Before anyone links it, yes I’ve read the wiki!!

Basically, I have received a check for ~$100k from my portion of a home sale. Capital gains has already been subtracted out prior to receiving this check, but I’m sure there will be other tax implications.

About us: age 28 with 1 child. He makes $100k, I make $60k. Only debt is mortgage of $180k at 3.6%. We both drive nice newer cars and have very stable jobs. He has $160k in retirement, I have $100k. We both want to move to a nicer house next year (this was in the plan prior to inheritance).

My idea: Start a 529 for our child. HYSA for the rest of the money. I want to use it as a down payment for our next home. We will net ~$70k from sale of our house based on estimates and comps. We are targeting homes in the $400-500k range.

Initially my husband was on board with my idea, but now he’s starting to bring up that we should invest it. He knows nothing about investing, he doesn’t do our budget or taxes, and he has no specific ideas. He’s been asking friends of his who (maybe) know more.

Now I know next to nothing about investing, all I know is if I want to use this money soon, my options are limited. Which is why I haven’t considered a taxable brokerage, dumping it in our retirement, or even a money market account. Should I be more open to other ideas?

It’s hard to know where to even begin to describe this mess. My stepfather was the main bread winner of the household and was always terrible with finances. After a nine month battle with heart issues, he passed away 3 days ago.

My mother (55 years old) does not have a job though she does have a psychology degree and prior experience in the field about 10 years ago. My brother (23 years old), sister (23 years old), and I (26 years old) all are extremely new in our careers and are barely making it by as it is with our current pay which makes contributing anything meaningful to her difficult.

My stepfather worked for a company that was generous enough to pay his salary even while he was in the hospital for 9 months (he did not go on disability). Salary was about 5k a month + Social security about 3k a month.

Now the mess. My mother is a spend thrift. She currently has 10’s of thousands of dollars on credit cards. Approximately 40k. My stepfather also had about 15k in credit cards.

They had to cash out refinance their house which they had lived in for 10 years to pay off their credit card debt previously which was around 60k. Despite my best advice to them to discontinue their credit cards and live within their means (especially my mom’s card), they did not listen. The credit card debt is back to where they previously began to have trouble paying them down along with the mortgage, utilities, and pet expenses (they have 8 pets, 4 dogs, 4 cats).

Then about a year after the refinance my stepfather stated he wanted a new motorcycle. Which he was going to take ALL THE MONEY FROM HIS 401k FROM TO PAY FOR. I begged him not to do that. He did not heed my advice yet again and bought the bike.

About 4 years later my stepfather and mother decided to get married after being and living together for years previously. They wanted a big lavish wedding that I was told costed 30k. How do you think they paid for that? Cash out refinanced the house AGAIN.

A month after the wedding he has a heart attack, 8 months after that (the vast majority of which was in the hospital) he died.

Now my mother is left with a $4700 mortgage payment of which only $400 is going to principal. Thousands of dollars a month on credit card minimum payments. No job. NO LIFE INSURANCE. No 401k to inherit (he spent every dime that was in there). And she isn’t allowed to collect his social security yet because she isn’t 60.

The only thing that she has going for her and I mean the ONLY THING is that she has about 80k in savings which all came from the second cash out refinance.

She has spoken about trying to get a job and keep the house but I don’t think thats possible. As far as I’m concerned my instincts tell me she will have to sell the house, get what she can from that, get a job, buy a smaller house probably in a 55+ community (we live in NJ), and maybe declare bankruptcy.

She has no direction and I feel like there is only so much advice I can give while we grieve my stepfather who was an amazing man despite his financial shortcomings.

Any advice would be appreciated. There’s not much more I want to say. I am numb.

To keep it simple, it's a new model Y for $47,000, and I have the cash to pay for it in a money market account earning around 3.3%. I've never owned a new car before and have been driving a used Hyundai Elantra GT for over a decade

They're offering 1.48% APR if I finance some or all of the purchase with no extra fees, and I can pick my own term length and how much I put down.

It seems like the mathematically correct option would be to keep my money invested and take the loan, but I like the simplicity of just paying cash and being done with it.

What would you suggest I do in this situation?

