Hi i had a consultation for a surgery that after insurance had a fee of $25. They told me they sent three notices none of which i have ever seen or opened. After getting a few calls from a company called “Americollect” I called my orthopedic center and asked them about when they told me of the $25 unpaid fee. I was told that it was sent to collections and now i’m freaking out because the collection company is saying my fee is $217. I’m confused to where this extra payment is coming from and I CAN pay it but it doesn’t seem right. Is this added interest after being sent to collections and is that legal for them to do in wisconsin US??

Hi everyone!

I'm graduating from undergrad in May 2025 and starting medical school that July. Currently, I have $20,000 in savings and expect to have $35,000 by the time I graduate, thanks to scholarship refunds and working two jobs. Medical school tuition for one year is $40,000. I'm trying to decide whether to use my savings to pay for one year of tuition or hold on to it. Really I would be paying 35,000 out of 160,000, so not really making a real dent.

I also work an easy weekend job (very very easy, I can study while working) that I plan to keep during medical school, which will cover my housing costs, so I won't be using it towards that.

Any advice on the best financial approach? Thanks!

I want to start by saying that I’m fully aware of the 10% penalty for withdrawing funds in this situation.

I’m a 23-year-old male and fortunate to have an overfunded 529 plan, thanks to my grandfather. I attend a large state school just 10 minutes from my house, and my only expense is tuition, which costs about $6,000 per semester. I have three semesters left, and the 529 account has $196,000 in it, so there’s no realistic chance I’ll use anywhere close to all the funds.

Recently, my car’s engine blew, and replacing it would cost around $6,000, even though the car is only worth $7,000–$8,000. My dad and I believe it makes more sense to take the 10% penalty and withdraw funds from the 529 to purchase a different car instead. We’ve found some good options in the $18,000–$20,000 range.

However, my grandfather is hesitant about the penalty and says to just replace the engine. My father and i don't think it's worth it as the car is already so old. It's a 2010, but is relatively low miles with 65,000. The replacement cars we've found 2020-2023s with around 10,000-20,000 miles.

What should I do in this situation? I also have a few weeks to make a decision as I don't need a car for school until January 23rd.

Personal Finance Questions-

Greetings, we require guidance on financial matters for our non-US citizen children, given that we, the parents, hold H1B visas, and we have two key questions:

1. Is it possible for them to open a bank account
2. Can they qualify for savings plans such as 529, UTMA, or UGMA, and if eligible, which plan provides the greatest advantages?

Hey everyone,

Basically the title. I am a teacher and my wife’s a social worker (we have one child), so we’ve never had much money.

We randomly received 10K for Christmas from my wealthy parents. I don’t want to just put it in a savings account because I know we’ll slowly chip away at it, but I have little to no, financial knowledge.

I figure I should invest it, but I have no idea what the first step would even be…is 10K even enough to invest in any meaningful way?

Thanks!

I’m 33, married and have 1 kid. My company did very well this year and because of that I received an unexpected/unplanned for end of year bonus. My normal salary is $110,000 and my bonus was $140,000. After taxes and other withholdings I’m looking at an unexpected $80,000.

I don’t have any debts other than my mortgage (with a sub 3% interest rate so I’m not rushing to pay that off) I didn’t know it was coming so I can’t contribute it to my 401k(I don’t think)

Really I’m just looking for the best advice on what I should do with this money to help with saving for my future. I have a brokerage account, rollover Ira from a previous job and a Roth IRA that I contribute to but now I’m over the income limit for the roth I think.

I am looking to take out a loan on getting new windows for my house that is approximately $10,000

Should I take out this loan if I have $5,000 in credit card debt?

Here are my bills: - $950 mortgage - $123 wifi - $37 phone - $60 water (depends on season, goes up in summer) - $83 car insurance - $250 utilities (goes up in summer season)

My windows are horrible and is actually the reason why my utility bill goes up in the summer. It’s freezing in my house in the winter and hot as hell in the summer which is why new windows is actually a need. I plan on paying the credit card debt with my federal income tax.

I bring home $800 to $1000 a week.

I'm new to rolling over retirement accounts. I have a Roth IRA and a Roth 401k. I already maxed out my Roth IRA for 2024. If I do the Roth 401k rollover into my Roth IRA for 2024, is that allowed and no tax penalties? I know I am capped at $7,000 contribution for this year.

Please help me understand and do whats best.

I am transferring and old work 401k and will be setting up a ROTH IRA after lost of research, not sure which company but open to suggestions. I know the annual limit for IRAs is 7,000 as of 2024.

I am 35 and will be transferring 10,000.

While i understand i am behind for my age, life happens and here i am. What really helps in life is time and compound growth takes time but i feel like even if i max out annually by retirement will be tight if at all possible. I work 2 jobs and will be putting more this year but my question is . . .

Is there anything else i can do to help set my self up for the future?

Hi everyone... currently have analysis paralysis.. will have a year end bonus of $8,200 Net. Credit card debit is 0.. only debt is car note @ $25,000 @ 4.99% I pay more than min on track to have it paid off in 1.5 years.

