Can someone please explain to me what residual interest is on a credit card and how it works?

On April 20th, I finally paid my entire balance off (Chase Freedom card) in full ($1,452). The account has been closed for a few months now, because I was delinquent on payments.

Today, I got an alert saying that I need to pay $15 by June 3rd. It's listed as a "Purchase Interest Charge". I did some research and learned about residual interest, but I don't understand how it works.

Why am I still getting charged even though the account has been closed for months? Why am I getting this on my card when I paid it off in full two weeks ago?

If I pay this $15, will this be the last of it or will I keeping getting this interest?

Please explain in simple terms! Thank you!

I'm Alice, a journalist with a public radio podcast called "This is Uncomfortable" about how money complicates our lives. With so many people experiencing poverty for the first time I've been interested in how people are exchanging survival tips.

I want to pair up someone who ID's as old poor with a person newly poor, to capture that exchange of info and talk about why these kinds of conversations are so important. Is that something anyone here would be interested in?

To me, a bank charging an overdraft fee is adding insult to injury for those of us with little money. Like they're saying "hey you have no money...here you go, now you have even LESS money!!". My bank charges a $30 overdraft fee, I know, could be worse, but often it's thirty dollars I don't have. Life sucks. Bills happen, and sometimes you're just on the brink of that zero dollar mark before payday. Then an unexpected auto withdraw that only comes out yearly and you forgot all about goes through.... and you're negative. Congratulations, instead of having -$130, you now have -$160. Might as well be a thirty dollar fee for being poor.

We all wake up work to pay bills and live. That’s it. Once we all stop working there’s going to be no roof over our heads, no food to eat, no way to support ourself or even our family. It’s a constant cycle till we retire or die. And even if we do make it to retirement most older folks I know don’t know what to do with their lives but to work or did not save enough especially in this economy where we in a constant state of inflation. Yes there’s small things we do to relieve stress that we are passionate about like taking a vacation or do some hobbies. But these things would not happen if we don’t work. Sometimes we dread going back to work the next day. Is there any way or advice to stop worrying?

TLDR: store away food and supplies to hold you over with financial hits, power outages, etc. You can build it up a little at a time and it can save a lot of stress with life's curve balls.

Become a prepper, but not in the apocalypse way. It's for when you lose a job, have a car repair, a major medical expense, or any other issue that will inevitably come up. It provides a lot of security with life's curve balls. My wife got into a minor car accident this morning and I'm expecting to spend around 1k since that's what our deductible is, so money will be tight for a bit. We're breaking out the emergency stash to ease the burden.

I got a couple 5 gallon buckets to protect everything from mice and other pests. You DON'T need to build it all at once, in fact I advise against that. Whenever I got a multi-pack of something like drinks, granola bars, tuna, snacks, pasta, ramen, etc., I would just take 1-2 and put them into my emergency storage. If I had a little money to spare for the week, I'd grab 1 or 2 cans of veggies, boxes of minute rice, or anything else cheap and versatile. If you see something that will work well in your stash on sale, consider picking up 1 or 2. We did pet food too. Each time we bought a new bag, I would just take one scoop and put it into a Ziploc so now we have enough food for our pets for a week or so too (in addition to the non-emergency bag we already have).

With the stash that I got into 2 buckets plus what's still in my pantry/fridge, I think I might be able to spend less than $75 for the next two weeks for my family of 3 which is amazing compared to my usual bill of 150-200/wk. You don't have to limit yourself to just food either. We also have water, flashlights, heat packs, a hobo stove, medicine, cleaning supplies, baby wipes, and other supplies that are all helpful not only in the event of a power outage/natural disaster, but also when you're short on money, these can help you reduce your electricity and water bills too, or hold you over if your water/electricity has been cut off. Seriously, just like $1-4/wk to build this stuff up could save your butt one day.

