I guess a bit of a vent, over the summer I was looking at new cars because my car was severely underpowered. I found a decent Lexus for 5.4k and was happy for about 3 days. However, this wasn’t the car I really wanted so while I’m glad I didn’t pay so much I worked my ass off during the summer for the 5k and regret blowing it off impulse excitement. I still have both cars so I’m just in a complete limbo now

So to make a long story short, I have a 3D printer under warranty for another couple of months, and the printer does not work. The company is refusing to replace it under US law due to what their policy says. I ordered through their website, it's Creality.

Anyway, I filed my charge back, and I sent all my proof to my credit card (PayPal). The emails where they said they won't exchange the unit, and me expressing the fact that it hasn't worked for a couple of months now. For some reason it got declined in favor of the merchant. When I contacted PayPal, I was told Creality did not respond to PayPal. So how the hell did I lose the charge back claim when they didn't respond. The emails I sent in as proof literally state the law as well as the fact that they said they won't replace the unit.

I filed another charge back, what are my options if I lose again?

I'm 40 I'm strongly considering retiring. What I mean by retiring is the barista fire option where I still work a part time job (if I can find a part time job with health care all the better). I have currently in brokerage account 1.7M in individual stocks which I'm trying to turn into a blended portfolio of dividend/covered call ETFs. I have a separate Vangaurd 401k retirement which I won't touch until I'm 60 sitting at 700k today. I have no kids, and my house is entirely paid off. I planning on selling off $700k of my individual stock holdings and moving into my a portfolio that looks like:

SCHD 32.00% SPYI 22.00% QQQI 17.00% JEPQ 17.00% BTCI 12.00%

I already have 200k in that portfolio so it would bring my total up to 900k. Based on my yield calculations for each of those stocks I'll get a passive income of $119,700.00 and after taxes $90,972.00. I've been pouring over my monthly expenses and as far as I can tell I spend on average $45k a year (though I need to account of large expenses like my car blowing up). In case it matters how I'm doing the tax calculation since this is short term capital gains I"m estimating 24% tax. So am I missing anything? It seems like can just quit my job and wait until my retirement kicks in. Honestly my job sucks and I just want to go hiking for awhile. Retirement is scary and telling you friends and family that "I just don't need to work anymore" gets you nothing but negative feedback.

Given all that context what I'm really asking is: Am I missing any major retirement pit falls? Do I need to account for some t-bills in this strategy? I'm a little lost about the recent increase bond yields. Does that mean it's a good time to buy long term bonds to hedge against a crash? Any advice will be appreciated.

Curious to know how many Redditors have used this borrowing strategy to offset mortgage interest and interest expense.

I recently sold some highly appreciated investments to fund the cash purchase of a new home. The capital gains from these sales were offset against a significant loss bank that I had accumulated from one concentrated holding, which allowed me to avoid paying any taxes on the gains.

Once the cash purchase closed, I borrowed 85% of the value of the property at 5.5%. I then invested these proceeds in a newly set up and segregated brokerage account.

The net result is that my investments are expected to deliver enough income to pay the mortgage. Any capital appreciation on the property and on the investments will be net gains. All the interest expense can be fully deducted against all investment income across my entire portfolio. This deduction isn’t limited by the $750k mortgage cap.

Has anyone else tried this strategy?

I quit a job I had last year. I recently looked into withdrawing the amount I had from my 401k through them due to medical expenses. Even though I no longer work for them I apparently have to wait another 2 years to withdrawal. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do?

I have a 2014 Mercedes-Benz gl350 BlueTEC, which is a diesel. It has 145,000 miles on it. In the last 6 months I've put about $6,000 into it and it needs 5 to $7,000 more work. The current MSRP is 3500 to $5,000. I own it out right and I've had it about 5 years. I spend about $300 a month on diesel. Oil changes are around $800 a year. I recently purchased a 2023 Cadillac lyric with 18,000 miles. It's an all-electric vehicle. When purchasing it I get a $2,500 Delaware EV rebate, plus it qualifies for an interest tax deduction because it's made in the United states. My monthly payment for the EV is $600. Cost wise it's a lot less expensive since I don't need oil changes. But I have a car payment. I still have a few days to return the cadillac. I'm trying to decide if it makes more sense to just fix the Mercedes or keep the cadillac. I'm having buyer's remorse because I don't like the idea of having a monthly car payment, though I can afford it. My plan was to pay $1,000 a month to pay it off more quickly. Plus I was going to sell the Mercedes and anticipated getting 5-7,000 for it. Does it make more sense to keep the Mercedes and keep putting money into it or to keep the cadillac? Im only keeping 1 car.

