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User (notforlonglul): "Hey everyone,\n\nI'm a 22 y/o currently full-time in university and was offered an interview with a company in Los Angeles (50 miles away one way and probable traffic). The internship is also in my field of study, but the hourly pay is essentially minimum wage, which leaves me with uncertainty on whether I should, if offered the internship, accept or decline. \n\nAll responses are appreciated \n" Self: "Personally, I would move (if possible) for a commute over an hour, and probably wouldn't do it for minimum wage...but I understand the struggle of finding a job in your field that young. If it's your best employment option and provides good contacts then I would highly consider it."
User (notforlonglul): "Hey everyone,\n\nI'm a 22 y/o currently full-time in university and was offered an interview with a company in Los Angeles (50 miles away one way and probable traffic). The internship is also in my field of study, but the hourly pay is essentially minimum wage, which leaves me with uncertainty on whether I should, if offered the internship, accept or decline. \n\nAll responses are appreciated \n" Self: "Have you ever driven through LA in rush hour? o_o"
User (notforlonglul): "Hey everyone,\n\nI'm a 22 y/o currently full-time in university and was offered an interview with a company in Los Angeles (50 miles away one way and probable traffic). The internship is also in my field of study, but the hourly pay is essentially minimum wage, which leaves me with uncertainty on whether I should, if offered the internship, accept or decline. \n\nAll responses are appreciated \n" Self: "It's just an internship and it's in your field of study, accept it. Do the math on renting vs. driving. I'm sure you'll find that it cheaper to drive, especially in California. I had 2 internships ~40 miles from home and commuted and was able to save a lot more than I would have in an apartment." User (notforlonglul): "Gas is only a small worry. My main worry is getting hit with an extra hour of traffic going and coming, which would approx to ~5.5hrs on the days I'd work (internship is part-time)."
User (notforlonglul): "Hey everyone,\n\nI'm a 22 y/o currently full-time in university and was offered an interview with a company in Los Angeles (50 miles away one way and probable traffic). The internship is also in my field of study, but the hourly pay is essentially minimum wage, which leaves me with uncertainty on whether I should, if offered the internship, accept or decline. \n\nAll responses are appreciated \n" Self: "If that's the only internship you can get, take it. Try to schedule it so that you are outside of rush hour, or I would recommend just going early if it's in the mornings and studying while you wait"
User (methylethylphenyl): "A family member's income went up from 4k (seasonal employee) to about 16k a year, and does not qualify for Medicaid anymore according to NYstateofhealth website application. He is 26 years old and his tax filing status is single. I see that the "lowest" plan on the marketplace is $4k deductible with $400 monthly premiums. He only goes to the doctor once a year for a check-up. Does this mean he will have to pay $8800 every year for health insurance?\n\nEdit: I understand the deductible part now; so he will have to pay 25% of his income yearly for health insurance, and every time he visits the doctor he will have to pay out of pocket up to $4k. Is there an alternative if you're over the [income limit](http://www.wnylc.com/health/afile/15/314/) by $500? Seems silly that going over the limit by even a dollar would result in a $4k yearly bill." Self: "You may find the [Health Insurance wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/health_insurance) helpful.\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (methylethylphenyl): "A family member's income went up from 4k (seasonal employee) to about 16k a year, and does not qualify for Medicaid anymore according to NYstateofhealth website application. He is 26 years old and his tax filing status is single. I see that the "lowest" plan on the marketplace is $4k deductible with $400 monthly premiums. He only goes to the doctor once a year for a check-up. Does this mean he will have to pay $8800 every year for health insurance?\n\nEdit: I understand the deductible part now; so he will have to pay 25% of his income yearly for health insurance, and every time he visits the doctor he will have to pay out of pocket up to $4k. Is there an alternative if you're over the [income limit](http://www.wnylc.com/health/afile/15/314/) by $500? Seems silly that going over the limit by even a dollar would result in a $4k yearly bill." Self: "He should qualify for a credit every month. I'm in Arizona but because I make under $21,000 a year i get a credit of $355 a month so my insurance is only $55. It was supposed to be $400. " User (methylethylphenyl): "Thanks, I'll get him to talk to a health care representative around the city for more info about the credit. Was the credit automatically shown when you were checking out for plans? Or did you physically meet someone to arrange it for you? The strange thing is that even if I put his income at $1, it still says he is not eligible for financial assistance.\n\nI tried calling the official NY marketplace line, and they were unaware of any tax credits and just referred to their website if I had any questions. \n\nSorry for the bother, and thanks again." Self: "Yes when I put in all my financial info it said I was eligible for a tax credit and then asked how much of the credit I wanted to use every month. In Arizona so maybe it varies state to state? I would absolutely try and get someone on the phone "
User (thecolonelrico): "24 year old here took out a 30 year loan on a house for 75k almost two years ago with a rate of 4.25%. House isn't in the best neighborhood but not the worst. Blue collar neighborhood in a slightly economically depressed town. House was bought mainly mainly because mortgage is 500 bucks for 1600 sq feet, about the same that I would pay renting a one bedroom apartment. Also doing remodeling work on house, but that's mainly as a hobby as I assume I won't be able to sell for a substantial profit...probably end up breaking even when I go to sell.\n\nBought a new vehicle a few months back and owe about 29k on it and the loan was for 6 years. \n\nHave paid my mortgage down to about 46k and currently owe about 29k on my vehicle. Am frugal about spending and live very cheap. Have a disposable income of about 1600-2k a month after loan payments are made that I can either spend or save.\n\nLooking to move in about two years.\n\nMy question for you brilliant souls is where would it be best for me to put my money? Should I pay as much as I can on one loan or just save as much as I can? \n\nThanks!\n\n\nEDIT: also it should be known im single with no children. I was paying off house at beginning of loan as much as I could, however after a year and a half decided to make the smallest payments so I would be able to write off the interest for my taxes at a higher rate and put that extra money in my pocket for safe keepings." Self: "What's the interest rate on the car?" User (thecolonelrico): "Good question, I don't have the answer to that question at my fingertips currently. I can tell you it was 26500 from the dealer and in total after 6 years I would pay about 31500 for the vehicle and for interest + extended warranty (he was a smooth operator when taking about the warranty)\n\nI hope that helped with the question." Self: "Okay by my calculator it's in the neighbourhood of 3%.\n\nI do not have knowledge of the tax system in regards to interest (canadian), but I'd be looking at putting minimums on the car, maybe more than minimum at the house, and save for retirement. " User (thecolonelrico): "I'm not sure if that's good or not in regards to the percentage. I hate to say this, but saving has become kind of boring at this point. I actively put into my 401k and have about 26k as personals funds saved. \n\nAt 24 years old this has become very boring...I could always invest in other things if you recommend that? Or I could do exactly what you say and have a boring time doing this. "
User (thecolonelrico): "24 year old here took out a 30 year loan on a house for 75k almost two years ago with a rate of 4.25%. House isn't in the best neighborhood but not the worst. Blue collar neighborhood in a slightly economically depressed town. House was bought mainly mainly because mortgage is 500 bucks for 1600 sq feet, about the same that I would pay renting a one bedroom apartment. Also doing remodeling work on house, but that's mainly as a hobby as I assume I won't be able to sell for a substantial profit...probably end up breaking even when I go to sell.\n\nBought a new vehicle a few months back and owe about 29k on it and the loan was for 6 years. \n\nHave paid my mortgage down to about 46k and currently owe about 29k on my vehicle. Am frugal about spending and live very cheap. Have a disposable income of about 1600-2k a month after loan payments are made that I can either spend or save.\n\nLooking to move in about two years.\n\nMy question for you brilliant souls is where would it be best for me to put my money? Should I pay as much as I can on one loan or just save as much as I can? \n\nThanks!\n\n\nEDIT: also it should be known im single with no children. I was paying off house at beginning of loan as much as I could, however after a year and a half decided to make the smallest payments so I would be able to write off the interest for my taxes at a higher rate and put that extra money in my pocket for safe keepings." Self: "If you're planning on selling the house in two years I would pay the minimum payments on both the car and house and use the money you're saving as a down payment on the next place.\n\n\nDon't get too caught up in the mortgage interest being a tax deduction. The amount of interest you're paying right now is right in the ballpark of your standard deduction so it's not like it's going to bring in a lot of money on your tax return."
User (GoalieJohnK): "Posting this again as the first time I posted was 4am and I got very little response: \n\nSo, I'll try to make this as brief as possible.\n\n* 21 y/o male\n\n* Bring in ~$2,600/month after taxes and 401k deductions\n\n* Have ~$8,000 in checking\n\n* Have ~$4,000 in savings\n\n* Have ~$2,500 in a 401k\n\n* Owe ~$15,000 on my auto loan (8.6% interest rate)\n\n* Owe ~$2,000 left on my student loan (~3.6% interest rate)\n\n* Owe ~$350 left on a loan from a mattress (no interest)\n\n* Average monthly expenses (all bills and minimum loan payments , though I pay almost double the minimum, included) come out to ~$1200\n\nMy question is, should I go ahead and pay off my student loan balance in full? I plan on paying off the mattress soon since it's so little. But should I bite the bullet and take ~2,000 out of checking (or savings) and get the student loan knocked out?\nThe reason I'm hesitant is because I've been focusing mainly on the bigger debt (is that smart to do?), being my auto loan, first. I'm also hesitant at the thought of forking over $2,000, but I do feel I'm in a good spot to do so.\nAny advice/tips?" Self: "Focus on the car loan. The student loan is not a problem. " User (GoalieJohnK): "Thanks! \n\nDo you know what the benefits/downfalls of refinancing my auto loan would be? I've been considering talking with my bank about refinancing now that I've built up some credit." Self: "refinancing a car loan is (essentiallly) always a win, assuming you get better terms. There is typically no cost to do it. The only downside is if you can't do it. "
User (GoalieJohnK): "Posting this again as the first time I posted was 4am and I got very little response: \n\nSo, I'll try to make this as brief as possible.\n\n* 21 y/o male\n\n* Bring in ~$2,600/month after taxes and 401k deductions\n\n* Have ~$8,000 in checking\n\n* Have ~$4,000 in savings\n\n* Have ~$2,500 in a 401k\n\n* Owe ~$15,000 on my auto loan (8.6% interest rate)\n\n* Owe ~$2,000 left on my student loan (~3.6% interest rate)\n\n* Owe ~$350 left on a loan from a mattress (no interest)\n\n* Average monthly expenses (all bills and minimum loan payments , though I pay almost double the minimum, included) come out to ~$1200\n\nMy question is, should I go ahead and pay off my student loan balance in full? I plan on paying off the mattress soon since it's so little. But should I bite the bullet and take ~2,000 out of checking (or savings) and get the student loan knocked out?\nThe reason I'm hesitant is because I've been focusing mainly on the bigger debt (is that smart to do?), being my auto loan, first. I'm also hesitant at the thought of forking over $2,000, but I do feel I'm in a good spot to do so.\nAny advice/tips?" Self: "There is more than money to tackle here. Getting out of debt is emotionally draining. If you take out the little ones it helps a lot. Then when it comes time to hit the big one there are no little ones buzzing about to add to the frustration. \n\nNot everyone takes stress the same so only you know yourself well enough to decide if this will work for you. " User (GoalieJohnK): "That's a good point. I think come tax return time I may pay off the student completely (assuming I get what my counterpart is telling me I'll get from this new position)."
User (GoalieJohnK): "Posting this again as the first time I posted was 4am and I got very little response: \n\nSo, I'll try to make this as brief as possible.\n\n* 21 y/o male\n\n* Bring in ~$2,600/month after taxes and 401k deductions\n\n* Have ~$8,000 in checking\n\n* Have ~$4,000 in savings\n\n* Have ~$2,500 in a 401k\n\n* Owe ~$15,000 on my auto loan (8.6% interest rate)\n\n* Owe ~$2,000 left on my student loan (~3.6% interest rate)\n\n* Owe ~$350 left on a loan from a mattress (no interest)\n\n* Average monthly expenses (all bills and minimum loan payments , though I pay almost double the minimum, included) come out to ~$1200\n\nMy question is, should I go ahead and pay off my student loan balance in full? I plan on paying off the mattress soon since it's so little. But should I bite the bullet and take ~2,000 out of checking (or savings) and get the student loan knocked out?\nThe reason I'm hesitant is because I've been focusing mainly on the bigger debt (is that smart to do?), being my auto loan, first. I'm also hesitant at the thought of forking over $2,000, but I do feel I'm in a good spot to do so.\nAny advice/tips?" Self: "Depending on how long you have been making payments on the car, that's where I would start. If you been paying on it for about 2 years, pay it off sooner than later. 8.6% is fairly high. Then student loan after that. Make sure the mattress is paid off before the end of the no interest period otherwise it launches way up. Don't worry about making large payments as long as you have a checking/savings account that will cover all required monthly payments for at least 6 months."
