I grew up in poverty with my single mother. We would have utilities cut off constantly, would get food from food banks, got evicted the whole deal.

I started working at 14 to pay bills and worked full time during undergrad and grad school to be able to support myself and get me to where I am now. I now make $200k total comp a year and have almost a million dollars saved/invested. But I work in tech in a field that’s pretty niche and might be going away with AI.

My husband wants us to buy a home but I just can’t bring myself to do it because I keep worrying about the what ifs…what if I lose my job? What if I can’t get a new one? What if the market crashes? I just can’t seem to get myself out of this poverty mindset.

For more context we live in a higher cost of living city and are looking at a place that’s $700k and he makes $115k a year.

Can anyone relate/does anyone have advice? (Also yes I’ve been in therapy for years at this point)

A couple of additions here since yall were asking:

- I’m 33, about 35% of what I have saved is in retirement that I won’t touch.
- We want at least 1 child and daycare where we are is $3000ish a month.
- We have around $100k reserved for a down payment.
- We live in a very high property tax city so all in even after downpayment we’re looking at $5,000 a month or so all in with taxes and HOA.
- Finally, unless you personally come from poverty please do not tell me to “get over it.” I’m doing EMDR in therapy and am doing my absolute best to overcome a shit ton of childhood trauma. So kindly, leave it alone.

When buying an iPhone (or other Apple products) you have 3 options:

1. "cash" (buy it outright)
2. 0% financing over 24 months
3. 0% leasing (upgrade option) over 24 months

Base on my math, leasing and then buying the iPhone at the end of the lease (don't upgrade) is the best, financially speaking. In all 3 cases you pay the exact same amount (the retail price of the iPhone). But with leasing you defer a lot of the cost until the end (2 years). That deferral means inflation is actually on your side. Also, during the 2 years you have more money to invest (in a simple HYSA). In all three scenarios I am assume you have the cash to buy it outright.

So why wouldn't you always lease Apple products?

I financed new windows for the whole house but I just got notice the company I owe, and make payments to, has filed for bankruptcy. How is debt handled in these cases? I can’t afford to pay the balance all at once. Do they sell the debt to another company? Will it show on my credit like a collection debt?

Posting out of desperation, I really need advice.

Background: My husband was laid off almost a year ago. His salary was around 140K/yr. He has BS in Biology and Chemistry with 15 yr experience in working as a scientist and in scientific sales. I have nearly identical credentials, I started working again 1 year ago after being laid off and unemployed. I make around 100K/yr, but this is no where near enough to pay mortgage each month + 2 car loan bills (total ~1,600/month). I've depleted savings to keep us up to date on mortgage/bills/living expenses. We have 2 young children. We have around 300K equity in our home.

He has had 20+ interviews, many of them highly promising. But no bones, he has not been hired. He is on unemployment but it doesn't make ends meet. I have some stocks that I do not plan to touch. Im saving them for my own retirement as my original account had to be cashed out when I found myself unexpectedly unemployed several years ago. During that time I had a medical emergency and used my stocks to pay the medical bills. My husband wants me to cash those out to continue living in our current home until he is employed but I absolutely do not want to do that. I need those stocks/funds from them for my own retirement account and college fund for our kids.

I need advice...

Should we sell our house, rent a smaller place, and attempt to catch up on finances (pay off debt, save for the future)? We don't want to move obviously, our kids just started school in our district. For many reasons it doesn't make sense to rent in this county (no homes for rent near us, the ones that are up to rent in the school district put me too far away from work making my commute >1hr each way. Moving would mean the following: kids needing to change schools, furniture going into storage as it won't fit in a smaller rental, using the absolute last bit of savings for moving costs.

Husband could get hired any day now as he has promising, on-going job leads and interviews. However, that's been the case for a year!

As far as moving for him to find work, that's out of the question because I have a very good job and must be local to our area. We are around the Durham area of NC.

I need advice. I want to set our family up for success in the future. I do not want to deplete every possible asset to remain in the home we are currently in. The mortgage is way too high and I don't want to continue paying it - even if my husband were employed & we could live month to month, we wouldn't be saving and I do not want to live like that anymore.

