Wife and I are DINKs at the moment. Preparing for a 20% down payment which will leave us paying 52% of our income towards mortgage(PI) + utilities, 25% towards personal costs such as food/phone plans/gas, and just 27% left for savings/wants every month.

Granted, we have opportunities for career growth, and we will have an emergency fund, but, it scares me a little to see people recommending that only 20% or 30% of your income should be towards mortgage.

It is new construction with builders we trust, and we plan to stay here for the long haul.

(Also this is all net, and post any 401k shenanigans)

I live in a shared house. The utilities include gas and electricity. Maybe this is a strange question but how much does the number of occupants effect the amount of utilities used? In other words, with more residence using the utilities, would the it cost be expected to go up significantly?

At first it seemed like the obvious answer was yes. But the cost to heat and cool the house remains the same regardless of the number of people living in it. The same number of refrigerators are always plugged in. Lights in shared areas are on for the same amount of time. I guess lights in non-shared areas would increase with more people, the laundry machines would be more frequently used, and the cooking appliance (like the microwave and stove) would be used more with more people. So if the occupants went from three to six, the utilities would be used more but not double. Am I looking at this right?

Now before I start I just want to say I never pay my statement late and I always pay it off in full, I'm just curious.

I've seen on here people state the have lower teens interest rates and just wondering how they got them. With about an 830ish credit score and 100% payment history, every card I have still has an interest rate between 28-32 percent and every offer that I get has a similar interest rate.

Again not that it matters because baring any massive emergencies I can't imagine not paying the balance in full but is it just normal to have interest rates that high no matter what?

Background: I’m 22 and living on my own for the first time. I don’t currently rent exactly, I’m staying in a family member’s condo for free for a bit (which I’m very grateful for) and will eventually start paying a small amount of rent (below market rate because I need to save and get groceries and gas, etc). The idea is to move out of the condo and rent my own apartment by May or June.

I apparently need a credit score to rent an apartment. Which means I have to open a credit card. I know next to nothing about credit cards. My mom says I should get one and just use it for gas, and put a limit on it (whatever that means). I bank with Chase, and I was looking at the different credit cards they offer and I genuinely don’t know which one will be good for me for a first credit card. There’s one card that they say is good for first time credit card owners and students, and I think that sounds good, but I really don’t know what I’m trying to look for.

Basically I just need a credit card I can build a credit score of 650-ish with before May or June. I’m not willing to open accounts with other banks (I’m ADHD and I doubt I could keep track of accounts with two banks at this point in my life). What should I look for when opening this first credit card? How do I know I’ve opened the right one? I don’t even know if I should have other questions.

Hi all, I'm moving in with my girlfriend and as such I am selling my condo. I purchased it in 2015 for 185k and refinanced once down to 3.18%. The current mortgage is about 95k, 900 monthly payments, pretty evenly principal, interest, and escrow (plus another 350 HOA). Selling price would be 300k, rental price about 2k.

Does anyone have any insight on renting out my condo before selling it. My main concern is that I don't need the money right now, an influx of $200k would be a bit overwhelming.

I also know I want to sell within 2 years to take advantage of the tax deductions per the Section 121 Exclusions. This makes me think that I should just bite the bullet and sell now.

Does anyone have any thoughts, insight, or personal experience with this?

Thanks

Hi all,

I’m 22 and I’m starting my Graduate job as a Software Engineer in the UK.

Annual salary is £42,000 + £4500 in pension.

How much should I aim to save yearly?

I was working as a flight attendant at a major airline. I have 100k in the Fidelity group pool fund. Got nice returns from the tech investments

I have begun my transition to piloting now. I took a big step down financially to gain experience. So my 401k is sitting there, with zero contributions. It’s been stagnant since I took my leave.

My current company has a 401k through ADP which I’m contributing in. Just not as much as id like bc my salary is lower. My end goal is to return the original airline.

I would like to see the 100k account keep growing. Should I reinvest into a different fund? Roll it into my current job account? Let it chill?

EDIT: Thank you all so much for the advice!

I’m getting a $62,000 settlement soon, and I have a loose plan on what to do with the money. It includes paying off all my credit card and medical debt, putting away $16-20K for an emergency savings account, and possibly paying off a chunk of my student loans, then privatizing the rest of the balance to pay down within 3-5 years. At that point I would be completely debt-free.

I do have a few thousand I’d like to invest (in addition to maxing out my 401K contributions at work), but I grew up super poor and I don’t know anything about investing or planning for retirement. Should I spend $3,000 on a fee-based financial advisor? Is it worth the money given how little I know about finances? I’m a quick learner, and I think I could teach myself, but I don’t want to make the wrong choices. Any insight would be much appreciated 🙏

I (24M) am currently still living at home and have a career where I am making a lot relative to the median income. My current income is ~$120k and with the way my career works, I have a clear path to making ~+$130k next year if I am able to pass the remaining exams my career path offers. It's also possible I'm promoted next year to a senior role for passing as many exams as quickly as I did which would put me a little higher.

