoarding or splurging when the debt is gone, neither of which is particularly conducive to a good quality of life and remaining out of debt. You can't catch up on retirement contributions, which is why I'd recommend making that an early habit.

slap me silly
Nov 1, 2009
Grimey Drawer

polyfractal posted:

-I'll be making about 2500 a month pre-tax, which comes to about 1900 post-tax. What do people do with the money that is going to eventually go towards taxes? Stash it away each month in a high-interest savings account and don't touch it until April? I'm wary of using that money for anything since it is going to be required later.

As a 1099 contractor with no withholding, you have to pay taxes quarterly (more or less) or you pay penalties. Get Form 1040-ES and work through it.


quote:

-This particular job will be a two year contract. My employer will match 5% of my income for a 401k, meaning 1500 a year. Should I even bother with this 401k since it isn't much and I'll be changing jobs in two years? It feels like throwing it all in a Roth IRA might be a better choice.

Free money! Don't throw it away.

Qaz Kwaz
Jul 24, 2003
What's your email? I've got some shitty posts that you NEED to read.

Engineer Lenk posted:

I've already weighed in on my thoughts on MoT's strategy, but I strongly disagree with most of this advice.

What's the problem? I'm assuming he's single with no children. There's absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be striving to be debt free. Manageable debt my rear end. Why carry ANY debt? A couple of years of buckling down can change this guys life DRASTICALLY forever. "Maintaining a comfortable life" is well and good, he's doing that, and I'm not telling him to NOT do that. He can do that and still pay his debts within a few years.

Qaz Kwaz fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Jun 7, 2010

Engineer Lenk
Aug 28, 2003

Mnogo losho e!

Qaz Kwaz posted:

What's the problem? I'm assuming he's single with no children. There's absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be striving to be debt free. Manageable debt my rear end. Why carry ANY debt? A couple of years of buckling down can change this guys life DRASTICALLY forever. "Maintaining a comfortable life" is well and good, he's doing that, and I'm not telling him to NOT do that. He can do that and still pay his debts within a few years.

When all of your debt is effectively 5% or less (keep in mind the student loan deduction), prioritizing debt payoff over retirement contributions is historically a suboptimal strategy. Selling the car and motorcycle at a loss would get to a debt-free date quicker, but so would selling all worldly possessions, and they all involve some sacrifice of quality of life.

Qaz Kwaz
Jul 24, 2003
What's your email? I've got some shitty posts that you NEED to read.

Engineer Lenk posted:

When all of your debt is effectively 5% or less (keep in mind the student loan deduction), prioritizing debt payoff over retirement contributions is historically a suboptimal strategy. Selling the car and motorcycle at a loss would get to a debt-free date quicker, but so would selling all worldly possessions, and they all involve some sacrifice of quality of life.

If he was that smart he wouldn't have $60k in debt. I'm in the same boat. I have a ton of student loan debt. You can believe that I don't have a car loan, a motorcycle, and I'm not contributing to retirement. When you can pay it off so quickly it's totally worth it. You're right, it doesn't make mathematical sense to pay it off vs. retirement contributions, but it makes a shitload of sense mentally.

You want this guy to be in debt for 12 years when he could have it wiped in 3. Why do you hate him so much?

Qaz Kwaz fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Jun 7, 2010

Engineer Lenk
Aug 28, 2003

Mnogo losho e!

Qaz Kwaz posted:

If he was that smart he wouldn't have $60k in debt. I'm in the same boat. I have a ton of student loan debt. You can believe that I don't have a car loan, a motorcycle, and I'm not contributing to retirement. When you can pay it off so quickly it's totally worth it. You're right, it doesn't make mathematical sense to pay it off vs. retirement contributions, but it makes a shitload of sense mentally.

You want this guy to be in debt for 12 years when he could have it wiped in 3. Why do you hate him so much?

I don't have an emotional attachment to or against debt. Debt is a tool, and it's an incredibly useful one when it comes to student loans for an education that increases earning potential or for buying a house. Auto loans are a gray area, since it's a rapidly decreasing asset and credit card debt is generally not worth loving with, though the hardcore have had some success with credit card arbitrage on teaser rates.

