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A few questions, so I'll start with the basics. - I have 17k in student loan debt, deferred till 2013 while I'm in grad school. - I make a little more than 21k a year - I have about 10k in savings, plus my checking account is usually between 4 and 5k. - I have various funds set up for me by relatives which are worth a total of about 22k at the moment. I don't touch these; one is a mutual fund and the other is some English thing that I don't get till I'm 25 and will probably continue to ignore because the pound is stronger than the dollar. - I have two credit cards, which I pay off every month. My limits are 5k and 5.8k respectively. - I don't have a car or any other assets! Whee! - I'm 23 years old. So, my questions: 1. Should I be starting a retirement account? I hear yes a lot, but I don't know if that's a good idea given my income or if I should just keep most of my cash where it is and figure things out when I'm properly employed (I'm a TA or on fellowship till 2013). 2. As a godless liberal socialist New England elitist pansy, or whatever, I am tempted to move my money out of the big banks and go for my university's credit union instead. My CCs are Visa and AmEx; my little savings and checking are Bank of America; and the bulk of my savings are with ING. The relative funds are in American Funds and Mystery English Bank. Right now I'm thinking I'd move the BoA stuff and one or both of the CC's to a credit union. My sub questions are... 2a. How would cancelling my credit cards and getting new ones elsewhere affect my credit score? Does this depend on my limit, pretty much? 2b. Would closing my BoA accounts affect my score? 2c. I will probably keep things in ING because it's the best :snort: rate there is right now at around 1.25% apwhatever, unless I do a SmartyPig thing. Sound good? Should I make an absurd goal on SmartyPig and do that instead? 2d. What do I ask the credit union, and what answers am I looking for? 3. What else should I be doing? I have a budget and a mint.com account and am trying to make good decisions about purchases (= not buying anything ever). I might end up needing orthodontics this summer (gently caress) and it's important for me to keep a certain amount liquid in case of similar emergencies happening in the future, so I'm not sure CD's and such are a good idea. Also the stock market is so beyond me, so I'll leave that up to the American Funds folks. Thanks money goons 
Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Feb 3, 2010 |
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Feb 3, 2010 17:43
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slap me silly posted:Seems like you're on top of things, but here are my random opinions: Thanks for all this. I will look into the retirement thread. If I kept a card, it was going to be the Amex one, which is less than a year old. I take it I should keep the Visa instead (max. 5 years old, but definitely up there). I don't know what a high front end load is  My mother made the account for me when I was a kid. It seems to be doing all right and I never hear from them except at tax time. I guess I'd prefer to be doing responsible citizen investing with my money if possible, but that has to wait till I have a little more to throw around. Any other ideas on what I should beware of when talking to a credit union? I have one in mind that is NCUA certified and federally insured and all that.
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Feb 4, 2010 19:05
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I listen to Planet Money and also Marketplace Money. I'm surprised the latter hasn't come up in anyone's list; is there something wrong with it? 
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Apr 8, 2011 01:28
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modig posted:I just finished my Phd. I still have about $30k in student loans from undergrad and a car I bought, which are all the type that are interest free while you are still in school. Between my savings now and the fact that my Salary more than doubles next month, I could probably pay these all of in a year or two if I wanted. Should I? Is it worth paying them off slower to continue to contribute to my Roth IRA during this time? More importantly, how would I calculate the expected difference? If it's small I would prefer the simplicity of paying the loans off ASAP. I imagine you would have mentioned this, but just in case: is there a retirement fund connected to your new position? If you're doing that, then I wouldn't sweat letting the Roth take a back seat for a while. On the other hand, you probably (?) get a 6 month forbearance period before you "have" to start paying off your student loans. If that means the interest doesn't start for six months either, why not take care of this year's Roth using some of that leeway, and then work on the loans? I'd probably want to be debt free sooner too, in the end.
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Apr 23, 2011 15:11
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Fire In The Disco posted:Can using a debt consolidation service negatively affect your credit? Like, if the service negotiates no interest, or the credit card company offers a settlement of half of your balance, or whatever, does that show up on your credit and lower your credit score? I dunno, but the one thing I do know about debt consolidation companies is that there are a lot out there that are huge scams. Be careful  I've heard also that you can often negotiate directly with the people servicing your credit (either the original company, or if it's in collections, the agency it was sold to), especially if your debt is still in the quadruple digits or so. As for your credit rating, I should think that a PAID debt (a closed issue) would be a hell of a lot better than a continuing payment to a collections' agency for delinquency.