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "Not sure how you plan to get a mortgage while unemployed. I don't know of any bank that would give you a mortgage." User (ch0whound): "Please see my edit, I plan to have a job soon" Self: "Same comment as above on stable work history. Homeownership comes with it's own headaches and there are costs beyond just the mortgage payment."
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "Typically banks like to see 2 years of work history (or work and school history)"
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "You have to crunch the numbers in detail to see if this dream makes sense financially. What would the monthly mortgage payment be for the kind of house you want? How much for property taxes? How much for insurance? Want are average maintenance costs for that kind of house? What is the going rate for renting out a room? What is the average time gap between tenants when renting out a room? Plug all that into a spreadsheet and see what you think."
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "There are no mortgage options for unemployed people.\nNobody cares if you are tired of paying rent. " User (ch0whound): "Please see my edit" Self: "You need a stable employment history to get a mortgage.\n\nHave you looked into what sort of a place you could get for $600/month? You might find that your rent is a pretty good deal. " tripl_b (tripl_b): "Can't stress this enough. The lenders will likely want somewhere between 6-12 months minimum of consistent paychecks before they will consider giving you a loan. Post-housing bust mortgages are much harder to come by than they used to be. Now lenders are much much more strict on who they lend to.\n\nThat being said, look into the first time home buyer program through the FHA if you're still dead set on it."
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "This isn't how life works. Plans to get a job are not a solid basis for getting a mortgage. Neither are low income jobs.\n\nGo back to school, get a profession, and work it for at least a year and save some money. Then you can consider buying a home."
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "You may have to use that money just for a down payment. Houses in my area are way too expensive for 10k to cover "
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "There are no mortgage options for unemployed people.\nNobody cares if you are tired of paying rent. " User (ch0whound): "Please see my edit" sephstorm (sephstorm): "In addition school is not employment. Push this off until you complete school, and have been employed for a year."
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "There are no mortgage options for unemployed people.\nNobody cares if you are tired of paying rent. " User (ch0whound): "Please see my edit" deceasedhusband (deceasedhusband): "Mortgage consults will ask you how long you've been at your current position. It factors in to whether or not they will lend to you. "
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "Keep renting, and worry about your studies, not the place where you live. Home ownership is highly overrated."
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "wo man you expectations about this and the realities of life are completely off. Your not even close to getting a house yet unless you plan to buy some run down place at 30-40k. Maybe when you have 50k in savings and that high income job then you can consider buying a home but your not even close right now. "
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "There are no mortgage options for unemployed people.\nNobody cares if you are tired of paying rent. " User (ch0whound): "Please see my edit" skeever2 (skeever2): "You'll probably need at least 2 years at a job you're currently employed in to be approved for a mortgage. The bank doesn't care that you're "totally going to get a job soon.""
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "There are no mortgage options for unemployed people.\nNobody cares if you are tired of paying rent. " rubberboyband (rubberboyband): "I'm tired of driving my old Datsun around so I plan on getting a unicorn. Should I build his stable out of moonbeams or rainbows?" RedditOrange (RedditOrange): "I was dumbfounded but could not find the words. You found the sentiment I was seeking. Bravo...."
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "There are no mortgage options for unemployed people.\nNobody cares if you are tired of paying rent. " rubberboyband (rubberboyband): "I'm tired of driving my old Datsun around so I plan on getting a unicorn. Should I build his stable out of moonbeams or rainbows?" Cyclonitron (Cyclonitron): "Moonbeams. Rainbows attract leprechauns, which will spook your unicorn. If you know any young virgin girls, I also recommend you take her to the unicorn dealership and let her do the negotiating; You'll get a better deal, especially if you're buying a new unicorn as opposed to a used one. "
User (ch0whound): "I'm 24, planning on going to college soon for the trades (high income). I'm tired of renting. $600 on a place seems like a waste when that could be going towards a mortgage. My dream would be to buy a house, rent it out and share with someone until it is paid off, while I go to college and work. Is this an insane and ridiculous dream? I will have student loans on top of a mortgage. But I don't see the difference between paying a mortgage and paying rent every month\n\nBTW I'm in Canada if it makes a difference\n\nEdit: I plan on getting a job soon. I've just been in a transitional phase. But I will not be unemployed for much longer. I'd be getting something like administration or serving or retail.\n\n2: Thank you everyone for the responses. I sort of know that this is not feasible any time soon I just wanted to hear some opinions. I will certainly be renting until I finish my studies, but I think I have resolved that my goal is to buy a piece of land and build an off-grid house. Thanks for the inspiration :)" Self: "Nope. However if you live in a shitty town that no one wants to live in you have options.\n\nI bought a 6K trailer that was falling apart with saved college refund money and lived in it. Only paid rent on the property!\n\n"
User (MrP32): "Hello Everyone\n\nI have this annoying late payment on my credit history from March of 2013. I was wondering how long that late payment will stay on my history? Using some credit simulators my score would go from 656 to 732 if it wasn't on my account. I know those simulators do have a +/- 20 points margin for error for what your actual score will be but that is a huge improvement. \n\nI found this website that shows all of the statue of limitations for credit cards but they seem to be focused on credit card collections. Here is the link: \nhttp://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-state-statute-limitations-1282.php\n\nWhen you click on Washington state (where I live) it links to the actual state law code but I am still not 100% sure. Here is the link to the law code is question: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.040\n\nAm I reading this right and that I will need to wait six years before this falls off my credit report?" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit)\n- [Credit Reports](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_reports) \n- [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico)\n- [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (MrP32): "Hello Everyone\n\nI have this annoying late payment on my credit history from March of 2013. I was wondering how long that late payment will stay on my history? Using some credit simulators my score would go from 656 to 732 if it wasn't on my account. I know those simulators do have a +/- 20 points margin for error for what your actual score will be but that is a huge improvement. \n\nI found this website that shows all of the statue of limitations for credit cards but they seem to be focused on credit card collections. Here is the link: \nhttp://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-state-statute-limitations-1282.php\n\nWhen you click on Washington state (where I live) it links to the actual state law code but I am still not 100% sure. Here is the link to the law code is question: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.040\n\nAm I reading this right and that I will need to wait six years before this falls off my credit report?" Self: "6 years is probably the statute of limitations for collection activities on the debt. I think every state but maybe New York lets late payments stay on your credit report for 7 years, NY is either 5 or 6 years.\n\nDepending on how late of a payment it is, your score might not be affected much by it. A 30 day late mark right now might only be hurting your score 10-20 points depending on the rest of your credit report.\n\nA 90 day late mark could be lowering your score by 50 points, even 3.5 years later, if you have little other credit history.\n\nAlso, I wouldn't put much stock into credit simulators, even from Credit Karma."
User (MrP32): "Hello Everyone\n\nI have this annoying late payment on my credit history from March of 2013. I was wondering how long that late payment will stay on my history? Using some credit simulators my score would go from 656 to 732 if it wasn't on my account. I know those simulators do have a +/- 20 points margin for error for what your actual score will be but that is a huge improvement. \n\nI found this website that shows all of the statue of limitations for credit cards but they seem to be focused on credit card collections. Here is the link: \nhttp://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-state-statute-limitations-1282.php\n\nWhen you click on Washington state (where I live) it links to the actual state law code but I am still not 100% sure. Here is the link to the law code is question: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.040\n\nAm I reading this right and that I will need to wait six years before this falls off my credit report?" Self: "If it is a closed account, it is 7 years generally. If it's a charged off account, it's 7 years from the date of the first delinquency. If you account is still open, it can report there for as long as that company reports your account. " User (MrP32): "It is for my actual credit card though. Should have made that clear." Boblow_Jihobey (Boblow_Jihobey): "Just figure roughly 7 years. It doesn't effect your score the same 5 years later. It may still report and have a small ding on the credit but as time goes on, it lessens. "
User (MrP32): "Hello Everyone\n\nI have this annoying late payment on my credit history from March of 2013. I was wondering how long that late payment will stay on my history? Using some credit simulators my score would go from 656 to 732 if it wasn't on my account. I know those simulators do have a +/- 20 points margin for error for what your actual score will be but that is a huge improvement. \n\nI found this website that shows all of the statue of limitations for credit cards but they seem to be focused on credit card collections. Here is the link: \nhttp://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-state-statute-limitations-1282.php\n\nWhen you click on Washington state (where I live) it links to the actual state law code but I am still not 100% sure. Here is the link to the law code is question: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.040\n\nAm I reading this right and that I will need to wait six years before this falls off my credit report?" Self: "Appx 7 years, as rules vary depending on open account, closed account, last reported, charged off, etc.\n\nBut I'm guess what you really want to hear is "how soon can I get this blemish off my credit report?". That can happen fairly quickly if you challenge the late payment with one of the credit bureaus. They'll then ask the company that's reporting the late payment to verify/affirm it, but if that company doesn't respond with the proper info within 30 days then the credit bureau is required to clear it from your report. Maybe do that with credit bureau A, and if successful send that info to credit bureaus B & C. Worth giving it a shot, eh?" User (MrP32): "Will that have any kind of negative impact though? I did try to call my bank and asking them to remove it as a one time curtesy a year ago but that was a no." Self: "Challenging a late payment cannot hurt you. Either it's verified/affirmed and it stays there, or they don't answer in time and the credit bureau has to take it off your report."
User (Contraversial1): "Hi, i'm a foreign worker in New York on a 2 year visa which i plan to extend. I earn around $100k + $70k in commission however due to only being here for a short time my credit is only 620. I'm trying to get $10k loan which I can pay off in 6-12 months. \n\nI've had trouble with each of the banks i've tried due to my credit score, and the couple of credit unions i've tried won't lend to a non-permanent resident. Can someone suggest any options to me?" Self: "What does your budget look like? If you can pay off the debt in 6 months, it's really not much more of an advantage to get a loan, depending on origination fee. Why not just avalanche them?" User (Contraversial1): "My budget would be in the realm of $2,600 per month rent, $500 on food, $1000 on other expenses and I've just started to save the remainder. Unfortunately I need a lump sum for a security deposit on a new apartment I've recently applied for. "
User (Contraversial1): "Hi, i'm a foreign worker in New York on a 2 year visa which i plan to extend. I earn around $100k + $70k in commission however due to only being here for a short time my credit is only 620. I'm trying to get $10k loan which I can pay off in 6-12 months. \n\nI've had trouble with each of the banks i've tried due to my credit score, and the couple of credit unions i've tried won't lend to a non-permanent resident. Can someone suggest any options to me?" Self: "Your credit score and temporary visa are your problems. You're a bad risk."
User (Contraversial1): "Hi, i'm a foreign worker in New York on a 2 year visa which i plan to extend. I earn around $100k + $70k in commission however due to only being here for a short time my credit is only 620. I'm trying to get $10k loan which I can pay off in 6-12 months. \n\nI've had trouble with each of the banks i've tried due to my credit score, and the couple of credit unions i've tried won't lend to a non-permanent resident. Can someone suggest any options to me?" Self: "Why do you need a $10k loan?" User (Contraversial1): "Sorry I should have specified. I need a loan to consolidate my credit card debt (only $2k but across several cards) and to put a downpayment on my new rental apartment. Previously I would have been able to secure a short term loan from my employer however we were acquired by a large corporation last year and I've already applied internally and been rejected for unknown reasons." Self: "You can't use borrowed money for down payment anyway." User (Contraversial1): "When I say downpayment I mean security deposit, and surely you can?" Boblow_Jihobey (Boblow_Jihobey): "When i rented in Washington state, they didn't care where the deposit money came from."
