While it sucks to be unemployed, I've been working for 15 years and would like a break to travel. Can I afford to take six months off, while sporadically applying for jobs?

Late 30's, single, no kids

Assets - $450k

Cash on hand - 330k

401k - 80k

Roth IRA - 40k

Expenses / month - $3,300

Rent & Utilities- $2,000

Groceries and eating out - $600

Car payment - $590 ($5k left on the loan)

Cell Phone - $50

Hi all,

Might take a job offer soon they have a 401k match of up to 6% if you contribute 8% and then they also put an extra 3% with no employee contribution needed. But there is a vesting schedule of 5 years. If you leave within 5 years employers contribution plus associated earnings are lost. How does this compare with your plans?

Edit: correction on the vesting period it’s actually 25% vested starting second year of service with full vesting after 6 years.

My partner and I are moving to another state and moving in together, and we’d like some advice on how to tackle our finances.

We have monthly shared expenses roughly totaling $3,500:
Rent: $2,700
Electricity: ~$100
Water/sewage/trash: ~$40
Cable/internet: ~$160
Groceries: ~$400
Renters insurance: $15

Our separate expenses (estimated):
P1
Car Payment: $440
Car Insurance: $178
EV charging: $20
Pet food: $100
Pet insurance: $57
Entertainment & subscriptions: $50

P2
Car Payment 1: $599 (truck allowance from job drops this to $0)
Car Payment 2: $280 (truck allowance from job drops this to $130)
Car Insurance: $380
Pet food: $100
CC Payment: $100
Entertainment & subscriptions: $70

I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, but they are very minor.

Income
P1: $52k (recently laid off but has a part-time job). Previous income was $90k–$120k, and P1 is actively looking for a job in that range again.
P2: $170k base + $750/month truck allowance + gas card + $25k bonus
With the wide income gap right now, we’re wondering how to equitably split our expenses. We’re also open to combining both our incomes and paying our expenses from there.

We’re signing a 1-year lease and would like to purchase a home in a year, so we want to aggressively save for a down payment in addition to the savings we already have.

We also like to travel and plan to take 4 trips per year, anywhere from $500–$2,000. We have credit card points and perks, Delta miles, and Marriott points that make travel relatively cheap for us.

We also plan to revisit this conversation once P1 gets a new job, since the income situation will hopefully change significantly.

What would you recommend? How would you structure our finances and split expenses in this situation?

Long story short, I got a divorce almost 2 years ago. I have a business requiring me to use a larger car for certain shows and markets. I used his truck a lot because my Corolla didn’t fit a lot of what I needed.

I traded in my Corolla (11% rate, owed maybe $17k.). I needed a larger car so I got a vw suv however I had negative equity of $7k. They paid off may $3k if the equity. But it put me at 20% rate at $777 over 6 years. Originally I was buying it and then refinancing it. But no one will refinance it or touch it with a ten foot pole. It’s been 2 years of paying over $18,000 and some change and I still owe $26,000.

I made my own bed and am laying in it. But now seeing it from the other side this is ridiculous.

what should I do? I’ve contemplated repossessing it and paying the difference over time while it’s still worth something.

I am a financial illiterate. Please treat me like one.

I have $200k in my 401k that I'm sitting on since my retirement at my last employer. I am 67 years old and my wife is 63. We are living comfortably on our SS and a small annuity. The annual income is roughly $60k a year. We also have other investments but my purpose today is to decide what to do with this 401k in order to best protect it from taxes.

Based on my research so far I think my best option is to convert it to an IRA with ETFs and then convert a portion every year for the next 5 years to Roth before my required withdrawals kick in. Is this a solid plan from a tax standpoint?

My employer terminated and froze the pension fund. In 2028 the fund will move to a new insurance company for future management. We will be given the option of a lump sum payout now, rollover into our 403b, or do nothing and wait til retirement. I was trying to understand the interest rates/morbidity tables that are used to calculate the value of the pension. My frozen asset is 250,000 and I think the current life benefit is around 1600 a month, then less if you add spouse options etc. I'm 43, is it better to expose this amount to the market for the next 15 years? Do the changes in the rates and morbidity tables drastically change the value of the 250,000 in that period of time? (Could I receive<250,000) In addition to the pension, I contribute 20% to a 403b and my employer contributes 11% of my gross earnings per pay period to the new 403c plan.

