Sepherothic posted:

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/01/oregon-horse-appeals-dismissal-of-lawsuit-against-former-owner.html

BWM : Buying a litigious horse.

Fitzy Fitz posted:

**literally sprinting into thread**

My co-worker TURNED DOWN a $2000.00 bonus because it put him into the next tax bracket

https://old.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/am2cv0/my_coworker_turned_down_a_200000_bonus_because_it/

quote:

Curious how many people are paying cash for their stuff, an d how many are actually going into debt to buy firearm related items.

quote:

I took a loan from my 401K to buy my Stoner 63A for $12K. Given its value now days I should have drained my 401K and bought more of them. Otherwise I do not go into debt for anything these days. House paid off, car paid, no debt at all.

quote:

I always have a 0% card on hand (I am not a credit fiend though; I'm currently about 5k in credit card debt, which is literally the only debt I hold and it's perfectly sustainable with my current income) so if a good deal pops up I'll pull the trigger even if I don't have the $$ on hand.

quote:

Depends on what it is and the price.

quote:

If I had no guns and no money, I would go into debt to buy a Rem 870 and a few different boxes of shells. With that gun, I could put meat on the table if I had to and defend my house.

quote:

If I gotta have a CC to build my credit score so I can refi my 8.25% mortgage down to say 4.5%-5% , I can do that AND I might as well buy guns while Im at it.

canyoneer posted:

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/anu6b3/purchased_a_condo_seller_rented_it_to_his_nephew/

Purchased a condo, seller "rented" it to his nephew the day before contracts were signed. Now what? [NY, Putnam County]

This seller is going to find out that he pulled a very, very expensive stunt.

quote:

I am gonna make up some names this time around because referring to people as "the female seller" or "the tenant" is cumbersome as hell.

After the mess on Wednesday, I met my realtor for dinner and to grab my closing docs. The seller's agent actually wound up stopping by as well (he arranged this with my guy) . He apologized profusely, told us he knows the family and he's confident we'll be able to get things sorted quickly. I didn't get my hopes up but he picked up our tab and bought a round of drinks while he was there, so hey, when life gives you lemons, make a superhuman amount of whiskey? I don't think that's accurate but it was my approach and I stand by it.

Anyway, I wound up speaking with the seller, Anne, yesterday morning, and got the rundown on the situation. It turns out the unwelcome tenant (Bill) is actually her nephew, not her ex's (Charlie). She was absolutely livid with Bill, and promised me the apartment would be vacant ASAP even if she had to physically drag him out herself and pay for movers to take all of his stuff. She also gave me assurances that she'd cover whatever this ordeal has cost. From there, she said she was going to check in with her sister (Diane) who was dealing with Bill as we spoke, and get back to me as soon as she knows something, but again promised that the absolute worst case scenario would be Bill starting to move out by early afternoon.

Maybe half an hour later she calls back and tells me that Diane had rented a truck and Bill was in the process of packing his stuff up. Turns out Bill had recently experienced something pretty loving awful, and as a result had sort of become preoccupied with seeking approval from adult males. Charlie was at the top of this list; apparently his midlife crisis consisted of buying a Harley and trying to carry himself like a badass, and Bill bought the act hook, like and sinker. And a lot of you guys assumed correctly - Bill cooked up the scheme to basically extort me for a cash for keys deal. From what I was told, Charlie figured a doctor from NYC would just pay out right away to be done with it. For what it's worth, I am not an MD, nor am I from NYC... but you do you, Chuck. Anyway, at this point, Anne threw me a curveball. She and Diane were both at peace with the fact that I was going to pursue this with the police, but asked if I could meet Bill so he could look me in the eye to apologize because she wanted him get an understanding of the fact that his actions hurt a real, live human being. I agreed to it - I was hoping to see if I could get in to check the condition of the place anyway.

So yesterday evening I went up to the apartment and met "my tenant" as he was loading up the truck with his stuff. We wound up speaking for a while and... well, I am gonna disappoint some of you here. He seems like a genuinely good kid who got taken advantage of by a legitimate piece of garbage... there were a lot of tears, and innumerable apologies, and I 100% believe that these were based on genuine remorse for what he did, not regret about getting caught. I'll just say it here because I don't think I was being as slick as I'd hoped in dancing around it anyway, but the kid recently lost his father, and I don't see any reason to gently caress up his life with a criminal record over a (ridiculously, incredibly) stupid mistake that he was to a great extent manipulated into making anyway. For whatever it's worth, if getting involved in a stupid scam like this was the worst thing that I did at nineteen... yeah let's just say that I was a remarkably stupid and reckless kid. I lucked out and never wound up getting caught in a situation that could have had significant legal consequences, but if I had and I hadn't been given a second chance, I'd be living a very different life right now.