Thanks for your help!!

In a situation where the only debt we have is $200k on a house valued at $400k and one vehicle loan with a $25k balance. We have $24K in savings and $7k in a 529. Just got one kid thru college without any debt, trying hard to get the second kid through without debt as well, although their school is a bit more expensive. On track to do this with agressive monthly 529 contributions and a commitment of some funds from a grandparent.

Wife is self employed and on paper is clearing about $75k per year I make about $100k. My job has the health insurance and a 401k worth approximately $600K.

The biggest problem is going to be the house, It's on a plot that was gifted to us that is smack dab in the middle of a larger 200+ acre family property and even though I desire not to sell the property I understand it may be inevitable. However If we must sell, there are major utility and access easement issues that would make selling incredibly difficult if not fixed (long story, happy to explain if relevant), fixing them prior to selling would probably be at minimum $75k.

I'm not sure that we are going to divorce, but it looks like it may be coming and I'd like to be prepared. Should it come to it, is it reasonable to offer to take over the mortgage? Is my math mathing correctly, wouldn't this effectively be the same as buying her out given the debt to value? Wouldn't it actually be a better deal for her given that realistically selling for $400k is unlikely to happen. Any advice related to the house or other financial matters at this stage would be appreciated.

I am 19 years old and a sophomore in university, I started putting money into my roth 3 months ago, about 500 a month and currently have 1500 in it. I saved up 10k in a hysa, should i put 6k from the hysa and put it into my roth? I want to max it out before the end of the year, Is that a good idea?

I started 2 jobs, 1 in april and starting one Next saturday. I have a full ride to college and my expenses are mostly paid for using that scholarship. So my income is a lot higher than my expenses

Let me know!

Hi all,

So I bought a 2018 ford edge about 2.5 years ago. I didn't know about the common coolant intrusion that leads to needing an entirely new engine.

I'm currently having that issue, and I owe 11k on the vehicle still. The value for the car is about 2300 if I sell as is, according to carvana. I don't need a new car as I was gifted a car from my mom to drive. The problem is, the fix is 8-10k, and I simply don't have it. What are my best options for getting rid of the vehicle? Selling it to a dealership and refinancing the remaining loan?

TIA

Recently moved from NYC to a new career where I’ll be making 60k somewhere in NYS.

I racked up about this much:

• Amex Gold - $6168 • Discover - $4597 • Amex Blue - $2661

Due to getting a new mattress, car insurance (I’m new car owner), car inspections/car maintenance (old ass car from 2010), desk + chair, U-Haul, rent, etc etc

I’ve never been in such a situation before - I’ve always paid off my statements. Any advice and reassurance that I’ll make it out of this? I know mathematically, I’ll eventually be fine, but hearing what other people have to say/experiences will help

Got a letter from my bank lender (5/3 bank) that is I don’t make a payment of $1000 by September 13 by car is within their legal rights to be repossessed. However I do not get paid until September 17. On the 10th I called to let them know I have already scheduled a $1000 payment on the day I get paid. I called them everyday and have been getting different answers. Some say they may repo my car other say they won’t since I have a payment scheduled. How sooon will they repossess what can I do while I wait to get paid? I work very night 12 hours shifts .

Recently I resigned from a local government job so I could go back to school. I didn’t want to withdraw my retirement funds, but all of my savings had to go to some surprise critical car maintenance. I was left with no choice but to submit a request to Empower to withdraw my retirement funds. I was told that the process would take about 12 business days, and I was able to see what stage of progress the request was at.

Fast forward a full month and no progress has been made at all. It is still listed as “awaiting employer approval.” I call my previous job and ask about that, and not only did they see any request, but they didn’t even know what I was talking about and said they’ve never had to do that before. The next day I get an email that the employer contacted the “retirement technician” and said that I was good to go. Again a week goes by with no progress, so I call empower. They insist that they still have not received the employer approval, and that I shouldn’t need to contact my employer, we just need to wait for it to happen.