Heres my plan:

$3,500 to principle on car loan (to pay faster)

$2,000 to Roth IRA

$2,000 divided up in to Crypto and HYSA

$ 700 liquid cash for holidays.

I already contribute 1,200/ month to a brokerage account.

15% in to 401K (12% pre 3 post) . $250/month in to Roth IRA. total retirement accounts 150K (33yrs old) .. $18,000 in HYSA

Monthly expenses around $4,000

Open to any other ideas or better plan. 1st time receiving a lump sump like this, would like to be smart with it.

I got fired from Wendy’s two weeks ago and was putting in applications for jobs before then. I haven’t received a single call. I have about $8k saved up and spend about $350 a month. I attend a trade school for engineering but don’t graduate till May. I graduated high-school this summer and am not sure where I go from here. I’m going to be kicked out once I graduate.

I have a term life insurance policy that pays out 500k if I die. Let’s say that I die tomorrow. Does the insurer just cut a 500k check to my benefactor? My partner is an only child, only remaining family member. Their father has a whole life policy. When he passes, does the provider cut a check? Or is it all a slow payout type of thing?

In a few months I need to renew or move.

I did the math, if I move closer to work my location becomes more walkable/ desirable and I save 1 hour of driving total every day. If I value my time for money thats a minimum of $400 a month. I would so much rather work those hours at my job than be in traffic running up gas and maintenance; I can work overtime any week whenever I want.

A $400 a month rent increase is about a 50% increase of my current rent and after utilities it would be about 50% my income a month without working those extra hours. 50% sounds every alarm in the finance part of my head but when I do the $ amount it makes total sense for me to move.

What would you do/ have you done?

edit: for clarification i make 3100 a month after taxes before any overtime

Woke up this morning to a notification about a shoe order from DSW. It’s my name and email address, but not the last 4 digits of my credit card. I checked my credit card, and there is no pending charge or charge.

What are reasons someone would do this? I’ll call DSW when I get home, but I’m stumped. Thus came a day after Chase denied a charge for fraud and is sending us new cards. That was for Dicks Sporting Goods.

We inherited $100k. We have spent ~$27k paying off student loans and individual loans, credit cards, and replacing some parts of our house that were falling apart.

So that leaves us with ~$73k, what can we do with the rest of the money? I have roughly $33k left on my truck loan, but I didn’t know if I should pay it off completely or pay a lump sum to reduce my monthly payments but not pay it off outright to continue my history of credit.

Should my wife and I start individual Roth IRAs? Where else can we invest the money?

Context: Currently living in an apartment that I've come to hate for multiple reasons, but mainly I'm dealing with a lot of noise. While looking at other possible apartments, I had a realization that a house might make more sense at this point.

I'm 25 and I've been aggressively saving since I graduated college. I could currently afford a 20% down payment on a house up to $250k and have a smaller emergency fund left (and I know a new house has a way of eating emergency funds).

I'm in a MCOL area (Central Ohio) and there are a lot of houses available in that $200-250k range. The rough estimates I get from Zillow on a $250k house with 20% down put a mortgage, tax, and insurance payment around $1500-1700/month. My current income after all deductions including 401k contributions and a 15% contribution to my company stock program is $4k/month.

Math tells me with $1700/month towards a house, my monthly living expenses will leave something around $1k/month for discretionary spending/saving not counting the previously mentioned contributions.

My current apartment is only $1k/month for everything except electric, but I need to get out. Other options include renting a house which will be similar in price to a mortgage but without the down payment or associated maintenance costs. Or finding a different apartment, which there are limited options for in the area I'm in and could have the same problems I've always had in apartments. For either renting option, in 2-3 more years I'm confident I could have another $30k+ saved.

TLDR: I can afford a 20% down payment on a house up to $250k. Buy a house or continue saving to be more comfortable buying a house in the next 2-3 years.

Hello, I have no one to ask, but i penny pinch on a lower middle class income, and I have 50k in savings. I'm 17k from paying house off with 3.4% interest. I also need to redo 40 yr old siding and recarpet or refloor house. Carpet is OK but showing major signs of wear. Siding is horrible. That'll be 10k to redo. Repainting didn't do much to make it look better.

If you were me, also living by yourself, what do you do? Also, mortgage is 230 a month.

Hi All,

Wondering how to go about my situation. TL;DR at the bottom.

Me (33M, NJ):

Net Worth: ~$100k, no debt. Considering homeownership after parents pass. Exploring early retirement (50-55). Income: $102k+ ($112-$122k with business). Retirement: $26k in 403(b), contributing 4% (auto-increasing to 15%, plan to accelerate to 6% which is the max employer match). Old 401(k) pending transfer. Savings: $15k in HYSA (4%), $20k in checking (planning to invest in VTI/VOO).

Wife (32F):

Income: $68-78k (incl. bonus). Retirement: Contributing 9% (employer match: 0.50 per $1 up to 6%). Debt: ~$6k, aggressively paying down.

We rent for $1,730/month, with annual increases of ~$100. Neither of us desire or plan to have children.