As far as the money goes, Anne and I are going to figure out what's what, and I don't want to explain how because it involves details about her personal life, but the money will technically be coming out of Charlie's pocket anyway. She started by hiring some movers to unload my truck, which is taking place as I type this. Bill left the apartment in shockingly good condition, but I am basing that on what sort of damage nineteen year old me would have passively done to an apartment, so this may be a touch skewed haha. Either way, no damage has been done aside from some very minor cosmetic stuff (a couple of light scuffs from moving furniture and things like that), all of which would become immaterial when I redo the apartment in anticipation of renting it out, so I am not going to concern myself with any of that stuff.

As far as Charlie goes... well, I mentioned in a few comments that My Attorney (who is too majestically vicious for fake names so he just becomes capital-M-My capital-A-Attorney) is a super intense older guy and later found out is a "retired" civil litigator who can't sit still long enough to actually retire. Yeah he's out for loving blood. Turns out Charlie does have himself some assets, and My Attorney is pretty confident that they will become my assets soon enough. I had a brief chat with one of the officers who came by on Wednesday (he's a friend of Diane's, apparently - this everyone knows everyone thing is still very foreign to me), and will be going by the station to issue a statement/file a report/whatever it is you do in this situation. Some of you expressed concerns that he may have fled the country, but the concept of Charlie leaving the county, let alone United States, is very funny to Anne, Diane and Officer Friend-of-Diane. Seems like Charlie is just a dumbshit who thought he could pull a fast one, and will be easy enough to find at one of the local watering holes when it's time for him to be picked up. I absolutely do not believe in throwing around assumptive diagnoses for fun, but I've made an exception in this case and decided that Charlie has full bore antisocial personality disorder because it makes me feel better about things for some reason.

Anyway I have been typing this piecemeal throughout the afternoon which has essentially been a test of my wife's patience. I'm not dumb enough to incur the wrath of a tiny Puerto Rican woman who has spent the last couple of days stressed out of her mind, so I'm gonna call this a post. Thanks again to everyone on this sub for all of the advice given and sympathies expressed, I'm lucky as hell to have had this end the way it did.

PS: If a mod could let me know how to report some accounts that PMed me to advertise their law firms, that would be wonderful. Pro-tip to lawyers: advertising via Reddit PM does not inspire confidence in your legal acumen.

A Proper Uppercut posted:

I'm not sure if this is more appropriate for the BWM or Shadenfreude threads, but we'll go here for now.

I work with a true believer sovereign citizen. He's been trying for like a year now to not pay taxes.

He just resubmitted his W4 with 99 dependents. Can someone tell me he will go to jail so I don't have to work with him anymore.

H110Hawk posted:

Spoken like someone without an in-line heater on your tub jets.

Inept posted:

Lot of weird armchair legal opinions on this page

Motronic posted:

The devil is in the details. Do you know what the definition of "gun violence" is? And how it is counted? Because it's likely the same as "alcohol related" vehicle accidents. While all of this is awful and shouldn't happen, counting a drunk PASSENGER as an alcohol related vehicle accident.....or even a drunk pedestrian who wandered into the street and the driver was deemed not at fault is just disingenuous poo poo that might sound good to people who are trying to push their point of view (which most would agree with) and then undermines them when this statistics shenanigans comes out.

Krispy Wafer posted:

So the Ark was full of two of everything except Noah's balls.

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/chxxla/girlfriend_took_out_30k_personal_loan_at_30/ posted:

As the title says, my GF took out a 30K personal loan at 30% interest rate. She was getting divorced and needed the cash - she recognizes that as a poor decision so we are beyond that now. Her credit score at the time was in the 700’s and now it is in the 600’s. Her loan is through LendingClub.

She’s having trouble finding a bank to take on the loan at a lower interest rate, which I find odd as they could charge 15% and it would still be a win/win. I’ve got some ideas as I’m in the Fintech industry working with big banks, but I wanted to check with trusty PF to see what ideas you had!

Thanks in advance you awesome peeps.

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/97si9z/back_when_i_was_married_i_made_the_worst_decision/ posted:

When i was married I consigned my wife's student loans. After i signed a while after she had some emotional problems and ran off.

Few years later she sent me divorce papers and told me to fill them out and that she would agree to anything. I put in the debt section all her student loans and her car note and other debt in her name. After she filed the papers she sent me the signed documents for my copy so i have proof that she said ok to these terms.

Her life has been a roller coaster to say the least disappearing and jumps job to job.

I have tried talking to Sallie Mae and send them my divorce document so they can take me off the student loan, but this apparently isn't how it works. They told me she has to graduate and then she has to pay 1 year of on-time payments.

