This is a bit of a weird one (to me): my credit score with Equifax is about 45 points higher than my credit score with Transunion. There used to be a difference of about 20 points, and I wasn't too concerned, assuming that they were just weighting things differently. But a recent 25 point drop leading to a 45 point difference was too much to overlook. It drops my credit score from the 833-900 range down into the 790-832 range, and that could affect things if I ever need to borrow money or move into a new apartment or whatever.
Looking into it, it looks to me like Transunion is missing my primary credit card. I switched over to a different primary credit card a year ago, and I think that Transunion thinks that I've basically stopped 90% of my credit card usage. It looks like Equifax is getting the credit reports for that credit card, but Transunion is not. I hadn't realized that not all lenders report to all credit agencies.
So, this is awkward. Do I switch back to my old credit cards, which were chugging along nicely in the quest for better credit? Do I just ignore the score with one credit agency, since my credit is still fine, and a more appropriate number is still available?
Shadowhope on
Civics is not a consumer product that you can ignore because you don’t like the options presented.
Maybe contact the credit card company to find out why Transunion isn't getting the other one? But yeah, that's kinda weird. I've had one or another miss things before, but it was always like..."having credit pulled" so it was to my benefit.
Anyone have thoughts on 529 College Savings accounts. Been going through our investments seeing what we could pull together for the kid in the future.
I've reviewed the differences for the most popular plans and am leaning towards the Vanguard mediated plan for all of the reasons that people use Vanguard. It also was highly ranked by Morningstar.
My main issue with 529s is that they are still state ran or endorsed or whatever. I'm from Illinois and hesitant to put any money within spitting distance of a state legislature.
I also recognize 529s have restrictions on being used solely for education, but on the other hand I don't think it's possible in the future to have too much money for education?
Anyone have thoughts on 529 College Savings accounts. Been going through our investments seeing what we could pull together for the kid in the future.
I've reviewed the differences for the most popular plans and am leaning towards the Vanguard mediated plan for all of the reasons that people use Vanguard. It also was highly ranked by Morningstar.
My main issue with 529s is that they are still state ran or endorsed or whatever. I'm from Illinois and hesitant to put any money within spitting distance of a state legislature.
I also recognize 529s have restrictions on being used solely for education, but on the other hand I don't think it's possible in the future to have too much money for education?
As a note, I know of no restrictions saying you must invest in a 529 in your own state. I know some people who live out of state but have a CA 529. If there is a state credit it might affect something, but otherwise, :shrug:
I apologize one could have been more clear. Currently live in Minnesota and I think Vanguard is through Nevada. My concern is that in my life states have a tendency to go bankrupt and then pilger state pension and investment structures.
Putting any money into something that could easily be dismantled by the state scares me a bit.
I'm skeptical of 529s in general. Any amounts will just reduce your kids financial aid. Obviously there's more to it than that though.
presumably if the parents were making enough money to put any aside it's not like the kid would have qualified for grants anyway
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I apologize one could have been more clear. Currently live in Minnesota and I think Vanguard is through Nevada. My concern is that in my life states have a tendency to go bankrupt and then pilger state pension and investment structures.
Putting any money into something that could easily be dismantled by the state scares me a bit.
What are you relying on here to think the state could dismantle it or take your money, once you've established a 529 account?
Because I'm pretty sure they can't just like...take your money. It's not tax dollars they are reallocating or something.
The Minnesota 529 is run by TIAA-CREF, which provides reasonably low costs. The state tax benefits will probably outweigh the difference in cost between them and Vanguard, but you'd have to do the math to figure it out.
Most 529s these days are also setup to take gift contributions pretty easily as well.
The 401k was I think, though I could be mistaken, only pretax money. She left that job, and rolled it into a traditional IRA (still a pre-tax account at this point). Now, she is contributing post-tax funds to the same traditional IRA account. We’re just wondering how or when do we need to account for which money has already been taxed and which has not?
Completely separately, she is also contributing post tax funds to a Roth. I’m not worried about that account, as everything in it is from the same place.
