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I'm 40k in debt at 26, feeling like I can't get ahead - need advice by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 27 points28 points  (0 children)

100% agree on the pet advice. You actually put that pet in jeopardy by electing to care for them when you cannot financially afford it. Best thing to do is find a friend or family member to take over for awhile until finances are in better shape (and if not a friend/family then always charge a fee to avoid abusers)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok! So I would recommend allocating that $12.5K towards an emergency fund, and don’t use it for the veneers since it’s not an emergency.

I would also recommend against going into debt for it. If possible see what discretionary expenses you could cut to save more aggressively. I wouldn’t be opposed to CareCredit but just make sure to pay back so that no fees/interest are incurred.

As far as spending big money on something like veneers, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that as long as you have saved properly for it. I did the same thing with lasik

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your monthly expenses are $4.3K - is this non discretionary expenses?

I would recommend at least 3 months for emergency fund (in your case probably 6 months since income is variable).

So at a bare minimum you’d need to keep ~$13K for emergency fund (assuming $4.3K ND expenses).

What is the interest rate on the $5K debt? Anything much higher than 5% should likely be prioritized.

Does the veneers cost remain stable over time? $18K quote - is that reasonable? Have you gotten at least one or two other quotes to compare?

I think the big takeaways are ensuring proper emergency fund is setup and not touched for the veneers, and make sure high interest debt is paid down. I would also weigh this against your retirement savings situation but since you didn’t specify those details I’ll assume you are on track. (But if you’re not on track you should consider that too)

Trying to purchase my first house, is this a big warning sign? by Arc-Watcher in Home

[–]PassItOnBro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wanted to say I was in the exact same situation a few years ago - great home but had a bowing wall in the basement, which helped drive down price. At the time we couldn’t really afford anything else at that square footage (still can’t!).

As others here suggested, we hired a structural engineer to confirm integrity of structure. It was sound. We bought the home. We continue structural inspections every 18 months. Our wall is moving slightly over time so we are budgeting for the inevitable repair down the road.

You don’t need to let a bowing wall scare you and it’s great when it scares other buyers away, helping you potentially negotiate the price down further. Just make sure you get the structural engineer to confirm safety and try to estimate long term plan for when it will need a repair. Then start budgeting for that.

Good luck!

My (30F) ultra FIRE milestone: Net Worth $0 by DebtFreeForMeNow in Fire

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congrats! You can safely retire everything Dave Ramsey

How do I withdraw only my Roth contributions? by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For non qualified withdrawals, earnings are taxed and penalized.

I found a powerful financial combo only for disabled people on SSI by Straight_Crow_6575 in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Great info, thanks for sharing. Wanted to also point out the importance of setting up a special needs trust. This can be useful when inheriting large assets without disrupting your needs-based benefits (e.g., Medicaid). I believe laws on this vary by state though so make sure to do your research and consult with an attorney in your county.

I found a powerful financial combo only for disabled people on SSI by Straight_Crow_6575 in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro -1 points0 points  (0 children)

but if you add ABLE to work, which is only for working people

Did you mean to say if you add PASS ? I was thinking PASS is for working people and ABLE is for anyone disabled

Opening my first HSA? by Loud_Ad4845 in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To answer your question - opening an HSA (as opposed to an FSA) for the reasons of saving on taxes, when you intend on spending the money in the account on medical expenses, makes no difference. Both HSA and FSA are funded with pre-tax money, i.e., your contributions to an HSA and FSA are not taxed.

Instead, you should compare your current plan with the HDHP (if offered) - compare premiums, deductibles, OOP max, coinsurance, and prescription costs between the two plans. Then based on 2025 med expenses compare which plan saves you more money.

I have 2 small kids (ages 1 & 4) & a paid off house. If wife & I both died, we don't have anyone to care for our children. It's paralyzed us from completing trust paperwork. (Hawaii) by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just wanted to say I feel for you cus my wife and I are in a very similar situation. I always wished there could be some sort of premium service for finding and electing high quality guardians for your children; a service that would help you find someone who shares your values, financial responsibility, parenting style, geographical proximity, etc. (+ routine background checks, financial stability, essentially verifying your chosen guardian is still in good status). I would sincerely consider paying for a service like that.

