32, single, no kids, no major expenses, make roughly 57k per year. Here's my current breakdown:

Checking/savings: 52k

Traditional 401k: 76k

Roth IRA: 33k

Crypto: 5k

CC Debt: $350

I put $500 per month into the 401k and then I just dump the max into my Roth before the deadline.

Truthfully I have no idea what I'm doing and no solid plan, which I'd like to establish. Open to suggestions.

Hey all,

I have a Vanguard Roth IRA that’s fully invested in the VTTSX Target Retirement fund as well as an HYSA and I’d like to compliment them with an ETF in my other brokerage account to serve as a another long-term savings with more growth potential that I can also more easily withdraw from between now and 2060.

Which ETFs are the VTTSX already similar to and what would compliment it well so that I’m not just basically investing in the same thing in different places?

Thanks!

I have a 401k from an old employer where everything is invested in either individual stock from that company, or the FID FRDM 2060 CP F target date fund. I haven't logged into this account for probably a year, but just did and saw they've been taking out roughly $12 every quarter. Is that a fee for having the target date fund? Any way to stop the fee lol?

Side question, I would kind of like to change the target date fund to something a little more aggressive/risky...thoughts?

I am evaluating purchasing a new car and whether it would be worth it or not.

My current car is a 2013 Honda CR-V EX-L AWD with 146,000 miles that gets 22/30 MPG. I drive about 15,000 miles a year and usually get about 22 mpg. Gas in my area usually costs somewhere around $3 a gallon. That comes to a total cost of around $2,000 a year in gas. It is clean, and I just spent $3,000 on new tires, all new brakes/rear calipers, and all new fluids. It does have some small issues but nothing major. Current trade in value is $6,000.

I would be considering buying a new 2025 Honda Civic Sport Touring Hybrid that gets 45/50 MPG. This would cost me about $1,000 in fuel a year. The purchase price would be somewhere around $30,000 base or about $35,000 with tax and shipping.

I predict I will be driving 20-25k miles per year over the next few years and am thinking if it would be wise to upgrade. Over the next 5 years I can save $5,000+ in gas alone driving it only 15k miles per year. Yes the car will depreciate to maybe 2/3 or half of that value. But it’s a new car and my current car’s engine, transmission, and struts and most of the suspension is all original. I also won’t have AWD, but that’s not a huge deal. I also have only used the extra space in my CR-V compared to a Civic twice in 5 years of ownership.

I also have the cash now to upgrade but am trying to save towards a house. I also park in sketchy areas and had a relative have their new car broken into this year in a rural suburb - so I am concerned about that.

I just got a new job in the city my wife and I were born and raised in. This requires us to move and sell our house. Our house has been listed for a few weeks and we hope to find a buyer soon. Meanwhile, my father is also trying to move into a larger house from a smaller house that he rents.

My father just asked if he could give me around $2000 cash he saved up and gift him the money thru our bank accounts for a down payment. He said his advisor told him he needed to do this to not get scrutinized by the lender.

My father never gets involved in financials or asks me for money. My wife does not want to risk us being disqualified for a loan because of this and wants to wait until we have bought a house to do the gifting my father asked for.

Should I gift the money or tell my father he has to wait until we buy our house before I gift the money?

EDIT: The cash is inherited money. My dad is unemployed and on disability so the money could cause problems sitting in his account.

Hi all,

This might be a little specific, but I am seeking for advice:

My wife and I are considering buying a house in 2025 - but also have seriously considered waiting one more year. We are interested in either buying a house in the Chicago suburbs or in the city of Chicago. Our current situation is as follow:

- Currently DINK, combined income of $140-$150K, depending on OT/Bonus - split 60% me, 40% wife
- $22,000 in a HYSA - contributing $1,100 monthly
- No other savings (excluding retirement funds, which both have about $20K each. Contributing 7% (wife) and 13% (myself)
- Age 29 & 30
- Credit score 745 & 775.
- Monthly debt, $400 student debt payments ($200 per person) a month
- Current rent $3,250 - living comfortably.

We are looking at house in the $425 - $525K range, preferably no HOAs. We are aiming to put 5% down, so between $21,500 - $26,000. Our lease expires by early July, so we are expected to have around $32,000 in our savings by then - leaving us with (in the best case scenario) $6,000 wiggle room for closing costs, moving costs etc. The math is telling me we should rent for one more year (and maybe even get a cheaper apartment during that year), but my will is telling me let's try to make it work, especially since we want to start a family in 2025.