The money she puts into the IRA will basically get deducted from her adjusted gross income when she files her tax bill.
this is correct. Be careful, IRA contribution limits are much lower than 401k limits. Only $5,500/year for most people.
Also be careful because this is the combined limit. You can't do 5500 in a Roth and 5500 in a traditional IRA. It's 5500 total, split up however you want.
So thanks for this, it turned out to be a thing. She was maxing the Roth and contributing to an IRA at a different institution, so over the limit. We fixed it for 2018 and going forward by just shifting the money she contributed in ‘18 to a regular investment account, and apparently because there was a loss on the books for the year, no tax penalty.
2017 is ?????. Vanguard was kind of vague about what we should do about that, but very helpful with the rest.
We have 529s for our two kids through our state for the tax benefit therein. Then we have a Upromise credit card that we use for nearly everything that gives 1-5%, or more depending on if they have special deals or whatever that we want to chase down which we occasionally do but not all that often, back straight into the 529s.
As long as you are paying that balance on the upromise card, it’s a pretty slick deal.
Someone who's getting $2000 probably wouldn't have this apply to them, but in the lower income brackets you can go from getting EIC to not getting EIC and that could hurt a tiny bit.
bowen on
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
Someone who's getting $2000 probably wouldn't have this apply to them, but in the lower income brackets you can go from getting EIC to not getting EIC and that could hurt a tiny bit.
Yeah, there is actually a poverty trap.
Though the ACA has improved things markedly since the biggest marginal hit was Medicaid eligibility. (Those charts are from 2012, before the main provisions came online.) That guy ain't in it, though.
I remember going from like 23k to 34k and it felt like I had a LOT less money. Poverty sucks, but those 2-3 welfare cliffs can really jade you about getting raises too, we can't discount that. Even if it is also a misunderstanding of taxes (in this case).
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
I have high yield savings account, and received a 1099-INT from the bank. I can see where the income (box 1) gets reported, but where do I put the amount withheld (box 4)? Do I just add it to the W2 withholding?
I'm using turbotax, and I can't find anywhere else to report this withholding.
Yeah, mine does too, but with a cap on how much you earn that interest on.
You should be able to easily find an uncapped account if you look around. Ally and Amex are two off the top of my head that offer 2.2% and 2.1% respectively. I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a credit Union in your are that offers similar rates.
If you want 2+% look at CIT Bank Savings Builder. It's FDIC insured and gives 2.45%, with a couple conditions. Either deposit $100/mo into the account, or keep a minimum balance of $25,000. The first shouldn't be too hard, and that rate is the best that I've seen by a long shot.
So a while back one of my friends asked me to talk with her about investing and stuff, and one of the questions she had was what should she look for in a financial adviser. My knee-jerk reaction was "Nothing, because you probably shouldn't have one, because they really only make sense for millionaires or people with complex assets like inheritances, trust funds, settlements, etc." I've always felt like as a working person just putting some money away every year, a 401k and a Vanguard account with index funds is good enough. Am I off base there? Do non-millionaires hire financial advisers and do well with them? I'm kind of unaware of that whole industry because I've never used any of it.
It starts getting weird if you can't/won't use tax-advantaged accounts, but even then it is manageable once you know what to look for.
For a normal person just doing 401k+IRA, there is no reason to pay for financial advice. If you live in a moderately-sized metro area, there is probably even an Fidelity or Schwab physical location to get help if needed. I personally use Vanguard but I'm not a zealot.
For people just getting started, a three-fund portfolio of FZROX + FZILX + FXNAX in a 64/16/20 ratio is a good set-and-forget point. Total ER would be 0.005% (5 cents per year on every $1000 invested lol).
Most advisors will charge 1% on top of the likely more-expensive investments they would put you in, let's say 1.5% total ($15 per year on every $1000 invested).
So a while back one of my friends asked me to talk with her about investing and stuff, and one of the questions she had was what should she look for in a financial adviser. My knee-jerk reaction was "Nothing, because you probably shouldn't have one, because they really only make sense for millionaires or people with complex assets like inheritances, trust funds, settlements, etc." I've always felt like as a working person just putting some money away every year, a 401k and a Vanguard account with index funds is good enough. Am I off base there? Do non-millionaires hire financial advisers and do well with them? I'm kind of unaware of that whole industry because I've never used any of it.