User (Contraversial1): "Hi, i'm a foreign worker in New York on a 2 year visa which i plan to extend. I earn around $100k + $70k in commission however due to only being here for a short time my credit is only 620. I'm trying to get $10k loan which I can pay off in 6-12 months. \n\nI've had trouble with each of the banks i've tried due to my credit score, and the couple of credit unions i've tried won't lend to a non-permanent resident. Can someone suggest any options to me?" Self: "Call around to credit unions. I guarantee there are some that will loan to an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number). It's like a Social Security Number for non-residents. Not very many do and may not loan the full $10,000, but anywhere is a start. "
User (Contraversial1): "Hi, i'm a foreign worker in New York on a 2 year visa which i plan to extend. I earn around $100k + $70k in commission however due to only being here for a short time my credit is only 620. I'm trying to get $10k loan which I can pay off in 6-12 months. \n\nI've had trouble with each of the banks i've tried due to my credit score, and the couple of credit unions i've tried won't lend to a non-permanent resident. Can someone suggest any options to me?" Self: "on a temporary visa, you will be very lucky to get a loan. "
User (wamceachern): "I have a 401k and my company doesn't match it at all. The company makes you manage through vanguard. 66% stock 15% bonds and 19% short term reserves. I am 30 and I want to have the best possible amount of money by the time I retire. \n\nAny more information you need let me know. Thank you in advance. " Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [401(k) Fund Selection Guide](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/401k_funds)\n- [401(k) FAQs](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/401k)\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (wamceachern): "I have a 401k and my company doesn't match it at all. The company makes you manage through vanguard. 66% stock 15% bonds and 19% short term reserves. I am 30 and I want to have the best possible amount of money by the time I retire. \n\nAny more information you need let me know. Thank you in advance. " Self: "At your age you should have a much higher allocation to stocks, like 75-100%. You really should not have anything in short-term reserves in your 401(k) as that money is not working for you at all."
User (wamceachern): "I have a 401k and my company doesn't match it at all. The company makes you manage through vanguard. 66% stock 15% bonds and 19% short term reserves. I am 30 and I want to have the best possible amount of money by the time I retire. \n\nAny more information you need let me know. Thank you in advance. " Self: "What are your fund choices?" User (wamceachern): "What do you mean by that. What I invest in? It's limited to Berkshire and Hathaway stuff. " Self: "What can you pick as investments? (Not what you already picked)"
User (wamceachern): "I have a 401k and my company doesn't match it at all. The company makes you manage through vanguard. 66% stock 15% bonds and 19% short term reserves. I am 30 and I want to have the best possible amount of money by the time I retire. \n\nAny more information you need let me know. Thank you in advance. " Self: "What are your fund choices?" User (wamceachern): "What do you mean by that. What I invest in? It's limited to Berkshire and Hathaway stuff. " kayoss_ (kayoss_): "There should be a list of choices available to you on the website."
User (basically1144): "Hello PF,\n\nTo elaborate a little: I am currently working a part-time job at a large company (in EU), and I plan to stay with said company, working full-time starting next month. (As I will be finishing uni, getting a degree)\n\nThe initial salary I was offered was much more than my current salary and I'm very happy with that amount, but I've looked a bit online to see what people with similar experience and degree make. The offer I was given would be totally reasonable if I were freshly out of school with no experience, but I've been with this company for more than 2 years now so I have relevant experience.\nOne of my colleagues with very similar qualifications told me what he was making and it's 25% more than my offer, so I think I would be kind of underpaid if I accepted.\n\nMy question is: can it bite me in the ass to ask for the 25% raise? How do I go about this?\n\nThanks!" Self: "the worst they can say is no. ask them."
User (Ancythrowaway): "To start, I have no idea why this is happening. I've been autopaying my student loan FOREVER. I've never had a problem. I just checked my email today and was sent a correspondence that I missed a payment.\n\nI went in and made a payment to get caught up, but in the help section it says any loans with missed payments are considered delinquent and will either go on my credit score and/or lose benefits.\n\nHow the hell am I supposed to fix this and what is the likelihood this is going to impact my credit? I have great credit and I don't want this on my credit report showing that my autopay suddenly stopped.\n\nI just paid the bill (about) 3 days after it was due. What is the likelihood this will greatly affect me and my credit?\n\nI am very worried...." Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [What's the best way to pay down my debt?](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/debt#wiki_what.27s_the_best_way_to_pay_down_my_debt.3F)\n- [Dealing with collections](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/collections)\n- [Credit Repair](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building#wiki_i_have_bad_credit.2C_and_i_am_looking_to_repair_it.)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (Ancythrowaway): "To start, I have no idea why this is happening. I've been autopaying my student loan FOREVER. I've never had a problem. I just checked my email today and was sent a correspondence that I missed a payment.\n\nI went in and made a payment to get caught up, but in the help section it says any loans with missed payments are considered delinquent and will either go on my credit score and/or lose benefits.\n\nHow the hell am I supposed to fix this and what is the likelihood this is going to impact my credit? I have great credit and I don't want this on my credit report showing that my autopay suddenly stopped.\n\nI just paid the bill (about) 3 days after it was due. What is the likelihood this will greatly affect me and my credit?\n\nI am very worried...." Self: "3 days after it's due will absolutely not affect your credit." Ondaswamp (Ondaswamp): "I agree! One time, 3 days late, won't ruin everything. But do call and find out what happened. Also save a copy of the email and any past auto pay receipts to prove anything if needed. Be sure to write down the name of whomever you speak with as well and date your notes so you can "prove" what you are told. \nAnd rest easy! Issues like this happen to the best of us! Just get right on clearing it up! Good Luck! "
User (Ancythrowaway): "To start, I have no idea why this is happening. I've been autopaying my student loan FOREVER. I've never had a problem. I just checked my email today and was sent a correspondence that I missed a payment.\n\nI went in and made a payment to get caught up, but in the help section it says any loans with missed payments are considered delinquent and will either go on my credit score and/or lose benefits.\n\nHow the hell am I supposed to fix this and what is the likelihood this is going to impact my credit? I have great credit and I don't want this on my credit report showing that my autopay suddenly stopped.\n\nI just paid the bill (about) 3 days after it was due. What is the likelihood this will greatly affect me and my credit?\n\nI am very worried...." Self: "30 days after is when it will hit you "
User (danieljay691): "I have no credit cards. I don't have a mortgage, don't own a house. I have no debt. I checked annualcreditreport just to check it and I saw the first company claimed I had a charge card, I disputed it, turns out it was actually okay, I forgot I had received a card from my mom with my name on it for the company business. The second report was fine as well. The third report had me answer these questions to verify my identity:\nYour credit file indicates you may have a home loan, opened in or around November 2010. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBANK OF AMERICA MTG \nJPMORGAN CHASE \nM & I MORTGAGE \nRIGHT AWAY MORTGAGE \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nWhat is your total scheduled monthly payment for the above-referenced home loan?\n$1,525 - $1,624 \n$1,625 - $1,724 \n$1,725 - $1,824 \n$1,825 - $1,924 \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a retail card, opened in or around September 2014. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nKOHL'S \nROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTARGET CORPORATION \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a bank card, opened in or around September 2015. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBB&T CORPORATION \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTHE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC \nU.S. BANCORP \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nI answered none of the above to all of them and the next page told me I have to send in my ss card and my DL to verify my identity. \nThe other 2 companies I checked tonight asked questions like that too, I figured it was sort of a test and the none of the above answer applied to them since I should have nothing on my credit report. \n\nI'm planning on asking my aunt to run a credit check on me, see what she sees. \n\nDoes them needing me to mail verify mean that there's fraudulent activity? \n\nI'm having a heart attack.\nThanks in advance." Self: "You might have incorrectly formatted line breaks. To create a line break, either put two spaces at the end of the line or put an extra blank line in-between lines. ([See Reddit's page on commenting for more information.](http://www.reddit.com/wiki/commenting))\n\nI have attempted to automatically reformat your text with fixed line breaks.\n\n----\n\n> I have no credit cards. I don't have a mortgage, don't own a house. I have no debt. I checked annualcreditreport just to check it and I saw the first company claimed I had a charge card, I disputed it, turns out it was actually okay, I forgot I had received a card from my mom with my name on it for the company business. The second report was fine as well. The third report had me answer these questions to verify my identity:\n\n> Your credit file indicates you may have a home loan, opened in or around November 2010. Who is the credit provider for this account?\n\n> BANK OF AMERICA MTG \n\n> JPMORGAN CHASE \n\n> M & I MORTGAGE \n\n> RIGHT AWAY MORTGAGE \n\n> NONE OF THE ABOVE\n> \n> What is your total scheduled monthly payment for the above-referenced home loan? \n> $1,525 - $1,624 \n> $1,625 - $1,724 \n> $1,725 - $1,824 \n> $1,825 - $1,924 \n> NONE OF THE ABOVE\n> \n> Your credit file indicates you may have a retail card, opened in or around September 2014. Who is the credit provider for this account? \n> KOHL'S \n> ROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP \n> SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \n> TARGET CORPORATION \n> NONE OF THE ABOVE\n> \n> Your credit file indicates you may have a bank card, opened in or around September 2015. Who is the credit provider for this account? \n> BB&T CORPORATION \n> SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \n> THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC \n> U.S. BANCORP \n> NONE OF THE ABOVE\n> \n> I answered none of the above to all of them and the next page told me I have to send in my ss card and my DL to verify my identity. \n> The other 2 companies I checked tonight asked questions like that too, I figured it was sort of a test and the none of the above answer applied to them since I should have nothing on my credit report. \n> \n> I'm planning on asking my aunt to run a credit check on me, see what she sees. \n> \n> Does them needing me to mail verify mean that there's fraudulent activity? \n> \n> I'm having a heart attack. \n> Thanks in advance. \n>\n\n----\n\n^(I am a bot. Contact) ^[pentium4borg](https://www.reddit.com/user/pentium4borg) ^(with any feedback.)" User (danieljay691): "Thanks, bot. After 2 years on reddit I still am not very good at it"
User (danieljay691): "I have no credit cards. I don't have a mortgage, don't own a house. I have no debt. I checked annualcreditreport just to check it and I saw the first company claimed I had a charge card, I disputed it, turns out it was actually okay, I forgot I had received a card from my mom with my name on it for the company business. The second report was fine as well. The third report had me answer these questions to verify my identity:\nYour credit file indicates you may have a home loan, opened in or around November 2010. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBANK OF AMERICA MTG \nJPMORGAN CHASE \nM & I MORTGAGE \nRIGHT AWAY MORTGAGE \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nWhat is your total scheduled monthly payment for the above-referenced home loan?\n$1,525 - $1,624 \n$1,625 - $1,724 \n$1,725 - $1,824 \n$1,825 - $1,924 \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a retail card, opened in or around September 2014. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nKOHL'S \nROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTARGET CORPORATION \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a bank card, opened in or around September 2015. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBB&T CORPORATION \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTHE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC \nU.S. BANCORP \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nI answered none of the above to all of them and the next page told me I have to send in my ss card and my DL to verify my identity. \nThe other 2 companies I checked tonight asked questions like that too, I figured it was sort of a test and the none of the above answer applied to them since I should have nothing on my credit report. \n\nI'm planning on asking my aunt to run a credit check on me, see what she sees. \n\nDoes them needing me to mail verify mean that there's fraudulent activity? \n\nI'm having a heart attack.\nThanks in advance." Self: "Nah, it most likely means they need more verifying info due to thin file. \n\nSame thing happened to me years ago, the first time I got my reports."
User (danieljay691): "I have no credit cards. I don't have a mortgage, don't own a house. I have no debt. I checked annualcreditreport just to check it and I saw the first company claimed I had a charge card, I disputed it, turns out it was actually okay, I forgot I had received a card from my mom with my name on it for the company business. The second report was fine as well. The third report had me answer these questions to verify my identity:\nYour credit file indicates you may have a home loan, opened in or around November 2010. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBANK OF AMERICA MTG \nJPMORGAN CHASE \nM & I MORTGAGE \nRIGHT AWAY MORTGAGE \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nWhat is your total scheduled monthly payment for the above-referenced home loan?\n$1,525 - $1,624 \n$1,625 - $1,724 \n$1,725 - $1,824 \n$1,825 - $1,924 \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a retail card, opened in or around September 2014. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nKOHL'S \nROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTARGET CORPORATION \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a bank card, opened in or around September 2015. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBB&T CORPORATION \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTHE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC \nU.S. BANCORP \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nI answered none of the above to all of them and the next page told me I have to send in my ss card and my DL to verify my identity. \nThe other 2 companies I checked tonight asked questions like that too, I figured it was sort of a test and the none of the above answer applied to them since I should have nothing on my credit report. \n\nI'm planning on asking my aunt to run a credit check on me, see what she sees. \n\nDoes them needing me to mail verify mean that there's fraudulent activity? \n\nI'm having a heart attack.\nThanks in advance." Self: "doesn't mean fraud, it means you have a thin file\n\nhttps://www.google.com/search?q=thin+file"
User (danieljay691): "I have no credit cards. I don't have a mortgage, don't own a house. I have no debt. I checked annualcreditreport just to check it and I saw the first company claimed I had a charge card, I disputed it, turns out it was actually okay, I forgot I had received a card from my mom with my name on it for the company business. The second report was fine as well. The third report had me answer these questions to verify my identity:\nYour credit file indicates you may have a home loan, opened in or around November 2010. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBANK OF AMERICA MTG \nJPMORGAN CHASE \nM & I MORTGAGE \nRIGHT AWAY MORTGAGE \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nWhat is your total scheduled monthly payment for the above-referenced home loan?\n$1,525 - $1,624 \n$1,625 - $1,724 \n$1,725 - $1,824 \n$1,825 - $1,924 \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a retail card, opened in or around September 2014. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nKOHL'S \nROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTARGET CORPORATION \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a bank card, opened in or around September 2015. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBB&T CORPORATION \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTHE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC \nU.S. BANCORP \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nI answered none of the above to all of them and the next page told me I have to send in my ss card and my DL to verify my identity. \nThe other 2 companies I checked tonight asked questions like that too, I figured it was sort of a test and the none of the above answer applied to them since I should have nothing on my credit report. \n\nI'm planning on asking my aunt to run a credit check on me, see what she sees. \n\nDoes them needing me to mail verify mean that there's fraudulent activity? \n\nI'm having a heart attack.\nThanks in advance." Self: "No, not at all. I have a friend who has to validate her identity by mail every year with one of the companies even though she answers her questions correctly. It's incredibly annoying, but no reason to fret."