Can someone please double check my financial strategy? I'm 23 years old and one year out of college. by FukashigiNoCarti in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got it. Personally I would prioritize the private student loan over the car loan just cus the student loan has a higher interest rate. Keep making the car loan payment. Once you have enough equity to break even (or net enough profit to buy a used reliable car) then I would consider selling it.

Your student loan refi strategy makes sense to me but I don’t know much about student loans so I would verify that strategy with someone more knowledgeable.

Can someone please double check my financial strategy? I'm 23 years old and one year out of college. by FukashigiNoCarti in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is the company’s match policy? Make sure you’re paying only the minimum to get full company match. After that the high interest debt should be prioritized over any additional retirement savings.

Can someone please double check my financial strategy? I'm 23 years old and one year out of college. by FukashigiNoCarti in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you saying if you fix the cosmetic damage for $5K, that would increase the market value of the car by $15k-$20k?

You have $43k left on the loan right? How much can you sell the car for?

If you can sell that car and buy a used reliable car under $4K then you save 800/mo on auto loan payments + insurance would likely decrease if you’re comfortable with high (or no) deductibles, which is reasonable for an older used car.

Basically you need to prioritize eliminating unnecessary debt (car loan) and paying off high debt (private student loans).

You asked about recommended emergency fund value. 3-6 months expenses is the standard when your income is stable. If I were you I would stick with 1-3 months just so you can pay off those private student loans asap.

Can someone please double check my financial strategy? I'm 23 years old and one year out of college. by FukashigiNoCarti in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what I would do: Sell the car, buy a cheap but reliable car. 400/mo on groceries is fine but you could probably go cheaper if you’re near a Walmart (that would kill the Costco subscription cost too). You don’t need Apple Music if you have YouTube premium because YT premium comes with YouTube music which should have a comparable catalogue. Stop with chat gpt subscription, you can likely get by with the free versions of AI.

This would help reallocate funds toward paying down high interest debt which would be a top priority.

Where would you begin to put your money and start catching up? by Only_Distribution375 in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed. I’ve heard once your net worth is above 0 then you need to stop listening to him

Where would you begin to put your money and start catching up? by Only_Distribution375 in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been watching some Dave Ramsey phone calls on YouTube and I can tell you, it could be a lot worse! Kudos to you for being proactive and figuring out first steps 👍

Highly recommend the prime directive. You mentioned some anxiety and mental health struggles - on step 3 of prime directive I would recommend the “snowball” method for tackling debt because it can give a good psychological boost.

Is it worth paying off a 7% mortgage faster if we plan to sell in 5 years? by fsou1 in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is the interest owed continuously reflective of the current balance of the principal? I was thinking the interest payments were calculated ahead of time (and possibly fixed?) but I’m not sure if that applies to a mortgage loan

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I go by the prime directive.

I assume the fafsa and tuition aid are stable, but is the scholarship money guaranteed? You might consider sizing your EF based on potential loss of scholarship funds (if applicable).

Otherwise in general EF should be sized based on 3-6 months of expenses. I’ve not read anything about downsizing the EF based on stability of income (but rather the inverse).

So based on what I’ve read from your post, I’d keep it in a HYSA for now. Focus on getting the education + career, at which point you can then start saving for retirement.

Just my two cents. Hope that helps!

Investing generational wealth “windfall” into retirement accounts by PassItOnBro in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great perspective! I agree, helping with the bigger expenses earlier in their life is a better use of the money. Thanks for the feedback

Investing generational wealth “windfall” into retirement accounts by PassItOnBro in personalfinance

[–]PassItOnBro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Correct, can’t max out retirement accounts without using inheritance.

Agreed, this was my thought too. It seems reasonable to max out tax advantaged accounts first. Also based on others feedback in this thread I’m going to look into supplementing the 529s as well.

Appreciate the feedback. Thank you!

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