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moana posted:Rule of thumb is 1/3 of income should go towards housing. This will be proportionally larger if you live in a place like NYC, smaller if you live in Nebraska.
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Apr 16, 2010 03:34
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Actie posted:I have a question regarding the appropriate amount of money to budget for rent. I recently got a job I really like--the right industry, the right place, at least for now. As it's my first job (I'm 23), I'm quite happy. The downside: net income is $2k/month. The other downside: New York City.
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Jul 1, 2010 16:41
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ChadSexington posted:How ironclad is the "you should spend no more than 35% of your income on rent" rule? I live in the metro Washington DC area (top 10 in highest rental prices) and am considering renting a place in of my own in November after two years with roommates. I'd be looking at spending about 58% of my income on rent + utilities + cable/internet. Is that absurdly high, or is that actually pretty common for an expensive urban area? Additionally, I am in the process of paying off the last of my debt this month (a car loan worth $9000 at 4.9% APR), after which I will be free and clear. That's absurdly high. I live in another top 10 city. I spend 25% on rent + utilities + internet. Is the 58% before or after taxes are taken out? How will you ever save money when you spend that much. I don't think you can afford to get a place on your own. Keep living with roommates.
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Sep 7, 2010 16:34
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Can't you just keep paying off loans and use a credit card if you get into an emergency? That was you only pay extra interest if you get into an emergency, rather than paying it in every situation.
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Sep 7, 2010 19:37
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herakles posted:The problem with this is that if your budget is tight, instead of having a $2000 emergency fund that just goes away and gets rebuilt at $50/mo, you've got $2000 of credit card debt that's getting repaid at $50 a month and generating $20 a month in interest. If during that period of repayment/rebuild, you lose your income, now instead of having an expense you can cut if you need to (no more contribution to emergency fund) you have an additional expense you still have to address every month. Yeah but if you save up all your money instead of paying off debt in the first place... then you still have a bunch of debt to pay off when you lose your job. And if you don't lose your job: everything is cool.
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Sep 7, 2010 20:09
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dumby posted:I have $8500 in student loans with a 3.88% interest rate. At $200 bucks a month, I will pay approximately $1400 in interest over the next 4 years. I have the savings to pay this off now. Should I do it or try find an investment that has 4% yield or greater while I continue to pay off the student loan. What are my options for investment? I'd just pay it off now because it's simpler that way. Don't worry about an extra 1% interest on $8500 over 4 years. Big deal.
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Sep 15, 2010 23:00
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Your family sucks, man. Stop letting them take your money. Stop giving them money. What is your family business? If your grandfather isn't paying you, why can't you just quit working and tell him to gently caress off?
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Oct 11, 2010 14:42
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Get rid of your cable TV and just go with the internet. You'll still be able to watch all the shows you like, but you'll do a lot less idle TV watching. You'll catch up on the episodes you want to see but you won't find yourself sitting on the couch watching 'Pawn Shop Wars' or something just because it's on. Also: you'll save money.
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May 5, 2011 21:52
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I'm 25, I have no debt, and I have $20k I want to invest because I'm not earning anything on it and I'm not going to spend it anytime soon. I already have a 401(k) through work and I contribute the maximum matched amount. I'm on the Vanguard site right now. Should I do a Roth IRA or a 'General Savings' account for an individual? Is an IRA only useful if I'm saving it for retirement? I might buy a home in a few years so I don't want to pay huge penalties if I pull my cash before then. Thanks.
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Oct 13, 2012 23:42
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I put 3% in my 401k (to get my 3% match from my employer). The rest of my financial plan is: pay off my credit card regularly, and every time I have over ~$3000 sitting in my checking account put it in my Vanguard brokerage account and buy some more mutual funds. It's going pretty well and I think I'm on the right track. Should I consider getting an IRA or Roth IRA instead of just a regular brokerage account? All this tax stuff seems like it really limits your liquidity and places all sorts of limits on withdrawals and whatnot. Is there really a big benefit to either of those? Thanks.
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May 6, 2015 23:50
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| # ¿ May 7, 2024 18:50 |
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Last year, I helped my mom balance transfer $4500 in credit card debt to a new card with a 0% introductory rate for 15 months. 13 months later, she's paid it down to $1500. Pretty good, but not good enough. I get the impression from this thread that she instantly gets charged the entire year's worth of interest if she misses the deadline. Is that right? Chase doesn't make it entirely clear. That would be ~$800. Rather than finding her another card to balance transfer and try the same thing again, I'm thinking of just paying it off for her and having her pay me back over the next year. This website indicates that it's fine under $15k: https://finance.zacks.com/paying-someone-elses-credit-card-gift-9237.html Anything I'm missing or should consider? I'm not worried about her paying me back or mixing money and family, she's reliable.
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May 15, 2019 17:06
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