User (danieljay691): "I have no credit cards. I don't have a mortgage, don't own a house. I have no debt. I checked annualcreditreport just to check it and I saw the first company claimed I had a charge card, I disputed it, turns out it was actually okay, I forgot I had received a card from my mom with my name on it for the company business. The second report was fine as well. The third report had me answer these questions to verify my identity:\nYour credit file indicates you may have a home loan, opened in or around November 2010. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBANK OF AMERICA MTG \nJPMORGAN CHASE \nM & I MORTGAGE \nRIGHT AWAY MORTGAGE \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nWhat is your total scheduled monthly payment for the above-referenced home loan?\n$1,525 - $1,624 \n$1,625 - $1,724 \n$1,725 - $1,824 \n$1,825 - $1,924 \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a retail card, opened in or around September 2014. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nKOHL'S \nROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTARGET CORPORATION \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a bank card, opened in or around September 2015. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBB&T CORPORATION \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTHE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC \nU.S. BANCORP \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nI answered none of the above to all of them and the next page told me I have to send in my ss card and my DL to verify my identity. \nThe other 2 companies I checked tonight asked questions like that too, I figured it was sort of a test and the none of the above answer applied to them since I should have nothing on my credit report. \n\nI'm planning on asking my aunt to run a credit check on me, see what she sees. \n\nDoes them needing me to mail verify mean that there's fraudulent activity? \n\nI'm having a heart attack.\nThanks in advance." Self: "You probably have a thin file"
User (danieljay691): "I have no credit cards. I don't have a mortgage, don't own a house. I have no debt. I checked annualcreditreport just to check it and I saw the first company claimed I had a charge card, I disputed it, turns out it was actually okay, I forgot I had received a card from my mom with my name on it for the company business. The second report was fine as well. The third report had me answer these questions to verify my identity:\nYour credit file indicates you may have a home loan, opened in or around November 2010. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBANK OF AMERICA MTG \nJPMORGAN CHASE \nM & I MORTGAGE \nRIGHT AWAY MORTGAGE \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nWhat is your total scheduled monthly payment for the above-referenced home loan?\n$1,525 - $1,624 \n$1,625 - $1,724 \n$1,725 - $1,824 \n$1,825 - $1,924 \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a retail card, opened in or around September 2014. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nKOHL'S \nROYAL DUTCH SHELL GROUP \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTARGET CORPORATION \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nYour credit file indicates you may have a bank card, opened in or around September 2015. Who is the credit provider for this account?\nBB&T CORPORATION \nSEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION \nTHE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC \nU.S. BANCORP \nNONE OF THE ABOVE \n\nI answered none of the above to all of them and the next page told me I have to send in my ss card and my DL to verify my identity. \nThe other 2 companies I checked tonight asked questions like that too, I figured it was sort of a test and the none of the above answer applied to them since I should have nothing on my credit report. \n\nI'm planning on asking my aunt to run a credit check on me, see what she sees. \n\nDoes them needing me to mail verify mean that there's fraudulent activity? \n\nI'm having a heart attack.\nThanks in advance." Self: ">Does them needing me to mail verify mean that there's fraudulent activity?\n\nThese questions are designed to verify your identity. The thinking is that you should know the answers to these questions.\n\nMost likely, your answers didn't match the correct answers. The SS & DL is to prove your identity. \n\nThink of it this way - anyone could call up and claim to be you and get your credit report and use it for identity theft. Those questions make sure they only release the report to you."
User (MrBobb1): "So im looking to buy a house in the next year or so. And i want to know how much a house roughly costs in an average month, including utilities and mortage, etc.\n\nCould anyone point me in the direction of a good calculator for something like this? All i can find are mortage calcs, when i also want to know utilities (rough prices, i know it differs per area and other factors). I need to know how much it will be, before I even start looking.\n\n\nThanks in advance." Self: "Depends where you live and the size of the house. Usually more than a small apartment."
User (MrBobb1): "So im looking to buy a house in the next year or so. And i want to know how much a house roughly costs in an average month, including utilities and mortage, etc.\n\nCould anyone point me in the direction of a good calculator for something like this? All i can find are mortage calcs, when i also want to know utilities (rough prices, i know it differs per area and other factors). I need to know how much it will be, before I even start looking.\n\n\nThanks in advance." Self: "When you look at the mortgage calculator make sure it's calculating in a rough estimate for property taxes and insurance depending on where you live. You'll also want to make sure it calculates PMI which is mortgage insurance and is required unless you put at least 20% down on the house. As far as utilities they'll vary depending on the size of the house and the area you live in. I have about an 1800 sf house for example in the midwest and I average approximately the following per month\nElectric - $80\nGas - $60\nWater - $20\nSewer - $15\nTrash - $15\nYou'll obviously want to include other bills like internet, tv, cell phone and other recurring bills you have like car payment etc.\nThe main thing is don't borrow more than you can afford and make yourself house poor. You want to have a little cushion in case something breaks after you move in or just money for furniture and other things." LineBreakBot (LineBreakBot): "You might have incorrectly formatted line breaks. To create a line break, either put two spaces at the end of the line or put an extra blank line in-between lines. ([See Reddit's page on commenting for more information.](http://www.reddit.com/wiki/commenting))\n\nI have attempted to automatically reformat your text with fixed line breaks.\n\n----\n\n> When you look at the mortgage calculator make sure it's calculating in a rough estimate for property taxes and insurance depending on where you live. You'll also want to make sure it calculates PMI which is mortgage insurance and is required unless you put at least 20% down on the house. As far as utilities they'll vary depending on the size of the house and the area you live in. I have about an 1800 sf house for example in the midwest and I average approximately the following per month\n\n> Electric - $80\n\n> Gas - $60\n\n> Water - $20\n\n> Sewer - $15\n\n> Trash - $15\n\n> You'll obviously want to include other bills like internet, tv, cell phone and other recurring bills you have like car payment etc.\n\n> The main thing is don't borrow more than you can afford and make yourself house poor. You want to have a little cushion in case something breaks after you move in or just money for furniture and other things.\n>\n\n----\n\n^(I am a bot. Contact) ^[pentium4borg](https://www.reddit.com/user/pentium4borg) ^(with any feedback.)"
User (MrBobb1): "So im looking to buy a house in the next year or so. And i want to know how much a house roughly costs in an average month, including utilities and mortage, etc.\n\nCould anyone point me in the direction of a good calculator for something like this? All i can find are mortage calcs, when i also want to know utilities (rough prices, i know it differs per area and other factors). I need to know how much it will be, before I even start looking.\n\n\nThanks in advance." Self: "When you look at the mortgage calculator make sure it's calculating in a rough estimate for property taxes and insurance depending on where you live. You'll also want to make sure it calculates PMI which is mortgage insurance and is required unless you put at least 20% down on the house. As far as utilities they'll vary depending on the size of the house and the area you live in. I have about an 1800 sf house for example in the midwest and I average approximately the following per month\nElectric - $80\nGas - $60\nWater - $20\nSewer - $15\nTrash - $15\nYou'll obviously want to include other bills like internet, tv, cell phone and other recurring bills you have like car payment etc.\nThe main thing is don't borrow more than you can afford and make yourself house poor. You want to have a little cushion in case something breaks after you move in or just money for furniture and other things." User (MrBobb1): "I work for a home improvement company and we get bonus in store credits for stuff. So i have around 1k$ saved up in MCCs, so im not super worried about stuff breaking, because ill get 600-1k more before i move in.\n\nAlso i will be making sure i can afford the 20% down, to avoid the PMI. So if my mortage was ~800 would it be reasonable to say my monthly bill would be ~1200, with utilities and internet (no phone no tv since i wont utilize them to make it worth)" Self: "If that $800 includes your escrow payment then yes figuring $1200 should cover everything. In case you're not sure what I mean by escrow that means it includes a monthly tax and insurance payment to and escrow company that collects the money and pays it when they're due. You're required to escrow if you don't put 20% down but since you are you'll have the option. I would recommend it though since it's a good way to budget and some loan companies will charge a premium if you don't escrow." User (MrBobb1): "Ok, thank you!"
User (thathirt): "So, fuck craigslist.\n\nI make about $1,800/month after taxes. I have about $2,000 dollars in savings with enough in my checking to pay for the rest of my rent/living expenses. My credit score has finally increased since April from 540 to 689 (Thanks to not being dumb and some great advice I received in this subreddit to begin that increase!)\n\nWhat should I be looking at? I assume not a new car, nor am I after one. But I am tired of playing around with fucks on craigslist and would like to get a nicer used car from a dealer. I just have no idea how to even begin a process like this...\n\nMore background info: 27 years/M , just passed my two year mark of recovery from substances and alcohol. Ready to make big boy changes ( a 1998 dodge stratus that I constantly have to change fuses in and out to start is becoming not reliable). Enrolled in a 401k last month through my work. And fucking A I hate dealing with craigslist car ads.\n\nThank you!" Self: "Look for something that costs about $8000ish. You can find that at a dealer.\n\nSomething like this, maybe: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/686201861/overview/\n" User (thathirt): "you know me too well. Japanese makes is what I've stuck too. Especially having to dig for old used cars that hopefully still have some juice. Not to mention Honda has saved my life on a couple of occasions via past dumbass accidents."
User (thathirt): "So, fuck craigslist.\n\nI make about $1,800/month after taxes. I have about $2,000 dollars in savings with enough in my checking to pay for the rest of my rent/living expenses. My credit score has finally increased since April from 540 to 689 (Thanks to not being dumb and some great advice I received in this subreddit to begin that increase!)\n\nWhat should I be looking at? I assume not a new car, nor am I after one. But I am tired of playing around with fucks on craigslist and would like to get a nicer used car from a dealer. I just have no idea how to even begin a process like this...\n\nMore background info: 27 years/M , just passed my two year mark of recovery from substances and alcohol. Ready to make big boy changes ( a 1998 dodge stratus that I constantly have to change fuses in and out to start is becoming not reliable). Enrolled in a 401k last month through my work. And fucking A I hate dealing with craigslist car ads.\n\nThank you!" Self: "Car salesman here. It really depends on your credit profile. Score is not always everything. Your profile is what is actually showing on your credit... Good bad and in between. If you are looking to finance $2,000 down payment is a good place to start. Payment wise, it goes roughly like this, 750+ credit score is considered excellent, 625 to 680 is average, and anything under 625 is poor. So rough math would be, with excellent credit it's about $20 per thousand dollars of total loan. So with excellent credit a $20,000 loan would be roughly $400 a month. Average credit is about 22 dollars per thousand, and poor is around 25. These are rough estimates and down payment and trade ins can bring this amount down. Now having said that. I have seen people with 800+ credit scores who couldn't get into a car and people with 550 scores buy two cars at once. It's rare but it happens. To be honest, I would hit your local credit unions and see what they can do for you pre approval wise on car loans and take any pre approval print outs with you, that way you can go into a dealership with some ammunition and the sales man can have a clear cut path to showing you what cars he has that fall into your range. " User (thathirt): "Thank you! I bank with BoA currently. Been wanting to switch to a CU, but I ordered a shit load of checks from BoA to pay off some amends that will take another year or so. \n\nMy question: Will I be able to get a loan from a CU without being a member there?" Self: "Lots of credit unions and banks use what's called a "cuddle" program with local dealerships so they have a direct link with the dealerships. So you don't technically have to be a member of the loaner. Credit unions tend to be dealerships number one lenders. Especially in smaller towns and cities. Plus credit unions usually have the lowest rates when it comes to loans. Here in California, for your credit score I have been seeing lots of 2.99 and 3.99 percent auto loans, which is really good. I'm not saying that you will qualify but you might have a chance at a lower rate through a credit union. My advice is to shop around at a few credit unions and go from there. Some credit unions will even give you pre approval over the phone even. Call and ask!" User (thathirt): "Yes, great info! Thank you!"