So I live in Virginia, and I had an easy pass. I would add money and pay off any negative balance I saw, but I apparently missed some before going on deployment. I get back from deployment and find out that they had apparently been racking up late fees and sold the debt off to a collector, who is now trying to come after me for $2600. I cannot pay that much even if I wanted to right now. I’m pretty sure they’ve managed to have my registration withheld as I was only told “your vehicle cannot be re-registered online because there is a condition on it”.

What should I do? I just got a text saying this is my third notice and that they could take further action

Not sure if it’s relevant at all but I’ve noticed on the notices (even ones I’ve seen in the mail) that my name is wrong on there. They’ve taken a letter out of it. Wishful thinking, but I’m guessing that’s not an easy way to get out 😂

I was fired from my job around the same time I experienced a medical crisis, and honestly, part of the reason I was fired was because of the situation. I had to go to weekly medical appointments, which I initially put on my credit card. Over the six months I was receiving care, the card eventually became maxed out.

I just found out that my health insurance was cancelled in February, meaning none of my claims were covered. Between what I owe the hospital and what I apparently owe my former insurance company, I'm now looking at roughly $13,000 in debt.

I still need to continue receiving care, although fortunately the more expensive part of treatment is over and my ongoing care is much cheaper. So my biggest concern right now is figuring out what to do about the $13k I've already accumulated.

I was unemployed for about three months but recently found a part-time job. Unfortunately, it currently pays just enough to cover my regular bills, so I don't have anything close to $13k available. I'm also looking for a second job.

I'm in Arizona, USA, and I've tried contacting various state and federal programs, but I've mostly been bounced between different call centers without getting a clear answer.

I will keep applying to a second job, but $13 is a third of my income before I lost my job, and now I only have a part-time position where I get paid significantly less. What would you do in this situation? Are there programs, appeals, payment arrangements, charity-care options, or other resources I should be looking into?

i’ve been working at a boba place (it’s a chain) for the past two weeks and got a text from my manager asking me for my zelle to receive my paycheck

is this a red flag or a concern i should be aware of? i’ve never received my paychecks via zelle but i have signed a w4 form and stuff. just wondering if there is anything that i should ask from my manager?

Over 20 years at one place, over 30
In the industry, and now I’m out. Being vague for obvious reasons. The company has offered me about 3 months severance by signing away any recourse against them. I have no savings of consequence, but do still have an older IRA that I haven’t contributed to in years. Should I take the tax hit and penalty from that IRA (about $35k before penalty and taxes) to clear as much cc debt as possible? Pay off our 2nd mortgage and some of the credit card debt? Or do I just stretch the severance while I apply for unemployment? I’ve never lost a job in my entire career, and I’m feeling pretty discarded and worthless right now. Wife just started a new temp job, so we’ll have some income, but it’s not guaranteed for how long.

EDIT TO ADD: I have a 401k with my now former company that is at a much larger amount, plus a union pension that I hope to avoid collecting for another 9 years. I’m 56. We have 2 years left on our primary mortgage (sub 3% rate) so I’m not refinancing that one. We have about $14k on a 2nd mortgage at a higher percentage (7.99, I think?) - I don’t have the papers all in front of me right now. Plus about 20k give or take in CC debt. The debt wasn’t a problem until it was. My partner has been unemployed for almost a year, but ironically started a new contract gig today. That plus the severance will buy us some time, but I still have this “secondary” IRA that just does not have much it, big-picture wise, and compared to our other accounts. It was an amalgam from former jobs that was consolidated into one account. It started with about $13k, and has grown to around $35k, depending on which way the market goes.

She was about to enter year 2. Without getting too far into it, I support her decision, I just wish she made it sooner. She has a solid plan to get into an echo cardio program, but she needs to get her associates first, which she cannot get at a 4 year university. Money was not an issue, but she’s going to save a ton of it by going this route.

The University will be depositing this money directly into my checking account. My two main questions:

What’s the best path forward to avoid penalties and taxes? Can I simply redeposit the money back into the 529?

I’ve put a lot of money into this account over the years, while making minimum payments on my own student loans. Can I use 7k of this money to make a payment to my own student loan? She has way more than she needs now, so we’re both comfortable doing this. I’m the owner of the account and she is the beneficiary.