So fast forward to now she graduated finally and has a low ball job at a hospital and told me she has been making payments. Today I got a credit notification that the Sallie Mae account has gone 60 days past due and dropped my credit 100 points.... This really hurts as on my side I have great credit and have 100% on time till this I have held the same job 10 years since I graduated and pay everything on time.

What are my options?

Update*** Thanks every one for your help!

I take full accountability of the loans i consigned and i will pay for the loans till she becomes responsible enough to take them over and i can be removed from them

I was miss informed before, but now i know and knowing is half the battle!!

The divorce decree doesn't expunge you of ur loans when you divvy up debt but may give me grounds to sue

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/cp246z/beware_other_ally_bank_users/ posted:

Recently my bank card was somehow comprised and charged a penny in Oregon. I'm in central California. During the compromise I recieved 1 legitimate phone call from ally asking me to confirm that I didnt make the charge and that my card would be disabled and to call back to get a new card issued.

I forgot to call back quickly since I was at work when it happened. Late that evening maybe 8:30 or 9pm I got a call from Ally Bank under the Caller ID I set up. Asked me about the compromise and needed to confirm the charges were mine and if they were that they would be charged to my account. The woman on the phone worded it strangely and I had her repeat it to me several times. She also said we are on a secure line and that the call is being recorded about 5 times in the first minute of the phone call which I thought was strange. She then began to throw out numerous large dollar amount charges at major retailers that had been declined. This got my heart beating hard. She continued to say over and over that this is a secured line and is being recorded. After saying none of that was mine asked me to confirm my identity with my online banking username. That's when it clicked for me. Never had ally used my online banking ID to confirm identity. She insisted it was a new update to their systems. I refused to give it out and said I would call back to Ally myself. She told me that's unnecessary and that again this is a secured and recorded line and she already has all my information in front of her. Told me to look at the caller ID and how it is the official ally number. The way she insisted me not to end the call really made it clear this was a scam call. She kept trying to call me maybe 5+ times while I was waiting to get someone at ally on the phone.

I worked as a western union agent and was trained to not fall for phone scams and such but they really almost got me. I was really not ready to receive a disguised scam number through my cell from my bank. Just wanted to share my experience for others.

Thanks for reading.

TLDR: I'm trained to not fall for scam calls due to my work. Got a scam call looking like my bank and almost gave away my sensitive info. I'm also 23 not an elderly person.

quote:

Timeshare Cancellation(I'm an idiot)

A few years ago walking the mall I dropped my name and my wifes number(I didn't want them calling me) in one of those win a car type deals I knew I would never win just feeling froggy. I get home one fine day and I am greeted to my wife having setup a lovely weekend in Gatlinburg not far away in one of those timeshare presentation deals. I can already visualize the South Park episode where the parents are stuck in a timeshare presentation forever. I initially say "Hell no" to the entire thing and only agree on it if that the only answer that the timeshare people will hear is "NO" so we go and have a good weekend and the presentation rolls around and my wife is sold, they could of got her to buy headlight fluid.

We finish the presentation but they don't let you leave, no, too easy. They have to sit you down in a little cubicle with 2 other people and go over your options. They start ya real high...like $800 dollars a month and $2200 a year in maintenance fees to which I immediately say no, I don't want it at all I am done. "But honey im sure they can accommodate our budget"...oh yes they can. They roll through more offers but at this level we wont get the super special deal BUT WAIT we can actually get it for you if you sign up today. I am essentially telling them I will consider signing up later so I can leave(the south park episode is coming to mind again). We essentially sit in this freezing cubicle for hours and hours until I give in. This will be the best thing my wife ever wanted and I am ready to leave. It all sets in and I almost have a panic attack that I am about to sign a $11,000 mortgage over the course of forever it almost falls through and we leave but my wife calms me down and its off the sign papers and here I am....

I am 28, I have good credit at 796 I own a car I bought in 2013(which was my first financial mistake of my adult life) and I own my own home. I and my wife have very little debt outside the house and the timeshare. We have less than 10k in student loans and some debt on credit card from remodeling our house(under 3k).

I have called the timeshare, they can't cancel it but will get me in contact with the mortgage people and they can go over what they can do. I called "Timeshareexitteam" at the behest of a friend because its endorsed by financial jesus Dave Ramsey and another place called Resolution.

**Resolution:**They want $2700 upfront and they can guarantee they cancel the contract. My credit may take a hit but they have "Credit Block" or some BS that keeps it off my score. My friends say this is bullshit they cant stop a creditor from putting this to the credit bureaus.