User (thecuntdestroyer1): "So my bank account is linked to my parent's account since I am still only 17, and they monitor my account heavily. I get paid with checks, and I would like to make it seem like I get paid less than I actually do so I can have spending money on other things without my parents knowledge. Is their any way I could only cash in a portion of a check? For example, the check is for $350, but I only want to put in $250. Is their any way I could do this or no? " Self: "Just cash the check and deposit what you want. "
User (thecuntdestroyer1): "So my bank account is linked to my parent's account since I am still only 17, and they monitor my account heavily. I get paid with checks, and I would like to make it seem like I get paid less than I actually do so I can have spending money on other things without my parents knowledge. Is their any way I could only cash in a portion of a check? For example, the check is for $350, but I only want to put in $250. Is their any way I could do this or no? " Self: "Go straight to the bank and they'll give you cash in hand and put the rest into your account" User (thecuntdestroyer1): "Will it matter if I am not 18 (my bank is wells fargo)?" Nicole219 (Nicole219): "The check is in your name. That's all that matters. "
User (thecuntdestroyer1): "So my bank account is linked to my parent's account since I am still only 17, and they monitor my account heavily. I get paid with checks, and I would like to make it seem like I get paid less than I actually do so I can have spending money on other things without my parents knowledge. Is their any way I could only cash in a portion of a check? For example, the check is for $350, but I only want to put in $250. Is their any way I could do this or no? " Self: "Go straight to the bank and they'll give you cash in hand and put the rest into your account" User (thecuntdestroyer1): "Will it matter if I am not 18 (my bank is wells fargo)?" this_guy83 (this_guy83): "No, it will not matter."
User (thecuntdestroyer1): "So my bank account is linked to my parent's account since I am still only 17, and they monitor my account heavily. I get paid with checks, and I would like to make it seem like I get paid less than I actually do so I can have spending money on other things without my parents knowledge. Is their any way I could only cash in a portion of a check? For example, the check is for $350, but I only want to put in $250. Is their any way I could do this or no? " Self: "When you take it to the bank to deposit it you can put down how much you want deposited to your account on the deposit slip. The rest will be given back to you as cash. I'm not sure you can do this with direct deposit though." MisterMoosers (MisterMoosers): "banks typically dont do that anymore, most banks i know will either hold the check or what they do is they have to deposit the entire check into the account and then they withdrawl what cash you want from the account. "
User (thecuntdestroyer1): "So my bank account is linked to my parent's account since I am still only 17, and they monitor my account heavily. I get paid with checks, and I would like to make it seem like I get paid less than I actually do so I can have spending money on other things without my parents knowledge. Is their any way I could only cash in a portion of a check? For example, the check is for $350, but I only want to put in $250. Is their any way I could do this or no? " Self: "You can go cash your check at a check cashing place or like walmart or something, they just give you the cash. "
User (thecuntdestroyer1): "So my bank account is linked to my parent's account since I am still only 17, and they monitor my account heavily. I get paid with checks, and I would like to make it seem like I get paid less than I actually do so I can have spending money on other things without my parents knowledge. Is their any way I could only cash in a portion of a check? For example, the check is for $350, but I only want to put in $250. Is their any way I could do this or no? " Self: "When you take it to the bank to deposit it you can put down how much you want deposited to your account on the deposit slip. The rest will be given back to you as cash. I'm not sure you can do this with direct deposit though." User (thecuntdestroyer1): "I did not know this. Usually I just go through the ATM and follow the steps. Thank you for the help!" notseriousIswear (notseriousIswear): "You can view a photocopy of the check online and possibly in the monthly statement. This may only be deposits through the atm I'm not sure.\n\n Your parents will not be happy if they find out you've been holding out on them.\n\nSome grocery stores and other places will cash a payroll check for free or a small fee. Opening your own account elsewhere is an option but you will probably get letters from them which will tip off your parents.\n\nEdit: in order to cash a check they require you to have funds which will cover the amount of the check. This will affect the available balance in the account for your parents. If you follow others advice and do a partial deposit, you will likely get caught." User (thecuntdestroyer1): "When you say I need to have funds to cover the check, do you mean I need to have more than the check amount in my account?" notseriousIswear (notseriousIswear): "For example I had a 400$ check I wanted to cash but had 250$ in my account. They left me walk with 200$ cash and the rest pending for 3 days. Meanwhile the available balance in my account was only 75$. These numbers are made up but close to a real situation that happened to me."
User (thecuntdestroyer1): "So my bank account is linked to my parent's account since I am still only 17, and they monitor my account heavily. I get paid with checks, and I would like to make it seem like I get paid less than I actually do so I can have spending money on other things without my parents knowledge. Is their any way I could only cash in a portion of a check? For example, the check is for $350, but I only want to put in $250. Is their any way I could do this or no? " Self: "Does your employer allow direct deposit of your paycheck? \n\nMy employer does and I can set up multiple direct deposits to different bank accounts. \n\nI have the first one set up to deposit 85% of my pay to my Bank of America checking, and 15% to my online savings account at Ally." User (thecuntdestroyer1): "No they do not, I just get a hand written check at the end of every month."
User (Qibla): "Hey all, \n\nI moved from Australia to London 6 months ago and my mother just sent me a Christmas present. Because this is the first package she's sending me and thought it would take a while she sent it express post. \n\n\nWell a month before Christmas I receive a letter from HM Customs telling me I have to pay over £30 in taxes before I can receive the package. My mother is mortified about this, so I called up customs to find more about the tax.\n\n\nOn the call they tell me not only what my Christmas present is they tell me how much it's worth and that the tax was charged on both the cost of the gift plus the cost of the express postage which comes to about $160 aud.\n\n\nMoney is tight for me and my mother at the moment as we both work for minimum wage, so I'm wondering if there is anyway out if this fee or anyway I can reduce it." Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/41dew6)\n- [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes)\n- [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates)\n- [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (Qibla): "Hey all, \n\nI moved from Australia to London 6 months ago and my mother just sent me a Christmas present. Because this is the first package she's sending me and thought it would take a while she sent it express post. \n\n\nWell a month before Christmas I receive a letter from HM Customs telling me I have to pay over £30 in taxes before I can receive the package. My mother is mortified about this, so I called up customs to find more about the tax.\n\n\nOn the call they tell me not only what my Christmas present is they tell me how much it's worth and that the tax was charged on both the cost of the gift plus the cost of the express postage which comes to about $160 aud.\n\n\nMoney is tight for me and my mother at the moment as we both work for minimum wage, so I'm wondering if there is anyway out if this fee or anyway I can reduce it." Self: "And Reddit is going to answer that question for you rather than the taxing authority. ??? Good on ya mate!"
User (Qibla): "Hey all, \n\nI moved from Australia to London 6 months ago and my mother just sent me a Christmas present. Because this is the first package she's sending me and thought it would take a while she sent it express post. \n\n\nWell a month before Christmas I receive a letter from HM Customs telling me I have to pay over £30 in taxes before I can receive the package. My mother is mortified about this, so I called up customs to find more about the tax.\n\n\nOn the call they tell me not only what my Christmas present is they tell me how much it's worth and that the tax was charged on both the cost of the gift plus the cost of the express postage which comes to about $160 aud.\n\n\nMoney is tight for me and my mother at the moment as we both work for minimum wage, so I'm wondering if there is anyway out if this fee or anyway I can reduce it." Self: "Yes, you're importing goods and you have to pay taxes on that. Sorry that you're in that situation, but that's what it's like. And no, they won't settle for less."
User (Qibla): "Hey all, \n\nI moved from Australia to London 6 months ago and my mother just sent me a Christmas present. Because this is the first package she's sending me and thought it would take a while she sent it express post. \n\n\nWell a month before Christmas I receive a letter from HM Customs telling me I have to pay over £30 in taxes before I can receive the package. My mother is mortified about this, so I called up customs to find more about the tax.\n\n\nOn the call they tell me not only what my Christmas present is they tell me how much it's worth and that the tax was charged on both the cost of the gift plus the cost of the express postage which comes to about $160 aud.\n\n\nMoney is tight for me and my mother at the moment as we both work for minimum wage, so I'm wondering if there is anyway out if this fee or anyway I can reduce it." Self: "[info on UK import duties and receiving gifts from abroad](https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/overview). There is nothing you can do about it. Gifts with a stated value of more than £35 are taxed (20% VAT) and you are also charged a £7 handling fee. "
User (Qibla): "Hey all, \n\nI moved from Australia to London 6 months ago and my mother just sent me a Christmas present. Because this is the first package she's sending me and thought it would take a while she sent it express post. \n\n\nWell a month before Christmas I receive a letter from HM Customs telling me I have to pay over £30 in taxes before I can receive the package. My mother is mortified about this, so I called up customs to find more about the tax.\n\n\nOn the call they tell me not only what my Christmas present is they tell me how much it's worth and that the tax was charged on both the cost of the gift plus the cost of the express postage which comes to about $160 aud.\n\n\nMoney is tight for me and my mother at the moment as we both work for minimum wage, so I'm wondering if there is anyway out if this fee or anyway I can reduce it." Self: "Tell your mother to send you $160 so you can get the gift."
User (Qibla): "Hey all, \n\nI moved from Australia to London 6 months ago and my mother just sent me a Christmas present. Because this is the first package she's sending me and thought it would take a while she sent it express post. \n\n\nWell a month before Christmas I receive a letter from HM Customs telling me I have to pay over £30 in taxes before I can receive the package. My mother is mortified about this, so I called up customs to find more about the tax.\n\n\nOn the call they tell me not only what my Christmas present is they tell me how much it's worth and that the tax was charged on both the cost of the gift plus the cost of the express postage which comes to about $160 aud.\n\n\nMoney is tight for me and my mother at the moment as we both work for minimum wage, so I'm wondering if there is anyway out if this fee or anyway I can reduce it." Self: "No, that's just the way it is. You have to pay duty on items over a particular limit (although that seems awfully high for A$160; are you sure you have that correct?). If you don't pick up the package and pay within a certain time, the package may be sent back to Australia." User (Qibla): "They said the gift is valued at $80, and the express postage cost $80. Tax is charged on the sum of the value and postage if express postage is used."
