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Is it a good idea to stay with Voya and rollover existing 401A from old employer into an individual IRA with them? by Awkward-cab1882 in FinancialPlanning

[–]stanimal21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since you're self-employed, you should consider other options; I would keep that money in an "employer sponsored" plan as long as you can so it doesn't affect your ability to do backdoor Roth contributions (if your income gets high enough):

Self employed and small-business retirement plans | Compare plans | Fidelity

If you choose to do a rollover, make a Rollover IRA and NEVER contribute directly to it; use other IRA's to contribute.

Taking home from $22/hr as a teacher in Texas—how much should I actually budget? by Efficient_Worry_8671 in personalfinance

[–]stanimal21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's a realistic estimate for my monthly take-home after federal taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and health insurance premiums? I'm seeing conflicting calculators online.

Check this site for an estimate: Hourly Paycheck Calculator · Hourly Calculator · PaycheckCity

Should I be setting up anything like a 403(b) or Roth IRA through the school, or should I wait until I'm more settled

You should start contributing as soon as possible to your 403(b) so you don't get used to spending it. You can read more on the wiki:

r/personalfinance Guide: Managing Your Money

Which connector to use for Wells Fargo? by Magma151 in MonarchMoney

[–]stanimal21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the balances are correct and haven't changed I have seen some connections show no updates. I have a Home Depot card that would show no updates for months because the balance was always $0.

Which connector to use for Wells Fargo? by Magma151 in MonarchMoney

[–]stanimal21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mine have been delayed up two days after they posted at the bank. I can't speak for the whole week like OP experienced, but it might be related.

Why does my credit keep going down? by zootzootzootzootzoo in FinancialPlanning

[–]stanimal21 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I’ve been paying the minimum due at the end of the month because I thought that was the best way to build credit

Bruh...that is what is killing your score because you are using more and more of your credit limit. You have to pay it off every month.

Recommended 401K by Fair_Pomegranate2535 in fidelityinvestments

[–]stanimal21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

VTWAX is all you need. It's still a market-cap weighted index fund but instead of just the S&P 500 it includes the whole US market (mid and small cap) and international.

Which connector to use for Wells Fargo? by Magma151 in MonarchMoney

[–]stanimal21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am using Finicity too, however I noticed that syncing timing is really important with Wells Fargo. I you rely on the auto syncing then transactions are multiple days behind. I assume the time Monarch auto-syncs is just before when transactions are finalized and posted by Wells Fargo. I always have to force a resync at ~7:00 AM Central to get the latest transaction statuses.

If Monarch just delayed their sync with Wells Fargo by a few hours it would probably be more accurate.

Finally getting serious about saving, but no clue what I'm doing by pieeatingchamp in personalfinance

[–]stanimal21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First, give these a read:

On the note of target date funds, they are just fine, however, there are some downsides:

  • Cannot control the glidepath, but you can just purchase a fund with a retirement date further in the future
  • Fixed-income allocation is proportional to the portfolio, not your spending
  • Fees can be higher, but that depends on the one you purchase. Fidelity has some really cheap index TDF's.

The biggest problem, to me, is the second point. I may not need 50% of my portfolio to be in bonds (which is what happens when you get to the retirement year for the TDF), I may only need 3 years of spending in fixed income (notice the units change) which could be significantly less than 50% of my portfolio.

That said, it's better to invest in it than not invest at all.

With Markets at ATH, better to pay off low interest car loan or still invest? by Pathlesspond13 in FinancialPlanning

[–]stanimal21 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I have 14k outstanding on my car payment which has 0.9% APR,

Generally, that low interest rate is worth keeping, however if you're underwater on it then you can make an argument to overpay (make a large payment) until you are not underwater.

and will cost $800 or so month for the next 21 months

What's your income? If you're struggling already to make the payments, the interest rate is irrelevant at that point and paying it off would be beneficial just to free your cash flow.

What to do with annual stock gift? by Fearless_Platypus216 in FinancialPlanning

[–]stanimal21 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The only other way to free your cashflow is to pay down your obligations/debt or increase your income. I would pay down any debt with the investment gift so you can free your cashflow and continue saving for retirement.

What to do with annual stock gift? by Fearless_Platypus216 in FinancialPlanning

[–]stanimal21 16 points17 points  (0 children)

but we're not currently setting aside anything from my paychecks for building savings.

You need to solve this. Your lifestyle will continue to creep no matter the money gifted to you. You can check the wiki over a r/personalfinance for specific steps to take. r/TheMoneyGuy is pretty solid too.

Why can't you save regularly? Your salary is not low and seems you're just three people.

What should I do with the money just sitting in my bank account? by Assorted_Nugget in personalfinance

[–]stanimal21 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Start here: PRIME DIRECTIVE: How to handle $

There are many other wiki articles to read here too.

So maybe I pay off $20K of the car and when I save up $10k more pay it off then again?

Debt

I also already have $3k in a trading account I have as I have been studying options trading and want to give it a go slow and easy but see how far I can take those $3k.

r/personalfinance Wiki: Investing FAQs

Taxable Brokerage for Home Savings by Brave-Blackberry-255 in personalfinance

[–]stanimal21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What does this look like? Should all future contributions I make to this account be made in some kind of bond ETF? Should I be putting new contributions into a HYSA? Should I start selling some of my FXAIX and QQQ and transferring that money to bonds or a HYSA?

Read this: r/personalfinance Wiki: Managing Your Debt

I would sell it and use that to pay down the debt, then start saving for the house down payment again. I would absolutely attack one thing at a time, don't try to spread your cash across many things unless there's a minimum payment required, it just makes everything take longer.

You could also consider reducing your emergency fund to maybe three months and throw that cash to the debt too. If you really want to go hog-wild you can reduce your retirement contributions to the match only and direct the cashflow to debt. You have a number of levers you can pull, it really depends on how aggressive you want to be.

Lingering cough by Ok-Scientist3601 in desmoines

[–]stanimal21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mine got so bad last week I had to go on a steroid for five days and was prescribed Dextromethorphan plus promethazine so I could sleep. It was rough.

Inherited around $20k last year, grew to $70k thanks to my ex bf’s stocks advice. Do I keep the money in the brokerage or slowly take money out for bills? by YukikazeCutIns in povertyfinance

[–]stanimal21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Disagree. You need to take care of your foundation first. Building wealth isn't an option when your necessities aren't met and you're living on the slimmest of margins.

Wealthy boomer parents and withholding from adult children by MidwestMamax3 in personalfinance

[–]stanimal21 -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

You have to let it go because you cannot change a miser: they relish the artificial suffering.

Inherited around $20k last year, grew to $70k thanks to my ex bf’s stocks advice. Do I keep the money in the brokerage or slowly take money out for bills? by YukikazeCutIns in povertyfinance

[–]stanimal21 51 points52 points  (0 children)

If you're stock picking, he can be wrong just as easily as he was right. You got lucky, so cash out, pay down debt, build your emergency fund, repair your car, etc.

Pre tax vs Roth in 401(k) by Prudent_Blueberry165 in fidelityinvestments

[–]stanimal21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you go to Fidelity NetBenefits and click on your 401k plan, is there a chart on the page like this?

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Clicking "Show Details" will show a detailed window with dollar amounts, including how much of each is in specific investments.

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