I'm not familiar with any grant/downpayment assistent programs, and frankly don't think we would qualify with our income.

Knowing that we REALLY want to buy a house in 2025, what would you advise?
A few options I am considering is:
- Lowering 401K contribution to "just" the employee match (=6%) so I can get more cash for the down-payment/emergency fund
- Lowering the downpayment to 3%
- Looking at cheaper houses?
- Getting a part-time weekend job?
- Look for a higher paying job?
- Any tax/law changes coming up we should keep into account?

I know some (many) will say: "Wait a year longer and save more" - but you know, where there is a will there is a way... so looking for solid advice on how we COULD make it work. But feel free leaving your candid opinion.

Thanks!

I was gifted 2 shares of Apple stock when I graduated College. I have the original stock certificate showing my name and the date of record. (May 1983)

I stashed the certificate and did not think much about it.

Recently cleaning house I found the certificate and was wondering what my graduation gift is worth now?

Well the two shares should have split to 448 shares, at $237 each is $106000

Unfortunately, it seems in the forty years I spent traveling and working, the state of Hawaii escheated my shares. As they sold them of for less than $100 total, I get nothing back. Not the pittance the state sold them for or the $100 a quarter dividends earned for many years or the $100k the split shares are now worth.

I do have the original Apple Stock certificate from May 1983 in fair shape and a story to tell. But the $100k sure would have been nice

I am happily married. My son outside of this marriage is 13, I was never married to his mom. She cheated on me when said son was <1 year old. We have 50/50 custody.

I am going to inherit 30-50million in the next 6 months. Is his mom, whom I pay child support to, entitled to any of my inheritance? It will be in a trust.

If so, is there any way to avoid this or keep her portion at a minimum?

I know we're still months away from tax season but Everytime I think about it I start to spiral. I turned 18 in the middle of this year so this coming tax season is going to be my first and I have no idea where to start. My knowledge is limited to seeing people in movies with receipts and calculators and I always throw out my receipts. I have a part time job, which I started in May while I was a minor and my birthday is in June if that matters, and I live with my mom. I was never taught how to do all this and im terrified about going to jail because the school system is too focused on parabolas and exponents to teach me how to do my taxes. Any help, whether it be an explanation on how taxes work or just how to prepare, would be insanely appreciated.

Wasn’t sure if this is possible, but I want to open a 529 plan for my niece who lives in NJ (I’m in NC). Her parents aren’t that financially stable or wise and aren’t saving anything for her college. Can I open one up for her myself? I have two 529s for my kids if that matters. I’m also not planning contributing much, maybe $50/month. But over then next 14 years that could pay for a book or two 😂

I’m 19 years old and I’m looking to get a 5k personal loan for a car from a private seller.

My credit is 720, I’m 2.3k in debt on my credit card, and ive only had a job for 8 months. Do you think theres any chance I’ll get approved? Or is there any other way? I’m planning to sell my current car after I get the loan to help pay it off.

Hey there! I have my own health insurance through my company and have elected to have a lpfsa but I’m still under my parents health insurance.

I filled my lpfsa so I can pay for some dentist work next year but it won’t cover the full amount. Can I use my parents fsa to cover the rest or is that not allowed?

Thanks!

Hello, I had this plan in mind and I wanted to run it through some others that might know more then me. It sounds like a solid plant to me.

I(21m) make around 50-60k a year depending on over time. I have about 20k in savings right now. I am renting right now and my lease ends in November of next year. My vehicle and everything else is paid off. I have no debt and am paying for tuition out of pocket. That lands me around 2k a semester. I live in a low cost of living area and I can find a really nice home for 180k. And I can save up a bigger down payment by the time my lease ends. I am thinking about purchasing a home. My credit score is 770, I recon I can get a pretty solid interest rate for that. My current rent is 1200a month. I am tired of renting. I can pay that towards a mortgage and have a whole house to myself. What do you think? Am I secured enough to bite the bullet and see where life takes me?

My main purpose for wanting to buy is to have my money go towards a asset rather then burning it away renting.

So let’s say you ordered an item from Company A and received a different item from Company B. Let’s also say Company B’s product has a higher price tag then what you originally ordered from Company A. Are you legally allowed to keep this item, per FTC rules?

Note: Company B and Company A have totally different websites and items but both owner by same parent company

Assume:

* self employed throughout 2024

* some income is paid in cash, that is to say: no document, e.g., 1099k, to show/prove this income.

Question:

For those cash income, do I need any supporting document to pay self-employment tax?

I’m going to be coming up on 252k TC in 2025.

