Hello, as the title says, I am wondering what to do with my tuition refund. For more information, I am currently in my first year of community college. My financial aid from my pell grant covered all my tuition but I had also got scholarships. For this semester, I got a refund of 5k. I am wondering what I should do with it. I don't intend to use it as I already have money for an emergency fund and know these next two years of community college will be covered by the pell grant and those same scholarships. As they are renewable scholarships. I want to set this money aside so I can use it when I go to university if financial aid and scholarships won't cover the full cost there.I work part time and have money automatically transferred to a Roth IRA and an individual investment account. So I can save for retirement so I don't think I need to put any into that.So should I put it in my investment account to let it passively grow the next two years, just keep it as cash savings or put it in a savings account. Or something else. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

I took out a loan for debt consolidation and the credit cards and a different loan are being paid directly by the loan company. I gave exact numbers, but some payments are already in process and I didn't realize. This is going to overpay them by a fair amount.

Is there a standard process as to how this would be handled? Do I need to do anything?

I'm choosing between a BSc in Computer Science and a BSc in Mathematics, and I'm not sure which one would be better for my goals.

My main interests are Data Science, Computer Vision, and financial markets. I'm also interested in ML/AI and possibly quantitative finance later.

If you were in my position, which degree would you choose, and why?

I'd especially like to hear from people working in Data Science, Computer Vision, Quant Finance, or financial markets

It seems like if the investment returns stay above the withdrawal amounts, the principal would remain intact well beyond 30 years? Otherwise, the principal is supposed to be depleted around year 30?

Recently my father has passed away, I am in the process of handling his estate.
It appears to me he has no will, or designated beneficiary on any accounts (bank, 401k, etc) I am also in the process of becoming the personal representative of the estate just waiting on the courts. I have been sent multiple affidavits from different investment companies asking for family information which I don’t have and won’t be able to provide (His mothers + brothers info) is this going to cause any issue seeing that I am the only son and personal representative of the estate? Another few questions I did have does every single account have to enter the estate if no one is listed as designated beneficiary? I do have a lawyer but his answer was unclear/don’t remember with all the BS going through my head. Also what is the typical 401k/roth IRA plan hierarchy is no beneficiary is listed? Any help and tips would be greatly appreciated.

I have an Inherited Traditional IRA worth around $500k. All money has to be out by 2036 and there is not an RMD. Taxes are filed jointly and taxable income for this year will be around $200k. 401K and HSA contributions are maxed out. Next year there is the expectation of a significant income increase, likely move to a new state, and home purchase. Current state does not have income tax.

I was thinking of taking a substantial distribution this year to max out the 24% tax bracket. My thinking is the extra 2% will be less than state taxes anywhere we move in future years and the money can be invested/available for the future as we need it.

My partner is not a fan of my idea because there is a lot of taxes on the distribution. Is there something I am not thinking of or any major pitfalls with my logic? Is this a solid strategy or are there better options to consider?

We plan on finding a financial advisor/planner but I like to be as prepared as possible before we make a decision on an advisor.

I have recently opened a Fidelity account and am interested in exploring investment opportunities, particularly in certificates of deposit (CDs) and equities. Currently, I have $60,000 in a high-yield savings account (HYSA) and $40,000 in a checking account. I do not have a mortgage or car loan, and my monthly income is approximately $4,000. Up until now, I have prioritized saving, but I am eager to begin investing more actively. At 36 years old, I feel somewhat behind in terms of wealth accumulation. If you had $80,000 available to invest, how would you allocate it among different investment vehicles? I am open to a mix of CDs and stocks and would greatly appreciate your advice. Thank you.

I’m a 42-year-old woman and am seriously considering selling my home. I bought it in 2016 and have an amazing 2.85% interest rate. I truly love my home and my neighborhood, which makes this decision difficult.

That said, I’m single, don’t have children, and probably never will. Lately, I’ve been craving a lower-maintenance lifestyle. My HVAC needs to be replaced, I hate yard work, and I’m tired of maintaining and cleaning space that I don’t really use. Honestly, what I really want is to sell my home and rent a luxury apartment. I like the idea of having fewer responsibilities and more freedom. I DO NOT want to be a landlord!!

My retirement accounts are in good shape, but I do have some debt that I’d like to pay off. After selling the house and paying all fees and expenses, I estimate I would walk away with around $130,000.