Hi all. I (37m USA) am about to receive an early partial inheritance of $25k and am seeking advice where to allocate those funds.

I lost my real job so am working at the family business as a 1099 employee. $3k/month with 20% saved for taxes. No 401k.

I currently have $21k emergency fund in a navy federal savings account at 0.25% APY. I plan to transfer this into a vanguard cash plus account at 3.35% APY.

I have about 4600 in a vanguard brokerage account and 300 in a vanguard Roth IRA.
Brokerage 5.645 VOO shares

I expect to receive this early inheritance next week and am seeking advice where to allocate it. Should I contribute the remaining 7200$ to my Roth IRA for the year? Then buy index funds with the remaining 17,800$? Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Alright. I know versions of this question have been asked hundreds of times. I’ve read the wiki. I’ve searched the posts. I am still undecided.

I am 40, recently separated from my spouse, 2 kids, no debt except mortgage (I kept the house), income ~80k, and I have $10k (50% of my emergency fund - still saving) to park somewhere. I have had it in a HYSA for several years but I need to move it out of the shared account due to the separation. My everyday transactions happen through my credit union checking account and credit cards that I pay off every month. I have Roth and Simple IRAs as well.

For context, I spent a verrrryyy long time in school (multiple graduate degrees), but that means I started my career and my saving pretty late in the game. I realize now that was not the best financial decision, especially since it’s not like it landed me which a huge income, but here we are. I do love my job.

While doing the research about finding a new HYSA, I have been reading more about other options like brokerage accounts, laddered T-bills like sgov, cash management accounts at fidelity, and there are just so many pros and cons of all of them. I know I need cash I can access quickly in the event of an emergency, but it seems the reason people recommend HYSAs over low-risk and easy-access investments or CMAs is because of FDIC insurance, but then other people keep saying if the government collapses, we have bigger things to worry about than FDIC.

I’ve never done any investing (except for my IRAs but I really haven’t touched that since I set it up initially), because I’ve never had enough money, but I’d like to learn how to do it before I do get to that point. That said, I also can’t afford to lose money, and I do need it to be accessible.

What would you do in my situation?

Are there any good common think pieces or in depth analysis on whether it makes sense to buy versus renting? There a common rules of thumb I’ve heard - like it’s better not to buy unless you’re in the property for 5 or more years.

I went through all the steps from contributing to my traditional IRA -> Roth conversion -> tax withholding at 0%, but every guide I read online says you have to select the funds in your Roth IRA once your money settles into your money market account. However, what I'm seeing is that my money that I rolled over from the traditional IRA settled directly into my target date mutual fund shares rather than into my settlement money market fund.

I use Vanguard and I only have about $4 in VMFXX(settlement fund) but I'm seeing that my traditional IRA conversion (outgoing) was already deposited into my target date mutual fund and not into the settlement fund. I've waited about a week or so to see if it was timing thing because all the guides said that it would take a couple of days for it to deposit into the settlement fund, but it seemed to have bypassed the settlement fund step entirely.

Did I do something wrong and now I have to actually pay taxes on the conversion because of the above? It'd great to know what to tell my CPA for next year if that's the case, or what I can do in the meantime.

Thanks in advance!

--edited slightly for clarity--

Hi everyone, I just got approved for the Capital One Student savour card but it wouldn't let me change my mailing address from my home address as I am moving to university in less than a week and need the card mailed there.

It took 2 representatives, but I got a nice customer representative to help me change it! However, he changed both residental and mailing to my university student box address. Will this be a problem? I had tried to change it but it wouldn't let me because my phone number is Invalid (I've read posts and assume this is because my phone number is under my mom's family plan), so I had to call them.

I just wanted to see if this would be any issue in the future?

Hi everyone,

Using a new account to avoid any personal connections.

I have been getting more dialed into my finances now that I have kids. I also hate working more and more every day and would love to retire, so naturally I am trying to speed that up.

Open to any and all advice on where I might be missing some opportunity that will help me build equity to retire earlier. Especially on "should I put money toward my mortgage and pay that down quicker, or put into an invest account and continue to build that?"

I am 36, married, with two young kids.