I could live outside the city in a 2-3k apartment with very short commute.

Or I could live in a nice apartment in the city with a long commute that’s 4-5k.

I’m 23. SDE at Amazon.

My biggest goal is personal wellbeing and health as I am overweight.

How should I spend my money?

So, this is incredibly shameful for me to admit, but I am in my early 30's and have nothing saved for retirement. I was working under the table until a few years ago and have been doing short-term jobs since then, which means I never got a 401k started at any of them.

It's still hard to talk about but I didn't even open an IRA while working under the table because the shame of the whole situation had me totally frozen up around money. I didn't know how to ask for help and had nobody around me to discuss it with. It's like the shame would make my throat close up and I just couldn't bring myself to ask. I'm finally starting therapy soon so hopefully I can get over the emotional baggage and look at the actual facts of my financial life without getting so triggered.

Working "real jobs" has also helped me break the ice into looking at my finances now.

Anyway. I have yet another short-term job lined up in a couple weeks, and am currently hoping to move to a new region in a couple months. I will probably continue short-term work until I find a place I'd like to live for at least 5 years, possibly then going back to school or pursuing some certificate courses to bolster my career. Hopefully the short term stuff will only last about another year, unless I decide I really like working seasonal jobs at resorts, and decide to stick to a hospitality career.

I know I still have time to save, but when people say "save aggressively", I'm not always sure what that means. I have heard that 10% is an average amount of your paycheck to save. I assume that is in addition to your 401k which can be maxed out at about 6% of your income (correct me if I'm wrong). But given that I'm so far behind, how do I judge what percentage to put into an IRA? Is there a dollar amount benchmark to be looking at per year?

Any tips on how to tackle this would be great. Even if I need to spend a few years attempting to save 50% of my income or something like that, I'm willing to. I just don't want to feel like I'm doomed.

How do you decide what you’re investing for.. sounds like a stupid question but wife and I max our retirement accounts (401k and Roth IRA) we both max our HSA’s and started a 529 and custodial account for our son. We also invest in our own taxable account but have no real plan for that money. How did you decide what you were investing for? We like our house and our 2.5% interest rate, we don’t need new cars and travel a bit…. Just curious to hear others stories/plans

For context I’m 23, a student, live with my bf, I don’t have a car, I work full time in the school system.

So things like doordash and stuff I can’t do. I have time after work for a few hours to do something but I can’t find any jobs remotely or in the area that will help and be worth it. I really feel financially stuck. I think I have the best job I could get in my position but it doesn’t matter bc I can’t find anything better. I don’t have savings or family to support me. Ideas?

Im in the US. It’s almost the end of the year and I need to get rid of my sick time, my coworkers tell me to only cash it out little by little because “it puts you in the next tax bracket if you have too many hours on your check” the have a “sweet spot” of 53 hrs they say. I’m told them i don’t think that’s how Tax brackets work bc I’m pretty sure it’s marginal and over the whole year and individual paychecks don’t matter. Am I wrong or is it safe to cash out all my time in one week

So I just paid off a 401k loan. I took this loan (6%) right before the covid crash. In march 2020, looked like a great loan as markets where high. I took this last loan to:

1. Pay down my mortgage (to get rid of my pmi).
2. Refi my house to 2.75% rate (in 2020)
3. Invest in a business (business is now dissolved, in the black)

As the end of the year approaches, I'm thinking about doing a 401k to roth 401k conversion. I'm also thinking since markets are close to all time highs, it's not a bad time to take out a loan against my 401k (protection from a crash). This time the loan (9%)would be for:

1. Pay taxes on the conversion.
2. Was thinking bout stock investing
3. Paying for next years conversion also

I don't like the 9% rate even tho it's going back to my 401k. What are your guys thoughts?

I’m (28M, single) looking for advice on whether to rent in the city or buy a home in the suburbs. I am 28 years old, live in the Chicago area, and make $100k a year. Right now I live in the suburbs with my parents. I used travel for work and was living out of my suitcase pretty regularly but now I have a job that has significantly less travel. With less travel, I’m also looking to get serious about dating.

Financial Situation: I have no debt at all. I also have $150k in a brokerage account, $300k in retirement accounts, and $150k in cash.

A little about me: I actually enjoy the Chicago suburbs and don’t really enjoy the city. I’m not really a big bar scene person anymore, all my friends/family live in the suburbs, and one of my main hobbies revolves around the suburbs (golfing). However, the social/dating scene is definitely better in Chicago than the suburbs.

