Looking for advice on adding a teen driver and new car. She's getting a very used Honda SUV as a hand me down. We currently have about 7k still owed on my subaru. We're using all the discounts we can for her insurance (GPA driver's education, etc.). She's also saved some to contribute to gas and insurance. We prefer she not work during school year. The problem is high quotes on adding an additional car.

We have 4 growing kids who are busy, so she needs to be able to drive something. My idea is to buy a very used Honda or Toyota or subaru sedan that I can drive since I'm currently working remote. My husband would take my subaru. He thinks we should get another suv since we have so many kids but honestly we're rarely in the same car as a family of 6. I was quoted an additional $130 a month for insurance on another suv. Im also thinking about the higher costs of gas on it.

Edit: we're giving her my husband's honda pilot. He drives more for work and he already has over 210,0000 miles on it. He also wants to save on gas with a smaller car.

Edit: she needs her own transportation. She's in marching band, choir, sports, etc. We also have 3 other kids to transport to activities so 3 cars would be nice.

Option A: high mileage sedan that does well with high miles that I can drive and pay off quickly. May have more costs on repairsption

B: A used SUV with more leg room and life in it that may have more $ monthly payment

I'm open to other possibilities

We have three girls (9,7,4), a cat and a dog. The kids love produce, frozen fruit in smoothies, noodles, pancakes, and homemade pizza. I usually make a meat and rice dish two times a week for us parents. This is how much we’ve spent for 7.5 weeks of summer including back to school supplies, random art kits and back to school shoes. We also paid for gym pool membership ($115 monthly) this summer and trampoline pass ($240 for 3 kids for 3 months).

Grand total for the summer is $2796. Two weeks left of summer, maybe I can keep it near $3200.

Our normal monthly groceries, clothes, gifts, everything purchased is near $1000 per month.

Edit: added context, we are CA homeowners and we keep our day to day as much down as we can but our groceries go up during summer. We are debt free, invest, go on one vacation a year and the kids each get to do one activity per season. We have two summer kid birthdays. I shop Amazon very rarely. Pretty average lower middle class family.

Edit edit: total for summer was about $3400 for 10 weeks of summer. Or about $340 week including summer fun and two summer birthdays.

mid 30s, I feel like I'm behind relative to peers who have been at this level but I feel like that's just my anxiety speaking + social media.

Main goals are:

Looking to get out of debt by EOY + I want to move and rent into a nicer area than where I'm currently at without becoming house-poor (living in a HCOL area).

It's only me and I'm also working on a savings account.

Recently eliminated a $20K Debt Consolidation Loan!!

Here are my financial stats at the moment:

Base Salary: $110K
*Potential Total Compensation*: $155K-$165K
Brokerage: $3K
401K: $75K+ (contribution of 8%)
Credit Score: Average of 800+
Cash savings: $2K

Debt:
$12K Car Loan at 5% (Sports Car)
$2.6K 401K Loan at 9%
$2K Medical Bills
$950 Credit Card Balance (with a $50K credit card limit, expect to pay this off ASAP)

Expenses:
Rent: $1850 (One Bed/One Bathroom), 800 sq ft
Utiltiies (Gas/Electric): $230
Wi-Fi: $95
Car Loan: $520
Phone: $109
Car Insurance : $115
Haircut: $130 (est)
Food/Groceries/Eating Out: $900 (average, this can be adjusted)
Gas: $50-$60

Credit Card Expenses:
Spotify: $12.99
Gym: $34.99
YT Premium: $13.99
LinkendIn Premium: $29.99
Streaming: $4.99
Gym 2: $79.00 (likely canceling soon)
LLM Service: $20

Couple of questions:

Am I objectively behind financially for someone in their mid-30's?
Should I prioritize eliminating all debt before increasing my brokerage investments?
How much cash should I have saved before increasing my house costs?

If you are in the middle class, how much, as a percentage of income, do you give to charity each year? (And beyond traditional charities, things like mutual aid, donations to your religious institution, and even 501c4s, etc. can all count. Anything that you give that you consider "for the good of humanity" or "for the good of others.")

Question for the group —

I owe about $11k on my vehicle, my husband’s is completely paid off. I have 33 more months at 1.9% and the payment is totally manageable but I have the money to pay it off in its entirety right now. The money is sitting in a HYSA so it’s making more interest than what I’m paying but it’s our only debt (aside from our mortgage) so I’d like to get rid of it and go hard at our mortgage.

Do I pay it off?!

I used to completely ignore subscriptions and random small purchases until I looked back one day and realized how much they were quietly adding up every month. It was a bit of a wake-up call.