**Time share exit team:**They haven't gotten back with me.

So what can I do? Everything I read says this isn't a legal process, there's no civil suit I'm not litigating my way out of this so what are they timeshare cancellation companies doing? Are they just buying my debt to the timeshare after the essentially tell them "Hey this guy isn't paying anymore" Can I not just stop payments myself and take the inevitable credit hit? I hosed up I get it I am going to be at a loss on this and it will go to collections but I would rather that than 10 years of $200 dollars a month and $900 a year in fees for some mediocre rear end vacations. I would rather negotiate with the collection agency and tell them here's what I will pay and that's it..

Any advice or am I just hosed?

quote:

I'd be an idiot to cash out my 401k, right?

I mean I can google, that seems to be the overwhelming consensus. However it's still tempting. I switched jobs recently, had about 8.8k toward my retirement. The estimator said I'd get about 7k of that in cash. I have a loan debt of $1100 and $5k in credit card debt. So there's a part of me that wants to cash out as sort of a "reset" button.

I'm also looking into moving my debt into a new 0% intro APR card and trying to pay it off before the 0% period ends. That seems to be the much safer option, though not as satisfying to the part of my brain that just wants to be out of debt NOW.

So I kinda already know what I need to do, just need someone to smack some sense into me.

Moneyball posted:

What should the thread title be when it's moved to TFR?

Darts are boring. In Texas we use rifles to pick plays posted:

Went shooting at a buddy's ranch this weekend and decided I'd let a bullet pick my next play. Shot a .22lr from 300 out using CCI subsonics. It was windy in Columbus, and with a 12ft drop on the subsonic ammo, it was more of a lob than a shot. The pictures. Somehow nailed the $DIS 145 play that u/soccergoon13 recommended on Friday, so I'll be putting up to100 on that tomorrow at open

Tesla CyberTruck Observation posted:

After watching the live stream for the CyberTruck, I came to the conclusion that the vehicle is actually a showcase for the potential for Military Contracts. Think about it, a relatively cheap truck that is bullet proof vs small arms fire (they only showcased pistol rounds, they can probably work on higher caliber rifle rounds should they have the need). The vehicle could potentially be autonomous during convoys and has a very high rate of speed.

Think about it. I'm calling it now, Tesla will move into contracting at some point in the future. The DoD/Military is already looking to Silicon Valley to fill its current needs for massive innovation in the Aero/Defense sector. Elon already contracts for the DOD with satellite launches with SpaceX.

You can already see big moves from the DoD in recent years to move towards technologies such as Cloud Computing (Amazon AWS/ Microsoft Azure). Microsoft recently received a massive $10bil contact to modernize the infrastructure supporting the DoD and Military Branches.. Automation is the next big step for modernization for the Military, to include technologies such as what Tesla has for their current vehicles. The real world practical use for automated driving is huge when you consider how route planning is implemented in every single convoy the military conducts. Tony Stark IRL breh.

To compound onto this, the vehicle would need to be redesigned with Composite armor, Slat armor (RPG "netting" on windows and doors to make the vehicle more resistant to rocket attacks), Mine/IED resistant undercarriage similar to MRAPs, and some other additional poo poo to make it more practical for field use. FOBs and bases could be loaded with diesel generators (higher efficiency compared to Solar, at least today's technology) to power the super chargers for vehicles instead of traditional fuel points. The real question is range after all this bullshit is added, but the battery tech is rapidly changing so it may be more feasible in the future. Also, it could be used as a land unmanned vehicle for route clearance and other poo poo. Which would help alleviate the "driving with thermite" idea of the battery exploding while under attack.

Also, as a lot of people pointed out, this would probably be adopted by Law Enforcement for modern as gently caress SWAT vehicles or whatever.

Also also, imagine the possibilities of the autonomous AI functions of self driving during a convoy. People fall asleep on convoys all the loving time (you're going 35 miles an hour for like 10 hours) and it could use its sensors to look for abnormal patterns like IED placements in the road and poo poo. You small brains who keep commenting how retarded automation is in convoys have small pp and need to think what the technology could do and not just the idea of a loving automated convoy, ree

Plus, you can play spades and dip while the convoy happens automatically. 👌

im a 18 year old clerk at kroger stores how can i save up money? posted:

a little back story is i make about 150$ a week. im a diabetic, a gamer, and like food so those are where my money goes and obviously gas and books for school. i recently bought a rifle that i have 200 $ left to pay.i want to start saving money but am having a personal control problem. whats the best way for me to overcome this and start saving money.

also how can i build credit

quote:

$RGR is one of the only publicly traded firearms companies. The others also have some camping equipment ventures, so they're not as narrowly focused. Ruger makes guns. They manufacturer the most popular concealed carry pistols- the kind uncle Jeff likes to keep in his boot when he goes to church. Other companies are more along the lines of cop pistols, recreational pistols, or rifles.