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Jul 8, 2011 14:30
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Renters' insurance is cheap enough that you should get it, even if you don't live where there are lots of natural disasters. Fire and robbery can and do happen in all kinds of places. You think you don't own that much stuff, but take a second to look around you and imagine replacing literally everything in the room, electronics, clothing (your entire wardrobe), furniture, books, housewares... Yeah, it's a lot more than you think. Maybe not the $20k your policy offers, but not so far off as to be cavalier about it, either.
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Jul 27, 2011 03:48
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agentq posted:Where is a good place to keep your emergency fund? I've had mine in a money market account and I'm making basically no money in interest. Would a simple savings account be better? My emergency fund is larger than normally discussed (ie more than 5k) It should be more than 5k. It's supposed to be 6-8mo expenses, or 3 at the very least. I'd say just keep it somewhere reasonably liquid. You need to be able to access it within a few days or immediately. I keep mine in a different bank from my checking because it used to gain more interest and it makes it more emotionally separate from my okay-to-spend money.
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Aug 7, 2011 17:32
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I mean, you'd be paying debt with debt, which isn't a great idea... But if either way you'll be taking out that extra $3k, then yeah I guess spending it on your debt would be an okay idea. For those medical bills, you need to find out who owns the debt and contact them. Is it in collections, or still with the original creditor? You might be able to get a settlement for less than the total amount if you can pay it now. So if they'd be willing to take $1000 or $750 rather than $1500 and call it a day, you'd be able to get rid of that debt. If you do this, do your research, and I wouldn't suggest trusting a debt consolidation service. They tend to be rackets. eta: For some reason I read it originally as being $4500 medical bills. It may or may not be worth your time to negotiate it down if it's $1500, especially if you can just get rid of it now and consider it part of your student loan too. Someone who knows more about student loans might want to chime in about whether you CAN use that money for this... Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 13:16 on Aug 13, 2011 |
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Aug 13, 2011 13:14
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I'd say pay off the credit cards immediately and start saving more every month to make up for it. Want to give us an idea of your budget?
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Aug 15, 2011 13:13
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So... what's the deal with depositing foreign checks? I have a check for £7,100.34. According to a variety of internet sources, the exchange rate from USD to GBP is around 1.65. That'd make my check worth $11,693.05. When I went to Bank of America to deposit it, they gave me an exchange rate of I think 1.56, and the amount would be around $11,100. This is a significant difference. I tried calling their customer service line and they don't have access to the exchange rates used, and the teller at the bank didn't know why there would be a discrepancy either. It doesn't seem to be official fees- they just use a lower rate and feed you a line about it changing every moment (which it does, of course, but it doesn't suddenly drop 10 cents between my google and their calculator, nor does it jump 10 cents going the other way.). Based on this blog post and a couple other google results, this is not unusual. They simply don't tell their tellers or customer service people about the hidden fee. I tried calling my other bank (ING Direct) but they won't accept foreign checks. I called the credit union on my campus and asked how they do it, and they send it to Members United, who send it back to the issuing bank, who finally decide the rate. I guess I will try calling BoA again and having a tantrum, and if that doesn't work, I may open up an account with my credit union and do it through them, since it seems like the best option, and since BoA is manifestly evil anyway. I don't really have a question; I just wanted to tell someone about my adventures, I guess. If anyone has an easier suggestion than opening up a different bank account, I'd love to hear it.
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Aug 22, 2011 18:24
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LorneReams posted:Cash it for actual currency and then exchange the currancy at a place that won't gently caress you on the exchange rate...I don't know if that is possible, but I did actually do this with Yen before. Yeah, the trouble is finding a place that won't gently caress me on the exchange rate. I don't think I can just take it to the airport, for example. I called BoA's foreign currency number and the guy said that the rates I see online on finance websites are market trading rates, whereas actual bank exchange rates or something are always going to be lower at any bank in the U.S. Bullshit or no? Seems like bullshit to me... I guess I will call around to other banks some more and see if they'll do an exchange for a non-account holder.