Money has, to some extent, a decreasing marginal value - the more you have, the less each additional dollar is worth. When people appeal to overall dollar values paid or years in debt, it's usually an emotional appeal that's a little misleading, since those dollars have different value both in terms of inflation and percentage of income, and having too little for 3 years and excess for 9 years may not be as pleasant for some people as making consistent progress and having plenty over all 12 years. This particularly comes into my comments about retirement, because your contributions for each year are capped and early contributions are worth far more than later contributions.

Qaz Kwaz
Jul 24, 2003
What's your email? I've got some shitty posts that you NEED to read.
Good points. Don't forget he's paying $4k+ in interest on top of that.

It's all up to him now!

Man_of_Teflon
Aug 15, 2003

gently caress YOU GUYS IM BUYING A BOAT

Seriously though, I have shopped around for car insurance and agonized over deductibles. I did consolidate my student loans - the 5% and 6.75% ones are gov. ones that everyone recommended I keep seperate because the rates are fixed. My silly smartphone is a bit pricey, but after many years paying $45/mo for a lovely phone with 0-9 and a call button I find it worth the extra money to have a phone with GPS and the internet and all that crap.

Most of the debt I have I do like to think I've used as a tool. Without my education I wouldn't have gotten this new job. Without my car I wouldn't have been able to make money at my old jobs (for years I used to go through $500 beaters, finally got sick of dealing with car poo poo) and it's nice to be able to take trips home without worrying about car trouble. Not to mention grocery shopping etc.

The credit card for the motorcycle was about as risky as I've gotten with debt, and I'll have that paid off well before the interest rate jumps up from 2.99% to my normal rate of 8.24%. It was completely a pleasure purchase, and goddamn a DRZ400SM sure as hell is fun enough to be worth it.

I think I'm gonna have to agree with Engineer Lenk here. I'm pretty sure my current debt levels are safe with my new job, and it would seem that the potential return to be gained by starting to save towards retirement will most likely outweigh the interest wasted by leaving my debt open some years more. I understand the mental benefit, the 'weight off your shoulders' that being debt free would be, but I'm not at all stressed about my situation and I think I'm on a decent path towards that as even if I'm putting 5% towards the 401k equivalent and 5k towards a roth IRA I will still have some money leftover to pay down debts a bit quicker and do intend to do so.

Qaz Kwaz
Jul 24, 2003
What's your email? I've got some shitty posts that you NEED to read.
That sounds good. What are your other savings plans? House?

Man_of_Teflon
Aug 15, 2003

I don't know if I'm going to stay in Chicago for the long term so I don't know about a house quite yet, plus I have a good roommate deal going on where I have half a house for $500/mo anyways.

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

Qaz Kwaz posted:

Good points. Don't forget he's paying $4k+ in interest on top of that.
That's already taken into consideration with the interest rate. Lenk is right here - unless you are really emotionally stricken by paying off debt slowly, it's the optimal thing to do. Apart from that, prioritizing retirement savings doesn't mean he has to wait forever to pay off the student loans, just that he doesn't do that in lieu of his Roth. If he has extra money after funding his retirement account, he can always throw that at the loans if he wants to make more than the mininmum payment.

Engineer Lenk
Aug 28, 2003

Mnogo losho e!
There's a risk tolerance piece in there as well - the only guaranteed retirement returns are your company match.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!
I currently use Bank of American for checking and savings. I've NEVER had a problem with them, even though they seem to be the devil for a lot of people.

However, my insurance is through USAA, thanks to my Dad being ex-military. Currently, I have an auto policy and a brand new home policy (just bought a house) through them, and having them bundled together has saved me about $450 in premiums on my house (good driver discount + long term loyalty).

So that said, has anyone heard anything about USAA's checking and savings? Or are there any military types/children of military types who can fill me in on them?

slap me silly
Nov 1, 2009
Grimey Drawer
I have hated BoA since they were NationsBank back in the 90s. I use USAA's banking as well as insurance. It is quite good. Usability of the online tools is comparable to my other banks, or better. They refund ATM fees up to $15/mo, so I use whatever ATMs are convenient and never pay for it. They also let you scan checks to deposit them rather than mailing them in. Their rates on basic bank stuff are always reasonable but rarely the absolute best: index funds cost a little more than Vanguard's; CDs return a little less than HSBC's; credit card rewards are a bit less than Pen Fed's. Mortgage rates are competitive and fees low, though. And as you probably know, they will fix most problems in a quick phone call.

Elendil004
Mar 22, 2003

The prognosis
is not good.