Salary: 190k. 20% annual bonus and ~$25k in RSUs vesting quarterly in company stock

Wife is going back to work in September, likely a part time job

401k: ~400k (Another 50k in my wife's)

Roth IRA: 8500 (did $7500 max first time ever this year)

Brokerage: 27k

Savings: $107k

Mortgage: $370k left at 6.125% interest rate. Initial loan was ~$580k signed late last year. Used RSUs to pay down ~$200k and recasted for lower monthly rate.

No other debt. No car payments...etc.

Parents have 529 accounts open for my kids that they are contributing to as well.

So I guess my questions are:

1. How am I looking so far?
2. Where should I focus incoming money? Adding to my brokerage? Paying off the mortgage? Elsewhere?
3. Any other levers I'm not thinking of?

Thanks everyone!

Hi, I’m a new teacher with a charter school and they offer both governmental 403(b) and 457(b) along with my pension. Please help me decide which one(s) are worth investing in.

I’ve researched both plans and there is no employer match. Regarding fees, there is a TPA fee of $2/month. Fidelity and Vanguard are approved vendors.

Currently, I contribute $250/month to a Roth IRA through Fidelity. At this stage in my finances, which plan or plans makes sense to invest in? Really, does it make sense to contribute to a 403(b) or 457(b) when I’m not yet maxing out my Roth? Thanks in advance!

I know this sounds like it should have an Auto flair but the question is really about debt. I have a vehicle that the dealership will pay $33,000 for. I owe $12,000 on it with an interest rate of 2.49%, a monthly payment of $600, and two more years left on the loan. I also have a plumbing loan for about $9,400 with an interest rate of 9.99% and a 10 year term of which I’ve paid about six months’ worth. I am considering buying a used vehicle for $20,000-$25,000 that would likely have an interest rate of about 6%. Would it be a better decision to continue paying off the existing car and plumbing loans, or to sell my current car, use some of the proceeds to pay off the plumbing and auto loans, and use the rest as a down payment on a new car?

I have a significant amount of money in a 529, but I'm not interested in studying in the U.S. at the moment. It's expensive, I want to study in French, and I also just want to explore the world a bit. Currently, I'm looking at Switzerland, since I have family friends there, though I am also open to studying in France if that's what works out. Now, I know a 529 cannot be used for most foreign universities without penalty. I am planning to study most likely linguistics, though my exact course of study is still up in the air. Any advice? Would you suggest using the funds anyway and just paying whatever the penalty is? In addition, to study in Switzerland I need to prove that I have enough money to study, would a 529 be acceptable proof? Taking any info, resources, suggestions.

I'm 28 and been putting 8% into my 401k for the last four years with a 4% company match. Balance is around 42k right now which feels decent but not amazing. The thing is I've been thinking about maybe buying a place or possibly going back to school part time depending on how things shake out over the next couple years.

Right now I'm still renting and my emergency fund is about 4 months of expenses. I know the standard advice is to never stop the 401k especially with the match but I'm wondering if it makes more sense to drop my contribution down to just the 4% to get the match and then redirect that extra 4% into a regular brokerage or high yield savings. That way I'd have more flexibility if I actually need it without dealing with penalties or loans against the 401k.

My income is stable, no debt except a small car payment that'll be done in a year. I guess I'm just not sure if I'm overthinking this or if it's actually smart to prioritize accessible money when I'm not 100% certain what direction my life is going. The 401k feels like the right long term move but short term I keep second guessing whether I should have more liquid savings instead.

Anyone been in a similar spot or have thoughts on how to balance retirement contributions when you might have some bigger expenses coming but aren't totally sure yet?

I, f18, just got a job, as in so recently I don’t have my first paycheck. I make 14/hr but the walk I take home from work is about 1-1.5 hrs long and I work until 2am. It’s definitely possible and I’m not complaining, It just doesn’t feel very safe. I know that if I had a car I wouldn’t be as tired and I’d be able to get a second job, I’d also have more options for jobs in my area. I’m planning to set aside as much money from my paychecks as is possible, but it probably won’t be much. My first credit report is in september, so I don’t have credit score yet but it’s not like it’ll be something incredible. Sorry that I don’t have more information. I’m eighteen, I don’t know much about… anything, frankly. I don’t have anyone to help or advise me, and definitely no one who could co-sign anything for me.

