All fully vested long ago. Had been with the company for over 18 years. Part of my "escape plan" was to live on a 401k withdrawal until I relocated and found other employment, roll over the rest.

Anyway - Principal says withdrawals are not an option unless I am no longer employed by that employer. Well, I am no longer employed by them - for 6 months now. Final paycheck and vacation payouts happened within 2 weeks. They won't tell Principal I am no longer employed there, and it is for revenge. They are admittedly doing it on purpose. (HR who handles this is laughing and saying things like, "I own you haha! Good luck!")

Edit for major typo - I had written "2" months but it's been just over 6!

It's immature and HAS to be illegal. What authority can I go to in order to get this resolved? I am no longer with the company and I should be able to withdraw/roll over and have it be under MY control.

We told the dealer that we were doing a cash deal and what kind of dollar figure we had available. I figure they ran our credit so that they could see if they could squeeze us for a bit more, partially on credit. We ended up doing the deal as a cash sale. We now have two reports back from different agencies that they ran.

Is there a legal problem on the part of that dealer?

My partner and I are getting married next year after 6+ years together (have lived together for over half of those years).We're both financially responsible, aligned on our goals, and don't really scrutinize each other's hobbies or personal spending. We've always managed money pretty independently, but we're getting tired of constantly Venmoing each other for shared expenses. I know some comments may say wait until marriage, but call my naive... I don't think we need to wait.

I'm leaning toward going almost completely joint: paychecks, checking, savings, bills, goals, etc. We'd keep our existing credit cards since we're both into optimizing rewards and add each other as authorized users where appropriate. We'd probably leave a card or two separate for things like surprise gifts.

Our budget already tracks spending as Mine, Yours, or Ours, so we'd still have visibility into personal spending without physically separating the money. As long as we're meeting our savings goals and neither person is being unreasonable, I don't really care if one of us spends more personally in a particular month. There is a disparity in income as one makes about 35% more... but it really hasn't led to any issues.

For couples who are financially aligned and merged finances, what worked for you? Did going fully joint create any problems you didn't anticipate? If you kept separate accounts, what practical purpose do they serve?

Most importantly, how do we go about selecting checking and savings accounts and migrate money over without missing auto payments (loans, utility bills, etc.)?

I'm mainly trying to optimize for simplicity, transparency, autonomy, and less financial friction.

i was awarded a big grant to support my research. i want to save this money to use in two years to extend the amount of time i have to write my dissertation. because i need to use it two years from now the typical advice (set aside emergency fund, roth ira) doesn't apply. i have other savings and an income that will keep me going until then. what is the best way to protect (i dont want to to be tempted to dip in) and make this money grow that won't lock me in longer than 2 years?

Previous post about combining finances inspired me to ask for models for my own situation!

We just got married this summer, first marriage for both at around 40, and we also have only been living together for two years. We haven’t taken any steps to combine finances yet (we have a spreadsheet for the wedding expenses and will settle up when we get around to it). Neither of us keeps a budget, but also neither of us has any debt and generally are naturally frugal so budget-free life is fine. VHCOL renters and now that the wedding is over we don’t expect any major expenses any time soon (no kids, no house, no car, just rent and vacations).

Sounds like it should be an easy choice to fully combine, right? But while we both spend below our income, I am a career freelancer and keep an abnormally large cash fund for slow periods and have generally adapted to highly variable income. So any model involving paycheck percentages doesn’t work for me.

Meanwhile, I also find some psychological benefit to having separate money. My spouse smokes, and it is a long-standing source of tension, and I do not want “my” money going to the tobacco industry. I also am much more keen on maxing cc rewards and making sure to use the right card for each purchase etc, and he couldn’t care less about doing that, which I respect but I can’t bring myself to leave money on the table, and if we share our cards I’ll inevitably get mad at him for not keeping up with it. Also since I’m a freelancer my tax situation is atrocious and his is normal (USA).

It is lazy and easy to keep just vibe-splitting expenses, but we can’t Venmo each other forever, I guess. Please suggest a model for combining finances that seems suitable for us!