User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "So, my dad and I had a huge falling out a few years ago. I (33yo) started standing up to him for the first time in my life... Anyway, it was the worst decision of my life. Moving forward, I filed my 2014 / 2015 taxes through h & r block at the same time this past tax season. My 2014 never went through (no return ever came back). I was asked by the IRS to prove my identity, etc. I finally spoke with a tax professional who told me that he is 99% sure that due to the information I provided him, someone else has filed my taxes for that year. Interestingly, they are not allowed to disclose that information to us. If someone (identity thief for example) files your taxes, they need you to also file your taxes / prove your identity so they can then go after the other guy. Well, my dad - a retired accountant used to always do my taxes. I would let him fake my signature as I lived across the country. He's my dad, I never would think that due to a falling out he would steal from me, or fake my signature without my approval. I am very certain that he just went ahead and filed my 2014 taxes. \n\nYes I am hurt. I am also sad that I am not going to receive the tax return money that I deserve, but I also don't want to get the grumpy guy in trouble. He never tells the truth, and avoids all indications that lead to him being guilty of wrong doing (why we don't speak at the moment - pure resentment) so I know that reaching out to him is a dead end. He would just scurry away from it all and maybe even worse (yes, I also fear him). What should I do? I know this is advice on personal finance, but putting yourself in my shoes, as I loving son to a stubborn dad... how should I handle this? Keep in mind that the main reason we don't talk is because if I call him out on something, he gets extremely defensive and borderline autistic (i.e. filing my taxes and stealing my refund), or turning family members against me by telling lies, etc. \n\nAnyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Remember, not only do I want to protect my dad from legal action, I also want to protect myself from the IRS in the case he did my taxes wrong, or they are still waiting for me to file them, etc. It's a really unique situation of weird. :(" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/41dew6)\n- [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes)\n- [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates)\n- [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns." _wirving_ (_wirving_): "I'm so sorry that you are in this situation, OP. But I don't think you can do both. You either have to eat the consequences of him potentially fucking up your taxes, or you have to report him to the IRS. As hard as it will be, I'd recommend doing the latter. He's stolen your identity once - he is probably willing to do it again. And when that happens you will be too far up shit creek in a sinking ship to make it back. \n\nAlso, go on the IRS website and get a copy of your 2014 return transcript. That will tell you whether or not he messed your return up. " User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "Hmm, I kinda explained my situation to the tax guy I spoke with, and asked him if maybe I can just let it go away...he had the same empathy in his eyes and said, maybe...yes. My dad is a tax pro so I'm sure he did my taxes right (despite my paranoia as you read in my post). Maybe I can just let it happen and let my dad take my refund, etc. Yes, I could call it "identity theft" but really, it's just my dads last vestige of control over me... he did what I allowed him to do in all my other previous tax returns, but this time he just did it behind my back. He paid for my college, he's helped me tremendously throughout my career when I was between jobs. I know in his head he wasn't "stealing my identity" but just "getting what he [thought] he deserved". So maybe I can just leave it at that? I'm curious to hear your response though. Thanks for your kind words and your advice. \n\nedit I also think he won't do it again. I was living at his house for a few months as I got my feet back on the ground. I always used his address for my w-2's so I'm sure that all those 2014 documents just went to his house. Moving forward the IRS has my new address, so the tax stuff is kinda out of site out of mind. Anyway. I think that makes sense? Thanks again! " PirateGriffin (PirateGriffin): "I don't know, man this sounds like a pretty bad idea. I know this is unpleasant, and you know your dad better than we do, but what he did was illegal, he stole money from you, and it's your ass on the line if you throw up your hands and ignore it. At least promise you'll keep a really close eye on your credit to make sure this really was a one-time thing?"
User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "So, my dad and I had a huge falling out a few years ago. I (33yo) started standing up to him for the first time in my life... Anyway, it was the worst decision of my life. Moving forward, I filed my 2014 / 2015 taxes through h & r block at the same time this past tax season. My 2014 never went through (no return ever came back). I was asked by the IRS to prove my identity, etc. I finally spoke with a tax professional who told me that he is 99% sure that due to the information I provided him, someone else has filed my taxes for that year. Interestingly, they are not allowed to disclose that information to us. If someone (identity thief for example) files your taxes, they need you to also file your taxes / prove your identity so they can then go after the other guy. Well, my dad - a retired accountant used to always do my taxes. I would let him fake my signature as I lived across the country. He's my dad, I never would think that due to a falling out he would steal from me, or fake my signature without my approval. I am very certain that he just went ahead and filed my 2014 taxes. \n\nYes I am hurt. I am also sad that I am not going to receive the tax return money that I deserve, but I also don't want to get the grumpy guy in trouble. He never tells the truth, and avoids all indications that lead to him being guilty of wrong doing (why we don't speak at the moment - pure resentment) so I know that reaching out to him is a dead end. He would just scurry away from it all and maybe even worse (yes, I also fear him). What should I do? I know this is advice on personal finance, but putting yourself in my shoes, as I loving son to a stubborn dad... how should I handle this? Keep in mind that the main reason we don't talk is because if I call him out on something, he gets extremely defensive and borderline autistic (i.e. filing my taxes and stealing my refund), or turning family members against me by telling lies, etc. \n\nAnyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Remember, not only do I want to protect my dad from legal action, I also want to protect myself from the IRS in the case he did my taxes wrong, or they are still waiting for me to file them, etc. It's a really unique situation of weird. :(" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/41dew6)\n- [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes)\n- [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates)\n- [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns." _wirving_ (_wirving_): "I'm so sorry that you are in this situation, OP. But I don't think you can do both. You either have to eat the consequences of him potentially fucking up your taxes, or you have to report him to the IRS. As hard as it will be, I'd recommend doing the latter. He's stolen your identity once - he is probably willing to do it again. And when that happens you will be too far up shit creek in a sinking ship to make it back. \n\nAlso, go on the IRS website and get a copy of your 2014 return transcript. That will tell you whether or not he messed your return up. " User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "Hmm, I kinda explained my situation to the tax guy I spoke with, and asked him if maybe I can just let it go away...he had the same empathy in his eyes and said, maybe...yes. My dad is a tax pro so I'm sure he did my taxes right (despite my paranoia as you read in my post). Maybe I can just let it happen and let my dad take my refund, etc. Yes, I could call it "identity theft" but really, it's just my dads last vestige of control over me... he did what I allowed him to do in all my other previous tax returns, but this time he just did it behind my back. He paid for my college, he's helped me tremendously throughout my career when I was between jobs. I know in his head he wasn't "stealing my identity" but just "getting what he [thought] he deserved". So maybe I can just leave it at that? I'm curious to hear your response though. Thanks for your kind words and your advice. \n\nedit I also think he won't do it again. I was living at his house for a few months as I got my feet back on the ground. I always used his address for my w-2's so I'm sure that all those 2014 documents just went to his house. Moving forward the IRS has my new address, so the tax stuff is kinda out of site out of mind. Anyway. I think that makes sense? Thanks again! " _wirving_ (_wirving_): "I think a lot of what you are seeking right now needs to come from the relationship subreddit, so I highly recommend crossposting to get their feedback as well. Financially speaking, I would tell the IRS - you need to resolve this issue with the government and get your taxes in order so you do not get slapped with a nasty fine or legal trouble down the road. \n\nBut something to chew on: if your father is willing to punish you for trying to set boundaries by stealing your tax return, why would he not take it a step further and deliberately falsify your return? This question is also the easiest to answer - you can check what he submitted on the IRS website and know once and for all if he just stole your return, or knowingly falsified your tax information. "
User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "So, my dad and I had a huge falling out a few years ago. I (33yo) started standing up to him for the first time in my life... Anyway, it was the worst decision of my life. Moving forward, I filed my 2014 / 2015 taxes through h & r block at the same time this past tax season. My 2014 never went through (no return ever came back). I was asked by the IRS to prove my identity, etc. I finally spoke with a tax professional who told me that he is 99% sure that due to the information I provided him, someone else has filed my taxes for that year. Interestingly, they are not allowed to disclose that information to us. If someone (identity thief for example) files your taxes, they need you to also file your taxes / prove your identity so they can then go after the other guy. Well, my dad - a retired accountant used to always do my taxes. I would let him fake my signature as I lived across the country. He's my dad, I never would think that due to a falling out he would steal from me, or fake my signature without my approval. I am very certain that he just went ahead and filed my 2014 taxes. \n\nYes I am hurt. I am also sad that I am not going to receive the tax return money that I deserve, but I also don't want to get the grumpy guy in trouble. He never tells the truth, and avoids all indications that lead to him being guilty of wrong doing (why we don't speak at the moment - pure resentment) so I know that reaching out to him is a dead end. He would just scurry away from it all and maybe even worse (yes, I also fear him). What should I do? I know this is advice on personal finance, but putting yourself in my shoes, as I loving son to a stubborn dad... how should I handle this? Keep in mind that the main reason we don't talk is because if I *call him out on something, he gets extremely defensive and borderline autistic (i.e. filing my taxes and stealing my refund), or turning family members against me by telling lies, etc. \n\nAnyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Remember, not only do I want to protect my dad from legal action, I also want to protect myself from the IRS in the case he did my taxes wrong, or they are still waiting for me to file them, etc. It's a really unique situation of weird. :(" Self: "You are THIRTY THREE years old. Handle your own taxes. In fact, handle your own everything. Long overdue."
User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "So, my dad and I had a huge falling out a few years ago. I (33yo) started standing up to him for the first time in my life... Anyway, it was the worst decision of my life. Moving forward, I filed my 2014 / 2015 taxes through h & r block at the same time this past tax season. My 2014 never went through (no return ever came back). I was asked by the IRS to prove my identity, etc. I finally spoke with a tax professional who told me that he is 99% sure that due to the information I provided him, someone else has filed my taxes for that year. Interestingly, they are not allowed to disclose that information to us. If someone (identity thief for example) files your taxes, they need you to also file your taxes / prove your identity so they can then go after the other guy. Well, my dad - a retired accountant used to always do my taxes. I would let him fake my signature as I lived across the country. He's my dad, I never would think that due to a falling out he would steal from me, or fake my signature without my approval. I am very certain that he just went ahead and filed my 2014 taxes. \n\nYes I am hurt. I am also sad that I am not going to receive the tax return money that I deserve, but I also don't want to get the grumpy guy in trouble. He never tells the truth, and avoids all indications that lead to him being guilty of wrong doing (why we don't speak at the moment - pure resentment) so I know that reaching out to him is a dead end. He would just scurry away from it all and maybe even worse (yes, I also fear him). What should I do? I know this is advice on personal finance, but putting yourself in my shoes, as I loving son to a stubborn dad... how should I handle this? Keep in mind that the main reason we don't talk is because if I *call him out on something, he gets extremely defensive and borderline autistic (i.e. filing my taxes and stealing my refund), or turning family members against me by telling lies, etc. \n\nAnyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Remember, not only do I want to protect my dad from legal action, I also want to protect myself from the IRS in the case he did my taxes wrong, or they are still waiting for me to file them, etc. It's a really unique situation of weird. :(" Self: "Call your dad, tell him you see he did the taxes for you this year. Ask him to send you the refund check. That's it. Face him like that, stand up. Don't be mean, make it as matter of fact, type deal. "
User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "So, my dad and I had a huge falling out a few years ago. I (33yo) started standing up to him for the first time in my life... Anyway, it was the worst decision of my life. Moving forward, I filed my 2014 / 2015 taxes through h & r block at the same time this past tax season. My 2014 never went through (no return ever came back). I was asked by the IRS to prove my identity, etc. I finally spoke with a tax professional who told me that he is 99% sure that due to the information I provided him, someone else has filed my taxes for that year. Interestingly, they are not allowed to disclose that information to us. If someone (identity thief for example) files your taxes, they need you to also file your taxes / prove your identity so they can then go after the other guy. Well, my dad - a retired accountant used to always do my taxes. I would let him fake my signature as I lived across the country. He's my dad, I never would think that due to a falling out he would steal from me, or fake my signature without my approval. I am very certain that he just went ahead and filed my 2014 taxes. \n\nYes I am hurt. I am also sad that I am not going to receive the tax return money that I deserve, but I also don't want to get the grumpy guy in trouble. He never tells the truth, and avoids all indications that lead to him being guilty of wrong doing (why we don't speak at the moment - pure resentment) so I know that reaching out to him is a dead end. He would just scurry away from it all and maybe even worse (yes, I also fear him). What should I do? I know this is advice on personal finance, but putting yourself in my shoes, as I loving son to a stubborn dad... how should I handle this? Keep in mind that the main reason we don't talk is because if I *call him out on something, he gets extremely defensive and borderline autistic (i.e. filing my taxes and stealing my refund), or turning family members against me by telling lies, etc. \n\nAnyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Remember, not only do I want to protect my dad from legal action, I also want to protect myself from the IRS in the case he did my taxes wrong, or they are still waiting for me to file them, etc. It's a really unique situation of weird. :(" Self: "I'd go the "trust but verify" route on this one. \n\nTrust: Let your dad have this one. Possibly even tell him thanks for filing your taxes, and to not worry about giving you the money. It sounds like this is the route you'd be most comfortable with and I don't see a problem with it. I would mention that you plan on doing the taxes yourself moving forward. You can joke about you being more responsible or not using him for his skills or something. \n\nVerify: Get a copy of your assessment to make sure the tax return looks right. Check your credit reports to make sure nothing looks unusual. Change your mailing address with everybody so nothing will go to your dad's address. Check with your work that everything will always be sent to your current address. Check online accounts for correct address info. Basically make sure there is no way for your dad to file taxes for you next year without your involvement. He can't do it without the right paperwork! "
User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "So, my dad and I had a huge falling out a few years ago. I (33yo) started standing up to him for the first time in my life... Anyway, it was the worst decision of my life. Moving forward, I filed my 2014 / 2015 taxes through h & r block at the same time this past tax season. My 2014 never went through (no return ever came back). I was asked by the IRS to prove my identity, etc. I finally spoke with a tax professional who told me that he is 99% sure that due to the information I provided him, someone else has filed my taxes for that year. Interestingly, they are not allowed to disclose that information to us. If someone (identity thief for example) files your taxes, they need you to also file your taxes / prove your identity so they can then go after the other guy. Well, my dad - a retired accountant used to always do my taxes. I would let him fake my signature as I lived across the country. He's my dad, I never would think that due to a falling out he would steal from me, or fake my signature without my approval. I am very certain that he just went ahead and filed my 2014 taxes. \n\nYes I am hurt. I am also sad that I am not going to receive the tax return money that I deserve, but I also don't want to get the grumpy guy in trouble. He never tells the truth, and avoids all indications that lead to him being guilty of wrong doing (why we don't speak at the moment - pure resentment) so I know that reaching out to him is a dead end. He would just scurry away from it all and maybe even worse (yes, I also fear him). What should I do? I know this is advice on personal finance, but putting yourself in my shoes, as I loving son to a stubborn dad... how should I handle this? Keep in mind that the main reason we don't talk is because if I *call him out on something, he gets extremely defensive and borderline autistic (i.e. filing my taxes and stealing my refund), or turning family members against me by telling lies, etc. \n\nAnyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Remember, not only do I want to protect my dad from legal action, I also want to protect myself from the IRS in the case he did my taxes wrong, or they are still waiting for me to file them, etc. It's a really unique situation of weird. :(" Self: "It might help in the future to increase your number of dependencies on your W-4 by 1. That way you won't have a tax return for thieves to steal. Just make sure you save enough money to pay your taxes when the time comes and make sure you don't get behind on your quarterly taxes."