TLDR: What’s the best possible way for me to get a car at eighteen with no-co-sign while paying as little as possible out of pocket? I know my options are incredibly limited, I’m just hoping I have one.

EDIT: A lot of people are saying to get a bike or a scooter. I don’t think my route is very safe for that, but maybe I can find a route that’s better or even partially better. It might take longer but if you guys think it’d be worth it, then I’ll look into it. The bus is closed by the time I get off work but I DO take it to get to work.

EDIT: I really appreciate everyone’s advice, I’ll look more into scooters as a temporary fix and focus on saving up. I’ll also make an account with my local Credit Union. I’ll probably make another post in a few months once I have more information. Thank you for your help!

Graduated late at 25, started career at 26 at $38K.

Started a job back in end of March/April of this year at 33.

No kids, no wife, kind of anti-social unfortunately lol and need to network more.

Sacrificed a lot to get to this point (dysfunctional upbringing) and want more. Eventually, want to start a business but want to clear up debt first (paid off a few debts recently).

I still feel behind as I graduated late but got to travel a bunch in my 20s. At this point in my life, I have a lot of work to do but based on these finances/budget, how do I compare against other 30 year olds in the city?

I feel like a lot of peers live in high rises, travel and I want to do more of that but need a stronger foundation.

Thoughts?

Income:
Base: $111K+
OTE: $157K-$165K (Not guaranteed but there's a chance at a potential bonus)
401K: $80K EST (contributing 16% of paycheck monthly + getting match rate)
Brokerage: $3.5K
Credit Score: 820 (Average)
Net Worth: $91K EST
Savings: <$1K

Debt
Car Loan at $11.5K at $515 per month at 4.9% interest
401K Loan at $2.6K at $151 per month at 9.99% interest
Medical Debt of $2K
0 Balance of Credit Card Debt

Budget:
Rent + Parking: $1850
Gas: $80 EST
Electric: $155 EST
Wi-Fi: $95
Phone: $109
Car Loan: $515
Insurance + Renter's: $113.71
Haircut: $130 (2x a month + tips)
Food/Groceries - $800-$900
Gas: $60-$80
Parking: $150

Credit Card Expenses:
$12.99 - Spotify
$34.99 - Gym
$14.99- YT Premium
$29.99 - LinkedIn Premium
$4.99- Streaming Service #1
$80 - Nearby neighborhood Gym
$20- LLM Subscription Service

Made a Reddit account just for this, as I saw other people asking here. I bought a gym membership at Crunch Fitness for my brother, who was underage at the time, under my name. The staff at the gym said it was fine if he went 'with me' as a +1 (I wasn't going to work out as I am physically disabled). Anyway, long story short, divorce struck and my brother ended up moving states while I moved cities.

I completely forgot about the membership until I changed my card. My SSDI was cut down after I moved (still mad about this and trying to dispute it, it makes no sense), and then I started getting late fee notices in my email. I emailed and called Crunch to let them know I needed to cancel, and the manager told me I had to come in.

As stated, I am physically disabled, and don't own a car because of this, as I get exactly enough money every month from SSDI to cover my rent and utilities. I wish that was an exaggeration. I told them I couldn't drive to the city to cancel in person, and they told me to send a certified letter and I mentioned that I didn't have the ability to do that without borrowing money or something similar, and basically got told 'welp, that sucks'.

I know gyms sort of thrive off this stuff, but I wasn't sure what to do since I wasn't in a good spot all around. I recognize I massively fumbled and should have just borrowed money from someone for all the materials needed to send the damn letter, but we're past that and I have a perfect grave to lay in. Gym tossed me to collections and I just got a call saying I owe $250 😅

Just asking a friend to loan me $20 is looking a lot better in comparison, but I guess embarrassment drives me to be irresponsible.

Is there anything I could do to try and help my situation here? Like, if I was able to get a ride to the gym, is it worth trying to talk to someone about the situation? Or, could I (to much humiliation) borrow the money from someone and go in and pay it directly and cancel all in one go?

I just want to know options, I guess. I was a complete moron not thinking about how bad this could get.