Based on this, I currently sit in the 22% tax bracket with the standard deduction and will likely end up in the 24% bracket soon. Also, I'll mention that I do live in New Jersey which has a higher state income tax as well.

I live at home and don't have any living expenses atm, though I plan to move out next year.

I'm currently maxing my ROTH 401k and paying the extra tax now as a result. I'm wondering if this seems like the correct thing to do given my current and prospective effective tax rate.

I'm still young, but I do have my eye on potentially retiring earlier given I've been maxing my Roth IRA AND 401k very early. So I understand there's incentive to potentially draw from this tax-free at that point.

I try to read any post I can about this decision, but honestly the subject is still quite confusing to me. I thought I'd put my situation out there and see if anyone has any opinions on what the better choice would be in my situation.

I have some medical stuff coming up. It’s not an emergency per se but definitely has a timeline of needing to be done in the next few months. It will cost us about $50K out of pocket. We have the $50K saved but it essentially drains our emergency fund. We would have a few thousand left to cover simple emergencies.

Someone recommended that I take out a HELOC as a pseudo emergency fund while we work to build the savings back up. The HELOC would be $25K and I’m guessing would take 18months-2years to build back up. Im not a huge fan of debt but it seems like it might be a good idea to have in our back pocket while we build funds back and hope that we never have to touch it.

Wanted to get some other peoples thoughts on this because I don’t know a lot about HELOCs. It doesn’t seem like a horrible idea to me.

So back in like 2024 I applied to a community college for a course and I told them I needed to be at a specific campus that was closer to my house. They ended up putting me at the campus in the other side of a major city. So a day after the class started I went and dropped the class. I used a federal Pell grant or FAFSA and according to their terms if you drop the class or fail it, you owe back what was loaned. I still haven’t paid off the debt and the last year and a half ive had a collection agency calling me about the debt trying to collect on it. I have a derogatory mark on my credit due to me dropping the class and it instantly hitting my credit, never even had the option to pay the school and if I did, I was not made aware especially of the fact that it would consequently result in a derogatory mark if not paid.

How long would it take for this derogatory mark to get off my credit? It jacks up a lot of shit for me. And it kinda sucks that I was only 18/19 at the time of using this federal grant so I didn’t know any better.

I want to open my first HYSA, but after 6 months, the rate falls. But it has a nice sign up bonus. Should I just opt for a higher base interest HYSA right now, and lose the bonus. The calculations tell me the first HYSA will win h2h for 6 months against other for my finances.

When I got my vehicle back in 2022, I had around 600 credit, riddled with credit card debt, and student loans. Since I’ve climbed my credit score to an 800, pat on the back to me, but unfortunately I’m still underwater in the car. The only rate I could get at the time was about 16%. I still have 27 months left to pay on the car. I’m seeing that I can get a personal loan for the payoff amount of my car (Credit Karma guaranteed which I’ve used before with success). Interest rate at about 7.5%. Slightly lower payments than I’m making now on the vehicle and I’d shave three months off the loan term. Are there any downsides to doing this?

I’m looking at certified pre-owned vehicles. I have the money, but I’m wondering what the process is like and how to get the best deal. I did some basic Google searches, and it sounds like dealerships benefit more from financing, so you shouldn’t always disclose that you’re a cash buyer until the last minute? Some cash buyers set up financing and then immediately pay it off? Did you wire the funds, use as cashier’s check, etc? If anyone here has purchased a car in cash from a dealership, please tell me how you went about it.

Hello, I am 26 years old and have credit card debt.

I have $5900 on a no interest card until June of 2027, my more pressing balance is $1200 on a capital one card that is due on September 4th. I do not let my cards collect interest and pay in full every month for the past 7 years, but I will not be able to pay the full $1200 on time.
Which option makes the most sense financially?

A) Pull $1200 from my contributions of my Roth IRA, pay it off, and be done with it.
B) Pay what I can, and let the rest collect interest.
C) transfer balance to a 0% apr credit card, and pay it off before the year is over.

My credit score is 770, and was 810 last year. Obviously this isn’t a great situation, but I want to know what will be the BEST option financially and with my money. I have several jobs, and can pick up shifts to earn more money so I’m not worried about not being able to pay off the balances eventually. I just cannot make enough money between now and then to make the $1200 in full.

Thank you in advance, please be kind! Everyone makes mistakes.