I'm getting evicted on Friday, and my ex won custody of my son. All the good things in my life are leaving me. I thought I could keep strength through it all. But I'm just a worthless nobody who can't even right his wrongs. I love my son more than life itself, and now I'm not going to see him for a long time. I just got a job and it raised up my hopes, but I lost all my motivation knowing I won't wake up my son's laughter or crying in the morning. I used to find it annoying sometimes and now I'll do anything to get it back. Idk if my landlord will care that I got another job and wait for my first check to come. But it doesn't matter. It's already been proven that I can't take care of him anymore. I can't keep food on the table for myself or him. So I guess I deserve this. But I've been with my son through it all, and all of a sudden I'm not in position to care for him because I'm going through a slump? I try, cry, and give my all for him. And now none if it matters. I just want to sleep and never wake up again. God please lift me from this hell. I brought him in this world. I don't want to go without raising him or being there in moments he needs me. But how does it all work? I cut my wrists today and felt so selfish. I just can't shake this feeling. I really need prayers and advice on how to go from here. I just can't stand life anymore. I don't want to give up but what do I do?

My wife and I received a 72 hour eviction notice this morning. We are in our 50's and have no family to fall back on. We gave the landlord our meager savings but it was not enough to satisfy the $3500 judgment against us, so they proceeded to go ahead with the warrant for removal. If anyone out there has experienced anything like this in the past, what are some viable options?

Definitely some splurge items. but with the items I already have on hand (eggs , noodles , salad greens) this should last me 1-2 weeks

She works for a cleaning company in the state of Texas that services a mental hospital. During Covid, they increased the staff to adjust for workload during the time. Now they are going back to limited staff. Since she is one of the newer people there she’s being cut. Her boss turned around and offered for her to work weekends (a much more limited position) instead. The weekend is the only time she can spend with her kids so she wants to refuse. How would this affect her eligibility for unemployment?

Growing up, my parents were terrible with money. I now see that they weren’t taught proper money handling techniques, but unfortunately that means they passed their severe lack of knowledge and resources to me. Also within that time, my siblings and I brought in money from a very young age through modeling and acting (parents idea - side note; DO NOT EVER put your kids through that). I was told that money was going to a college fund, then ONLY AFTER moving to a new state for college did I find out there was no money because they spent it all.

For a very long time, I was holding deep resentment toward them for that. I know more about money now than they ever did, but I learned out of necessity and a general motivation to not starve.

It’s staggering to now see how much I didn’t know, and therefore how much they didn’t know. I now feel so bad for them, they could have improved our situation in so many ways. Knowing what I know now, I still feel resentment because they are still adults capable of informed decision making but I feel more compassion now for both of them.

What are some money issues you saw growing up that you see differently now? How has that affected you?

I think there's a lot of low hanging fruit out there for this kinda thing. Also coupled our gym membership and save $20 each.

Just picked up a big sweet pepper, a nice celery root, fresh parsley sprig ready for potting, bag of radishes, half a kilo of carrots and some loose potatoes for 2€ from the local lidl.
Of course, in the beginning of the millenium I could have just picked those and other things from a dumpster after closing time free of charge, but things are tough all over, man, no more dumpster tenderloin or free AC machines. :/

Just got to wondering, how have waste reduction sales and dumpster diving changed outside Europe in the last couple of dcades?

The quick and dirty: I am $8k away from owning my 2021 Tacoma but I am in debt and would prefer to get rid of the car payment and get out of debt faster.

I either sell to CarMax at a loss of around $2k depending on the 2WD 4cyl Access Cab used truck market or I take out a loan at a ridiculous 18% or higher and they charge me around $600-$800 in fees for the loan but I pay it off quickly and still end up with more cash selling private. The truck can sell for around $22k I'm thinking... It's a 1 owner well maintained highway miles 92k indestructible 4banger with meticulous service records.

What do you guys think?