The answer is: it depends. First of all, stick with a financial planner that's fee based (IE, they don't make money off of your money) and has a CFP designation, as those are the professional types. They CAN help a lot with structuring a lot of non-financial things, as things like insurance coverage (life and home), wills, general financial trajectories/plans they can shortcut if you want to pay to have someone do the heavy lifting there. You're spot on that just getting your 401k up and running in index funds is the right start. Planners help more as your life gets more complex and your time to research/act becomes limited. We're actually looking for one now as while we're in good shape, we need to get serious about planning given that we actually have assets and kids now, so making sure the ball rolls the right way if something bad happens is a huge factor. This is doubly true if you're in a non-traditional relationship (IE gay or unmarried), as many laws and rights assume married hetero couples.
If you don't have a complex web of assets or circumstances to manage, a financial adviser may be indeed overkill. You could probably make do with the financial -salesperson- that your local bank will offer you for free, provided you go in knowing that they are just like the salespeople in any other store (they are not -advisers-, despite what they may have on their cards, but they often can provide you with good, albeit biased, information).
I must preface this with the fact that I am a hypocrite and need to follow my own advice. That being said, my wife and I are working to find time to get this done.
I actually feel that even if you have a simple financial situation, it's worth spending the money to develop a financial plan with a planner. The planner will help you see your entire financial picture and be objective enough to make sure you don't miss anything. Additionally, a planner can help you set goals and prioritize them, then help make the relevant changes to make sure you're on target. Then, they can ask you some of the tough questions. Example: You want to retire at 60, but you also want to pay off your house asap. A financial planner can tell you that spending the financial focus to pay off your house will add -- say -- 2-3 years to your retirement date. You can then decide which is ultimately more important to you and make small adjustments now so that you don't have to make large ones later. A financial planner can also make sure you have the necessary tools in place for when Bad Things happen (i.e. proper level of homeowner's insurance and life insurance, a will [still worthwhile if you are by yourself], emergency fund, etc.)
With a relatively simple financial picture, you only need to revisit the plan when major life events happen, or maybe every 5-10 years to make sure you're still on target.
Now, saying all this, financial planners can be fairly expensive. Some light poking around tells me that a financial plan is typically in the neighborhood of $1k-$2k US.
Previously, Edelman Financial Services offered a special during PBS donation drives, where you could donate $240 US and receive a free financial plan from them. However, they merged with another entity back in mid-2018 and I can't find data regarding whether they still offer this. It's probably still worth making the phone call, though. While I have no problem recommending Edelman Financial, I'm not fully comfortable they won't "force" you to invest only in their products to get the free financial plan, so that later they can charge you their annual fee. Basically, I don't know how much of a hand in the business that Ric Edelman himself has, anymore, with this merger/buy. Prior to the merger, he was a major proponent of fee-only financial planning, where possible and needed.
If you work with a large corporation, they may have a deal to meet with someone for a discount or free. Fidelity, for example, manages my work's 401k, and I can meet and review with a planner from Fidelity at any time with regards to my investments with them.
Also, maje sure anyone you meet with is a fiduciary.
Okay, dug into it a bit more. It's less the SALT cap and more the withholding change, I think.
We changed our deductions to have more withholding to offset the IRS change, but not NEARLY enough. When everything is said and done, I think our total taxes paid will increase 3-4k, but that includes some more from raises, etc, too. But the actual check we have to write is...uh...big.
It's going to be basically impossible to compare our taxes to last year thanks to buying the condo middle of the year, which involved selling a lot of stock for the down payment and only half a year of property tax and interest payments.
We should still technically be coming out ahead now since we're still dual income without kids so the elimination of the personal exemptions still leaves us on this side of the standard deduction since it got doubled. It'll be a question of if we stick with that or have enough to justify itemizing. In a few years when moniker jr comes along and the tax rates snap back to its priors is when we'll get fucked.