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Aug 22, 2011 20:28
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Bigass Moth posted:Situation: Wife and I have around ~100k left on our mortgage. We also have a good deal of money tied up in stocks. This is kind of a silly time to take money out of the market. I'd wait for it to stabilize a bit more. I mean, I know you can't time the market, but taking money out when it's clearly very low seems silly.
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Aug 27, 2011 15:55
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drawkcab si eman ym posted:I'm a 22 year old student who has a part-time job and I'm a full time student and I have two questions: Check and see if there are any fees associated with the card. There'd be no point in getting one that you aren't even going to use much if it has an annual fee. I do not think it'd hurt you to get another card and it probably would help your score, PROVIDED THAT YOU PAY IT OFF AT THE END OF EVERY MONTH. You say you have never had a late payment, which is good, but it's better to not carry a balance at all (which you may not be doing anyway; it's a little unclear from your post). Yes, being on time with your bills is good for you. Well, mostly, being late with them hurts you. Either way, you ought to pay them on time so you don't have to spend extra in fees!
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Aug 31, 2011 21:45
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Chinatown posted:Is there an Apartment/Rental thread? Not sure if this is the best place for this. Apartment thread is here. The answer is "talk to your roommate." Guys, drop the house thing. It's clearly irrelevant to the discussion since the options in question are not house or apartment, but trailer or apartment. Shut up.
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Aug 31, 2011 23:01
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GregNorc posted:I think this is what I'll do. The only question I have is this... if I have to pull some out for some reason (ex: I get an internship in SF and pull a couple grand to cover the second rent for the summer) am I going to kill my gains from taxes/fees? Unless it's in like a 401k, don't worry about withdrawal fees. You could even use it to fund a Roth IRA,* which is a good idea since retirement should never be neglected, and because if an emergency or internship happens, you can take out the principal (but not the earnings from stocks going up and down) at any time without penalty. Any investment is going to make you eligible for some kind of tax. The stuff to watch out for more is fees. * Up to the amount you are able to earn from wages within the year of deposit. So if you make $20k in 2012 you can deposit the full $5k for that year, but if you make $2k in 2012, you can only deposit up to $2k for that year. If you won't be earning any wages in $2012 at all, you can't contribute that year. If you've been working this year though, and earned more than $5K, you could still fund it for 2011.
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Sep 14, 2011 18:47
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Here is the link for the tax thread: proclick. Just to make it easier. They will help.
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Sep 21, 2011 21:58
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jfballin posted:Having cleared through our CC debt, our next goals are a) boosting our emergency fund from around $1900 to $10k, what we figured to be 6 months of living expenses and b) starting Roth IRAs. I've been reading about people utilizing Roths for emergency fund saving as contributions can be withdrawn without penalty. I hadn't heard much of this so I'm curious what others think of this strategy? One thought I had was to leave the $1900 where it is (CU savings account earning nothing) for a slight cushion and then build Roth IRAs, knowing that they could also provide cash in case of emergency. Emergency funds need to be liquid so you can get at them in an emergency. If your ohshit money is in a retirement fund, it'll take you at least a couple days or longer to get the money you need. Also, since it IS an investment account, the value is going to fluctuate, sometimes wildly. Over the long term usually you'll come out ahead, but say the economy shits itself again, you lose your job, the stock market crashes... your emergency fund is now halved and you're hosed. So no, don't do that. Savings account interest blows right now but c'est la vie, your emergency fund is not an investment. Once you start a retirement fund, treat it like the money is gone. You do not touch your retirement fund. It's a one-way door that you put money through until you retire. If it's literally the only choice you have to afford something vital, that can be a different story. But 99% of the time you need to treat it like a time capsule you fill with money, bury, and dig up in 50 years and not before.
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May 21, 2012 18:47
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What's the apartment situation now? Can you live with family instead? Are you living with roommates or by yourself? Have you considered going to North Dakota and working in the natural gas boom? It sounds like you haven't got much to lose and it could help.
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May 22, 2012 14:36
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drat Bananas posted:I'm finances stupid and stopped researching after I got flustered. Start listening to some podcasts and reading random personal finance blogs. It'll sound like gibberish at first but soon you will get used to the words it becomes clearer and you start to understand stuff.
