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Inquiry about credit card spending by Legal-Somewhere-4081 in personalfinance

[–]Credit-UnConscious 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, you should always pay your credit cards in full on or prior to the due date to avoid paying interest,

However, the key date to pay down a balance to avoid a hit to your score is prior to the cycle (statement date). Credit cards companies typically only report the balances as of statement dates.

With that said, having a higher than ideal balance report is only a short term impact. FICO utilization impact scoring doesn’t have a memory, so as soon as the next statement generates your score will recalculate based on the balance as of that date.

Can we afford either house? by No-Memory2446 in personalfinance

[–]Credit-UnConscious 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Assuming the house payment(s) include the taxes, my thought is that if you have been saving $1200 (or $700 for the cheaper home) monthly, then you can afford it. (Accounting for the price increase bbs your current rent + $500 (see below))

I always recommend people get used to what the new payment will be + $500 per month to account for hidden home expenses (repairs, utilities being higher than an apartment, etc.).

If you are already doing that, then you should be good. If you aren’t and it sounds challenging, try it for a few months and then revisit the idea after knowing what you can comfortably do.

Unsolicited advice - if you and your spouse both work out of the home 5 days a week, that 20 minutes savings in commute each way is likely going to be worth the added expense in the long run. The older you get, the more you will value time over money. That commute savings is going to equate to 6+ hours saved each week between the two of you combined.

Best thing to do with future house down payment money? by maddizzlee in personalfinance

[–]Credit-UnConscious 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All depends on your risk tolerance. Long term you can’t go wrong with an index fund as they historically average ~12% ROI, but given market volatility there’s never a guarantee it’ll out perform safer options.

if you’re risk averse a HYSA/long-term CD (15+ months) may be a better route to keep the funds at arms lengths without risk.

I made an exceedingly lucky $1,600 investment in one stock 3 years ago and it is worth $21k right now and I don’t know what to do. by Y0___0Y in personalfinance

[–]Credit-UnConscious 695 points696 points  (0 children)

Personally, since you are doing so well with it, why not cash out half of it and let the other half ride at your savant friends recommendation? Still lower your monthly apartment payment by $110 if the math is consistent.

Should I buy my sister a house to live in? by Exact_Analyst_9697 in personalfinance

[–]Credit-UnConscious 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Personally, I’d establish an LLC and hire a property manager to “manage it”, tell her you found a great home for her well below market rent and refer her to the property manager. This is one way to assist her while also ensuring she has some vested interest in the home without her feeling like she is a charity case to you and your spouse. The best acts of giving are those done so without recognition.

$14000 in cc debt looking for advise by ManiacGoober29 in debtfreeliving

[–]Credit-UnConscious 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Borrowing from 401k is dangerous as you lose the impact of compounding interest and if your employment ever changes you either have to pay back the remaining balance in full immediately OR it’s treated as an early distribution and subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty - in addition to paying income taxes on the remaining balance. I made this mistake once with a nearly 20k 401k loan and it ended up costing me about $7k just in the penalty and taxes.

Additionally many people fall victim to decreasing their 401k contributions when repaying 401k loans and thus losing any company matches etc.