I actually ended up getting fucked more by state taxes than federal. I updated my state withholding on the assumption that I could still itemize separately, which isn't the case, and the state didn't raise their standard deduction anywhere close to the new federal one. Ended up owing about $1k to the state but getting a $2400 federal refund. I haven't compared total owed to last year, though.
0
Options
TL DRNot at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered Userregular
edited March 2019
So, what things to consider when deciding whether to buy a house?
-20% down
-market is high right now, so not the best time?
-property taxes
-budget for repairs / improvements
-homeowner's insurance
-minimum expected time to stay in one spot (to spread out closing costs; minimum 5 years?)
-monthly breakdown of costs compared to rent
Posts
Looking into it, it looks to me like Transunion is missing my primary credit card. I switched over to a different primary credit card a year ago, and I think that Transunion thinks that I've basically stopped 90% of my credit card usage. It looks like Equifax is getting the credit reports for that credit card, but Transunion is not. I hadn't realized that not all lenders report to all credit agencies.
So, this is awkward. Do I switch back to my old credit cards, which were chugging along nicely in the quest for better credit? Do I just ignore the score with one credit agency, since my credit is still fine, and a more appropriate number is still available?
I've reviewed the differences for the most popular plans and am leaning towards the Vanguard mediated plan for all of the reasons that people use Vanguard. It also was highly ranked by Morningstar.
My main issue with 529s is that they are still state ran or endorsed or whatever. I'm from Illinois and hesitant to put any money within spitting distance of a state legislature.
I also recognize 529s have restrictions on being used solely for education, but on the other hand I don't think it's possible in the future to have too much money for education?
As a note, I know of no restrictions saying you must invest in a 529 in your own state. I know some people who live out of state but have a CA 529. If there is a state credit it might affect something, but otherwise, :shrug:
Putting any money into something that could easily be dismantled by the state scares me a bit.
presumably if the parents were making enough money to put any aside it's not like the kid would have qualified for grants anyway
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
What are you relying on here to think the state could dismantle it or take your money, once you've established a 529 account?
Because I'm pretty sure they can't just like...take your money. It's not tax dollars they are reallocating or something.
Most 529s these days are also setup to take gift contributions pretty easily as well.
So thanks for this, it turned out to be a thing. She was maxing the Roth and contributing to an IRA at a different institution, so over the limit. We fixed it for 2018 and going forward by just shifting the money she contributed in ‘18 to a regular investment account, and apparently because there was a loss on the books for the year, no tax penalty.
2017 is ?????. Vanguard was kind of vague about what we should do about that, but very helpful with the rest.
As long as you are paying that balance on the upromise card, it’s a pretty slick deal.
Talk to a tax professional. Even if you traditionally do your own taxes. If it's a one-off, you can just pay them for their time and be done.
https://clark.com/education/clarks-529-plan-guide/
It's also updated fairly regularly.
(You don't have to read the comments; just the OP)
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/am2cv0/_/
"My coworker TURNED DOWN a $2000 bonus because it put him in the next tax bracket"
The fact that so many believe taxes work this way is an important explanation for the continual election of Republicans.
The fact that the coworker continued to believe that taxes worked this way even after the discussion is depressing.
Yeah, there is actually a poverty trap.
Though the ACA has improved things markedly since the biggest marginal hit was Medicaid eligibility. (Those charts are from 2012, before the main provisions came online.) That guy ain't in it, though.
Maybe for a more reasonably priced school, but many private schools have very high list prices and give out a lot of financial aid.
I have high yield savings account, and received a 1099-INT from the bank. I can see where the income (box 1) gets reported, but where do I put the amount withheld (box 4)? Do I just add it to the W2 withholding?
I'm using turbotax, and I can't find anywhere else to report this withholding.
Nevermind, it's a software problem. Found it.
https://www.aspiration.com/who-we-are/
Who a) give 2% interest on checking, and b) seem to be positioning themselves as "no investments that benefit oil industries, etc.
Anyone know anything about them?
E: looks like they're migrating some back end stuff and people are locked out in some ways right now, which is a.... pretty horrible look.
Many credit unions do. It isn't that unusual.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
You should be able to easily find an uncapped account if you look around. Ally and Amex are two off the top of my head that offer 2.2% and 2.1% respectively. I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a credit Union in your are that offers similar rates.