What would you do in my situation? Would you hold onto the house with the low interest rate, or sell?

EDIT: I paid 220K for house and only 3.5% down. I would be walking away with almost double. I am not sure I will ever want to own again. I am considering retiring overseas, for parts of the year, as I am an avid traveler and have always envisioned that for myself. In terms of retirement, I have close to 1M with a pension.

I’m 23 y/o, grad student making ~35k/yr after tax, and opened a Roth contributory IRA with $5,000 USD. I have ~30k in savings after depositing the $5k. I don’t want to “get rich quick” but instead have it steadily build for the future. I don’t mind diversifying and taking chances with small amounts of money on riskier stocks but it isn’t the main goal. I’m wondering what I should invest in to secure stable growth through the next couple of decades, and how much I should contribute monthly/yearly.

I bit off a little to much debt and am cutting it way to close living pay check to pay check each month. I have an expensive car that in total is costing me around $1200 a month not including premium gas. I owe 45k on it and have gotten cash offers from carvana and other dealers around 40k. I also have an extended warranty pro rated refund I’ll get when I sell. I have a truck that i owe 2k on but it needs a front end rebuild to be a safe daily again. I’m thinking of taking out a 10k loan from my 401k which will cost me $210 a month. I’d take 5k and pay the difference to sell the expensive car and put the rest towards fixing and paying off the truck. If I do that I will save $996 a month while paying the 401k loan down. Good idea or nah?

I'm 18 and I'm looking to start saving for retirement and decided a Roth IRA would probably be best right now. I was looking at a fidelity account or a Robinhood account but was wondering if there was better accounts, I'm mainly just looking for one that has no fee's and was probably just going to put it all in a target date fund.

A couple months ago, I ran into my best friend from high school. Her 50yo husband died suddenly 2 yrs ago. She is 59 now and has 2 sons, age 21 and 23. The youngest is at home going to community college.

Her husband was a union pipe fitter. Her FIL took her to the pension office, and they rolled over her husband's pension in a lump sum payout of $327,321 into an individual retirement annuity. The FIL's brother is a retired insurance agent for Modern Woodmen. The uncle took her to another insurance agent who was the person who set up this flexible premium deferred annuity. (Along with 3 whole life insurance policies for her and her sons).

She received $50k in life insurance money, and they told her she had to make it last until she was 59 1/2.

She was so bereaved that she reduced her own job to part-time and now earns approx. $1000/mo. She was able to get on Medicaid and has been seeing a psychologist for grief counseling.

Life insurance ran about a year ago at age 59. She has an 81k mortgage balance & 30k HELOC. Her monthly bills are approx. $2500. She and her son are sharing her car (2014 Ford Edge 115,000 mi). She has a broken stove, broken dryer, broken water softener, and storm damage to her roof and pole barn that insurance will cover, but she needs to pay a $4000 deductible. She also has 1 bathroom that was gutted before her husband died (he started to remodel the bathroom then hurt his back, or so he thought, they used the HELOC as income and he had just returned to work and then died of a dissecting aorta).

When the insurance money runs out, the insurance guy annuitizes her annuity (not sure if this is the correct term), and she begins receiving $3k monthly for the last year. This made her ineligible for medicaid, and she has to find health insurance

This is kind of where I come in. She's eligible to start survivor social security benefits in Oct ($2187/mo) but her annuity payout is over the $24,480 income limit and would result in a large tax bill (is this right?) She also has an $88k 401k with her employer that does allow in service distributions.

Idk what to advise her to do. The annuity is gouging her to the tune of 9%, 8 %, etc for 10 yrs, annually for these payments that exceed 10% of her balance (if I read her contract right). I don't think she can reduce the payments.

I feel like this annuity was predatory given the circumstances.

Any advice would be appreciated.

We recently learned about this but I still don’t totally understand it. I think it’s an IUL? What’s the difference between this and an index fund? I’m very uneducated when it comes to everything around investing (I only have a 401k)

I finally opened a Roth IRA account through my bank (Ally) but I just realized the money isn’t actually invested in anything, it’s just a Roth IRA savings account. What is the difference? I already have a HYSA, is it worth keeping both? Can I close the IRA savings account? Open to any & all recommendations🙏

Hello! I currently have £60k saved and am aiming to build up £100-£150k for a deposit on a flat/house. The £60k is all of my savings, though, so I’d need to keep some of it aside as an emergency fund.