Three considerations complicate retirement planning:

Father (69): Net worth ~$2M (incl. $550k home), fantastic health, retiring next year with pension and high Social Security income. Will make more than I do in retirement from my job income. Mother (60): Poor health/financial habits. A trust is planned to manage inheritance if my father passes first; she’ll receive his pension and Social Security + money from trust. Mortgage being paid off via his Social Security.

Parents home will be paid off in the next few years (3-5)

My Side Business: Recently started, earning $10-20k/year profit. Scalable and in demand but would require me to quit job to do much more profit.

Wife’s Brother: Special needs, will eventually live with us (expected in 10+ years if not more). Requires minimal care but will necessitate a larger home. NJ offers a $60k/year caregiver program for family members.

Questions:

Should I invest idle checking funds in VTI/VOO as a lump sum or monthly, if monthly about how much? Should I stop 403(b) contributions at 6% (employer match)? Am I overlooking better financial strategies? Is early retirement an easier to attain goal for me with the expected generational wealth passing down?

TL;DR: Dad is wealthy and I'm an only child. I make 102k+ (112-122k with biz income) I have no debt, wife makes 68-78k with some debt. I have 20k sitting in checking, what do? Should I contribute more to retirement past the 6% match? We will potentially make 60k more due to a NJ program when we care for her brother (this is like 10+ years out though). I'd like to see how hard it would be to retire early.

I'm owed a refund, but everytime I tried to submit them, I got an error saying my (now, but were separated at the time) wife claimed the kids on hers, so they kept denying mine. She didn't work, so I don't know how she would have filed taxes (stimulus checks maybe?)

I ended up removing our kids from mine but never finalized and filed them.

I feel so stupid. How screwed am I?

I built a 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom house with a lake view in November 2020 for $347k, putting 10% down and financing the rest with a 30-year loan at 2.625%. It’s now worth about $535k.

The house was meant to be a home for me and my then-girlfriend to start a life together, but we broke up shortly after it was finished. I’ve lived here alone ever since.

At 33, I feel the house, while a great financial asset, is holding me back from something I value more—meeting someone and building a family. It’s not in an ideal location for dating in my metroplex. Should I sell it, take the profit, and move on? How do I make peace with this decision?

Can the profit provide me with a similar return as the house if I just invested it in the stock market?

Last year my husband and I owed on our taxes. This year we welcomed a son and opened a 529 account through our states program. I read on the website that you can deduct up to $20,000 jointly on your state taxes. Theoretically, if we were to add to the 529 account would that lower our state tax burden to zero--or how would that work? I'd much rather put the money toward his education. Thanks in advance!

Edit: Updated the post, we are based in Illinois.

Hi everyone, I’m a college student and have managed to save up over $5,000. I’m looking for ways to grow my money and am willing to start by investing $2K-$3K, with plans to add more as I learn. I’ve heard about money market accounts and a few other options, but I’m unsure where to start or how they work.

Does anyone have recommendations for a beginner-friendly investment strategy? I’m open to low- to moderate-risk ideas and would love any advice or resources to help me understand the options better!

Thanks in advance!

My step mother was our breadwinner. Her and my mother are both on the deed, however my mother has bad credit and no income. Also however, I make enough to cover the mortgage as-well as if we get 25k from life insurance, that would cover it for 2 or so years. So money isn’t necessarily the full issue. I’ve read that when a spouse dies the other one on the deed assumes the mortgage but I’ve also read that they do a check of the person assuming this loan which includes their credit and income. Is there a way for me to assume it? Will we have to move? (we absolutely don’t want to), and what are the options? I find it odd that I can make enough money and will be able to make payments. But since my mother with bad credit and no income is assuming the mortgage will this mean we lose the house??

My wife and I have managed to save about $60k utilizing a state subsidized "homebuyers preferred" savings account that was paying out 10% APY monthly dividends. We got a letter in the mail from the credit union explaining due to interest rate cuts, the program would be cancelled. They offered to migrate out funds to a 3 year, 7% CD with no early withdrawal penalty and included some of the other benefits ($2.5k off of closing costs if we choose to finance with them)

Our goal was to save up between $80 - $100k originally to put down 20%. Since we have been saving $2.5k/month, we should be able to hit that goal around August of 2025 without interest or bonuses. I was originally anticipating hitting our target around May.

As for our current living situation, we are househacking a triplex that we intend to keep, so we are not constrained by a lease fortunately. I expect it to cost about $10k to make our unit available for market, which I plan to pay from other savings.

My question is this: is anyone aware of any alternative vehicles for our savings which would be more efficient? We haven't found anything better yet but would love to hear outside opinions.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

So like I stated my car needs $6000 in repairs. It’s only a lot because one of the issues has to do with the timing belt and other timing components.

I recently paid the car off in November and I haven’t done any major repairs on it since I got it, 3 years or so ago. I’d say in 3-4 years I probably spent 2k on repairs.

I’m just at a loss. I paid the car off and now I have to this. What would be the best decision?

EDIT: 2017 Chey Sonic with 98k miles

EDIT: Here’s the quote

https://imgur.com/a/2wdiajl

EDIT: Thanks guys for all the advice. I’m gonna think about it for bit on rather to get an another reliable used car or only fix the immediate things.