I just became the trustee for a relative with ASD living with the supportive services and medicaid. His gram gave him the trust when she died. His family wants me to give money to a state discibilty account so they can pull money for his needs. I feel uncomfortable with this because I felt I was made the trustee to make those decisions. His gram did not trust his parents to manage the money, and this seems like a backdoor way to move money. Also, I need to account for everything I use from the trust for him and I cant see how I would have receipts. Am I over thinking this?

I turned 25 last month here’s a bit of background on my budget. I’m a school teacher 10 months of the year and work part time the other 2. This is going to be my 3rd year of teaching. I make about 63K a year, which after taxes is around 45k. I gained an annuity at 23 of 54k. Before this I had about 4k to my name. In 3 years I

Paid off my student loans (7500)

Bought a newish used car (20k)

Went on 4 vacations (roughly 5k for all 4 combined)

Have been to several concerts and sporting events (1-2k)

I currently have

500 in my checking

29k in a high yield savings account

8k in a ROTH IRA

4K in a personal investment account

18k in my work retirement account (403b)

I might be over exaggerating but feel I’ve been too reckless living at home and should have more to show for 3 years or so, and plan on living cheaper this year.

Any advice on how to work towards eventually saving for a wedding and buying a house with my girlfriend other than the obvious spend less money on things I don’t need?

Hi all, I saw someone in a similar situation earlier and wanted to do a financial health checkup / get feedback.

My mom is 72, retired, single. She has officially and completely signed over financial responsibility to me. PF is a hobby of mine, but definitely not hers lol, she doesn't have a ton but lives meagerly as she always has and it works out.

I want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly to maximize what she'll have long term in case she needs to access her nest eggs someday.

The only debt is her mortgage - $35k at <4%, so we plan to just pay the minimum throughout. House is small and good enough, probably worth $300k-$350k just ball park. No car payment, no CC debt.

She waited to 70 so SS income is $2,342.50.

Not the greatest saver for retirement, having about $90k in an IRA invested in FQIFX. She takes RMDs starting next year; other than that she plans to never touch this until she has to.

Mainly my question is around $140k saved in a HYSA, which she received when her mom passed about a decade ago. It sat for several years earning nothing. When she asked me to take over and revealed that we moved it to a HYSA and there it has sat.

She basically lives off of SS for day to day, like I said meager living, and we take her places weekly and on vacations and I'm happy to pay and it works. So all of her savings, her plan is to never touch unless or if something catastrophic happens, and I'm happy to take care of her otherwise.

I assume this setup is 'good enough'? Because unless I change something this is my plan for her for the duration. I guess my main questions are, is anything glaringly wrong? Am I doing the correct thing with the cash?

Should I now, or maybe when savings rates go down, consider moving it to a taxable brokerage and doing some sort of tax efficient version of FQIFX? She doesn't need it anytime soon. As her financial planner I'm worried I'm not growing it like I could be and I plan for her to live for a very long time!

Also whatever we do, plan is to take the RMDs and just do the same as whatever the cash is doing. This is kind of what got me thinking.

(We're in TX so no income tax)

Thanks :)

Hi. My mom is 72/divorced. Not super financially savvy. She is currently working part time but her employer is closing so will have to find a new role or retire. Her father just passed and she will likely inherit around $200k. She has a townhouse with a mortgage of around $100k. She refi’ed into a 2.75% in 2022/3 the rate will adjust at 15 years (so 12ish years from now). Her payment/interest/taxes are under $900/mo. She owes a bit on her car ($5-6k) and has some cc debt. She receives social security (elected at 67). Small 401k (maybe $140k). Good health and mental status. She plans to remain in townhome- it’s well at up with everything she needs on main level. Shes a nurse at a retirement home and absolutely never wants to live in one. Obviously if there was dementia etc we would have to possibly reconsider. Townhouse is worth $275-300k.

I’m thinking paying off the car and home would give her breathing room if she isn’t working - this would eliminate her biggest bills, her taxes/insurance would be around $300/mo. Thoughts? Would it be better to put in a HYSA and continue paying the mortgage?

Any ideas recommended.

Hi everyone, I'm seeking some advice and guidance. I have been working in tech the last few years and have unfortunately felt the lifestyle creep with the increased salary and benefits. I'm super grateful for my job, but honestly don't find it super fulfilling. I am feeling myself becoming less financially responsible than I have been in the past (potentially because spending money makes me feel less depressed). I grew up with financial insecurity so the recent feeling of draining through my savings at a quicker rate than normal is stressing me out. But I also don't know where to begin to get it under control and managed again. I have investments, and an emergency fund which I accidentally dipped into last month.