My credit score just dropped to around 730 due to opening 2 new lines of credit (0% balance transfers totalling $7k)

Hi,

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a way to make at least an extra $20 a month and make good use of my free time. I know $20 doesn't sound like much, but I figured I would start small with a side-hustle and be more realistic. I don't get paid enough to be able to practically save anything from my day jobs and would like to find a side-hustle that can help me build even a small savings account.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Just wondering if anyone knows, is it possible to talk to the mortgage broker without your spouse if you’re both going to the appointment?

I have a bad history from a past relationship which effected my credit and I’ve told my spouse that I’m only gonna hurt the rate of our possible mortgage but he’s very optimistic saying they give loans to anyone. It still has been making me sickly anxious for this appt coming on. I’d rather talk to the broker alone about my credit situation so I don’t feel so embarrassed. My credit score is fine, but obviously they look at your history for these things which I just want to leave it where it is… the past.

Any advice?

Not sure if this is the right place but I need advice. My shoulder/chest is messed up and I’ve been trying to fix it myself at home, but it’s not getting better and might be worse. Problem is I was fired from my job about 2 months ago and lost health insurance. Can’t afford to pay for premiums right now..but I feel like they wouldn’t give me financial assistance(pay nothing) since I’m basically choosing not to get insurance? Is it strictly based on income and employment status or would they make me pay? Literally can’t afford a single bill right now but kinda freaking out

How did you all accumulate wealth over time, and what are some of your success stories?

Hello!

This is long so I apologize… any advice appreciated….

I am a college student graduating soon (hopefully)… I have a job lined up that will last around 4-5 months and provides housing, I will earn 600$ a week!!! I need advice to manage this income if anyone has any…

Currently my income and rent do not match, I am constantly on the edge of not making rent, I work 2 jobs and attend school full time. My bills are something like this: Phone: 40/month.
Car I nsurance: 60/month.
Rent: 750/month. Meds/doctors: 100-160/month, typically 130.
Gas/groceries/necessities: 120-160/month.

Debts: Credit Card (fairly low interest): 2500 now, expecting to have 3.5k-4K realistically once once I move (need to get some minor engine work done, plane ticket etc) Student loans: ~13k

So currently I’m drowning, excited to be better employed. I’ll be getting 10k overall. I need to pay my rent for two months... no success with a sublease… sucks . So what do I do with this? My bills will reasonably be around 600/month so I will have around 7500 dollars to save or spend on debt. My emergency savings are down to ~175. I will have to find an apartment/move again in 4 months.

What do I do ?

So, someone asked what used to be a poor man’s food that has been ruined by the rich - thinking lobster, BBQ, flank steak, birria etc.

To counteract, what’s creatively delicious and still cheap? How are y’all turning undesirable items into something mouth watering yet affordable in the 21st century?

Hi all. Forgive me if this is a stupid question, I’m new to… finance. Was unfortunately never taught this stuff.

My HYSA accrues interest daily, but pays monthly (360 performance savings, 4.25% APY). I have a checking account through capital one as well, and as far as I can tell, there’s no fee for transferring money from the savings account to the checking account, only external wire transfers (unless it counts as an external wire transfer, but I assume that means to a different bank). The only “catch” I can see is that I have a limit of how many withdrawals per month I can make, but I think it’s like 6. Would it make financial sense to put rent in at the beginning of my cycle, let it accrue interest, then withdrawal it after my billing cycle ends? So I’m earning interest on my rent when it would otherwise just be sitting in a checking account?

EDIT: I may be confused, I cannot tell if my interest is calculated daily or monthly. If it’s monthly, then if I don’t keep the money in there until after my billing cycle ends, I don’t get anything from it, right? Here’s an image of Capital zone’s explanation of it: https://imgur.com/a/VlERpdr

It looks like interest is calculated daily, but only added to my principal monthly. So any money in there for any amount of time accrues interest, I just won’t see it til my statement period ends. Can someone confirm? And in that case, it will earn me a bit extra money keeping rent in that account.