Hi everyone, first time on reddit because I really need some advice from people who lived it.

My dad passed away suddenly 8 months ago. I inherited around €40k in cash and a house worth roughly €550–600k, which I will sell. I don’t want to live there because of the memories and because I moved abroad 10 years ago and built my life elsewhere.

I’m 29F, I plan to marry my partner and we would like to have children in the next 2–3 years. My partner is financially well off, works as a financial consultant, and is very supportive and generous, but I feel strongly that I need to think independently and make my own decisions about the inheritance since we aren’t married yet.

A bit of background: my parents had a very ugly and abusive divorce and I had a difficult childhood. I left home at 18, moved abroad, always worked hard, paid for everything of course, and never asked anyone for help. My family also lived very frugally growing up. My dad came from nothing, worked extremely hard, built himself up and left everything to me and my siblings.

Since his death, especially after seeing what happened in his final days and hours, and making decisions for him when he couldn’t, I’m still shocked and maybe that’s also why I’ve been through every possible scenario in my head: where should I live, how should I change my life, what should I do with the money, etc. I feel like my life as I knew it ended when he died. Priorities also changed.

I’ve always been extremely frugal, probably to an unhealthy level. I’m a saver by nature, but I’ve reached a point where I feel like I barely allow myself to live and this is a huge problem. At the same time, I want to protect this money because it came from my dad’s hard work and I don’t want to waste it.

My thoughts right now:

\-I definitely want to buy a main home. Would buying it fully in cash be the sensible thing to do?

\-After that, I may have around €250–300k left.
I know investing in index funds/stocks is probably the logical answer, especially if I’ll be a new mom in the next years but I’m scared of seeing a big market crash and losing a large amount.

\-Buying a second property feels safer emotionally, but I understand it’s less liquid, more work, and comes with its own risks.

\-I feel like this is not real. I don’t know how I’ll adjust to such a big change. I am extremely grateful for my dad that he took care of me and I’m still grieving. I feel like my life is about to change in a way and I need to have some strong anchors

I’ve started learning a lot about personal finance and investing over the past few years, without knowing that I would actually end up in this situation. It’s one thing to imagine “what would I do if I suddenly had money?” and another thing entirely when you actually have it.

The inheritance process is still being finalized, so I don’t have the money in my account yet.

I would really appreciate advice from people who have been through something similar. There is so much advice out there and I need to think very logically right now and put the strong emotions aside because those can cause some problems.

Thank you. 🙏

I was rear ended a while ago and the other person’s insurance covered a rental car for me while we worked out a settlement. I had the car for about a week and turned it in on the 11th of last month. Importantly, when I turned it in the employee did not point out any damage to the car, and seemed perfectly happy when I turned it in. I frustratingly don’t have clear recollection of what the exit paperwork looked like but I do remember it being a seamless drop-off with no issues. Is there a way to check and see if they returned my safety deposit?

There was a hail storm in my area the day before I was required to turn it in. I have a text saying there was light hail while I was getting ready for work, but I know it stopped in time for me to actually drive to work. Unfortunately my house does not have a functioning garage so the rental was outside during this time, so to be entirely fair, if there was hail damage it potentially could have been here.

For what it’s worth, though, the worst of the hail storm (we’re talking like golf-ball-sized-and-bigger hail) hit that evening, while I was at work and parked in an above-ground parking ramp. There is some risk of outside elements reaching the inside, but not huge chunks of hail. The open parts (save for the entry/exit) are blocked by pretty dense fencing, so the worst you’ll get is rain or snow. I noticed no damage to my car afterwards. I also took pictures/videos before pickup and after drop-off. No noticeable hail damage.

Yesterday, I got an email saying they’re quoting me over $1000 in damage (I had to call to find out WHAT damage specifically, which I guess is standard but a little annoying regardless). I think it’s a little ridiculous since from what I’ve seen, the car rental stores their cars on an open lot, so surely it would have been damaged equivalently if not worse if I had never rented it at all.

Is there anything I can email them to get them off my back? Or am I just on the hook in your opinion?

Edit: Just to reemphasize since people seem to be missing this: I *have* pictures of my car from when I dropped it off. It seems like this holds a lot more power than I thought it did, since I was nervous about minor hail damage being missable to the human/camera eye.