DO NOT trust Chime promos, straight up scamming new members out of $200

Honestly so done with this bank. I signed up on July 2nd for their $200 bonus offer, which required a $500+ direct deposit within 34 days. Exactly 7 days later on July 9th, my actual employer payroll hit the account for $501. I met every single rule they had, but the bonus never posted.

So I called customer support to figure out what was going on. The first rep looked at my account and explicitly confirmed that everything qualified, but said a supervisor needed to review it. Then the supervisor came on the line, looked at my account, and ALSO admitted that I qualify and that the $200 bonus had to be manually added. But instead of doing it, he started stalling. First, he asked when I activated my debit card, and I told him I activated it immediately upon receiving it. When that didn't work, he completely pivoted and claimed that because I didn't call within a "60-day window," he couldn't manually credit it anymore. Since when is it the customer's job to chase down a company because their own automated system failed to pay? There is zero mention of any 60-day reporting rule on their promo terms. He promised an email follow-up, which of course was never sent.

I took the issue to the BBB. In Chime's official response, they completely dropped the fake 60-day rule. Now they claim in writing that I’m ineligible because I didn't activate the physical debit card within 14 days of the payroll deposit. My deposit arrived on July 9th. It takes USPS 7 to 10 business days just to deliver the card. I activated the card on July 29th the exact afternoon it arrived in my mailbox, and Chime even sent me a confirmation email for the activation. They are weaponizing standard postal mail transit times to void bonuses and withhold customer money.

Both representatives on the phone openly admitted that my payroll was qualified and that the money had to be manually added, yet behind the scenes they keep fabricating contradictory excuses to avoid paying. Total bad-faith bait-and-switch. I have already filed with the CFPB and am rejecting their BBB response. Stay away from this platform.

I was trying to use my HSA card to pay my medication today and it was declined. I paid with a different card. On my way home, I remembered that I received a new card, with different card number about a week ago, but I was too busy to activate it. I called HSA about not able to use my card and received a new card I didn't request (the card expires in 2028, so not because of close to expiration). The person on the phone said my card was reported stolen. But she can't tell me who reported it. I am not sure if this is a scam. If it is, then how are they scamming me? Has this happened to anyone else? Thanks for any insights.

Just wanted to inquire on whether doing a chargeback is the most appropriate solution to my problem. I scheduled a automotive detailing with a mobile service, they required pre-payment and we had texted a time and location for the service. 30 minutes after the scheduled time, I texted them asking for an ETA, about 2 1/2 hours the scheduled time I called and it went straight to voicemail and at the 2 1/2 hour I also texted asking for a response as I only have the for a limited time. The business is not responding to my messages, but will respond to text from a different phone inquiring about availability and services. We are currently about five hours past the scheduled time but if I don’t get a response by the end of the day, I was going to ask for my money back. If I don’t get an answer or they say no, would this service or like there of be something that one could do a charge back for?

Hi, looking for advice.

I am 25M - moving to Ohio, USA on an E2 work visa. Moving from Scotland. Flying out Jan 27.

Salary is $180k.

Looking for advice on American bank accounts. Setting up my new financial life.

Roughly I think -

Chase - Debit Card (for receiving pay check)
Chase - Credit Card (to built a credit score as I know it resets to 0 in the USA)

For Savings

Chase Savings - 0.01% interest, simply a place to store ready cash each month.

A HYSA - 5-7% interest, not sure who from.

Roth IRA - max out $7.5k each year

Pension 10% contributions with 5% employee match.

Would also be looking to contribute to the US equivalent of a Vanguard S&S ISA - Not sure the limit on these but it would be in place to simply invest long term. I am thinking SnP500 - 10% per year.

I have around £30k GBP to be transferred to $ and roughly my first Pay will be around $22k - inclusive of a signing bonus.

I am looking for advise of the best accounts to open and a rough structure on where to send the money to each month.

I also appreciate that in the US I will have to complete a tax return every year. Still researching this.

Thank you.

24 and just started a new job. My company matches 100% of 7% of my salary, which I have been told is quite good. The only issue is that they do not start matching until 1 year of service. I currently have $8,000 in credit card debt, with the highest APR at 30.40%. I definitely want to start contributing after 1 year, but I am unsure whether to start right away or forgo retirement contributions entirely for a year and put that money toward my high-interest debt.

