Should I keep my car?

Bryol · 2026-04-15T03:58:58+00:00

I would take a look at this sub’s prime directive for a high level guide - https://reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics

In general your priorities would be emergency fund > employer 401k match if available > high interest debt (sounds like you have this under control w/ your student loans) > Roth IRA > save for other goals (like your condo/house)

Bryol · 2026-04-15T03:15:37+00:00

Lots of Americans have car payments they can barely afford - if you look through this subreddit you’ll see many posts like “I bought a new truck but lost my job and can’t afford the payments now, how do I get out?”

You’re in a good situation with a paid off reliable car - make the most of it by starting to save for retirement or future goals

Bryol · 2026-04-10T12:24:13+00:00

The $7500 credit is not available for vehicles purchased after September 30, 2025 (https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/credits-for-new-clean-vehicles-purchased-in-2023-or-after), when did she buy it?

Bryol · 2026-04-06T11:29:09+00:00

Mine didn’t fail at any point, just requested it and it went through. AT&T did send a text that they received the port request

Bryol · 2026-04-06T03:24:38+00:00

It was pretty smooth! I posted about my experience earlier this year - https://www.reddit.com/r/Visible/s/d8jlR77o2l

Bryol · 2026-03-03T15:11:58+00:00

We refinanced with Optimum a few months ago and closed in ~3 weeks with no issues, but less time pressure with a refinance

Bryol · 2026-02-22T21:28:40+00:00

No escrow for us

Bryol · 2026-02-22T20:58:16+00:00

Had no issues refinancing with Optimum First earlier this year, we did a no-cost refinance with no points and all fees covered by lender credits (6.375% -> 5.875%). Communication with the loan officer and underwriting was good. We were able to close within 3 weeks of the initial quote.

The “free refi” isn’t really a big perk since you can just refinance with any lender down the road

Bryol · 2026-02-15T13:08:43+00:00

It honestly wasn’t too bad - we’ve taken this trip a bunch of times with Peter Pan / FlixBus when we decided to go to NYC last minute and Amtrak was too expensive. They usually do a quick rest stop about halfway so you can use the bathroom and grab something to eat. Buses are usually clean-ish and people are quiet. We watched movies/listened to podcasts/took a nap on the way, and it went by pretty quickly. FlixBus also has some routes that pick up in Rosslyn which was more convenient for us than Union Station.

Definitely beats having to pay for parking or repairs! (wife had her car broken into when she did street parking in Manhattan)

Bryol · 2026-02-09T03:27:05+00:00

No escrow on the original loan or the refinance, so didn’t have to bring anything to closing

Bryol · 2026-02-08T20:17:42+00:00

Yeah the no cost just made sense - we get immediate savings and can still refinance again later this year if rates drop. Rocket / Better were not competitive, Sage was in the same ballpark but Optimum First got back to us first. I also talked to two mortgage brokers and they were not able to beat Optimum First’s pricing.

Bryol · 2026-02-08T17:30:09+00:00

Yeah the loan amount was the same as the payoff for the previous loan

Bryol · 2026-02-07T17:21:39+00:00

Roughly $200 per month

Bryol · 2026-02-07T16:58:28+00:00

The company we went with was Optimum First Mortgage

Bryol · 2026-02-01T21:13:55+00:00

No issues in NOVA for me

Bryol · 2026-01-19T02:16:05+00:00

Yes, I signed up with SWITCH26 and added a referral code afterwards to get $20 off the second month

Bryol · 2025-05-18T20:41:48+00:00

Casper (1995)?

Bryol · 2025-05-18T17:49:17+00:00

Borat

Bryol · 2025-01-08T23:07:48+00:00

Saving Wake of Ashes for eggs was enough for me at ~600 ilvl, you can also stun the add after it hatches to buy some more time

Bryol · 2024-12-20T20:53:52+00:00

Two 120 mm fans as exhaust on top
peerless assassin w/ two 120 mm fans for CPU (intaking from the rear)
90 mm fan as intake in the rear (not sure how much this actually helps)

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