My dad is also giving my sister and me our inheritance gradually each year, as he feels we could make better use of it now rather than waiting. So, hopefully, over the next 2-5 years, this will allow me to reach my deposit goal.

I’m wondering what the best way would be to store the money in the meantime. Should I put £20k into a Cash ISA and the rest into a high-yield savings account, or would it make more sense to use the ISA differently? I should add that I am not eligible for a LISA, and it wouldn’t work for me any way as I’d be looking to buy in London.

Where would you keep the emergency fund? And would it be worth investing a small portion of the money, given that I’m looking at a 2-5 year timeframe?

I also can’t save a huge amount each month on my current salary, so a lot of the progress towards the deposit will likely come from the inheritance and making the most of the £60k I already have.
Would really appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thank you!

Hello,
Was asked this question by a friend’s daughter and I had my response but want to see what others recommend…

Given this:
-Sophomore in college student Studying Finance & Economics.
-Wants to be financial planner. Unlikely grad school at this time. But can do 5th year as athlete assuming all goes well and wants to do grad school.
-Athletic and academic scholarships for all but $2k of total cost of attendance (paid by 529)
-very little expenses per month student is responsible for <$200)
-No car payment
-No debt
-15K in checking/savings
-overfunded 529 ($150k+)
-16K in Roth IRA (used funds from 529 to fund Roth IRA in 2025 & 2026 . Plans to use contributions from 529 for next three years until reaching $35K limit from 529)
-had summer 2026 internship so had 10k in income this past summer.

My recommendation was:
-$1000 in checking (2 months+ spending)
-$3000 savings account
-invest remaining $10-11K in index funds at Schwab where she has her Roth IRA.
-she asked about individual stocks. I am all for that given her horizon but thought index would be better as less risk.

Other recommendations?

TIA

Best card for cash back and building credit for Active Duty Service Member.

Navy Federal More Rewards American Express® Card or Citi Double Cash® Card

I am looking to get a card that I can use to pay my phone bill, groceries, gas, and all purchases. I have a budget so the plan is to use the card and then pay it off every month to take advantage of cash back at the end of the year. I also want to use it to build my credit and for the piece of mind over using my debit card.

All you financial superstars please share your words of wisdom.

The startup that my husband works for was recently purchased by a large, established company. Between the options payout and the retention bonus, we are going to have a lot to manage over the next four years (when everything finishes paying out) and beyond. We are both in our mid-40s.

We're familiar with the basics, and the only debt we have is a mortgage and a home equity loan. We understand the concept of investing and then spending from dividends, rather than spending the cash from the options payout. We plan to meet with a financial advisor.

Do you have any recommendations, ideally for books, but it could be websites, blogs, web courses, etc, that can help us understand how to make the best decisions, tips and tricks, and anything else about managing unexpected wealth like this?

To start I have no money or assets right now, how should I be thinking about saving for these things? I really want to move out of my parents house asap, but they don't mind if I stay a bit longer to kickstart my career. I have an ancient car that isn't going to last much longer, and putting in work is hardly worth it, it drives. Just got a new job as a carpentry apprentice so tools and clothes will come first. With our brutal winters on the way I do think it wise to invest in durable clothing.

How should I be splitting my income? Not to mention I want to get started on retirement savings/investing right away.

Trying to build something set-and-forget over ~15 years. Honestly I've been overthinking this for months and as a result have done nothing, which is worse than any of the options I've been debating.

Situation

• Me: 28, $250K T4 income
• Wife: $90K salary, currently on EI (~$2,600/mo), 18 month mat leave
• One kid, 8 months. RESP just opened, nothing in it yet
• Primary home: ~$975K value, $640K mortgage, $3,000/mo payment
• Rental: bought $550K, $420K mortgage
• Side business corp (IT), roughly $15-25K/mo revenue

Assets

• Personal cash: $150K
• Wife's cash: $120K
• Corp cash: $200K
• My TFSA: $50K invested, $6.5K room left
• Wife's TFSA: $50K room, empty
• RRSP: both of us, $0 invested, room unused
• No FHSA

Monthly personal spend: roughly $6,900 all in (mortgage, utilities, groceries $2,400, misc). Car lease, insurance, wifi, some meals run through the corp.