User (hmm-this-is-uhh-huh): "So, my dad and I had a huge falling out a few years ago. I (33yo) started standing up to him for the first time in my life... Anyway, it was the worst decision of my life. Moving forward, I filed my 2014 / 2015 taxes through h & r block at the same time this past tax season. My 2014 never went through (no return ever came back). I was asked by the IRS to prove my identity, etc. I finally spoke with a tax professional who told me that he is 99% sure that due to the information I provided him, someone else has filed my taxes for that year. Interestingly, they are not allowed to disclose that information to us. If someone (identity thief for example) files your taxes, they need you to also file your taxes / prove your identity so they can then go after the other guy. Well, my dad - a retired accountant used to always do my taxes. I would let him fake my signature as I lived across the country. He's my dad, I never would think that due to a falling out he would steal from me, or fake my signature without my approval. I am very certain that he just went ahead and filed my 2014 taxes. \n\nYes I am hurt. I am also sad that I am not going to receive the tax return money that I deserve, but I also don't want to get the grumpy guy in trouble. He never tells the truth, and avoids all indications that lead to him being guilty of wrong doing (why we don't speak at the moment - pure resentment) so I know that reaching out to him is a dead end. He would just scurry away from it all and maybe even worse (yes, I also fear him). What should I do? I know this is advice on personal finance, but putting yourself in my shoes, as I loving son to a stubborn dad... how should I handle this? Keep in mind that the main reason we don't talk is because if I *call him out on something, he gets extremely defensive and borderline autistic (i.e. filing my taxes and stealing my refund), or turning family members against me by telling lies, etc. \n\nAnyway, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Remember, not only do I want to protect my dad from legal action, I also want to protect myself from the IRS in the case he did my taxes wrong, or they are still waiting for me to file them, etc. It's a really unique situation of weird. :(" Self: "For 2016, file electronically as soon as you can. That will block your father from filing electronically claiming to be you. \n\nI'm not sure how a 32 year old's return could be sent to his father, but if he was willing to fraudulently file your return, he might have been willing to fraudulently sign a check made out to you, or maybe he had your refund sent direct deposit to his bank account. \n\nIt might be worth actually asking the IRS for a copy of your return. Not just a transcript but a physical copy (which costs money -- use Form 4506 not 4506-T.). That would let you find out if he sent it to his account.\n\nhttps://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/how-to-get-a-transcript-or-copy-of-a-prior-year-tax-return"
User (chemja): "Hey everyone, I got some back pay from the VA not too long ago and ive been taking care of some debt. Well im now ready with a pay to delete letter to pay off this debt from breaking the last month of my lease in Dec 2011. \n\nMy issue is that the debt is coming up twice on my wifes credit report, and once on mine. Since its a joint account, would getting 1 to take care of the debt take care of them both? Should I get the one company that is on both our reports to be the one to take care of it? Is this even legal? My wife missed out on a great job because her credit report shows the same debt twice, and its our largest debt ($2,200). Sorry if there is something that isnt clear, this whole situation is kind of messed up. Thanks for the help everyone, this is our last hurdle to really clean up our credit report, and since I've payed off quite a few debts my score has gone up 71 points! If i can get these fools to delete this debt id have an amazing score!!" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit)\n- [Credit Reports](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_reports) \n- [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico)\n- [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (chemja): "Hey everyone, I got some back pay from the VA not too long ago and ive been taking care of some debt. Well im now ready with a pay to delete letter to pay off this debt from breaking the last month of my lease in Dec 2011. \n\nMy issue is that the debt is coming up twice on my wifes credit report, and once on mine. Since its a joint account, would getting 1 to take care of the debt take care of them both? Should I get the one company that is on both our reports to be the one to take care of it? Is this even legal? My wife missed out on a great job because her credit report shows the same debt twice, and its our largest debt ($2,200). Sorry if there is something that isnt clear, this whole situation is kind of messed up. Thanks for the help everyone, this is our last hurdle to really clean up our credit report, and since I've payed off quite a few debts my score has gone up 71 points! If i can get these fools to delete this debt id have an amazing score!!" Self: "Is it coming up on your wife's report as two different collection agencies? The apartment and a collection agency? Or two different account numbers?\n\n" User (chemja): "its two different credit agencies, and two different account numbers. For me its actually two as well on the equifax report but only 1 on the transunion. Not sure whats showing on the wifes transunion. This is such a pain :(" Self: "Send them both verification letters.\n\nIt sounds like one of them won't be able to verify. That one should fall off, the other one you'll probably have to negotiate with." User (chemja): "Will do, thanks for the advice!"
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit)\n- [Credit Cards](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/creditcards) \n- [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico)\n- [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "You would probably need to get a secured card. Any bank offers them. " User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Like the kind you put a deposit down on?" Self: "Yes. I think the minimum was $100 or $150 at my credit union and $1,000 maximum. I just got a $1K deposit. With on time payments after 12 months I will get the deposit back and it'll turn into a regular credit card. If you're only using this for credit building purposes, it's a good idea. \n\nOtherwise, just make sure there's no annual/monthly fees. APR/APY doesn't bother me because I always pay it off and don't use it for emergencies or anything I could pay off each month. So basically just no fees and best rewards points you can get. " User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Sounds reasonable. Thank you! I'll check with my bank and see what plans they have available."
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "what is your credit score? it really comes down to what your credit score is and whats in your credit report. " User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "That's a problem. I believe its in the mid 500's (not my fault, long story), but one website told me it was mid 600's. Not sure which. Any way I can find out my true credit score?" Self: "check creditkarma its free and fairly accurate.\n\nbut at that score, assuming you dont even have anything in collections or high debt or anything else, you are still more than likely going to have to get a secured card. \n\nthat means you have to put down a deposit, and your credit limit will be what the deposit is. so if you put down 500, your limit will be 500 on the card.\n\nsometimes after a year the card company will review your account and upgrade you to a normal card and give you your deposit back, sometimes you wont get it back unless you close the account. " User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Doesn't it lower your score to check often? I didn't know that about 6 months ago and checked it on a few different websites before I found out." Self: "no, checking your credit is not a hard pull on your credit report, it does not affect it at all.\n\ncreditkarma i think updates every week or two when you log in. " User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Thank you for clearing that up. Not sure where I heard that, but I was like "what??? How do people keep up with it then?""
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "I would say not to get a credit card. Convenient but they rarely get paid off monthly." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "I would pay it off. I'm almost obsessive about having my bills paid every month. Haven't missed a due date yet for almost a year. I handle paying the bills and budgets." Self: "good for you, really. I use credit cards and love it. But I'm still in debt because of the convenience. And paying the minimum is not the same as paying them off. Word of warning." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Thank you for the heads up. I could tell you meant well lol"
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "what is your credit score? it really comes down to what your credit score is and whats in your credit report. " User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "That's a problem. I believe its in the mid 500's (not my fault, long story), but one website told me it was mid 600's. Not sure which. Any way I can find out my true credit score?" StarKiller99 (StarKiller99): "https://creditscorecard.com/" User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Thank you, made a credit karma at 18 to check on my stats and it messed up and haven't been able to make a new one for obvious reasons."
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "I would say not to get a credit card. Convenient but they rarely get paid off monthly." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "I would pay it off. I'm almost obsessive about having my bills paid every month. Haven't missed a due date yet for almost a year. I handle paying the bills and budgets." Suchadeplorable (Suchadeplorable): "In that case the best way to use it is to carry a max 30% balance. An active revolving account with a balance less than 30% is better then one that's open but never gets used. Use it to buy things like groceries etc, stuff that you would normally pay cash for, then when you get home immediately pay it off on your credit card." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "That was another question, so it IS good to make multiple payments a month on your credit card? My husband gets paid weekly, so its OK to save the gas money every week and pay it once a week?" herpderp020 (herpderp020): "You should let the statement get generated with a balance if you want utilization to be reported. Otherwise if you pay it off before the statement gets generated you will have a $0 statement and it looks the same as if you never used your card." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Oooh, gotcha. Is that usually a once a month thing?" herpderp020 (herpderp020): "Yes once a month they will issue a statement with the transactions from the last 30 days. If you pay that amount in full there will be no interest.\n\nAlso keep in mind that any payments you make in between statements generally do not get considered towards the minimum payment or full payment of a future statement. For example if you have a $1000 balance and pay $500 now, a week later the statement gets generated it will say $500 is due with a $25 minimum. You cannot forgo paying $25 since the first $500 did not count as you paid before the statement. If you pay $500 after the statement you would be good (but better to pay the full amount to avoid interest next month.)" Suchadeplorable (Suchadeplorable): "I would only make a small suggestion here and a slight correction. A card with say a $500 limit would mean you want to carry a balance of $150 which is 30%. Any purchases you make that take you over $150 I would immediately make a payment to bring it back down to $150. You do not want to be over 30% when they issue the statement. For one you pay interest on the balance, and 2 when the statement is created they report your utilization which you don't want over 30%. The correction I want to make is that your first payment to the account after they issue the statement should be at least your minimum, say $25. I would put $25 worth of gas in my car then immediately pay it off, and with that your balance is still 30%, you have $25 in your vehicle, your minimum payment is made, and you have a positive Mark added to your credit history."
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "I would say not to get a credit card. Convenient but they rarely get paid off monthly." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "I would pay it off. I'm almost obsessive about having my bills paid every month. Haven't missed a due date yet for almost a year. I handle paying the bills and budgets." Suchadeplorable (Suchadeplorable): "In that case the best way to use it is to carry a max 30% balance. An active revolving account with a balance less than 30% is better then one that's open but never gets used. Use it to buy things like groceries etc, stuff that you would normally pay cash for, then when you get home immediately pay it off on your credit card." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "That was another question, so it IS good to make multiple payments a month on your credit card? My husband gets paid weekly, so its OK to save the gas money every week and pay it once a week?" Suchadeplorable (Suchadeplorable): "What you do during the month with the card doesn't really matter, you can use it exactly like you just described. The only thing that matters is the balance at the end of the billing cycle, and that you're never late on a payment."