Why buy $RGR? It's at a five year low. Sales are down. There was a huge spike due to scares about Obama taking everyone's guns away (gun nuts buy guns when threatened). Now, we're coming up on an election cycle. Whoever the front-runner for the Dems is gonna be, the gun nuts are gonna paint him as the second coming of the Antichrist. If it's a woman candidate, even better.

Ruger stocks WILL moonshot.

FAQs: "What if mango wins?" Good question. Sell the day before the election. "

"What about a recession?" Great question. If there's a recession, that dramatically decreases the chances of the tariff mango winning re election, which means great things for $RGR.

"What about the trade war?" Again, trade war hurts Mango's chances of re-election. $RGR goes up.

"What if the xenophobic sweet potato is playing three dimensional chess with the economy and $SPY moonshots?" Well, you won't get as much money as if you YOLO'd $SPY calls, but a rising tide lifts all stocks and baby that trickle down economics will raise $RGR.

In summary, $RGR cannot go tits up.

quote:

"Walmart says it will raise age restriction to 21 for gun purchases, remove items resembling assault-style rifles from website"

quote:

SWHC is a great buy currently. For all you Tech Analysis guys, its a golden cross. For all you trend-traders, the recent Shooting in Orlando is going to boost sales, which are positively correlated with background checks, which June's background check numbers will be released during the first 10 days of July and they will reflect the increased demand for guns due to the shooting. If you guys want to profit off mass-murder like me, buy up some option contracts now! I'm in on calls of strike of $25 and $26.

For all you fucks that don't believe me, but want to get into it message me and I will explain all of the research supporting it. but hop on this loving money train!!!!

Here's proof
Imgur

Betting on RGR recovering. DD included. Who's with me? posted:

quote:

Federal prosecutors described the Hunters as so mired in debt that they had less than $1,000 in their bank account from 2009 to 2017, and owed money to stores like Macy's and Home Depot. The Hunters had begun falling behind on their children's school tuition and missed numerous mortgage payments.

"It explains why he himself used campaign funds to buy everything from cigarettes to gadgets to groceries to getaways — things he wanted but could not afford to buy with his own money,” prosecutors alleged in one filing.

Hunter — who has developed a reputation on Capitol Hill for drinking heavily and carousing — was also accused of routinely using campaign cash to finance numerous extra-marital affairs.

In one episode in 2010, Hunter allegedly took a lobbyist on a "double date” road trip to Virginia Beach with a fellow congressman and then charged his campaign for the hotel room and bar tab.

In another 2015 incident, Hunter allegedly took a House leadership aide out for cocktails and then took an Uber back to his office after they spent the night together. Both expenses were charged to his campaign account, prosecutors say.

howdoesishotweb posted:

Sounds like this unpatriotic rear end in a top hat doesn’t support the troops the police local strip clubs. the children of police officers

quote:

I [30F] used to be a marine biologist who worked in an aquarium. But it's a very mentally, physically, and emotionally taxing job, and I burnt out after about five years. I work an office job now, which I like a lot better in about a million different ways. I sometimes miss taking care of the animals, but it was not worth all the other bullshit that came with it.

Cephalopods were my favorite animals to take care of, octopuses in particular.

My boyfriend [32F, dating for 8 months] was out of town visiting family for Christmas/New Years, but he came back on Thursday. We met that night at my apartment to exchange Christmas presents.

My present was big. When I unwrapped it, I was shocked. It was a fish tank. 50 gallons, apparently. Along with a couple hang-on-back filters, a heater, a light to go on top, two bags of sea salt, and some kitschy tank decorations. And that's it.

Then my boyfriend exclaimed, “Surprise! I got you an octopus!" I asked him what he meant, and he explained to me that he bought me an octopus as a Christmas present, and it was being express shipped overnight to my apartment!

As soon as he told me, I started to panic. I literally stood there going like, "I -- I -- I --" like I was a loving cartoon character. My boyfriend then said something like, "We better hurry up and put this tank together!" like it's a TV stand from IKEA and he ordered me a new flatscreen or something.

I just started rambling. I don't have any RO water, there's no protein skimmer, these filters aren't big enough, I don't have space for a tank this big, where are we going to mix fifty gallons of saltwater, the tank isn't cycled!! The tank isn't cycled!! That octopus is going to die once we put it in this tank!

I told him that he needs to cancel the order. He needs to call whoever he bought that octopus from and cancel it. My boyfriend said that he can't, he got confirmation that they already shipped it out.

At this point, I was starting to get hysterical. Someone needs to be at my place to pick up the package, it'll freeze outside if the delivery guy just leaves it by my front door! I don't have any food to feed the octopus! THE TANK ISN'T CYCLED!

My boyfriend was trying to calm me down, and I kept yelling at him, "What are we going to do? What are we going to do when it gets here?" And he said something like, "I dunno, I thought you'd be able to figure it out?"