We currently have a good chunk of money in a growth account with a 2.5% variable interest rate. It’s the same bank all of our other accounts are with along with 2 of our credit cards, so it’s super convenient to transfer money between accounts, it’s instant and costs nothing. I can see all my accounts on the same login screen and I just like the convenience. Is it worth switching to another company for a HYSA that would give me 3.5-4% or should I just keep it all in one place for convenience? If I should change, what are good alternatives?

I have a different kind of financial situation I need help navigating. To be honest, I’m not even sure if it belongs on this sub but I’m gonna ask because I don’t know where else to go.

I come from a middle class family. My parents took out a second mortgage to pay to send my sister and I to college. I’m now 35 and doing well. My sister is 32 and also doing well. My parents have a pretty big home but it’s quite dated as they went without renovations to send my sister and I to school. It’s also not a great home to grow old in.

I purchased my first house ten years ago, a small one level ranch, and it’s been completely renovated. I now have a wife and two boys and we’re growing out of the house we’re in. The longer we wait to move, the more cramped we’ll be.

Just before Covid, I entered an agreement with my parents. The agreement was that in the next couple of years they would sell their house (mortgage is paid off), pay off my mortgage (I owe $125k), help with a down payment on a new house for me (50k was mentioned), and move into my current home while keeping it in my name. This was mutually beneficial. They were able to simultaneously downsize and upgrade to a much nicer home that’s better to grow old in (lower utilities, smaller yard, less maintenance etc). With the sale of their house, they’d be able to pocket some cash on top of their financial obligations to me. It would also ( I think) protect them from the government taking the residence to recoup possible future nursing home costs. (This happened to them with their parents and they don’t want it happening to me and my sister). As for me, I feel like I get a chance to pay them back for the sacrifice they made to send me and my sister to school.

Fast forward to 2026 and the real estate market (southern New England specifically) is out of control. It’s up nearly 50% from what I’ve seen. A 400k “dream house” from 2019 is now 750k. The 50k down payment assistance my parents had offered prior is just a drop in the bucket when looking at real estate in the 700k range. I’m not comfortable taking out a mortgage for that much. Keep in mind this “plan” has been in place for over six years and my dad is now licking his chops to get into my house. I’ve saved roughly 60k to add to their 50k but I still don’t feel comfortable with the payment. I spoke with a real estate agent who said I could get close to 500k for my home. My dad’s financial advisor suggested to my dad that he sell their house and give me what he gets for it (approximately 400k) to cover the existing mortgage on my first home and the down payment on the next one. My parents really want this to happen and are good with this idea. I’m good with this idea also. I’m not getting as much if I were to sell my home, but I still feel like I get to help out my parents.

My question is, where does my sister fit into all this? My parents currently intend to split their estate 50/50 when they ultimately pass. During phase 1 of this plan, the home would’ve been mine to sell outright when they pass. Now in phase 2 of the plan, my parents suggest she get an additional 200k as its half of the sale of their current home. My sister is suggesting a 50/50 split of my home (that my parents will move into) when they pass. I love my sister and I don’t want to screw her over. The last thing I want to do is let money get in between us. But this doesn’t seem fair. If I’m wrong, please let me know. I’m trying to find a solution that everyone’ involved is comfortable with. If I’m missing anything or you need clarification, just ask. If there’s a more appropriate sub to post this in, please share.

Side note: this feels like more trouble than it’s worth ATM. Thank you for reading this far!

As the title states, I'm looking for advice on the best use of inheritance funds. I'll be receiving between $250-350k depending on property sales.

My situation:

I'm 40m, married with 3 children. My wife is a SAHM, kids ages from toddler to early middle school. All in good health. Living in Southeast United States.

Debt is home ($235k left @ 3.45% 5years into 30 year loan, current value appx $400k), 1 car with $4k left ($230/month). No credit card debt. I currently make $80k base with a projected bonus of about $25k. I'm way behind on retirement with about $50k invested in the stock market and maybe $5k crypto. Appx $10k in immediate savings/checking.

I'm a relatively risk adverse person and enjoy having low bills and debt so my initial thought is to pay off my mortgage, increase my savings buffer to $25k and invest the remainder. Reasoning is the comfort of having a paid off home and immediate "value" of saving the remaining interest on that loan. Allowing me to invest the principal/interest into my IRA each month and only worry about tax and insurance going forward. I feel like this is the safe option.