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May 23, 2012 15:02
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Xenoborg posted:I'm just about to start trying investing on my own for the first time, and having a hell of a time picking which direction to go in. Every route I've looked in looks like it might be good, or it might just loose all my money. The investing thread might be better for this, but really it is probably the same people. Personally, I have like $11k in investments outside of my Roth IRA. I put $9k in Vanguard's total stock market ETF and 1k each in intermediate government & corporate bond funds. I have no real reason for having done it that way and just doing the total stock market fund would probably have been fine. I asked in the other thread about diversification and stuff once and the answer was "You do not really have enough money to even need to worry about that." So uh, there you go. A really hands off approach to consider.
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May 30, 2012 22:18
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This is why I chose Vanguard. That and the low expense ratio, low/no fees (for what I do anyway which is extremely hands off). After the poo poo that went down in 2008 it seemed really appealing to stick with a financial company that doesn't operate with profit as their single, all-encompassing focus without regard to the well-being of the investors. ING, by contrast, is owned by CapitalOne, which is a publicly-traded company that mixes banking and investment. Whatever their results, I wouldn't use them for investing because I don't think they have investors' best interests in mind. Vanguard does the Money Market account for holding unallocated cash thing too. As for your other questions, $1000 is suggested as an emergency fund because it's a small goal that a lot of Americans don't even have. It's not meant to be a stopping point, though. Ideally your emergency fund should be able to support you/your household for 3-9 months of expenses (Shoot for 1, then 3, then 6, then see if you want to do 9), should someone lose a job or should another crisis occur. Keep building that poo poo up  I didn't notice the bit about the car loan before. Do work on getting an emergency fund built up, but pay more than the minimum if you can at the same time. I think that should be a higher priority than finding an investment to park your extra earnings in. It's a lower interest rate than most, but personally I'd rather be earning less on my money, but owing less on my debts, than earning a little more on savings while accruing more on the debt. The growth rate for your investments might be good, but it also might tank, whereas your auto loan will probably stay the same rate whether or not wall street shits its pants again.
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Jun 2, 2012 14:10
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kaishek posted:A slightly more labor-intensive way but more secure is to request one score from each bureau every 4 months. You get 1 free score per agency per year. No, you get one free REPORT per bureau per year. Not score. In reality there are a bunch of different credit scores that different industries or individual lenders can use, and they can vary widely. The FICO score is the one most people mean when they say "credit score," and you can pay to get that at myfico.com I believe. You asking about going to a dealership to get your score: often they charge you for it anyway, and I don't know but that might count as a "hard" inquiry, which can ding your score a bit. Better to check it yourself and have it be a "soft" inquiry. I don't know that it's even that important to know your exact score. Getting your report 3x a year should give you an idea of what standing you're in. Lots of outstanding debt? Probably bad. Accounts all paid up with no late payments? Probably good. Foreclosure? Bad. Etc. There's no sense in fetishizing the score. Focus on improving your overall financial situation and the score will follow... Eventually. Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Jun 6, 2012 |
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Jun 6, 2012 19:12
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Ganon posted:You can get your score and credit report for free from MyFICO if you sign up for a free trial of their score watch product and cancel before the trial is over. I just got my score/report and immediately canceled. Sweeeeet. I know I just said it didn't matter but I am always curious too  765  eta: vvvvvv Yeah, I missed that before. 70k is a huge amount for savings. Dump some of that into your mortgage instead. There's no way you're getting 4.5% return on it where it is, so it's better to put like half of it into the mortgage instead. Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 23:00 on Jun 6, 2012 |
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Jun 6, 2012 22:16
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Do you have any retirement account at all? How much do you make a year? I know that'll vary as a freelancer but there are limits for Roth IRA's so give what you earned last year I guess.
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Jun 7, 2012 12:47
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Nifty posted:If I am a co-signer for someone else on a car loan will that also show credit history for me later down the line? Or will that not reflect for me since I am not the main borrower Yes, yes it will. It's debt in your name, dude. Don't do it unless you can and would be willing to pay the full balance of the loan plus interest.