Do you recommend renting an apartment in the city ($2-2.5k a month), rent an apartment in the suburbs ($1.5-2k a month), or buying a $400k or so home in the suburbs ($3k mortgage/taxes/insurance + $80k downpayment)? I always wanted to wait to buy a home with a wife/girlfriend, but who knows if/when that will happen.

I could comfortably afford my car loan but after some hardships with jobs and stuff, im in need of some assistance my car is co-signed so I dont know if I could just volun surrender it and ask them if i could do like smaller monthly payments to pay the loan off without my wages getting garnished or my cosigners wages garnished too. I have a good job now but I cant pay 1200 dollars in rent and a 800 car note anymore. what can I do? I cannot refinance due to poor credit. I was thinking more onto giving the car up then doing bankruptcy but Im not sure.

Net worth is about to cross 100k at 23. Will gross 97k in 2024. On pace for 125k in 2025.

I have lived in a VHCOL area for almost my entire life and it is skewing my perception of wealth.

Net work breakdown

12k Truck - Paid off

60k sprinter van - 35k owed

0.33 BTC

20k - Roth IRA (349 shares of IBIT. Maxed out for 2024)

5k - 401k (10% employer match. 0% employee contributions)

2.5k - HSA (Will be maxed out for 2024)

Income Breakdown (2025 forecast)

80k - W2 job

20k - 1099 contract work

25k - Independent small business related to 1099 contract work but isn't contract work

How am I doing? Is there anything I should be researching or looking at to maximize growth?

Context: USA, 35 y/o, married, 180k ish household income, both wife and I have great job security (union). No debt (other than student loans which should be forgiven in 3 years if PSLF isn't recinded). Just had our first child over the summer. Our retirement funds are healthy.

Basically, my wife and I would like to be able to buy a home in the next 5 years. We live in a HCOL area where a modest home runs at least 600k. We've been able to save about 60k so far, though that is both our emergency fund and down payment savings. I'm wondering if now is the right time to invest some of that. I'm worried both about market volitility and inflation with the new administration. Volitility makes me want to keep my savings liquid, but the possibility of high inflation due to tariffs makes me fear my savings will lose significant buying power. Thoughts?

Just got rear ended while stopped at a light. No one is injured and the damage is very light. My bumper is basically scratched with paint gone. The other didn’t speak English. I called the police and they said I didn’t need to file a report since no one is injured, just exchange information and file a claim with the insurance. I asked him for his car insurance and he said (via Google translate) that he knew nothing about that, he just got here. I got a picture of the damage, DL, car registration and I have his phone number.

I do have uninsured motorist on my policy but I’m wondering if I should file. The damage is small and I don’t know if it’s worth it if I have to pay a deductible. Though I’ve always heard that you should always fix your bumper because you don’t know if there is structural damage to it that you can’t see.

Should I just file the claim? I also don’t want my premium to increase (even though I’m not at fault but idk).

So for 2024, I earned around $20,000 up to August, but hit it off big on short term captial gain in the stock market and will estimate by end of December have a total income of $60,000 to $70,000. I was told since I'm in medicaid I should report this sudden change but I'm not planning to use it any time soon, so it's ok to report it next year? NYC state.

Also I do not know what my income will be for 2025, but correct me if I am wrong, there is a huge increase for medicaid eligibility of $69,000 and below? If not then I won't know my actual income because I'm not sure if I'll do well 2025 in stocks. But let's say I estimate $80,000. I no longer have health insurance so what do I do? Where to look for or any recommendations? Do I find one to qualify for HSA account? Because I saw a Google search it'll cost $2400 a month which I can't afford. Should I find a full time job for health insurance?

Thanks in advance

Hi to start I'm 19 planning on going to VIDCON 2025 I get $760 monthly from government checks and unemployed .

Hotel cost $320

Ticket cost $135

$200 for spending/food

I plan on driving there witch will cost around $300/$400 For gas

So with those information I am wondering if it's even possible to go with what I get each month

My wife recently received a large, but less than $10,000, refund check from the Treasury for the 202X tax year. We recently got married, and unfortunately she did not keep good financial records and does not recall this tax year.

I tried looking at her tax transcript, and it does not reveal much. Essentially, this is beyond DIY for us and we need assistance for this matter.

We want to know if the amount received was accurate so that we can keep it, or if it not, how much needs to be returned. Currently, the funds are just sitting in a segregated savings account and we are not comfortable blending it into our joint accounts and/or spending it until we can confirm how the IRS got to that number and that it is correct.