I had to really dig deep inside myself to find that part of me that would keep me level headed in similar scary, time-sensitive situations from back in my aquarium days. My boyfriend just stood there awkwardly while I wracked my brain.

I suddenly realized I could take it to our local aquarium where I used to volunteer, way back when I was first trying be an aquarist. Most everyone I volunteered for was gone, but I still knew two people who worked there.

Neither phone number I still had in my cellphone for those two people worked anymore, but I was still friends with them on Facebook, so I PM'd both of them and prayed. My boyfriend was still standing around awkwardly, and I told him that if he wanted to leave, he could. So he did.

Fortunately, one of the aquarists I used to volunteer for (he’s the curator now!) responded within about an hour, and I explained the whole situation to him and asked if they could take the octopus. He said he wasn't sure, but to bring the octopus to the aquarium tomorrow after it shows up anyway. Worst case scenario, we might be able to move it into a new bag with clean water, throw in some new hand warmers, and overnight it back to where it came from.

I called into work and explained the whole situation to my boss and why I needed to stay home the next day, and because I am so very lucky, she was understandable and let me take Friday off.

Anyway! Long story short, the octopus showed up in the afternoon. I raced to the aquarium, met up with the other aquarist I used to volunteer for (the curator was in a meeting) and thank God, he said they had some space in quarantine for an octopus. So we open up the shipping box and pull out a bag with this...this utterly loving adorable little octopus. He was probably only a foot long arm tip to arm tip, he was all white with big eyes (probably because the poor thing was scared out of his mind). Not gonna lie, for a second there I was like, “...maybe I could get that tank up and running and then come back to get him” -- but that is not realistically feasible for me right now.

Then we passed him off to the quarantine team, and I apologized a bunch, and said thank you a bunch, and then went home and took a serious nap because I did not sleep well the night before.

So all this went down on Friday. It is now Tuesday. I have not heard from my boyfriend since Friday afternoon, when I texted him what I had done. He just texted back, “OK, that’s good to hear.” On Saturday, I tried calling him a couple times, but my phone calls just went straight to voicemail. I texted him again, this time apologizing for freaking out and yelling at him, but also adding that hey, you get why I was kinda justified in doing so, right? (Whiiiiich maybe wasn’t the best way to apologize :/) I don’t feel like I overreacted (or did I?) and I wasn’t necessarily mad about getting the octopus as a gift, just...scared? If we didn’t get it out of the water it was shipped in and into a cycled tank, it would die in a couple hours and that was a huge reason I left aquarium work. I couldn’t handle when animals would die. It would gently caress me up for days...I guess in some ways, it’s still kind of loving me up, a little bit.

So what do I do now?

tl;dr: Boyfriend tried to surprise me with a pet octopus! Which I immediately turned over to proper caretakers because I am in no position to take care of one! And now my boyfriend isn't talking to me. I don't know what to do here?

EDIT: OMG this exploded. I gotta go to bed, y'all, but thanks for all the great advice and the, uh, gold, apparently? I probably won't have much time to respond to comments tomorrow, but I'll definitely be back with an update!

MomJeans420 posted:

BWM hedge fund job listing

The whole thing is crazy, but here are some choice parts:

quote:

Our Soul Rider tribe aspire to unity consciousness. Below are bios from a few of us showing what we do. Plato wrote, “And therefore if the head and the body are to be well, you must begin by curing the soul; that is the first thing.” In this spirit Soul Rider teams modernize the many ancient, tried and true techniques of soulcrafting.

...

He is a lifelong meditator of 7,000+ hours’ experience, with four decades amid a broad variety of professional projects applying his expert appreciation of nonlocal consciousness. In 2016 and 2017 two different neurophysiologists who are both credentialed Ph.Ds. showed in two, separate research sessions that Michael has scientifically-demonstrable skills as a clairvoyant, healer and empath. For fun accessible to a wide audience he authors the often tongue-in-cheek Nonlocal Consciousness page on facebook.

Rotten Red Rod posted:

Wanna know something even weirder? Remember The Demon Rush? https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2913491

Want to know where the creator is now?

https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2979-CUSA10626_00-DRAGOONEDPS4FOUR
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/skylight-freerange-2-gachduine-ps4/
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2979-CUSA07748_00-SKYFREERANGEFOUR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ41J-sGyXs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRN1b60dBus

how

Rotten Red Rod posted:

Oh, the link isn't dead, I think you just need archive access to see it. It's just the author introducing the game, goons dunking on it, and him taking it in stride.

The trailer you linked seems to be a joke, but it IS using actual game footage.

Jerk McJerkface posted:

A family member recently got married and is going to do a rent to own from her new husbands grand parents. They are in a mid-west state with low COL. I'm not sure if a rent to own is a bad thing, especially from family. I did some reading on it, and David Ramsey is opposed to it, but I'm curious if it's really a bad deal.