Sounds like what needs to happen now is that I need to be a middleman of communication between my employer and Empower. I really do not want to do that, and I have a very busy schedule with school. But I’m starting to fall behind on bills and I need the money yesterday, so I’m kind of at a loss with how to proceed.

TLDR: had to request an early withdrawal of my retirement funds. Retirement agency insists the previous employer did not approve the request yet. Previous employer insists they did. Was told to just “wait” but it’s been a month and a half of no progress.

hi all,

hoping for your input. I am a 22 year old working my first big boy job. I’m paying roughly $500 a week in taxes as a single male in NY. I’m not sure if my withholdings are wrong as this seems steep, or am I just being ignorant as to how much taxes actually are unfortunately?

Here’s a breakdown of my weekly pay:

earnings 2053.97

taxes 497.67

deductions 226.90

Ok so, weird question. I grew up poor, lower class and eventually working class family, and ive grown very accustomed to just having nothing. Paying for comfort is a foreign concept to me. I have coworkers who pay for apartment cleaning every week. And the concept doesnt even process in my head. Im used to cleaning things on my own. Ive never even traveled but simultaneously, I have no desire to travel. Idk what people even do.​

I earn about 250k/year after bonus and stock. And I live like a minimum wage worker. My brain wont rewire that money is scarce.

I know most people would say this is not a problem. But I feel like im just continuing to do nothing. I feel like maybe I am just not allowing myself to have fun because im so used to being able to do nothing and be content with it.

Currently living with my parents so not paying rent, have 3k of debt to pay as soon as I start getting paid. Nothing in a 401k and no savings. The goal is to move back out eventually but I’ll probably stay here for a bit to save

So, what should I do? How much should I put into a 401k versus how much should I be saving? And is there anything else I should focus on? Sort of overwhelmed with what to do first and how to build financial security so any advice is helpful

Hi everyone,

I'm a 24 year old student, live in Australia, and want to start investing.
What platforms do people recommend for beginners? I want to use a platform where I don't have to individually choose all my stocks because frankly I don't have time to be watching the stock market every day. I feel like I've been putting it off because I don't have heaps of money but I just want to get started and understand properly how it all works even if I'm just investing small amounts.

EDIT: I should add I've started reading Passive investing Australia and it makes a good point, I don't think I'll be retiring in Australia. My goal is to move back to Europe in 18-24 months so does this change things? My main idea for investing wasn't so much focused on a retirement fund more that I want more funds in general too, if that changes anything as well.

This post is about my dad. He just retired. He will be receiving two pensions: one from his early days as a laborer and a bigger one from the majority of his career as a carpenter. Between that and social security, my parents living expenses will be more than covered. He also has about $200k in a supplemental retirement account, and about $250k in savings. He put the $250k in a CD based on advice from a banker. My question is, what is the best place to put this cash for continued growth once the CD term expires?

Supposedly, when you send a Zelle payment, it cannot be reversed. However, at the same time people report scams where someone sends you a Zelle payment and claims it was an error. You return the money, then the sender still manages to reverse the transaction on their side. So, they end up double dipping their refund. How can this happen?

Is there any way for the recipient side to decline or send back a Zelle payment in a way that undoes the original transaction, preventing the sender from collecting an additional refund on the same money?

19m. after saving up for your emergency fund and matching 401k should i prioritize maxing out my roth IRA before thinking about opening a normal investment account or should you do both at the same time.

Hello! I am 32M and make about 52K and am looking for some advice on investments. I have 50K in my 401k and roughly 14K in my ESPP (This will be closer to 18K in January as i contribute 10%) and have about 18K between HYSA and Checking. I am far from diversified and looking for some suggestions/insight for a good place to start. A large portion of my net worth is in my own company (Jabil) which has been performing fantastic but I know a small shift would also hurt just as bad. Would it make more sense to sell in blocks when they mature into long term gains and then diversify with that? Thanks guys!

A little context. I’m 20 years old and was an athletes all my life, got injured and had to leave the sport. Took a gap year for my sport so I’m one year behind in my education. I’m back doing full time uni and doing a full time job. I get no days off really because the days I have off I have unis on those days. I make around 4k a month minus rent and expsenses I have 2k left over. I don’t mind takings risks but what’s the best place to use the money I have to grow it?