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "I would say not to get a credit card. Convenient but they rarely get paid off monthly." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "I would pay it off. I'm almost obsessive about having my bills paid every month. Haven't missed a due date yet for almost a year. I handle paying the bills and budgets." Suchadeplorable (Suchadeplorable): "In that case the best way to use it is to carry a max 30% balance. An active revolving account with a balance less than 30% is better then one that's open but never gets used. Use it to buy things like groceries etc, stuff that you would normally pay cash for, then when you get home immediately pay it off on your credit card." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "That was another question, so it IS good to make multiple payments a month on your credit card? My husband gets paid weekly, so its OK to save the gas money every week and pay it once a week?" herpderp020 (herpderp020): "You should let the statement get generated with a balance if you want utilization to be reported. Otherwise if you pay it off before the statement gets generated you will have a $0 statement and it looks the same as if you never used your card." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Oooh, gotcha. Is that usually a once a month thing?" herpderp020 (herpderp020): "Yes once a month they will issue a statement with the transactions from the last 30 days. If you pay that amount in full there will be no interest.\n\nAlso keep in mind that any payments you make in between statements generally do not get considered towards the minimum payment or full payment of a future statement. For example if you have a $1000 balance and pay $500 now, a week later the statement gets generated it will say $500 is due with a $25 minimum. You cannot forgo paying $25 since the first $500 did not count as you paid before the statement. If you pay $500 after the statement you would be good (but better to pay the full amount to avoid interest next month.)" User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Goootcha. Thank you for the information. Wish they would teach financial responsibility in high school. Really not sure why they don't honestly." Suchadeplorable (Suchadeplorable): "Especially since one of the first things after high school is a student loan for college/university. Not exactly a small financial decision." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Exactly, when I applied for school I had no idea what I was doing when it came to loans and grants. I don't know how to balance a check book, had no money saving skills coming out of high school, and here I am asking strangers on the Internet how to get a credit card. I feel like I shouldn't have to do that."
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "First pull your actual credit report from annualcreditreport.com. That's the gov't okayed website where the 3 major credit bureaus are required to each give you one free credit report per year. There's no "free trial and then charge you later when you forget to cancel" like there is on those credit report sites that are on the commercials. Check your report from 1-2 of the bureaus and save the 3rd for later in the next 12 months.\n\nSee if there's any info on those reports (late payments, old debts, etc) that might be hurting your score, or if instead your fairly low score is really just due to lack of credit info. If late payments then dispute them and see if you can make them disappear. If old debts, make sure they're legit and if so pay them off.\n\nThen get added as an authorized user on 1-2 of your husband's very oldest credit cards. Wait 6-ish months and that will benefit your credit score somewhat even if you don't use your AU card.\n\nThen at 6 month or so mark apply for your first non-secured credit card. Easy ones to start with are gas station card or department store card. Use it, paying it off in full each month so no interest accrues, for maybe another 6 months. Also, maybe get electric or gas bill in your name instead of hubbys.\n\nAfter that you should be good to get your own traditional visa or m'card.\n\nI wouldn't bother with secured credit card." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "I tried that one when I was trying to get good phone service and they wanted to send it to me in the mail because of some security problem. I've been having that problem since I got married and it makes it really hard to watch my credit. I legally changed my name and everything so I don't know what the problem is." eZGjBw1Z (eZGjBw1Z): "You'll have to correspond with them by mail as they asked."
User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "Hello, I was looking for advice on my first credit card. I am a 21 year old stay at home mom. I have my husbands permission to get one and use his income to pay it off. We will be using it primarily for gas to build up credit, sometimes for small emergencies (under $20). He makes roughly $39,000 a year. Where should I start looking? Any specific suggestions? If your wife is a stay at home mom, what does she use? What do you other stay at home moms use?" Self: "The best cash back cards require an excellent credit score.\n\nNerdwallet has a list of the [best cards for people with fair credit](https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/top-credit-cards/nerdwallets-best-credit-cards-for-fair-credit/). The Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard is listed as the Best for gas & groceries at 2% in those categories (excluding Target and Walmart). This could be a decent card to start out with while you build up your credit score.\n\nYou would also get access to your FICO score through Barclaycard if you have this card." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "So my credit would be considered fair? I'm leaning more towards in the 500's, not 600's. Not sure what site told me that but the rest told me 500's. I wanted to double check because I was shocked I had such good credit (for my age)." Self: "500's would be closer to poor than fair but if you apply and are rejected you might be able to push the application through via [reconsideration](http://www.pointswithacrew.com/barclay-reconsideration-phone-number-website/)." User (PM_ME_UR_BEYBLADES): "I checked it. Yeah, its poor. Like, has gone down and I don't know why. Anywhere to look up what's listed on my credit? Not credit karma, my account is all jacked up for some reason." Self: "Annualcreditreport.com as someone else said. See this wiki entry: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_reports\n\nYou probably need to put some effort into working with the credit agencies to clear up your report."
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "either use it to pay off your debt, or as an emergency fun or stash some of it in a retirement account.\n\nsorry but its not a lot of money, and with your debt, its barely anything. \n\nits also not enough to invest and start making good money off of(but investing some of it in a retirement account IS still a good idea)\n\n\ni know it may seem like a lot to you, but its basically a dent into your debt, and maybe some retirement money and a bit of pocket change\n\ngo buy yourself a steak dinner and a glass of wine, then put the rest of into debt/retirement. "
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "First problem is that 40-50k is not rich.\n\nThe advice you probably don't want to hear, but need to do, is put it all in savings, or under the mattress, keep it all for an emergency, and keep living off your normal job." AmoebaNot (AmoebaNot): "Yes: you are -not- rich. $50,000 is only $5,000 a year for 10 years... if your creditors don't take it all. \n\n"
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "With your addictive personality, I'd say sock it away in a high interest savings account and let your money work for you. Keep it there until you are 100% sure that you won't slip up again on your addictions. If the med debt is in collections, you can call them up to negotiate if you haven't done so already.\n\nEdit: Another idea. Negotiate your med debt down to however much you win from your legal case (after paying the lawyer), then throw all your winnings directly at the debt. This has two benefits.\n\n1) You won't be in debt any more.\n\n2) You won't be tempted with "drug money"" User (grumdaddy1): "What are the differences between a high-interest savings account and a standard one? Do NOT say one is higher interest, wiseasses. Like what else?" Self: "Typically, higher interest accounts are online-only, meaning they have no physical bank you can walk into. No ATMs, no bankers, etc. Other than that, not much different than a regular bank account you would be used to.\n\nEdit: they also have a little bit longer transfer times, meaning it's harder to move money which would be good for you"
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "Sell this story to NBC for next fall's newest sitcom." User (grumdaddy1): "So what do I do with that money then?"
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "With your addictive personality, I'd say sock it away in a high interest savings account and let your money work for you. Keep it there until you are 100% sure that you won't slip up again on your addictions. If the med debt is in collections, you can call them up to negotiate if you haven't done so already.\n\nEdit: Another idea. Negotiate your med debt down to however much you win from your legal case (after paying the lawyer), then throw all your winnings directly at the debt. This has two benefits.\n\n1) You won't be in debt any more.\n\n2) You won't be tempted with "drug money"" User (grumdaddy1): "What are the differences between a high-interest savings account and a standard one? Do NOT say one is higher interest, wiseasses. Like what else?" The_Unibrowser (The_Unibrowser): "Most high interest savings accounts are through "online" banks like Ally or Amex Savings so you don't have a "brick-and-mortar" branch to visit. You'll also have to transfer funds electronically between these savings accounts and your checking account which could take 2-5 days to transfer, so the money isn't quickly accessible - which, frankly, is a good thing for most people.\n\nRates are currently around 1.0% for high interest account at Ally while the standard savings at BofA, for instance, yields 0.01%. Napkin math, you'd yield about $500/year or about $41/month @ 1.0% for $50K."
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "pay off 40-50k of debt. Loans at 5% are better than anything you can do in the market. One caveat is if this is considered income. If it is, it's likely you should max out a 401k/IRA to save on taxes and then contributes the rest to paying off debt." Akavinceblack (Akavinceblack): "Most of the time, payouts/settlements for lawsuits like this are not considered taxable income."
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "If I were in your position, I would start making calls/sending letters NOW to your creditors for any debt that is not past the statute of limitations and offer to settle for 30-50% of what is owed. The odds are that they'll take your offers.\n\nThen pay them and stash whatever is left for an emergency fund, and try to start saving at least SOMETHING every payday....if you're working 30 hours a week, and at a point in your recovery where you can take a little more stress, find a little part time job like tutoring, or delivering pizza or proofreading, and stash every penny you make on the side for retirement and an emergency fund."
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "Hey congrats brother! \n\nSTAY SOBER and that money won't go into a giant black hole never to be seen again.\n\nI'm no finance whiz but if you listen to the lovely people on this sub they'll steer you right. \n\nAbove all, put your recovery first or you'll lose it all, as you know. \n\nSource: I'm an addict / alcoholic in recovery "
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "I think you should call any and all people/companies you owe money to, and offer them to pay them 40% of what you owe them right away, in return for immediate payment. If they come back with 60%, try 50%. If they say yes, ask them to send you an email or letter acknowledging the fact that you get to pay $xxx to have that particular debt forgiven (/ settled). And after you've received that black-on-white confirmation of your agreement, pay. \n\nI think you won't be left with a lot of money afterward, but you will be debtfree, and that is pretty awesome. \n\nIf you've got any money left after all this, I would put $5500 in an IRA with Vanguard for 2016 (you can do this until April 17, 2017) and if you have more money left, $5500 for 2017. If you have any more money left after that, sock it away in a CD (certificate of deposit) for a year or so."
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "What are the chances that your creditors sue you to get that money?" User (grumdaddy1): "I honestly don't know. Some of these have been in collection for years now. I was wondering if my first step should be getting all that money out of my name ASAP, and then calling a bankruptcy attorney immediately. I'm a good candidate for chapter 11." StarKiller99 (StarKiller99): "https://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showforum=39\n\nYou need to know what is the statute of limitations in your state for medical debt.\n\nFind out which of the debts you can get rid of by disputing the collection with the credit reporting agencies. \n\nIf you can establish a direct relationship between the provider and the collector and the debts are within statute of limitations, then negotiate with the original provider."
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "What are the chances that your creditors sue you to get that money?" User (grumdaddy1): "I honestly don't know. Some of these have been in collection for years now. I was wondering if my first step should be getting all that money out of my name ASAP, and then calling a bankruptcy attorney immediately. I'm a good candidate for chapter 11." Self: "If you know you are getting money and don't disclose that in bankruptcy, that's not good. So the best time to do this was before you learned you were getting money. " StarKiller99 (StarKiller99): "They even consider a lawsuit that has not been decided yet to be an asset in bankruptcy."
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "Sounds like you'll soon be about $40k in debt" AlphaDomain (AlphaDomain): "I would throw every penny at your debt. "
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "With your addictive personality, I'd say sock it away in a high interest savings account and let your money work for you. Keep it there until you are 100% sure that you won't slip up again on your addictions. If the med debt is in collections, you can call them up to negotiate if you haven't done so already.\n\nEdit: Another idea. Negotiate your med debt down to however much you win from your legal case (after paying the lawyer), then throw all your winnings directly at the debt. This has two benefits.\n\n1) You won't be in debt any more.\n\n2) You won't be tempted with "drug money"" User (grumdaddy1): "What are the differences between a high-interest savings account and a standard one? Do NOT say one is higher interest, wiseasses. Like what else?" outbackdude (outbackdude): "You can't get at your money as quickly in an emergency if it is a term deposit. Also if you need to take it out early you'll probably forfeit most interest."
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "First problem is that 40-50k is not rich.\n\nThe advice you probably don't want to hear, but need to do, is put it all in savings, or under the mattress, keep it all for an emergency, and keep living off your normal job." User (grumdaddy1): "I have no problem with that. I'm not into gadgets or gambling or shoes or anything. I gave up my only expensive vise. But for a guy like me, this is the most money I can reasonably expect to see at one time in my lifetime. I want to protect it from the creditors, if at all possible, and then make a very wise financial choice with it and then keep on with my life. I want to be, like, so adult. But I don't know how to, especially with money." Xandamere (Xandamere): "Well, the adult thing to do would be to pay off the people who've lent you money in the past. "
User (grumdaddy1): "Hey guys so here is my exact situation:\n\nI am employed 30+ hours a week at a pitiful pay, but enough for my bachelor needs. I have no savings.\n\nI am currently in the neighborhood of 80K in debt, 100% medical, relating to an 8 year drug & alcohol addiction. Never owned a credit card.\n\nLast December, I was struck in a hit & run incident. A few months back a friend of a friend who's a laywer contacted me, blah blah can I represent you? I said fine, no risk to me. Didn't think much of it. So just the other day, he calls. Things are wrapping up soon, I should expect to personally pocket between 40-50. Thousand.\n\nI'm fast approaching my mid-thirties, and this is about 20 times more than the most money I've ever had. I want to be really smart with it.\n\nSo... How? " Self: "I totally understand the feeling of seeing/having all of that money at once (also a teacher over here), but if it was me, I'd put a few thousand aside in an emergency fund and throw the rest at that debt. Getting out of debt has to be your first priority. \n\nThis money does not make you rich. It just makes you less in debt. \n\nCongrats on beating the addiction and being one step closer to a debt-free life. Good luck to you!"

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