I think the biggest issue is that I'm sure they are doing this because they can't afford to buy and I don't know if like 5 years RTO'ing is going to change that fact.

Orvin posted:

My guess is that is a fancier way of saying hamburger. Who orders a meatball, and expects cheese on it and fries on the side?

DaveSauce posted:

OK sure, you're not wrong, but the conversation so far hasn't been, "let's solve these problems." It's been, "this system is invalid because it occasionally makes mistakes."

I don't see that anyone, at any point, explicitly or implicitly made the statement that the system is perfect and that it never catches people who don't deserve it. Nor have I seen anyone make any sort of statement that the system shouldn't be changed.

The only statement I see is, "people who commit crimes often lie about the circumstances to downplay the severity" followed by, "well actually sometimes they're not lying."

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/eo9hbk/a_personal_tale_of_why_active_brokers_can_be_the/ posted:

I am very fortunate to have a father who has a solid mind for economics. He's saved all he could since he started working over 40 years ago. When I was 16, he hauled my angsty teenage rear end into Edward Jones, so I could start investing the extra pocket change I had lying around. He kept his own Roth and individual accounts there, although his 401k was thankfully held at Prudential.

I tossed the man with the wall of degrees and pictures of himself on Wall Street 500 bucks and started my partnership. I didn't have the slightest idea what an expense ratio or front-loaded sales charge were. Over the next 8 years, I'd blindly send my broker between 200 and 500 dollars a month, confident that he was looking out for me and casting some crazy investment magic to make my money grow. I was happy just having that money to fall back on, and I even pulled some out a few times to pay off my car and close on my house. But I never actually checked on what the mutual funds I owned actually WERE. And not once was I invited to learn by this broker. Thankfully, I started doing my own research and learning about making investments on my own. Finally, after almost 9 years of holding these funds, I looked up what their expense ratios were, and I was blown away.

The 6 funds my money had been given to had expense ratios between .57% and !!!2.3%!!! Not only that, but Edward Jones charged a front-end load of 5.75% on every single deposit. I can't even begin to imagine how much money I lost during those years. And it wasn't like my investments were doing gangbusters either. Between 2010 and 2019 they ranged from 12% to -2%. All that money I could have been making went straight to their own bank account.

When I went to my broker to confront him, I asked him what he thought about low-fee, passively managed index funds. His response was to pull up a side-by side comparison of VTSAX and the best-performing mutual fund he'd picked out for me and say that VTSAX was overdiversified, and even though it was outperforming and cheaper than his own, it wasn't worth getting because it was riskier. I was gone and over to Etrade within the month.

I didn't tell this story to be self-congradulatory or get pats on the back. I wanted to show that education is key. Even if you have a drive to save and invest, some people see this as you simply having money to spend. And good salesmen who make you believe your money is better in their hands can still snatch a huge piece of your pie.

Edit: Thank you all for the comments and discussions that have been had. I've seen a couple of people defending brokerage fees because brokerages are there for the common man who "doesn't have time" or "doesn't want to learn" the financial system. I want to do a little math to try and convince people who may be swayed by these arguments.

Let's say that I'm putting $5,500 a year into a Roth IRA that earns 7% a year for 35 years (I'm conservative) with no fees. At the end of that time I will have $895,608.12. But, what happens if we do the same investments with the fees that Edward Jones was pushing on me? Well, for starters the 5.75% front load turns the $5,500 into $5,184. And that 7% return will turn into a 4.7% from the 2.3% expense ratio. And now, at the end of the 35 years, I'd be left with $488,010. This is absolutely unacceptable.

On my own: 895k.

With Edward Jones: 488k

Profit I made for the company: 407 THOUSAND DOLLARS.

That's a huge chunk of change to pay because you don't want to learn. Education is key.

I own a truck that is too small for my growing family. What are my options? posted:

So I purchased a used Chevy Colorado extended cab about a year ago, I still owe $13,000 at 3.4% over the next 24 months. My wife Is now pregnant, and we will be having our first baby in August. My issue is that my extended cab is extremely small and I don’t think it can fit a car seat and my wife and I at the same time. It would work if it was just me and the car seat, but it’s just too small for the 3 of us. The best solution would have been to buy a full sized truck last year instead of the extended cab but that ship has sailed. That being said I am trying to figure out what my best option is moving forward. What’s the best way to move on from this truck and buy something bigger? I appreciate the help, and sorry if you are missing any info.

Edit: I guess another piece of this is that our plan is to continue to grow our family. So I want to do what’s best long term financially. I don’t want to pay back the 13,000 over the next two years and then realize that I need a new car to fit my family. And begin again. So is it worth it to trade it in and get something bigger now or pay this off and in a few years do the same thing.