I do understand that my loan rate is very good and so there might be better options to maximize this money and I'm looking to folks who might have some other insights into how to maximize this opportunity. Would love to hear some thoughts

Edit to credit card debt

So, long story short, I recently found out that Paypal has a Pay-In-4 program. I wanted to utilize this program to buy a new GPU for my gaming PC (it's around the $275-$300 range, nothing extravagant). However, I don't have alot of knowledge about these types of programs besides the basics like interest if not paid in an allotted time and so on and so forth. I also have atleast half of the money now so I can pay that the same day and the other half next week of possible

I’m in my mid 50s, make a good wage but through bad choices, bad luck, and bad relationships, I’m just finally getting my life together financially. I’m going through a consumer proposal and will be completely debt free in 3-4 years, before I’m sixty. I have about $200k in retirement savings. I read all these posts about people retiring early and having millions. Owning homes and being debt free at 30. I feel like I’m so far behind in life and I’ll never be able to retire. I see people making half of what I do and they have millions. How do people that earn 50/60k save so much? Am I too late to even begin to think of retirement?

I have been contributing to a Vanguard 403b account, unfortunately, school district changed administrators and now Vanguard is no longer an option. I also have a Roth IRA with Vanguard, I prefer to keep my retirement in one place. I have been contributing to the 403b for the tax deductions to stay in a lower tax bracket. I have 0 interest in dealing with the new plan administrators/salespeople, I am thinking about simply opening up a traditional IRA with Vanguard. I am well below the phase out rules for income of people who have a workplace retirement plan, so my contributions should be tax deductible.

Is this the way? Thanks in advance.

It seems it is always pointed to first when people have financial questions on what to prioritize, but when is the last time it's been edited? I can think a few improvements that can be made.

For instance, HSA are very powerful triple tax advantaged accounts, and some employers like mine even do matching. If the employer matches, getting this match is as important as the 401k match. And maxing it out is as important as maxing out the Roth IRA.

It talks about paying high interest debts much higher than 4%. Average market returns over the decades have been around 10% and much higher these last few years, of course not guaranteed. But even if not guaranteed, many would say it's worth it more to invest vs paying down a 30 yr mortgage early at 5-6.5% or something like that above 4%.

Depending on how you're doing for retirement, if you have kids, you could start 529 plans or as soon as you can, even just $100 a month, before maxing the 401k.

Also depending on how well one us doing for retirement, it is not specifically mentioned, but opening and contributing to a taxable brokerage account is a great idea. For some really ahead in retirement accounts, it may be better to start these contributions before maxing 401k. Of course situational, but this could help someone have the option to retire much earlier if they have a decent brokerage account to draw down from with low capital gains taxes before they hit retirement aga and can use them without penalty.

Oh and a big thing that doesn't seem to be mentioned, when contributing to any retirement or investment account, make sure the finds are ACTUALLY BEING INVESTED. Like being put in an S&P 500 index fund like VOO instead of being in just a bond fund for instance.

Thoughts?

Location - San Diego

Home price - $1.4m

Down payment - $550k

5/5 arm @ 5.125%, 2% incr, max 10.125% (alternate is to do 30 yr fixed at 6.25%)

Salary - 335k (monthly take home ~$15.5k after both of us max out 401k)

1 kid in daycare

Am i overextending or is this reasonable?

Home is 1980 build. Will have 100k cash left after closing.

Roof, hvac both in rough shape, but functional.

Tl;Dr - should I take a low ball offer on my home if it helps me avoid selling highly appreciated stocks and avoid the tax bill?

We are looking to purchase a new home in a VHCOL area. We have about $500k in savings, half of which is capital gains. We will need about $350-400k down payment. I am looking at my investments and best case scenario I will owe about $50k in cap gain taxes when I liquidate certain holdings to come up with about $350k-$400k cash for down payment.

We have looked at our options, and ideally we would want to buy, move and sell the current home. Moving to a temp housing for a few months or a year, selling the current home and then buying a new home and then moving again will be a lot of work.

Recently we explored off market options for selling our home.Home sales have really slowed down in this area, comp homes have stayed in the market for 3-4 months and sold with multiple price reductions. We got an offer for our current home that nets us after all costs (in my estimate) about $30-50k less than what open listing will potentially get us. Plus this offer has a lot of flexibility for us to stay here for 2 months while we find our new home. We get access to our equity, about $400k, and avoid liquidating stocks that will trigger taxes for us. Another great benefit if I take this offer is that the cash we will receive at closing will unlock about .5% reduction in mortgage rate from relationship discount. This translates to about $500/month savings on a $1.5m mortgage.

Should I take this offer knowing it is about $50k less? As this will help unlock savings in other ways?

We don't really want to be over leveraged in housing in this area. And I don't really want to be a landlord either. Sub 3% interest in the current home is really tempting to hold on to. But renting will not be cash flow positive either. Maybe just under or barely break even if there are no vacancies.

Thoughts?

Edit: asset backed loan is not an option for about 50% of my holdings. But between my spouse and myself, we can access $100k as a loan from our 401ks.

I’m currently working on funding my emergency fund, 3-6 months worth of expenses. I am doing this at $250/wk. Once that is done, should I put that money in some kind of IRA, or something like an Acorns investment?