Hello all. I've been struggling quite a bit like many others the last few years. I live in a very high cost of living area (bay area, CA), and make what would be a modest income anywhere else (40k/year gross). I'm 32, single, male, living alone, saddled with a lot of debt due to traumatic events I've experienced the last few years.. Due to some housing issues, me and my former roommate were required to leave our house (that we had a decent rent payment for) for about a year. That year is almost up so I'm hoping to get back there soon, but in the mean time I have been and will be couch surfing. My current place doesn't have a functional kitchen, so I can't cook, which forces me to eat out often which I can't afford at all. I've been bleeding money every month I've been couch surfing and I just can't handle it any more.

I've attempted to apply for many different benefits in CA, taking the huge questionnaire they have online, and I haven't been able to qualify for anything other than food banks which do me no good without a functional kitchen for the time being. I don't even know how I don't qualify for rental credit despite 40k being basically nothing for a single person in the bay area.

Five years ago I lost my girlfriend I a terrible, unexpected accident that to this day I still haven't fully recovered from. A lot of my friends and coworkers have suggested pursuing mental health benefits or disability for it, but not only do I think I'll be met with the same denial I've been getting for every other type of benefit, it feels wrong for me to use this trauma in that way. I also don't want to go into disability because I like working, at least at my current job. It keeps me occupied and like what I do, I just don't make nearly enough to live on my own here in the bay area.

I'm just really broke, really tired, really depressed and just one small misfortune from being on the street, and I desperately need just some kind of support and I just can't find a single thing in qualify for and it makes it even more depressing.

What is the total debt you're carrying and the reasons for it? What insights or advice can you provide which can help others.

life is getting hard right now, im planning to sell something after the work , or changed job if opportunity knocks i have been banging doors applying for higher pay. No luck as of, bills and food right now is much higher the cost of living here in 3rd world country is harder now.

So I just recently lost my apartment and had to move back home, on top of losing my car as well. What was a 30 minute ride to work is now a 7 hour walk as calculated on google maps. Uber and Lyft is costing me money and I’m trying to save money to get my car fixed which cost $2,000 to repair. I’m thinking about saving and just walking back and forth from home to work. Is that too much?

i was going to college in between semesters, theres a summer where i didnt work (2023).. would it look bad on my resume? fedex sent me a schedule to work as a package handler idk if i should work full time its 30hr/wk rn on my schdule

I have an office 9-5 Monday thru Friday that lets me be remote Thursdays or Fridays or both depending on the week and is flexible as long as I get my stuff done they don’t harass me. I had to pick up a night shift 10pm-6am job that I would have to work every other Saturday, so I would I have a day off during the week and Sundays they are closed. I start in a week, Is this doable? I’m only going to do this until the end of the year payoff debt and then I’m out

Alright, I am 34F in Lakewood, WA. I went 3 different stores. I went to Cappy's produce [$9.28], Valley Liquidation [$11.21], and Safeway [$7.36].

I wasn't too impressed with Cappy's. I got the bag of apples from them for $3 but most are pretty bruised. I usually cut my apples into slices anways, so I'll cut off the bruised parts.

This trip was mainly just produce filler since I was running out of fresh ingredients. I have meat and dry goods in bulk though this month I'll be saving for doing a Costco or US Food Service bulk order.

I'm not sure where I heard this, but when I was down and out, it has got me through the worst of it. When you get money in, allocate it like this.

1. Housing (rent for next month, catch up, or just getting by)
2. Work (gas, car payment, ins., bus fare/train fare, uber/taxi)
3. Food (food banks, planned meals, get what you can)
4. Utilities for the home (gas, electric, keep your house livable)
5. Cell phone comes last (I know this doesn't happen for many people now as the phone company will cut you off in an instant)

So, work is more important than food in some ways. You need that cash coming in, and to have it keep coming. It would be best to look at anything that helps you work or keep your job, like laundry soap, shampoo, haircuts, etc. Put food here, as well. It is a real toss-up whether to feed yourself, your kids, mom and dad, or get to work on time, so understand the trade-offs you are making when you put work first. If you are one of those who already do this, make sure you allow yourself food.