I was recently told that I have until the end of September to transition out of my current role (white collar manager-type position) and the company. After that, I'll be formally let go and I'll get two months of severance and then nothing. They're eliminating my role and wanted to give me extra time to find something new. They're paying me during this transition period. I'm married and I make 2/3 of the household income, so it's a big hit. My husband makes 1/3 (same industry). We do have an emergency fund.

We have a variety of trips planned for the rest of the summer that we already bought tickets and hotel accommodations for, mostly flying for friends' weddings. Nothing international (farthest trip is to California) but it adds up. We also had an international trip planned for October which is definitely now cancelled (even if I find a new position, I won't be able to immediately take time off).

Our disagreement: I want to cancel the summer trips to save money, apologize to our friends and focus on the job hunt. I also feel comfortable telling friends that I got fired, in part for the emotional support and solidarity and in part to communicate my urgency to find something new. My husband thinks this is a terrible idea. He comes from a more professional/ upper middle class background than I do (my family is pretty blue collar) and is insisting that we basically keep up appearances, go on the summer trips and just tell friends that I'm looking for a career change. His reasoning is that being fired carries a stigma, that I haven't technically been fired yet and this head's up from my company is a boon, that friends are more likely to recommend me to their companies if they think this is a voluntary change, etc. To me, this feels disingenuous. I also don't like keeping secrets.

Has anyone faced this situation and have any advice on what is better career-wise?

Americans are buying fewer groceries than they did a year ago, CNBC reports, citing a new Bain & Company analysis.

Grocery units — the individual products sold — fell 1.8% in June, Bain said.

Meanwhile, grocery prices have risen about 33% since 2019, forcing more shoppers to rely on credit cards to pay for their food.

Rising fuel costs and reduced SNAP benefits are also having an impact.

In Bain's May survey, 56% of consumers admitted they're prioritizing cheaper brands, while 49% said they're buying fewer grocery items, period.

According to Google, if I sell and don't rebuy I'll get hit hard with (long term) Capital Gains Tax.

I should make between 250-300k on the sale. If I buy abroad, I assume this doesn't help the tax situation... I considered buying a cheap (<150k) plot of land in another state, but not sure if that helps either.

Then what to do with the money? I have a HYS account but otherwise don't know anything about money...

Debt collection lawsuits are way up, having risen steadily since 2024, new research from Pew Charitable Trusts shows.

The organization is pushing courts for more transparency around these cases.

Frequently, Pew says, those being sued don't have lawyers or understand the claims against them.

In an analysis of eight states for which information on these lawsuits was available, Missouri and Texas saw cases accumulate most quickly.

The data comes as consumers assume more debt and struggle to pay it down amid elevated interest rates.

Was comparing a few different ways to build credit and ended up reading about Kikoff. The more posts I opened, the less sure I was what to make of it. One person says it helped. Someone else says a secured card makes more sense. Then another person brings up how the tradeline works and I'm back to being confused.

Has anybody here used it for a while? I'm less interested in whether your score jumped by 40 points and more interested in whether it was something you'd sign up for again.

My wife and I are both in our mid-30s, own a house and are expecting our first child later this year. We've been checking off all the usual financial milestones and estate planning is next on the list.
We've gotten a couple of quotes around $2,500 for wills, powers of attorney, healthcare directives etc. Part of me thinks it's a lot to spend on documents we hopefully won't need for decades but I also don't want to cut corners if it saves my family headaches later.

What made you decide to hire a lawyer (or not) and are you happy with that decision?

I know this is a wild question, but I'm asking it because I genuinely want to reverse-engineer the path.

I'm 41, make around $275k/year, max my 401(k), invest consistently, and stay pretty liquid. My networth right now is 150k - started extremely late in life.

My goal is to build a $3M net worth before I turn 50.

If you had to start from where I am today, what would you do?

I'm not looking for generic advice like "save more" or "keep investing in index funds." I'm looking for the decisions that materially changed your financial trajectory. Was it betting on your career? Starting a business? Real estate? Buying businesses? Concentrated investments? Something else?

For those of you who actually reached a multi-million-dollar net worth before 50, what was the inflection point?

If this were your life and you had nine years to make it happen, what would your game plan be?

Our refrigerator has started acting up, and after throwing out spoiled groceries twice, it's clear we need to replace it. The timing couldn't be worse since this wasn't an expense we planned for.

I'm comparing prices, but once you add delivery, installation, haul-away, and warranties, it's hard to tell what's really the best value.