My score is in the low 700s, I have a best buy credit card I got because I got a great deal for enrolling in it. I used it once, paid it off right away now it's just sitting here. Should I just cancel the card or is there more harm doing that than leaving it alone.

Dead Pressed
Nov 11, 2009

Elendil004 posted:

My score is in the low 700s, I have a best buy credit card I got because I got a great deal for enrolling in it. I used it once, paid it off right away now it's just sitting here. Should I just cancel the card or is there more harm doing that than leaving it alone.

I don't think there's an issue if it sits. My understanding is that it raises your "available credit", which is valued as part of your score. Getting rid of it could lower your available line, and could end up lowering your score.

Correct me if I'm wrong, though. That's just hearsay, and I only just got my first card :ohdear:.

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
There are two major factors to consider when deciding whether to cancel a credit card:
- length of your credit history with the card compared to your total credit history
- amount of credit on the card compared with how much total credit you have

Both credit history and credit amount are generally positive for your credit score, so if cancelling will hurt either one significantly, don't do it. If you have open cards with longer histories, and your total credit line is big compared to the card, then it really doesn't matter if you cancel it.

As an example: Susan gets a $500 limit Home Depot credit card for a discount promotion. She already has $30k of credit on other cards which she's had for much longer. She can cancel the Home Depot card without having to worry about anything more than a minor blip on her credit report.

CobiWann
Oct 21, 2009

Have fun!

moana posted:

There are two major factors to consider when deciding whether to cancel a credit card:
- length of your credit history with the card compared to your total credit history
- amount of credit on the card compared with how much total credit you have

Both credit history and credit amount are generally positive for your credit score, so if cancelling will hurt either one significantly, don't do it. If you have open cards with longer histories, and your total credit line is big compared to the card, then it really doesn't matter if you cancel it.

Actually, this ties into another question I had...

Currently, I have a $17k limit Mastercard from Citibank and a $1k credit card from a local bank that I use for my monthly purchases (gym membership and such) that gets paid off monthly.

For about a year, I had maxed out the Citicard every month, barely managing to hack away at it. I managed to finally pay it off in full thanks to a financial windfall. Obviously, I had a problem with credit card spending that is finally under control, and as such, that card has been in the freezer for the past two-three months, completely paid off and untouched.

I've been wanting to cancel it in order to resist the urge to just go nuts with spending...but I am closing on a house in a week (the other part of the windfall) and didn't want to screw up my credit score until everything was in order and the loan/mortgage had been approved and the rate locked. Now that everything's done, I STILL want to cancel the card so I don't go nuts furnishing the entire house with plasma TV's. :)

I wanted to cancel the $17k card and apply for a $5k card from USAA that I can freeze and use for "OH HOLY BALLS" emergencies, but not at the expense of shooting my credit score in the foot by throwing away $17k in "available credit" if the last few posts had been

Would I be better off keeping the Citicard, but asking them to lower the credit limit and APR? Right now, it's $17k with freakin' 29.99% APR and I can get a $5k card from USAA at 9.99%.

Apologies for posting in here...I plan on getting a Pillowpants budget once I'm all moved in to my house and my budget's relatively settled and making a thread about it, but for now, this seems like the best place to post.

Zeta Taskforce
Jun 27, 2002

CobiWann posted:

Actually, this ties into another question I had...

Currently, I have a $17k limit Mastercard from Citibank and a $1k credit card from a local bank that I use for my monthly purchases (gym membership and such) that gets paid off monthly.

For about a year, I had maxed out the Citicard every month, barely managing to hack away at it. I managed to finally pay it off in full thanks to a financial windfall. Obviously, I had a problem with credit card spending that is finally under control, and as such, that card has been in the freezer for the past two-three months, completely paid off and untouched.

I've been wanting to cancel it in order to resist the urge to just go nuts with spending...but I am closing on a house in a week (the other part of the windfall) and didn't want to screw up my credit score until everything was in order and the loan/mortgage had been approved and the rate locked. Now that everything's done, I STILL want to cancel the card so I don't go nuts furnishing the entire house with plasma TV's. :)

I wanted to cancel the $17k card and apply for a $5k card from USAA that I can freeze and use for "OH HOLY BALLS" emergencies, but not at the expense of shooting my credit score in the foot by throwing away $17k in "available credit" if the last few posts had been

Would I be better off keeping the Citicard, but asking them to lower the credit limit and APR? Right now, it's $17k with freakin' 29.99% APR and I can get a $5k card from USAA at 9.99%.