Their statement on whether they're FDIC insured or not is weasel wordy and makes me uncomfortable.
I'd translate that to, "No, they aren't."
For a normal person just doing 401k+IRA, there is no reason to pay for financial advice. If you live in a moderately-sized metro area, there is probably even an Fidelity or Schwab physical location to get help if needed. I personally use Vanguard but I'm not a zealot.
For people just getting started, a three-fund portfolio of FZROX + FZILX + FXNAX in a 64/16/20 ratio is a good set-and-forget point. Total ER would be 0.005% (5 cents per year on every $1000 invested lol).
Most advisors will charge 1% on top of the likely more-expensive investments they would put you in, let's say 1.5% total ($15 per year on every $1000 invested).
The answer is: it depends. First of all, stick with a financial planner that's fee based (IE, they don't make money off of your money) and has a CFP designation, as those are the professional types. They CAN help a lot with structuring a lot of non-financial things, as things like insurance coverage (life and home), wills, general financial trajectories/plans they can shortcut if you want to pay to have someone do the heavy lifting there. You're spot on that just getting your 401k up and running in index funds is the right start. Planners help more as your life gets more complex and your time to research/act becomes limited. We're actually looking for one now as while we're in good shape, we need to get serious about planning given that we actually have assets and kids now, so making sure the ball rolls the right way if something bad happens is a huge factor. This is doubly true if you're in a non-traditional relationship (IE gay or unmarried), as many laws and rights assume married hetero couples.
I actually feel that even if you have a simple financial situation, it's worth spending the money to develop a financial plan with a planner. The planner will help you see your entire financial picture and be objective enough to make sure you don't miss anything. Additionally, a planner can help you set goals and prioritize them, then help make the relevant changes to make sure you're on target. Then, they can ask you some of the tough questions. Example: You want to retire at 60, but you also want to pay off your house asap. A financial planner can tell you that spending the financial focus to pay off your house will add -- say -- 2-3 years to your retirement date. You can then decide which is ultimately more important to you and make small adjustments now so that you don't have to make large ones later. A financial planner can also make sure you have the necessary tools in place for when Bad Things happen (i.e. proper level of homeowner's insurance and life insurance, a will [still worthwhile if you are by yourself], emergency fund, etc.)
With a relatively simple financial picture, you only need to revisit the plan when major life events happen, or maybe every 5-10 years to make sure you're still on target.
Now, saying all this, financial planners can be fairly expensive. Some light poking around tells me that a financial plan is typically in the neighborhood of $1k-$2k US.
Previously, Edelman Financial Services offered a special during PBS donation drives, where you could donate $240 US and receive a free financial plan from them. However, they merged with another entity back in mid-2018 and I can't find data regarding whether they still offer this. It's probably still worth making the phone call, though. While I have no problem recommending Edelman Financial, I'm not fully comfortable they won't "force" you to invest only in their products to get the free financial plan, so that later they can charge you their annual fee. Basically, I don't know how much of a hand in the business that Ric Edelman himself has, anymore, with this merger/buy. Prior to the merger, he was a major proponent of fee-only financial planning, where possible and needed.
Also, maje sure anyone you meet with is a fiduciary.
Goddamn it.
E: and more specifically, the fact that the SALT cap doesn't double for married couples.
We changed our deductions to have more withholding to offset the IRS change, but not NEARLY enough. When everything is said and done, I think our total taxes paid will increase 3-4k, but that includes some more from raises, etc, too. But the actual check we have to write is...uh...big.
We should still technically be coming out ahead now since we're still dual income without kids so the elimination of the personal exemptions still leaves us on this side of the standard deduction since it got doubled. It'll be a question of if we stick with that or have enough to justify itemizing. In a few years when moniker jr comes along and the tax rates snap back to its priors is when we'll get fucked.
-20% down
-market is high right now, so not the best time?
-property taxes
-budget for repairs / improvements
-homeowner's insurance
-minimum expected time to stay in one spot (to spread out closing costs; minimum 5 years?)
-monthly breakdown of costs compared to rent
What else?