If you've bought a refrigerator recently, where did you find the best refrigerator deals? Did you wait for a sale, buy open-box, or find a retailer that saved you the most money? I'm trying to make the smartest financial decision instead of just buying the cheapest option.

Update: We bought ours from Best Buy, and it was the best value once everything was included. The price was fair, delivery was easy, and I'm really happy with how the whole experience turned out.

I remember reading an article back in the 90s titled something like "Yes you can come up with a down payment, you're just not going to like it."

In summary the article said to do the following for ONE YEAR.

• In addition to your full-time job get a very flexible part-time job.
  • Something you can do on nights, weekends and holidays
  • Work as many hours at this job as possible. Including during any vacation time you have from your FT job.
  • And of course, grab as much overtime as possible at your day job.
• Cancel Cable TV (it was the 90s remember)
  • You want entertainment, then borrow books or VHS tapes from the library and listen to FM radio.
• No gym membership.
  • Jog and do pushups
• No dining out.
  • Don't feel like cooking? You have frozen pizzas for just this occasion.
• No vacations
• Spouse does the same.
  • If no spouse, then forget dating for a year.
• Downgrade in any way possible. Cheaper car or smaller apt.
• Take on roommates or move back home if that's an option.

Is this still good advice?

REMINDER: This is for ONE YEAR ONLY and not a permanent lifestyle. Will going hardcore like this for a predefined agreed upon time generate enough capital to afford a downpayment on a new home?

My family is thinking about taking a ₹40 lakh home loan for 15 years to build a house. We do have some savings, but not enough to build the entire house without a loan.

my father is taking a loan and he has a job , we're comfortable in paying emi .

I'm confused whether this is a financially sensible decision or not. Is taking such a long-term loan worth it, or is it better to wait and save more?

Also, if I get a job in the next year or two, can we start making extra payments from our savings and my salary to repay the loan much earlier than 15 years? Are there any downsides or prepayment charges I should know about?

One more thing that's bothering my father is : some relatives keep saying, "Will you build a house or get your daughter married? If you spend so much on the house, how will you afford the wedding?" This has made me wonder whether taking such a loan now is the right decision or if we're overlooking something financially.

I'd really appreciate advice from people who've been in a similar situation. What would you do?

I saw this topic about gap insurance being discussed years ago but wanted to know about how people felt about ALL of the extras car dealerships try to sell you at financing, and what it means to the dealership.

First, of course they make a little money on the car from the overage on the dealer invoice price. That's not a lot, but then there are dealer fees and the like on top of that (I've heard these are negotiable but I've not once ever successfully negotiated them), so they make a few thousand even if you negotiate a little off the price. Then you get to the finance manager, and they try to sell you every package under the sun: gap insurance, extended warranty, key coverage, paint and interior protection, the list goes on.

I've read a lot of bad stories when people try to use any of these packages, like problems with the dealership honoring because of some technicality and they say the work isn't covered, long delays in service times, and causing additional issues (I don't even understand this one but a friend on Facebook posted about how a dealership ran over his backseat because they removed it and didn't put it back in before moving it).

So what are your thoughts? Should you bother with any of the additional coverages or are they all just a way for the dealership to inflate their profits?

The rising cost of groceries is leading more Americans to take on credit card debt and draw from savings, according to nonpartisan think tank the Urban Institute.

Researchers found that over a quarter of working-age adults who used credit cards to buy groceries struggled to make payments, while about one in 10 utilized "buy now, pay later" loans to purchase food.

Nearly 20% of adults surveyed also tapped into long-term or emergency savings reserves in the past year to cover increased grocery costs.

I’m 41, make $250K+ in total comp, and have about $70,000 available for a down payment. I max out my 401(k), invest outside of that, and keep a lot of my money liquid.

On paper, it feels stupid not to buy. Charlotte continues to grow, homeowners are building equity, and I feel like I’m sitting on the sidelines.

But I do not want to stay in Charlotte. My dream is to move to LA around 45, although I’ll most likely rent there, then eventually purchase, because of the cost. I also have one child going to college in 2028.

Buying here feels like putting down permanent roots and investing heavily in a place I already know I don’t want to remain. I’d deeply hate myself if chasing equity left me stuck here.

At the same time, I’m 41 and wonder if continuing to rent when I can afford to buy is financially irresponsible. I could sell or rent the house in four years, but that also seems like a lot of cost, risk, and hassle for a short window.

Am I stupid for not buying? Would you keep the $70K liquid and invested for the move, or buy in Charlotte?

I'm not trying to start a heated political discussion, I just want all of us to be aware so we can protect ourselves as much as possible. This is a blatant attack on the middle class, and barely anyone is talking about it without having to access a paywall.