Apologies for posting in here...I plan on getting a Pillowpants budget once I'm all moved in to my house and my budget's relatively settled and making a thread about it, but for now, this seems like the best place to post.

No apologies needed.

You know yourself better than anyone else does, and you are smart to recognize the temptation that the Citicard represents. I would close it, even though it is a big limit, even if it is your oldest account. Your credit will take a modest, short term hit, but you already have the house, and you should have enough for a genuine emergency with the USAA card. Also, your available credit as it relates to your score is expressed as a percentage, not an amount, so keep the USAA low and you will still be in good shape. Max it out against your better judgment, and you are better off with a $5K weight around your neck than a $17K one.

I would close Citicard, even if you talk them down on the rate. There is so much more to getting a card than comparing the specs and going for the best rates and best rewards. You know USAA won’t jerk you around, raise your rate to the stratosphere again, delay processing your payment in order to charge you a late fee, or any of the other crap that the major issuers do. Citibank is anyone’s guess.

Engineer Lenk
Aug 28, 2003

Mnogo losho e!

CobiWann posted:

I wanted to cancel the $17k card and apply for a $5k card from USAA that I can freeze and use for "OH HOLY BALLS" emergencies, but not at the expense of shooting my credit score in the foot by throwing away $17k in "available credit"

Do it in the other order. Keep the high line for the best credit score until you have the $5k card in hand, then cancel it if you know it'll be too much of a temptation.

slap me silly
Nov 1, 2009
Grimey Drawer
I really think people worry about this too much. Here is an anecdote for you: I recently closed my Citibank credit card, which had a limit of $20k and was my oldest card. As a result, Credit Karma currently grades me "D" ("lovely") on average age of open credit lines and "D" on number of accounts (6 lines of credit is hardly anything, apparently). But my score is still above the threshold for best mortgage rates. To be safe, I did get the mortgage and the new card before I closed the old one. You should do the same, because you'll have a bigger increase in utilization than I did.

The USAA cash rewards credit card is pretty good - not the best rewards of anybody, but probably the best combination of service and convenience.

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web

Engineer Lenk posted:

Do it in the other order. Keep the high line for the best credit score until you have the $5k card in hand, then cancel it if you know it'll be too much of a temptation.
Agreed. It's really really easy to spend money on a house so be careful, but don't cancel your only big line of credit without another line open as a backup for emergencies. And you've already got the mortgage - who really cares about knocking your credit score down temporarily?

nbzl
Apr 5, 2002

Don't worry about the horse being blind, just load the wagon.

moana posted:

Vanguard is a popular recommendation around here because of its low expense ratios.

I noticed that Vanguard has a $3000 minimum for most of its investments. Is this true for all brokerages?


On another note, what's the best/cheapest way to get my credit score? I've seen those free credit reports but they all want me to pay to see my score.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

nbzl posted:

I noticed that Vanguard has a $3000 minimum for most of its investments. Is this true for all brokerages?


On another note, what's the best/cheapest way to get my credit score? I've seen those free credit reports but they all want me to pay to see my score.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com is the ACTUAL, once-a-year, free credit report website. Do not go to any other sites. Note: This does not give you your credit score, only credit report. Credit scores like FICO are proprietary information, so you'll have to pay for that (you have that option from the site as well).

Sites like CreditKarma and Quizzle will also gove you a good overview of your credit for free.

There's quite a few places with lower minimums for investment. I believe Schwab's minimums are around $100 or so, but a lot of these places will have higher fees as well.

FCKGW fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Jun 9, 2010

Grumpwagon
May 6, 2007
I am a giant assfuck who needs to harden the fuck up.

nbzl posted:

I noticed that Vanguard has a $3000 minimum for most of its investments. Is this true for all brokerages?

Vanguard STAR fund has a $1000 minimum.

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ne plus ultra
Dec 20, 2009
I will have a fellowship of somewhat more than $30,000 in Massachusetts. This will all be taxable income, and it appears nothing will be withheld. I'm having a difficult time figuring out roughly how much I should be budgeting for taxes annually. I was thinking 15% should be sufficient, but I have no idea how to confirm this... I know nothing about taxes, I just plug the numbers into a tax app and let it do its thing.

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