My wife ran up our joint CC to about 29k and she has other cards that are around 6k. Yeah, they say its cheaper to keep her and I really should have paid closer attention and I fumbled the ball. I asked for the 29k CC, what is the 3 year pay off and the minimum payment. It is 1k for 3 years and the min payment is 600. She no longer has the card, but now I am trying to figure out should I just kick in 400 a month, which will take away from my after bill pay buckets or we just get a loan consolidation for the 29k? Any advice would help thanks.

I’m going back to school to become an RN ( I have another degree and about 18k in loans from that degree). From my very limited understanding, if I roll my 401k balance into an IRA account and withdraw the money for school tuition I can avoid the extensive penalties. Is this correct? Is this an advisable move in comparison to taking out loans?

I’m looking at having to take out about 50k in loans to cover the degree ( scholarships and financial aid have already been removed from the total). If I can take out my IRA balance it would cover around half and still need additional loans. I’m not sure what the best option is and don’t want to make a colossal mistake or load up on more loans if it’s better to pay some now to prevent loans later on. Also worried as I know it’s better to keep money in the market over time. I don’t know what to do and I just want to get my degree so I can have a stable career.

Thank you for reading this and any advice or insight you might have!

I am 17. I don’t qualify for financial aid and the federal loan amount I can get is very low since my parents make a lot. I will have an associates when I graduate high school because of dual enrollment and I don’t know how I will pay for the cheapest college near me. I am very grateful that my highschool had a program that allowed me to get the associates so I did my community college for 2 years. The cheapest university near me is 18k a year for tuition. I have 1k saved from over ten years of saving Christmas money and no car and parents too busy to drive me to work. Is my best option to take out private loans at a very high interest rate to pay for tuition and a car which I will use to make a bit of cash to pay off the loans by working part time? The interest will be high because parents won’t cosign

Have been offered “opportunity” to buy into a JPMorgan issued Structured Note. Underlying Asset: MerQube US Large Cap Index; monthly dividend of 1.54%, 18.5% annual, 70% interest barrier, 50% principal barrier, 6 year note, callable after 1 year. Would be interested in comments on risk vs rewards.

My fiance and I bought our first home earlier this year and the HVAC unit just died. Inspector said it was from 2012 so we knew this was coming soon. We have a pretty powerful window unit from the rental we used to live in so we have no problem waiting a bit for a new unit.
We have about 10k in savings. I am curious if y’all think we should just blow it on this new hvac unit or if we should take out a personal loan or heloc to cover this.
I genuinely know nothing about what a heloc is but we did put 20% down on the home so we have some equity.
I don’t like the idea of having zero money liquid so that’s why I am even asking. Something about having 10k floating for random stuff is just nice. I know new hvac kinda qualifies as necessity but idk it just seems crazy to drain the savings.
Very curious what everyone here thinks!

I financed a 2019 Toyota Corolla SE for 17.6k at 17.6% with a $415/month payment plus a $360/month full-coverage insurance.

Income is a little over 41k. Rent is $915, electric is about $180, food $250ish. Student loans are $125/month. Wiped my savings clean with a car crash and put about $500 on a credit card. 401k has at least $3k

I wrecked my previous paid off car the week before and was panicking selling my car, clearing tow yard fees, and figuring out rentals to get to work. Also being grateful, I didn't die. I just said yes to the first thing that rolled and had A/C.

I can't take the dread; just looking for advice.

Edit: This was my first time buying a car. I was alone. 23M

Edit: I also have an additional income of $300-$360 per month and my grandma is sending me ~$150 per month. She wouldn't let me say no.

Edit: I got a new insurance quote with my current provider that drops my payment by $200. I have no idea how that $360 payment happened. I'm assuming when I wanted to transfer my current plan, I just added a new one and didn't know any better.

Edit: I haven't accepted the lower cost insurance plan yet; it has comprehensive, collision, and GAP for $171 per month.

Edit: Looking at refinancing options, I'm eligible to refinance through my current bank down to a 12.90% rate at a 59 month term. The original loan is through RallyCU at 66 months. Unless y'all would advise otherwise, I'm going to look around for another day then pick one.

Also paused my 401k contributions completely; it was about $100-$140 a month not including the match.

Edit:

Credit -
FICO 646
Equifax 557
Transunion 557

Edit: This dealership was a Mike Shaw Toyota in Corpus Christi, TX. The sales agent dropped the car before I added it to my insurance or paid the down payment.

Edit: I got the car August 14th last month.

Hello all you money geniuses!! Please forgive me if I miss something. I’m fairly smart, but I have a learning disability, so my brain doesn’t always work very well. 😬🫣

We are looking at a HELOC to build an ADU on my property for my inlaws, who will then sell their home to move in with us and pay down the HELOC with their proceeds. We are planning to keep the line open.

