Help, my mortgage payment went from $727 to $1148 a month. - I am a teacher and worked very hard to save 20% down-payment for a house and an acre of land. I payed $128,000 for the house and the land 2 years ago. I got a fixed intrest rate ... See More of 3.5%. My taxes are roughly $2000 and my insurance is $1386. Out of the blue my mortgage company increased the amount needed for escrow (as of this moment my escrow is negative $400). I was told by the company that $1148 is my new monthly payment for the remainder of my 30 year mortgage. This makes no sense as increasing my escrow payment by $400 a month is way more then mathematically seems necessary. Is this legal, can my mortgage company arbitrarily demand a huge increase in my escrow payment.
Ex-boyfriend ran up a $750 credit card bill - I broke up with my ex March this year. I thought I took all my belongings from his place. But recently I was going to purchase a gift on a credit card I had stored on Amazon, never really use the ... See More physical card, and it kept telling my payment revision needed and I was confused because I never really use that card. I check the transaction history and it's nothing but $30-$50 uber eats transactions. I just came back from a vacation so half of those transactions were made when i wasnt in America. From what I can recall, he was the last person i used the card with prior to this. I'm going to try to dispute the charges bit is there any further action that needs to be taken?Update- He responded to me and admitted he used it. I haven't responded back.Update- I reported the card for fraud and a case has been opened. Thank you for all your responses, I have all the proof of me being out of the country and even my home state as well. As well as screenshots of him admitting to doing this. Fraud team said it'll take up to 90 days to dispute but at this time I am not responsible for those charges.
Is it possible to start a job without my parents being notified - Basically, what the title says: I'm 19, and my parents have forbidden me from working. On top of this, my father has forced me to get a credit card, which he himself has almost completely maxed out ... See More and my checking account has less than $100 in it. I don't want to be dependent on them, but I would like to start working without it showing up on their taxes, even though I know I am still filed as a dependent. Is it possible to do this?
21-year-old grad student looking for financial advice - Hello, I'm a 21-year-old graduate student who's just embarking on my journey in personal finance. There's so much advice online and elsewhere, from so many different sources, that it can feel a bit overwhelming. I'm hoping to get some straight answers here. ... See More I have a few specific questions:1. **Retirement Savings**: I'm aware that it's never too early to start saving for retirement, but what are the best options for someone my age? Should I start with a Roth IRA or traditional IRA? What are the pros and cons of each?2. **Real Estate Investing**: I'm interested in investing in real estate as a way to generate passive income. How do I assess whether a property is a good investment or not? What are some key indicators I should be looking at?3. **Stock Market Investment**: While I am studying, I want to start learning about and investing in the stock market. What are some beginner-friendly resources that you would recommend? Are there certain types of stocks or funds that are safer or more suitable for beginners?4. **General Finance Tips**: What general financial habits should I be cultivating at this stage in my life? Are there any common mistakes you see beginners make that I should try to avoid?
I want to help fellow first responders and others retire comfortably. - I am a young fireman in Florida. I was fortunate enough to have a father who stressed the importance of investing from a young age. I have learned enough to support my own retirement and would stress the ... See More importance to any rookie fireman who came through my station. I developed a reputation as someone who knew the ins and outs of our retirement system and our deferred compensation plan.During covid, the representative that offered a presentation to our new hires (2-3 classes of 30 per year) stopped showing up. I developed a presentation, had it approved and took over the responsibility of providing an overview of retirement options with basic insight of the importance of investing early.I have since changed departments and even though I offered to come back for each new hire class, the last 3 have not received any education on investing or retirement beyond a basic Florida retirement system booklet. The deferred compensation representative doesn't even show up or answer calls which infuriates me.I fell in love with doing these presentations. Even with my fairly basic knowledge on the subject, I absolutely loved standing in front of the new guys and showing them how to make the most of what is offered to them.What steps can I take to educate myself further and begin helping others understand the basics of saving, investing, and retirement? Do I need my CFP? Do I need a bachelor's degree? I have spoken to several financial planners in my area and all but one swapped the angle to try to get me to move my tax advantaged accounts to their brokerage accounts with promises of unrealistic returns instead of guiding me.So I turn to Reddit. Where should I start?
I'm thinking about buying a house (first time buyer) - Ok, so I'm a 25 year old guy. I make $25 an hour at my job and get paid every other week. My net pay for an 80 hour pay period is $1600. I almost always work some overtime though, ... See More so my checks average a lot more than the $1600 I just mentioned. My rent is $975 (utilities included). Internet is $100, car insurance is $70, and phone bill is $65. So my expensises are $1200 a month (not including food or gas). My job is walking distance from my place so I don't spend much on gas. I would maybe say I average about $200 a month on groceries. So I can basically cover all my expenses with one check (easily if I have a paycheck with a lot of overtime). So this leaves me with basically an extra paycheck to save. Right now I have $25K in a high yield savings account earning 4% interest. I would have more saved but I maxed out my Roth IRA this year which was $6500. I really want to buy a house (I'm in Idaho) what would you guys recommend? I don't have any debt. I'm also single with no kids. My plan is to keep saving until my lease expires in March and then look into buying a house.
Lost my insurance due to loss of job - I lost my job on the 12th of may and had a doctors appointment on the 19th of may. Last week I received a bill for about $550.Can I appeal the bill considering that I was still technically covered during the ... See More appointment or did my Cigna coverage end the day I lost my job?