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Jun 8, 2012 03:14
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korusan posted:I'm really into media and film and the like and I plan on moving to Toronto to take it. Can your parents go on unemployment or some other kind of social assistance? Do they have unemployment insurance in Canada? Your income is insufficient to take care of your family. Full stop, I think. eta: I think probably before you can afford to quit your current job and move, you're going to need to stabilize the situation a bit. Can you look for cheaper housing in your area? Getting your rent down would help since clearly the current situation is untenable, even if it means getting a 1 bedroom and you using the living room as your bedroom. Can you get assistance for housing costs? Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 14:38 on Jun 12, 2012 |
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Jun 12, 2012 14:34
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jase1 posted:Hopefully this is the right thread for this.  Jeeeez that's a lot of savings.are you single? The long term investing thread might be worth a read for some general investing tips and resources. Do you have a retirement account separately?
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Jun 13, 2012 00:25
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jase1 posted:No I am not single but I am not married and no kids. I do not have a retirement account this would be basically it. Okay, well, I would suggest the following:
And then there's this... jase1 posted:I do gamble a lot  Pardon? Well, ignoring the first bit for a moment: lowest risk is savings account or CD. Highest return is the risky end of the stock market. Right now, there is essentially no return on savings accounts and hardly more on CD's. The interest rates are lower than inflation rates. The stock/bond markets are as they always are-- risky in the short term, but in the long term probably they'll grow more than inflation. SO for long term investment (retirement), stocks/bonds is a good choice. Bonds are traditionally the more conservative, risk-averse option but I have heard talk of bubbles  there so don't go throwing all your poo poo into bonds. Balance. For the short term investment, you aren't going to do better than a CD ladder or a savings account, and either way it'll be less than inflation. That's the cost of liquidity these days.You NEED a retirement account that you don't touch and let sit and grow until you need it. You can't just assume you'll have enough money when you get there, especially if you go self-employed and stop paying into social security. If your income is within the limits, a Roth IRA would be a good choice for you. The money that you put in is taxed already, so that when you take it out when you're old, you don't have to pay taxes on the accrued value. This can be huge. ALSO, and this is where I think it might be appealing to you, you can take out any of the principal before retirement if you need it. So if you put in $5000, and it gains $500 in value over the year, you can still take out that first $5000 if you absolutely have to and your emergency fund is insufficient. As a rule though you really shouldn't touch your retirement account.
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Jun 13, 2012 02:16
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asmallrabbit posted:I don't see the problem with this? They are both coming into it with their own assets prior to getting married. Why should either party be entitled to any of that in the case of a divorce? It's an emotional thing. I'm with Zeta. From a financial point of view, it kind of makes sense, especially if they never plan to have assets in common like a house or a car, or big long term expenses like children and their college educations. As long as they're happy to live as roommates, financially speaking, then it works. I used to think this way was a good way, and I more or less do still- for people who are dating. I think people should go into marriage intending for it to last a lifetime. It'd be really weird if they kept their earnings separate while married. Also, I begin to wonder how long this goes on. When they're old and start needing to draw on the long term savings, what, will they just draw an equal amount from their respective funds? What if she runs out of money before he does? It's just weird and feels off to me. Different strokes. I think maybe I read it wrong at first though. It's only the premarital assets that are separate, yes? And the gains on those? Any money earned during the marriage will presumably be shared...? Wow, okay, so you do have things well squared away. I thought maybe the 200kish was just hanging out and you had no organization at all. I totally understand your hesitation about investing in stocks & bonds, particularly after 2008-9. The thing is, there's not really another option at the moment. You can (a) let your money sit in a low interest account and accrue less value than it loses due to inflation, (b) invest in metals or oil and hope they keep going up instead of crashing, or in real estate or something, but that's super not liquid, or (c) stocks and bonds. A is fine, but over time you will be losing value. Putting your money in a savings account is not something you do because you think "Man, I have enough money. I think I'd like to let inflation make me poorer." B is I don't even know but I wouldn't touch it. Someone else can weigh in on that sort of thing. C is what most people do. The reason most people do it this way is because it makes the most sense long term.