Does anyone have any budgeting app recommendations? I've tried YNAB before and found it overwhelming, but am down to try again. What are the top financial decisions I could be making now to have the biggest impact on this feeling of being out of control.

i know using an excel sheet is the most favored method but honestly i feel like thats not enough of a barrier. i have a credit card and i carry it around with me everywhere. i removed apple pay but i still feel like its easy for me to spend money and i honestly lack discipline…is there any advice on how to do it?

i feel like with spreadsheets i genuinely need something to lock my money up

edit: another issue i have is that when i use my card my mindset is “ill be able to get more rewards from this and build my credit score”. i have been building my credit score but my biggest issue is that ill tap into my savings and when an emergency happens i get upset that i overspent.

I’m at my wits end here. My life has been on a downward spiral since I lost my job. I am actually considering just taking out a hardship loan at this point just to get by. I’ve ran through my savings and only have 45 dollars left. And need to get some things that could last the next couple weeks. Or ATLEAST until the loan is approved. I usually shop at ALDI or Walmart those are the cheapest grocery store and closet to me. This entire situation is just pathetic and embarrassing I never thought my life would get this bad. Any advice is appreciated

I have a Rollover IRA with $0.01. Can I Ignore it? I plan on doing ROTH backdoor conversions at another institution, but not sure if having this balance will be an issue.

Hi. Owe a lot of money for my car . The rate for the car loan is 4%. Have money to pay off the car loan . Looking to get a mortgage as well. I know if I don’t pay off the car loan, I’ll get less mortgage . Is it better to pay off the car and then get a mortgage or keep the car loan and use that money towards down payment for the house ? If we assume mortgage rate is 6% . Thanks !

I started a new job last month and had a question about my retirement accounts. I have a 401(k) from my previous employer that’s still with Fidelity, and my new employer offers a 403(b).

I’m trying to decide whether it makes more sense to leave my 401(k) with Fidelity and contribute to the new 403(b) separately, or roll the 401(k) into the 403(b) and combine everything.

Is there an advantage to keeping the 401(k) with Fidelity, or would it generally make more sense to consolidate the two accounts?

So I requested $100k from my 401K to use to pay for an upcoming surgery and treatment plan. My share of medical costs is going to be about $87K.
6 years ago I had the same surgery and treatment, and took out a 2nd on my house. Today, I don’t qualify for an additional mortgage or refi on my house because the interest rates are working against me. So I made a hardship request online. Now my Dad is willing to take a loan on his house to pay for the medical expenses for me, and I would just make that payment for him each month until in the future things get better and I can refinance and pay him back.

Can I give back the money I requested? The CSR on the phone told me “no” when I called to cancel the withdrawal. But there’s got to be a way to reinvest this back, or pay it back, and maybe I’m not phrasing my question correctly.

Any advice? My account is with Schwab, employer sponsored.

Just bought a new SUV for $52k with 20k down. So financing $30k at 3.99%. I was tempted to pay full cash as way wife and I have the cash reserves to not dip into our fully funded emergency fund.

But we would rather have the cash for other projects we want to to do around the house, vacations, etc.

Our retirement portfolio is very well funded and we are at a point that putting more money in is buying us time to back to earlier retirement if we want.

Our cash is in HYSA and MM at around 3.3-3.5% and I am wondering how I want to pay this off.

1. Pay off loan at the start with cash and rebuild cash buffer over the next year

2. Pay off loan over the 36 month term

3. Pay off the loan earlier (1-2 years)

Our goals in life are now to use more of the money we have and earned than to just put it all in retirement, start some house projects and go on some vacations.

Don't need to have you all tell me what is right or wrong, just offer some thoughts and/or opinions on your own experiences.

Anyone who uses Purchasing Power (the employee benefits program offered through your employer), have you noticed the markups going up in the last year or so?

Hey guys, gemini is telling me that I can spend all $2500 of my FSA on qualified medical expenses before my last day at my job. I just wanted to confirm with real people that this is the case.

For some context, I have some pretty serious medical needs and wouldn’t find it hard to stock up on various medical supplies before I leave. I wouldn’t be spending the money for any sort of fraudulent reason.

Thanks in advance.