Pensions advice please? - Hi. I've had to retire myself at 53 as I have early onset dementia. I have 2 pensions, one a government pension and one an old railway pension. Neither worth much unfortunately but enough between them to have some nice holidays with my wife and trips ... See More and stuff and to get some jobs done here at home which are beyond me and we can't afford to pay for. I don't think I'll reach proper retirement age based on my decline and if I do it'll be worthless to me or my wife as I'll be gone cognitively.Am I entitled to getting these as lump sums early? I'm in the UK in England. Thanks in advance.
Is it normal for landlord to ask for first month rent + usual fees before even letting me see the lease term? - I have paid the application fee and refundable security deposit and my application was approved. Now the leasing agent is telling me I need to pay for ... See More the first month rent + usual fees (move in, amenity, etc) before she can send me the lease to read. Is this normal? The move in date is 1 month from now. Last time I rented, I only needed to pay the security deposit before signing the lease. I'm in VA. It's not a scam, btw. I've toured the place and used their official online portal to apply.
Mum just lost her job. - Hi, my mum just lost her job because she took so much time off of work to look after me, because last year i had brain surgery due to a brain tumor. She takes medication for depression but i think this will absolutely crush ... See More her. What can i do? our mortgage is a lot and without her income im not sure they can pay it off, and with that being said her resume won't look too good. She has a degree, but if she doesn't end up getting a job else where what should we do?i find it disgusting how she lost her job because i had a brain tumor, i feel so bad, but i also think her work did her terribly. I just turned 16, and without my mum there to help me get through the recovery period, i would have suffered greatly because i couldn't even walk straight. I'm unsure what to do, i just cost my mum her job. All her work friends and even boss knows me, but then they do this... EDIT: thanks a lot, i'll look into what could happen tomorrow as tomorrow is her meeting to get her dismissed i guess you could say, my dad told me everything will be alright and she could take a break off of work before she looks for a new job and we'll still be alright. My biggest concern was not being able to keep on top of debt and stuff but i'm pretty sure we'll be ok, tysm, i was scared to death lol
Frustrated with housing market - My husband and I have been looking for a house for over 2 years. Initially, the problem was houses were flying off the market for 30k-40k-50k++ over asking and we just couldn't financially compete with that. Then interest rates kept going up and up and ... See More it was hard to see our future mortgage payments go up and up when we knew the house we were looking at wasn't actually worth that amount of money. Now it feels like we are running into an inventory problem where either houses are wildly out of budget or are complete tear downs, thus nothing decent in our budget. We have been pre-approved and we are ready to go, but I just don't know what the next smart step is. We are currently renting but our landlord has been hinting at wanting to offload the space (aka sell) we live in as he's tired of paying the taxes on it. It has been such a frustrating process, as we are both in our mid-30s, both work full time jobs, both college educated, have done everything including saving and minimizing debt, but it just seems like we can't figure this house thing out. One of my big fears is becoming house poor too. Any words of wisdom? Ideas on smart moves to make?
I gave my landlord my routing and account numbers for ACH rent payments, my bank says she can withdraw any amount at any time without oversight? - I read that ACH is supposed to be secure, but the idea that she can just take money out of my account on ... See More a whim for basically the rest of our lives is terrifying. We already don't have a great relationship and I wouldn't put it past her to just unilaterally charge me for supposed "repairs" when I move out. Is it really as bad as I'm afraid?
Advice parents asking for money - I'm 23 and moved out of my parent's house last year to live in Switzerland.I have my finance sorted out with 6 months (around 18k) emergency fund, brokerage account (50k), and private pension (I'm European). My parents are also in good condition; they don't ... See More have any debts, and the house is paid off. But last month they were able to sell the house to get something more appropriate for their age. I asked them multiple times if they were sure since it wasn't really the best choice given the high interest + high inflation economy but they looked pretty convinced.Anyway, today my father called me asking for 10k, promising me to give back 500 monthly (which takes almost 2 years). I got kind of upset because this means ruining my emergency fund and interrupting investing in a discount market. We kinda had a discussion about it, and I don't really know what to do. I feel like it's not right to ask someone else for money if you are not really in need. EDIT: Thanks a lot for the huge number of comments, I’m reading each one of these but I can’t answer all
Anyone pay more to the principal every month? - So I have my mortgage through KeyBank and pay 2000 a month for my mortgage at 2.2% with 250k left on principal. I keep seeing videos online and TikTok about paying it bi week and/or paying one extra payment per month ... See More and addressing it “for principal only”.I pay my bills online and called KeyBank and they said they do not allow this. Anyone have any experiences with this?
Is moving in with a friend worth it to save $500 per month after living alone for 5 years? - Late 20s F. Opportunity to live with a friend. Would save $550 per month.Currently paying about $2000 for rent and utilities. Take home each month is $5000 but annual bonus ... See More $10k-$40k, most of which goes to savings. $95k total savings including retirement investments.Considering the move for a change of scenery. But would also be moving further from gym friends and my current apartment is an 8 minute walk to the beach. but it would also be 20 mins closer to bf.Any thoughts on saving that $550 per month? Any one move in with roommates (or friends) after living alone and it worked out well?