* You can balance your portfolio (what bonds and stocks you hold) to minimize risk. If your assets are diversified enough (both stocks and bonds, spread over a variety of industries, perhaps both domestic and international), you probably won't get totally hosed or incredibly in the dips and leaps of the market, but you'll do okay. As you get older and close to retirement, you move more of your money into lower risk investment vehicles (and maybe by the time we're nearing retirement the fed will have raised the interest rate  ). Most brokerage firms offer funds that are specifically designed to do this. I have investments in the Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 fund, the Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund, and then some short term bonds. What happened in 2008 to a lot of people is that they were older and nearing retirement or were in retirement, and still had a lot of their assets in riskier vehicles like stocks rather than in things like CDs or bonds, and they lost a huge amount of value in the crash. The value of their homes- the biggest single asset most people have- also crashed, leaving many people with enormous, unpayable mortgages. Unemployment followed. And the cherry on the poo poo sundae is that for those older folks whose money was safely tucked away in CDs and gaining interest nicely... well, nice interest CDs are gone now, because the Fed lowered the interest rate to near 0 rates in order to make credit more available. Lots of decent reasonable decisions but they combined really, really poorly for people who were going to retire soon. For young'uns like us (I'm assuming you're in your 20s or 30s), there's still time to recover, and at our age it makes sense to try to gain more through slightly riskier investment than to keep it all holed up essentially under our mattresses. SOOO if I've convinced you, how should you set up a retirement account? I don't know because I doubt I'll see that amount of money in my life anytime soon, geez. I suggested a Roth IRA because of their particular tax benefits (and I'd still suggest doing one if you have enough "earned income" [W-2 money] even though it's only $5000/year, that's still going to get you a lot of nice lovely untaxed money for when you're old). A normal IRA is another option, or if you do do the self-employed thing, that individual 401k sounded pretty great. You should: Talk to the financial planner about what would be the best way to deal with a dedicated retirement account for sure, amongst all your other discussions. For the other money, the best way to make it work for you will probably end up being in the market as well, but you can go quite conservative. If the financial planner works for a brokerage firm, run run run away. You need an impartial person who doesn't get commissions for getting you to invest in the firm's own funds regardless of what's best for you  Look for a fee-only certified financial planner who is only answerable to YOU for his business.* The number that gets thrown around is 7%. Over a long period, you should be able to get around 7% return on your money in the stock market. Of course, caveat: past performance does not guarantee future performance. Everything could go to poo poo again, yeah. Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Jun 15, 2012 |
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Jun 13, 2012 19:21
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Harry posted:You might have to do a secure card first or something. Secured cards are good but not all of them (not most of them, even? I think?) report to the credit bureaus, so having one won't do you any good. Better to look for a super low limit one designed for students or something, if you can't get approved for another one. Really, just start with a CC, use it responsibly, and that will be enough. You don't need to go on an all out on trying to get more and more credit through loans or whatever. Start with one CC and use it right and only get more credit as you need it, IMO. This from the girl who got an Amazon card just for points, though, so I may not be being totally unhypocritical here (but I pay them off!). Roommate good idea, especially if in your area landlords do credit checks. Also cheaper. Also they can tell you how to use the laundromat and stuff if you never have.
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Jun 15, 2012 01:52
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Binary posted:How reasonable is it to put part or all of your emergency fund into a low risk bond mutual fund? Quoting myself from earlier in the thread, with added emphasis. Eggplant Wizard posted:Emergency funds need to be liquid you can get at them in an emergency. If your ohshit money is in a retirement fund, it'll take you at least a couple days or longer to get the money you need. Also, since it IS an investment account, the value is going to fluctuate, sometimes wildly. Over the long term usually you'll come out ahead, but say the economy shits itself again, you lose your job, the stock market crashes... your emergency fund is now halved and you're hosed. So no, don't do that. Savings account interest blows right now but c'est la vie, your emergency fund is not an investment. tldr: Low risk is not no risk, fund is not liquid, it is not reasonable. Now, if you have extra money on top of your emergency fund that you want to do something with, that's a different story.
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Jun 20, 2012 01:54
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Large Hardon Collider posted:I applied for a credit card and got denied, in part for having too many recent credit checks. This is probably due to moving recently. How long should I wait before reapplying? I also want to increase the limit on my card I've had since before college, but that would require another credit check. Why do you need another credit card?
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Jun 27, 2012 22:48
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Derenge posted:A couple questions about things which I am considering doing in the future regarding my finances. Contribute to your 401k up to the match and max out a Roth IRA every year, yeah. I'd probably want to pay off the loans, personally, but get together an emergency fund first. I don't know how those payment plans work... if you could get on the low payment plan and still make higher payments it seems like that'd be a good deal in case you still have a balance in 25 years. There's a student loan thread in BFC someplace that would be a good place to get advice on it.