Inheriting a house I can't live in, can't rent out, and can't sell.... posted:

Looking for some advice here about a house I can't live in, I can't sell, has a 21k HELOC, and is full of my father's stuff.

My father is in hospice and will likely pass soon. I am currently taking care of him in his home in Michigan. I normally live out of state, but dropped everything to come and help take care of him when he began a steep decline in health. No one, including him, expected him to pass this young.

Last year he put his house in a revocable trust and designated me, his only child, as the successor trustee. He lives with his girlfriend, and put in his will that all his property and house will pass to me, but his girlfriend has a lifetime estate in the house as long as she pays all of the associated taxes, repairs, etc. If she allows anyone else to live there or gets married the lifetime estate is revoked.

The house was paid off but he currently owes 21k on a HELOC. I may be able to close out the HELOC with some of the cash in his bank account and money from selling his car and motorcycle, but I have no idea yet how much his medical debts from several bouts of hospitalization will ultimately be.

I have never owned a property before and am relatively low-income and unstable in my employment (end of grad school, applying for jobs and post-docs all over the place). Will I still be able to qualify for first-time home buyer credits/loans if I land a secure job somewhere? There is very little chance it would be anywhere in Michigan near this house.

I want to honor his wishes and really have no problem with the GF staying, but I am worried about repairs eventually coming that she won't be able to afford (e.g. roof, well). It seems like I am inheriting more of a liability than an asset. What are my options? I'll own this property but it doesn't seem like it will ever be beneficial to me other than as a place with a lot of great memories that I can't live in, can't rent out, and can't sell.

Current plan:

Care for father as best I can

Close out the HELOC (Do I have any other real options here? Is this ever negotiable? )

Ascertain her desire to stay (she's not sure yet)

????

Advice on how to know if I can truly afford something posted:

I’ll admit I’m an impulsive buyer. I like to collect things, be it figures or books from my favorite fandoms. I have a decent paying job $16.50

In my head say if there’s some collectible or something I want that’s less money than what I have in the bank I’ll generally buy it.

Sometimes due to this my spending account reaches scary low levels of funds.

Besides self control and buying less frequently are there any methods or things to help me figure out if I can actually afford something without almost breaking my bank?

(Sorry if they formatting is garbage, posting from phone)

Edit: thanks for the advice everyone. Won’t be responding for a few, gotta get sleep

My mom wants to claim me as a dependent on her taxes even though I’m not one. What are the ramifications? How can I stop her? posted:

I lived with my mom until I was 18, and then I moved to go to college 800 miles away from her. Since about my second semester, I have received no financial support from her. She is unemployed. I used her income to fill out my FAFSA all four years.

I am now 22 and have my degree. My mom claims that since I graduated this year and that since I used her on my FAFSA that I still count as a dependent and need to have her claim me as one on her taxes this year.

Well, the thing is, I now currently have a high-paying job and she is buried in another round of financial troubles. She has taken money from me before, and has claimed me for the last four years as a dependent and I have never received a tax return even though I did also have a less well paying job the last two years of college. I didn’t really care then, but I do now.

She’s a narcissist with horrible money management and I fear she intends to use me again to get out of her newest string of financial issues now that my grandma has kicked her out of the house for being awful. I’ve brought this up to her and she’s calling me ridiculous and saying it’s illegal to claim myself because of FAFSA, and also that i’ll “get more back if i go through her.” (I’ll probably never see that money, she’ll talk her way out of getting it to me as if it were an olympic sport)

Is this true? What should I do? I’m so tired of having anything of mine tied to her at all. I try to be financially savvy and have 8% of my income going to 401k and another 20% of post tax going to savings, but I still have loans to pay off and every penny counts.

edit: you guys rock, thank you!!!

edit 2: i am a woman

edit 3:to all those PMing me about mental health support and my mom, i promise you i’m fine! and for all of you PMing me being creepy, please stop.

Chin Strap posted:

This dude thinks this is a good thing I took out a loan with cryptocurrency and didn't sign a thing.

quote:

I also invested in a variety of assets that earn interest of up to 5.9 percent a year. I did it all on my own, from my computer.

SettingSun posted:

Late to the party because I always lose the thread when it travels, but my friend just got a coat in from Kickstarter called the Apricoat. Ignoring its apparently quite troubled Kickstarter campaign, this coat is $120 for what amounts to a Shadowrun style trenchcoat with a billion pockets.



I take great pleasure in deriding flowery marketed and overly engineered Kickstarter products, and this one it just as obnoxious in person as this picture suggests.

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

He also included a billion links to websites and youtube videos, instructions for all of us on how to cancel our bills, how to let the companies know that we are cancelling service because of the ley-lines, and how to harness the energy when the power companies give in.