I'm definitely leaning towards pausing for this first year, but I may be missing something. Any insights are appreciated!

recently found a vlog on you tube and they talked about creating / setting up a trust tri-fecta.

any one here familiar with the term / trust?

just trying to do my due diligence and looking for the actual facts about it before pulling a $2,500 + trigger setting one up

any feedback appreciated and welcome

Most banks offer "goodwill credit adjustments," but PNC refuses.

We missed one payment in decades after we got hit with identity theft and had to get a new account number and ONE autopay fell in the gap and did not get paid.

PNC caused a huge hit to FICO. We sent PNC the law enforcement letter confirming that the bank account change was essential, but they refused. So we stopped new income to the PNC account, and they called us to get our business back, and escalated the case. But even at the highest level, PNC claimed the law requires them to damage our credit rating, even if the missed payment was the result of recovering from identity theft.

However, that is not true. After a quick check online, and lots of banks that allow "goodwill" credit adjustments as policy. Credit companies like Experian will even tell you how to write a letter asking for one. PNC refused, even after their excuse that the law requires them to not not make exceptions to was debunked.

It is not the law, it is PNC's choice. PNC's FICO policy is anti-consumer and their resolution team is deceptive.

So PNC lost our business.

Think twice before choosing PNC bank.

Army Nurse here looking to separate from the service in 18months time and go to CRNA school. I have a full GI bill that I am planning to use at a Public CRNA school so the only Academic expenses will be miscellaneous fees, etc. I also get a monthly stipend (BAH) from the GI bill depending on the zip code of the School, and that covers most of my total monthly living expenses (~$2.6k). Single, No debt, No kids.

Now the Big Question - if you had an extra 2.5k to invest every month for the next 18 months for the purpose of withdrawing monthly for the following 36mo, what ETFs would you park that cash to break even on inflation and/or come out net positive?

Currently have:

Approx $5k in a Brokerage I started about two years ago for funsies

Six months worth of living expenses saved as of next Month (~$25k) I recalculated the math and it should only be like $17k idk how I got to 25 but I guess it just feels like a solid number.

Hello! I left my job earlier this year that had a 401k, it has $160,000 vested in it (Fidelity Freedom Index Fund 2060). I haven't contributed anything to it since I left. I'm 32, a state employee now with a pension fund (8.15%) with an 80 and out rule so I could theoretically retire as early as age 55. My spouse has a pension from a prior job and now a pension with the state as well. We have a toddler. I don't have any significant debt beyond our mortgage that we're going to pay off in the next 15 years ish (likely sooner).

I have concerns about my 401k, given that the majority of the stock investments in it are for US technology, but I don't know enough about the different options to feel like I could make a better choice here. My salary is a bit lower at my new job than my previous, but once I make a bit more in a few years I'd probably contribute to my retirement account again. We've been cutting away at living expenses in general and aren't making a lot of plans based on having more money in the future, though we get annual step increases of decent amounts. We're over the lifestyle creep/inflation life, living below means and consuming less.

Should I just leave it and ride the wave? Roll to a Roth IRA with a different fund? Just change investment funds? Pull it out completely and pay off the mortgage (mostly joking on this option, unless?).

This was my first experience working with an advisor from a private firm that was recommended to me by someone I knew. I’m high earning on w2 and originally had some stocks/index ETFs that I wasn’t sure what to do with. I was also interested in tax loss harvesting (since then I learned recently there are lower cost alternatives). My life has been crazy over the past 2 years and I hadn’t been paying close attention to the portfolio. Today some serious red flags popped out at me:

* overall the 438k brokerage portfolio they manage is up by 141k over the past 2 years…including 135k worth of my monthly 5k cash deposits. I feel utterly devastated.
* 1.5% fee. I didn’t realize that was well beyond the market average until I did more research today
* They bought 6-7k worth of SpaceX IPO.
* When I began to doubt things, I transferred out my remaining cash to another bank and stopped my automatic deposits to the managed brokerage. Seemingly in response they moved 185k worth of my assets into an alternative investment that’s high dividend but illiquid for 2 years.