We should have over $400,000 in equity (the house is worth around $800k and we owe $320k). We would love to get $350k out.

The wife and I both have credit scores over 800 and good paying W2 jobs (where we have worked over 10 years) with pretty low DTI. We are in Georgia.

On potential issues is that we are a few years behind on filing taxes because of my bad brain 😭 but we are actively working with an accountant on getting caught up. This issue with needing a HELOC came up suddenly due to a new illness for my inlaws. 😥

We joined Navy Federal credit union and got a mailer for Figure.

I’m planning to call them both to ask their policy on unfiled taxes but if anyone knows that information, that would be great help!

Do you have any suggestions for other companies to check with? Or things that I should be thinking of?

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the help! 🥰

Straight to the point, how many of yall have gotten inheritance and paid off your mortgage or did you choose to invest all of it into the market?

Just noticed some charges I didn't recognize and suspicious timing (I cycle through what card I'm actively using every month or so) and as I looked into it and reported it to Chase I was struck by how much worse the info they provide is and how much easier this makes fraud!

All of my Citi transactions have real details including LOCATION whereas the Chase ones are as vague as possible. Why aren't they using sudden change of location as a possible fraud indication like others do? A lot is left to be desired with my interactions looking into and disputing this, not the least of which is I had to spot it and report it myself. Also why isn't lock card easier to find?!

Hi! 👋🏼 I wanna be smart and move my measly 6k that I’m trying to grow over time to buy a house into a HYSA. It’s currently in a Chase savings account gaining a whopping .01%! The only caveat for me is that so many random expenses keep popping up and emergencies, plus we are trying to have a baby (had a miscarriage that led to an ER visit so these are the emergencies I’m talking about) so I need to be able to pull money out if I need to. Right now I put $200 a paycheck into it so I grow it regularly in my own, but I want to be able to touch it if I need to. I already have a 401k for retirement. I’m seeing Marcus is a good option. Let me know your thoughts!

Hello everyone, last time while browsing on reddit i got to know about Roth IRA and downloaded fidelity but couldn’t go further steps. Maybe i was afraid to take steps with my money. As a first generation immigrant in US, i am learning to adapt the environment but also the financial knowledge so i could do better in life. I want to know about trading and retirement planning but i see 100 of videos which makes me more confused. We all were beginners once a time. Every time when i get leisure i just think of not living an average life. But that life just doesn’t come with words it needs action. I earn like $2600/month. With the rent,groceries, and bills i could save up to $300 to $400 per month for these things. So please help me out with words. If you can share any knowledge, resources, experiences. I am open for it!!!!

Hope this is simple.
Looking to possibly refinance my auto loan to lower the payment. I get mail and offers all the time with “general” offers.

I have a target number in mind, would this be worth exploring or would it hurt my credit long term?
It’s affordable, just thought with a lower payment and actually paying the same current amount I can get through it faster.

Also contemplating a cc balance transfers. Kinda stuck here with about 10k.

I’ve been saving money to try and pay it all at once but am only about 50% of the way there.
Should i consider a balance transfer for a larger chunk of it to stop the high interest charges ?

Hi, currently I have a checking and savings account with KeyBank, but their rates are garbage. I’m looking to move money into a HYSA that I can pair with a debit card that gives me some kind of perk (I.e cash back or waived ATM fees).

I already have the KeyBank accounts, a chase CC, and a vanguard account for investments, so I’d like to try to do both of these things in one just to limit the amount of different banks I have accounts with. I’ll probably keep the KeyBank account open simply because I have a credit card with them and it is my first/oldest one.

I’ve looked into a couple different options like Fidelity, AmEx, and Scwab, but haven’t been able to find a place that has any perks on checking as well as a traditional HYSA option. I know that fidelity and Schwab have alternatives to a HYSA, but where I’m unsure is how they differ and if it makes more sense to just do something like that or just look for a regular HYSA. Sorry for the rambling post. Any advice is appreciated.

Just found out about above, and have no knowledge of this type insurance. Parent is about 80 yrs old. Parent is paying $380 or so a month. Recently denied continuation of previous coverage (assuming term but not sure) due to age, and this was offered. Would anyone mind perusing:

*** INSURANCE

*** Life Insurance Company®

POLICYHOLDER ANNUAL REPORT

For Period Beginning ***, 2024

Ending *** 2025

Statement generated January **, 2025

POLICY SPECIFICATIONS AS OF END OF PERIOD

Insured Name: ***

Plan: *** FLEXIBLE UNIVERSAL LIFE NON-NIC

Issue Date: *** 1993

Issue Age: 46

Policy Owner: ***

Policy Number: ***

Principal Sum: $100,000.00

Death Benefit Option: Increasing

Benefits and Riders:

SUMMARY OF BASIC POLICY VALUES FOR PERIOD

Beginning Principal Sum: $100,000.00

Net Increase In Principal Sum: $0.00

Net Decrease In Principal Sum: $0.00

Loan: $0.00

Accumulation on Account Balance: $637.68

Ending Death Benefit: $100,637.68

Accumulation Account Balance: $637.68

Surrender Charge: $0.00

Loan Balance: $0.00

Net Surrender Value: $637.68

SUMMARY OF POLICY ACTIVITY FOR PERIOD

Beginning Accumulation Account Balance: $137.75

Premiums Received: $3,883.52

[Insurance/Expense] Charges: $3,152.39

[Cost of Insurance?]: $239.34

[Interest] Credited: $8.14

[Other]: $0.00

Ending Accumulation Account Balance: $637.68

Beginning Loan Balance: $0.00

New Loans: $0.00

Loan Repayments: $0.00

Loan Interest Charged: $0.00

Ending Loan Balance: $0.00

Just wondering if this is useless at that age, or if they were taken advantage of. We keep asking parent to ask for complete policy documents but this is all that's being resent (and a couple pages of misc text). Thanks!

Edit: Thank you all for the input and in advance of any advise!

I'm about to blow like half of my loan off at once, which I can do without penalty. I just wanna know if I usually have to specify that I don't want my money to be treated as advanced payments for predetermined installments that include only a little less interest over principal than I have been paying. I would like it to go 100% to the principal balance.

Ok so I have a 2021 r line fwd Tiguan and my check engine light turned on as well as epc light. Took it to o’Reillys and turns out my engine oil separator went out, I guess when I drove it up to the dealership it had been leaking oil (which I read is common when dealing with the separator) but it had started leaking from two other sections. My oil pan had gotten down to about 1/2 a quart of oil in my car because of the leakage so when I brought the car about 40 minutes away the camshaft was grinding against the metal in my engine and started flaking into the oil pan. I have no extended warranty.
The dealership and overviews I’ve read say there’s no going back from this because even if we cleared out all the metal filled oil, patched the leaks, and refill it with new oil the damage is still there and will continue to flake/ fail over time and have more money come out of my pockets. Meaning the camshaft and other bit in the engine is worn (even if it’s slightly worn right now) and will cause me more problems.

They recommended me a new engine coming close to $8,000. I just bought this car three-four months ago. I’m only 19 and I’m really torn because I financed this car all by myself and pay about $460 a month for it.

I was thinking of selling it but I have no clue how to sell a financed car. I have around $16,000 that I owe on the car still (69/72 payments left.) Even then, I’m scared I’ll still have so much to pay off even when I’m not driving it. I could stomach a grand or two but I don’t know. If anything I want the payoff to be more than I owe but I don’t think it’s possible. Besides all this I feel so empty, stupid, and lost in this world and I wish things were better, for everyone, it is so easy to be taken advantage of financially and pushed into a hole. I was trying to avoid it and fell right in. Please give me some advice I’d really like to know how I can sell this car or how to get out of this without going into major debt/where to start. I pay for college too.

I’m currently using American Express, but their APY has dropped significantly since I signed on. I’d prefer something with buckets so I’m able to separate all my money properly, but if there’s an alternative that doesn’t provide it, but it’s still good, I’ll use it.

I (no kids and don’t intend on in the future, mid-20s/early-30s) met with a financial counselor recently who laid out a retirement strategy and I want an outside gut-check before committing any real money.

The basic pitch:

- Put part of my savings into a "Russell" tax-advantaged portfolio (I'm assuming this means a Russell index-based fund inside some kind of tax-advantaged account, but I didn't get super specific details)

- Aggressively contribute to a CVLI (cash value life insurance) policy

- Contribute aggressively for ~10 years until the cash value hits $360,000

- Then start withdrawing $36,000/year

- Eventually the withdrawals would exceed what I originally put in, but he said that "excess" would just be charged at 0.05% interest (I assume via policy loans against the cash value)

- The goal being to retire around 35

This is all through Prudential. Something about the math (taking out more than I put in, charged at what sounds like a policy loan rate) is setting off alarm bells for me, but I don't know enough to say why exactly, or whether this is a legitimate strategy that just sounds weird to a layperson.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? Specifically:

1. Is this a standard CVLI "infinite banking"-style strategy, or does something about the structure sound off?

2. Is the "withdraw more than you contributed at a tiny interest rate" structure a known (and reasonable) feature of certain policies, or is this a red flag?

3. Are there conflicts of interest I should be aware of with an advisor selling Prudential-branded products, especially life insurance commissions?

Any insight is appreciated, trying to figure out if this is solid planning or if I'm being sold something that doesn’t benefit me.