The IRS website says this about choosing a tax professional:

Check the person's credentials. Only attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents can represent taxpayers before the IRS in all matters, including audits, collections, and appeals.

What would be the appropriate expert for this type of tax issue? A tax attorney, CPA, or one of those “enrolled agents.”

Hello personalfinance - I hope this is the right sub and if anyone has a suggestion for somewhere I should cross post, I am open to that.

I will try to keep this as brief as I can - I don’t think my sisters use Reddit much, and the details seem very specific to me, but I’m going to try to use broader terms.

The situation: My mother passed earlier this year and left her condo to myself and my 2 sisters, E & M. For what it is worth, E & M are both married with children, I am neither married nor have children. The condo is completely paid off so there is property taxes, insurance, HOA fee, and general utilities to pay for - but no mortgage.

We’re ready to start talking about what to do with the condo. Myself and E have been open to keeping the condo but we know M has no interest in being involved. So, we planned to offer to buy her out.

I initially thought the easiest way to do this would be E and I equally splitting M’s portion 50/50, making us both equal 50/50 owners in the condo. I would then maintain living in the condo, paying for all utilities and whatever amount of the HOA, taxes, and insurance we deemed agreeable. We hadn’t discussed this specifics yet but I would imagine it would have been half and half or me paying slightly more since I would actually be residing in the home and they simply own equity in it.

E has informed me that in order for her (and her husband) to afford buying half of M’s share, they would have to take out a loan. This would throw off their debt/income ratio since if they wanted to take out any further loans for the other properties they own/investments they have, they wouldn’t be able to leverage on the debt of the condo since it is tied up with me as a co-owner.

Her offer: E & husband take out a loan to fully buy out M’s share. Letting me live in the condo “rent free” to pay nothing but utilities for, say, 5 years. After the 5 years my equity in the condo becomes theirs and they have full ownership over the condo.

Say the condo is worth $300k. That means my share is $100k. In 5 years I would be “giving up” approx. $1666/mo in this “rent free” scenario. It’s not rent free, my rent is paying off my share in the equity, no?

I’m wondering if I have an accurate understanding of how this is working out. My sister is telling me this is a great opportunity for me to live “rent free” while I figure out my next steps over the next couple of years. I see it as an insult that she is slowly charging me $1666/mo over 5 years for me to leave with zero equity in something I currently have equity in.

Please someone explain to me if I am not viewing this accurately. I am admittedly not very educated in these matters and get easily confused & frustrated by major financial things. Her husband is really smart in real estate matters so I feel at a huge disadvantage. I don’t believe my sister or her husband would purposely use this advantage over me in an insidious way, but I do believe they will choose to make the best financial decision for their family, even if it doesn’t work out so great for me. I feel like she is trying to dress it up and make it sound good for me, but right now it’s feeling gross and unfair.

In case it matters - she did say I could rent a room out and keep all of the income from that to save up over the 5 years so maybe I don’t leave with equity in the home but I could leave with a sizable down payment for something else. - this is something I was open to in my initial idea, to help us both out by paying for stuff the condo needs but I didn’t want it to be something I HAD to do in order for me to leave this condo with money that I feel I’m already entitled to (the equity)

TLDR; My sister (E) and I are trying to come up with an agreeable way to buy our 3rd sister (M) out of equity in the condo our Mom left us when she passed. E says my initial idea doesn’t work for her family financially, but I feel like her option is insulting and unfair to me in the long run.

Neither E or I are really on speaking terms with M currently and E is usually the one I turn to for support. I feel really isolated in this matter and like I don’t have anyone unbiased or on my side knowledgeable to turn to. Even if you have a suggestion on the type of person I should seek advice from in the real world, that would be helpful. A banker? A financial advisor? A real estate attorney? I have no idea…

Thank you anyone who takes the time to read this and weigh in.

Edit: Thank you for everyone’s input so far. All of it has been really helpful in reaffirming some of my understanding and opening my eyes to others. For those of you who are criticizing me for my 50/50 option, I believe I mentioned above that we hadn’t discussed the details of how that would work out and I gave some examples of how it may, admitting in this post that I am not super educated in these matters. So the criticism is unappreciated and more constructive suggestions would be helpful. If we are 50/50 owners and I pay the full expenses for upkeep of the house: all utilities, HOA, Taxes & insurance, is that not enough? I would additionally have to pay my sister 50% of the market rent value of the home? Because that’s what she would be “missing out” on making if she were to own it outright and be renting it out? This doesn’t really make sense to me either…