The contract says I can give them 30 days notice in writing, but I don’t know what to do about the illiquidity issue regarding the alternative investments, and I don’t want them to try and do something with my current assets after knowing I’m terminating the contract. I have a meeting set up with the advisor for a week from now but I have half a mind to initiate an in-kind TOA to my self managed brokerage immediately. Any advice?

I am a 23 year old M who makes $2,000 bi weekly. I have no credit card debt or student loans. I have started putting $313 (being able to max it every year at $7,500)per paycheck into my Roth IRA on vanguard investing in VOO and I have 1k in my HYSA. I also have money automatically put into my teacher pension every paycheck. With extra money I’m now saving I want to start investing into some other etfs. I was thinking of doing QQQm for money growth and SCHD for dividends. Am I doing ok and are these the best options for me to be looking at?

My parents have never been able to support me and I need to make sure I’m doing all I can to ensure I’m looking out for my best future. Thank you taking the time to read this!

I'm signing up for medical coverage at a new job. I'm going with a High Deductible plan as it actually seems to be better than the PPO in many regards (the deductible is only $2k, and it allows me to utilize an HSA which I've never done before).

This plan also allows me to contribute to a limited FSA.

Every year, I buy an annual supply of contact lenses around January. I was thinking of doing $1k-$2k in the FSA and then immediately buying new lenses and maybe a fresh pair of eyeglasses utilizing those dollars, and saving the HSA for medical expenses throughout the year (I plan to have a couple routine MRIs so I know that will come in handy later on).

Does this strategy make sense? Or am I better off just contributing to the HSA alone, and using funds I've accrued by January for the contact lenses? Does it ever make sense to do both HSA + FSA at the same time?

26 year old Registered Nurse.

I live in Florida with parents but desparately want to move to Charlotte NC. I need my own place, tired of living in a small town, and the hospital I work at is a flaming shithole from the pits of hell.

I have $30,000 saved. The job I was offered would pay me $5100 per month after taxes and deductions (health insurance). This is for 37 hours a week.

Am I in a position to move safely? Do I need to save more money? Am I being overly anxious?

33F. US. Not a personal finance expert here. Everything I know I've learned from personal finance books, youtube, etc.

I got debt free last year and recently started investing. I got 2 significant raises at work this year (in a very short amount of time) and as a result, I'm now above the income limit for Roth Contribution. I just started contributing to my roth IRA for the very first time this past month ( a meager $1k) thinking I was doing something good, so imagine my surprise when ChatGPT said I might be "past the income limit".

I heard I can do a backdoor conversion, but how? and when?

Do I do it now before the year ends? And contribute only to a traditional IRA?

Do I keep contributing until the end of the calendar year and then convert?

Will my brokerage app help with that?

Do I need to get a financial advisor to help?

I have a $750 deductible. I am married, we have separate health plans. I go to weekly therapy, it costs $120 session before my deductible kicks in, and then around $17 after my deductible kicks in. I wanted to put $1,600 into my FSA to cover my therapy for the year. I have very limited medical needs, and I have access to (and routinely use) a free work clinic that fills scripts, does check ups, preventative care, etc.

Should I just put away the $1,600 and then call it good? I have never had an FSA before so I want to make sure I am doing the right thing to pay for my medical care. I don't want to lose out on money at the end of the year - and I don't want to have to panic spend at the end of the year to stock up on medicine/band aids. Any advice?

I have a HSA with Fidelity and i rolled over my former employer's HSA to.

But my current employer has our HSA thru Health Equity. I've been with them a few years now. I think plan rules are pretty standard from what i'm reading online.

$1000 cash account, you can invest anything over that. $25 partial withdraw fee, 0.03% monthly balance fee. I have about $16k invest as of right now. They dont have much options so i went 100% into VIGIX. Normally I would just go 100% into VOO.

So looking at this its about $4-5 a month to keep this account open. So its most likely one of those balancing acts. I'm not the best with breakeven points and etc but i'm guessing twice a year you should move it out of HE and into a no fee account like Fidelity.

I'm not sure how the process is and how long the process takes but just wondering what people are doing.

Hello everyone;

I’m trying to decide between the FRS Pension Plan and the FRS Investment Plan, and I’d appreciate advice from people who have experience with either one.