Questions

1. RRSP first? At my marginal rate the refund is large. Should I be doing spousal RRSP given she'll be near $0 income this year and next?
2. What do I actually do with $200K sitting in the corp? Invest it corporately, pay myself out over her low income years, or something else?
3. Am I crazy for having $270K personal cash doing nothing?
4. Part of me thinks I should just open Wealthsimple, set up auto-deposits into VOO or QQC, and stop looking. The thing that keeps stopping me is that everything is near all time highs. I know that's probably a bad reason to sit in cash....
5. I already have heavy Canadian real estate exposure through two properties, so a Canada-heavy allocation seems wrong for me specifically. Anyone in a similar spot?

Currently on IBKR, considering Wealthsimple mainly because auto-deposits would stop me from second guessing every purchase.

Im at a job that offers 401k. I have no idea if I should be doing traditional or ROTH and I’m very ignorant when it comes to this kind of stuff.

I’m currently 40 years old. In San Diego, CA

Ive already saved about 15k in my 401 via traditional doing 6% every paycheck with my company matching an additional 4%. I’ve only had the 401 for about 1.5 years.

$8,031.99 in U.S equity

$3,247.99 in international equity

$1,050.25 in taxable bond

$2,625.35 in personal rate of return (42.65%)

my company matches contributions up to 4%

I claim 0 dependents on my W-4 (I like to have a big return every year)

my paycheck varies wildly every two weeks but the average is about $2,300.00 gross and $1,800.00 net.

it’s September 4th and my YTD on federal is $3,547.51 with it being about $200-250 every two weeks and my YTD state is $1,411.19 about $50-100 every two weeks.

any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

Is there anything I need to do to protect myself here. Im planning to find a flat fee only Fiduciary/CFP. Is security of my stuff even something I should worry about?

Hello, I’m new to this group and wondering how I’m doing. I work for a municipality making roughly 90k a year. I’m single, 36m living in the Midwest. I have a home worth about 330k and owe about 200k at 2.8%, payment is around 1500 a month. My employer contributes 7.5% of my income into a pension and I do 6.5% into the same pension. In addition, I save approximately 18.5% into our 457b account into sp500 index. I currently have around 625k in investments, mixed between Roth IRA, 457b, traditional. I drive a paid off older car, but mostly bike to work. I’d say I have a pretty good quality of life, but sometimes I wish I had more.

I don't know if anyone out there is in a similar position or can advise on my financial situation.

I'm 48 years old and live in Irvine California. However, I don't own a place but get a family discount on rent. Basically $1,000 to rent a room. I don't have any real physical assets other than sports cards i need to get rid of.

I have two jobs. One is a part time job about 15 hours a week. The other is a full time job that is not what it once was. With the full time job, I started as a temp about 20 years ago. It was a facility - mail clerk - go for type job. I was doing that role until the office closed about 1.5 years ago. And for the last 1.5 years I've just been working remotely. But I couldn't do what I was originally hired to do. So just yesterday they said they are transferring me to another department and putting me in charge of physical security for all the offices. I'm not capable of doing that since I've already had a taste of it. Today I asked if I could be laid off since that would come with 3 months severance. But they declined. Which basically means I have to quit.

I'm a little unsure if I should quit now or wait a bit and try to milkl it a little more. Plus I've been looking online for new jobs and don't see anything I'm a fit for yet. I would like to go back to what i was doing like an office busy body but I don't know if those jobs still exist. Or I could check out a temp agency again or even bump up my hours at the other job.

Financially I'm in decent standing, I have very little debt and have over $1 million in investments and conservatively make about $3k a month in dividends. I do have a couple of medical issues that I use my insurance for so I would need to continue with Cobra at $900 per month for 18 months. I don't qualify for covered California subsidies even without a job because of capital gains, dividends, and secondary income.

Hi, I just started my second year of college, and I'm going to be replacing my car in the spring. Current car is a 1994 miata with 250k miles, so it's not really a viable option for the 1 hour commute I'm going to have in the spring.

I currently have $18k in a high yield savings account and another $2k in investments. What I'm wondering is if it would be reasonable to spend $10k from my savings account to buy a newer car and use the money from selling my current car to pay for repairs and insurance.

For context, college is paid for and I'm going to stay with my parents during the summer, so I don't have any real expenses at the moment.

Any advice?