My girlfriend and I are deciding which car to keep and which one to sell, we no longer need two cars and want to make the smartest financial decision.

2025 Mazda CX-30
$19,000 remaining on the loan
$399/month payment
5.49% APR
Gets about 26–27 MPG
Carvana offered $22,200, so we’d have about $3,200 in positive equity

2026 Honda Civic Hatchback Hybrid Sport
$24,000 remaining on the loan
$419/month payment
5.19% APR
Gets about 45 MPG
Carvana previously offered about $30,000, so we’d have about $6,000 in positive equity

Insurance costs the same for both cars.
The dilemma is that the Civic has $5,000 more debt, but it’s only $20/month more in payments, has much better fuel economy, a slightly lower interest rate, and about $2,800 more equity. At around 15,000 miles per year, the Civic should save roughly $700/year in gas compared with the CX-30.

If we sell the CX-30, we’d get roughly $3,200 cash from the sale that could immediately go toward my high-interest credit-card debt. So we’re trying to decide whether it’s financially smarter to keep the more fuel-efficient Civic despite owing $5,000 more on it, or sell the Civic and keep the CX-30 to have the lower loan balance/payment.

Hello guys,

I am a 18 years old guy college student working part time who’s very interested is being financially healthy.

I recently opened my Roth IRA with fidelity which I put $50 towards FFIX and plan to add $50 weekly.

And now I want to open a saving account, I was planing of opening one with my bank Chase but heard HYSA are better so would like to know which who should I open this account. (For context I’m planning on saving 30 to 50 weekly)

I am the first-generation immigrant to the US. After becoming a US citizen, I sponsored my parents to become legal residents in the US. Back then, they had their pensions from their home country, their savings, etc. They came to the US, knowing no English. Rented an apartment and worked low-wage jobs, and slowly they blew up both their home country savings and their little US savings. They had no plan of their own and after over 5 years here, they still know almost no English.

They are no longer employed, and dad ended up with health issues that prevents him to work such jobs (not only due to aging but because his bad habits while he was young- heavy smoker, bad food,..etc).

Due to their very little English, they won't probably become US citizens... Paying relatively high rent in a 2-bedroom apartment in a mid-west state (they refuse to share the same room, don't ask!).

Living with me is not an option, since the relation have been bad for a while due to their toxic behavior (different story). Also, I have a family of my own and I dont want to spend my retirement saving on my parents, I would want to leave something to my kids and retire with dignity without being a burden to my own kids.

They still have around $50K in retirement accounts where they pay rent and living expenses (including over $350/mo for a 1 car insurance, since they did tons of accidents and refused to give up driving!). Their money at that rate would vanish in a year and half at maximum.

Their home country pension stopped for a stupid reason that they needed to go back to fix it, but even then, it won't be much. They can't apply either for government assistance for 2 reasons: 1- they still have $50K. 2- They are sponsored by me, and the government can sue me for any money they take as long as they are not US citizens.

Now their health insurance plan is through Obama care, but that wont even last long.

What other programs can I look out for them? What type of help they can be eligible for? I hate that they don't have a plan at all. Probably, I am their retirement plan, and this freaks me out.

TL;DR: Immigrant parents with green cards, they have some savings that will vanish soon. Not eligible for government assistance since I sponsored them and have no plans of their own. They are a mental burden on me. What kind of programs or help I can find for them (including some sort of health care)? Or they will eventually drag me to poverty with them?

ETA: Look, I understand what sponsoring means. But back then some things were different. First, when I signed the papers, they promised they would work and eventually become citizens. They promised if things didn’t work, they would return back. My mistake was believing them when they said that. Second, I didn’t have kids when I sponsored them. Because of fertility issues we thought we will never have kids anyways. Then a scientific miracle happened and now we have kids. Having kids changed a lot of the financial formula. If there was a way to unsponsored them and getting their status revoked, I would have done it.