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Jun 29, 2012 01:49
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That is pretty weird but I guess 0 available credit, small credit history = meh, but once you got a credit line and some kind of history, WITHOUT any black marks = welp must be better. Credit scores are sorcery anyway.
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Jun 30, 2012 16:31
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intrapenous posted:Thanks. And also thanks to whoever gave me my new title. Yes, you can actually be on disability for mental illness. You definitely need a formal diagnosis and a lot of paper work, I would think. I also doubt that e.g. depression would do it. You probably have to be schizophrenic or really really unable to work with others type disabled.
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Jul 5, 2012 19:27
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If you want a score, go to myfico.com. That's the only score that matters. Sometimes they have a 10 day free trial thing and you can just cancel once you get your score. The annualcreditreport.com is your credit report, which tells you what accounts/lines of credit/debts you have and what your record/standing is like for each. You can get it once a year from each of the three bureaus, so in practice you can get it three times a year. It's good to check it regularly so you can watch out for credit opened in your name by others, or mistakes because of someone who has a similar name/SSN. eta: Really though if you're going to be putting in applications for apartments, just ask the landlord what your score is after s/he pulls your credit. You'll have to pay for it anyway.
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Jul 10, 2012 02:26
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Infinotize posted:But I have ~60k just sitting in a bank and not much to do with it. I want a good portion of it liquid, as I plan on leaving my job in about a month (with nothing lined up, I am going on hiatus for a bit). ... I've considered taking ~5k to play the stock market, and leaving 5-10 aside as potential capital to start a business. It sounds like you need to figure out your goals before we can help you. Are you leaving your job because you want to start a business? Or is that just a "Maybe I'll start a business of some kind eventually maybe" sort of thing? What are your plans for the next couple of months or beyond while you're not working?
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Jul 20, 2012 00:52
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I don't think you have enough capital to generate revenue off of. It would be a lot smarter for you to look into getting a different job while you're still employed, rather than taking time off and bumming around for a while and then trying to re-enter the market. I am not in software but it's my understanding that it's generally easier to find a new job while still employed than when unemployed. If you're planning on taking that leap then I'd leave those savings somewhere pretty liquid since you have no way of knowing how long you'll need to support yourself off them. Don't be too expensive in your travel plans, either. As for a business, yes, I have heard the same thing about food businesses. I am reeeally doubtful as to whether $5-10k is even enough to start a business of any kind in any case. Do some more looking and thinking before you quit your job.
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Jul 21, 2012 02:53
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Factory posted:Currently, I'm trying to find a job. This is my first legitimate job, however I've done a few jobs under the table. When a job asks for a cover letter and a resume, what do I submit at this point? This thread might be helpful: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3444773 e: Actually here is a resume-oriented one too: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2000929
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Jul 26, 2012 15:19
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 17:39 |
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Very quickly here is what I would suggest as priorities: 1) Build up savings a little more for an emergency fund. This should be enough money to cover your expenses for 6 months ish should you lose one or both sources of income. It's also for unforeseen medical expenses and, well, emergencies. 2) Pay down debt: the interest on your debt is way more than anything you'll be getting on savings so in my opinion it makes the most sense to get the debts out of the way. Even if you only did $1000/month + the $2000 surplus you have now, you'd be able to pay off both in a little over a year. You could do it more aggressively too but I'm being conservative because life tends to throw curveballs. e: I forgot to think about interest, oops. Anyway, it's not that bad and I think you should kill that debt. 3) Max out Roth IRA. Are the other retirement accounts work-held? If there's matching, you should be contributing the maximum matched amount so you get that sweet free money. 4) Save for house. Personally I am frightened of debt so I hate the idea of buying a house. Rationally, however, I understand that it's an important goal for you and you need to have an end goal in mind... but getting your retirement on a better track is a higher priority IMO, and you'll need to get rid of your other debt before you're likely to get a house loan anyway so just do that as soon as possible. When do you have to move out? Do you know if there's a time limit on your living with her parents? disclaimer: not a financial professional in any way, just a nerd.
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Aug 2, 2012 04:22
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