Under both plans, I contribute 3% of my salary, and my employer contributes approximately 13%. I’m trying to understand which option would make more sense for my long-term retirement.

A little about my situation:

* I’m 40 years old.
* I work for a county.
* I’m not sure if I’ll stay with the same employer long term, or even if I’ll continue living in Florida.
* I want to make a smart decision for my retirement while keeping my future career and relocation options open.

For those who have researched or experienced both options:

1. Why did you choose the Pension Plan or the Investment Plan?
   
2. How does the Pension Plan compare with the Investment Plan in terms of retirement income?
   
3. If I leave my employer or move out of Florida, what happens to my benefits under each plan?
   
4. How important are years of service and vesting when making this decision?
   
5. Does the Investment Plan offer more flexibility if I change jobs or move to another state?
   
6. If you could make the decision again, would you choose the same plan, and why?

I’d especially appreciate advice from people who have worked in Florida public employment for many years or who have already retired under either plan.

I’m not looking for someone to make the decision for me. I want to understand the pros and cons, especially since I’m uncertain about my long-term employment and whether I’ll remain in Florida.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Looking for advice. I'm an independent contractor in my 20s, I had a well above average year and have some extra money to contribute to investments. I'm wondering if I should open a solo 401k or contribute to my individual brokerage account. For reference, I have 24k in a Roth Ira, 200k in individual brokerage. I'm more so interested in a solo Roth 401k vs individual brokerage. With the employer contribution portion + individual, it seems I can add roughly 40k to the solo 401k this year, or an individual account. I'm honestly not sure which makes more sense. To me the solo Roth 401k is an extension of a Roth Ira, except that I cannot withdraw early from. I don't think I would need to withdraw the extra 40k so the tax free gain at 60 is appealing. I always looked at the Roth Ira as a bonus when I get older as my individual brokerage account should do the heavy lifting as it sits now. On the other hand I could have an extra 40k in the individual account that I can pull out whenever I want, whether I need to buy real estate or anything else. I'm not sure what the right play is. I would like access to my money, but tax free gains on this 40k from an outlier year for the next 30-40 years is tempting. Any thoughts or questions?

My mom is currently about 100+ days behind on her mortgage. This is the fourth time she’s defaulted since COVID, and each previous time my grandfather has stepped in and bailed her out. He’s not doing well and honestly the stress of hearing it happened again could send him over the edge.

My mom has mental health issues and over the past few years cleanliness and hoarding have become an issue. She’s overwhelmed by the property, hates living there, and knows this isn’t healthy but is paralyzed with anxiety. It’s also her only asset (no savings or 401k) but the house has significant equity.

I’m willing to pay the full amount to bring the mortgage current, but want to see about establishing an enforceable arrangement that allows me to take responsibility for preparing and selling the property. I think having me manage the process is the only realistic way to change her life.

I know this is wild and therapy is desperately needed. But I’m on a time crunch and she’s my mom. Is there any suggestions of what I can do that will help my mom while keeping me somewhat protected?

-estimated home value: ~$500,000
-remaining mortgage balance: ~$140,000
-current delinquency: ~$16,000
-mortgage is FHA
-I have access to mortgage account
-house in IL

My dad is 66, relatively healthy. and would like to work until at least 70. He had started a new job, so has rolled his 401k into a traditional IRA.

He doesnt make a ton of money and supports my mom who doesn't have a retirement, they own their house, etc.

Is it worth keeping his money in the IRA and changing his allocations?

Should he move the money into an Annuity that let's him withdraw up to 10% / year?

Most internet resources are about setting yourself up for retirement but I am having a hard time trying to figure out what to do for someone who is at retirement age... but would like to grow their money more while they are able and not fully dependant on it.

Edit for numbers, sorry! :)

IRA all traditional: 250k Total 65 large cap 35 bond

Social: can get 35k / year?

Income with current job: 45k/ year pre-tax

House: Paid off, they won't sell,expect a new roof in 10-15 years

Utilities/phone/internet: 600/month

Spending: Medical bills (mom) ~1k/month

Minimal spending on leisure / hobbies

Property Taxes: 1800 /year