wickedkittylitter

wickedkittylitter t1_jaf0hf7 wrote

Invest in stocks. Read the Wiki linked at the top of this page. You need the information badly. $70k invested for 30 years at the market average return of 8% would end up being worth a bit over $700k. You need to learn about future value.

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wickedkittylitter t1_jaewurz wrote

I wouldn't pay off cheap debt. A 3% mortgage is cheap debt. Your wife would be better off investing the $70k and getting a decent return on her money. If you only pay your wife $500 per month for 6 years, she gets no return on her money for that entire time period.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j9tx3tu wrote

It sounds like you're still employed with the employer offering the 401k plan. That means you should have access to payroll and HR employees that you can contact to talk to about verifying your employment with Fidelity. Start calling or emailing until you get someone who can answer your questions.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j6nbabo wrote

Information on your current credit report includes debt taken out in the last 7 years. You might not even need reports from prior years, but yes, you may be able to get prior credit reports if you have a valid reason and if the CSR you talk to at the credit bureau can find the report.

Frankly, you'll get just as good information here as you would at r/legaladvice. Lawyers follow this forum and chime in on topics. On r/legaladvice, you don't know that the posters are lawyers and based on what I've seen, most aren't.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j6n518m wrote

My best advice is to get over the idea of my income and his income when it comes to paying bills and savings goals. The same for the 50/50 contribution to the HYSA for goals. The same for who contributes what amount for a house purchase. If you must continue to contribute using a percentage method, use the method of who makes what percentage of income. If you make 60% of the total household income, your contribution needs to be 60% of the total goal amount, not 50%. Your husband's contribution would be 40% of the goal.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j6n3w7h wrote

It looks like your employer used the other method of calculating withholding on a bonus and that method is to withhold not as supplemental income, but as normal income when it comes to withholding. That means that taxes were withheld thinking $48k is a normal, routine pay amount. Overall, the method of withholding doesn't matter. Everything will even out when you file your taxes for 2023.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j2fn0rh wrote

You listed the grantors and trustee, but you failed to list who the beneficiary(ies) of the trust are. If you're a beneficiary and the trust document allows distributions for this reason or at will, you can do this. If your mother is the beneficiary, she would have to take the distribution and gift the money to you, though there won't be any gift tax. You need to be careful as a trustee to not abuse your powers. If you aren't a beneficiary and think you can distribute funds to yourself and consider this an investment, it's not and that could be an issue later.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j2fmiic wrote

In all likelihood, it's too late to get a loan from Best Egg or anyone else because you've stopped making debt payments and that will cause your score to drop like a rock. My best advice is to stop digging. Stop taking loans. Stop taking loans before you do a lot of research and understand the consequences. It's time to start climbing out of the hole you've dug. Either stick with ADR or start paying off the debt on your own.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j2e5266 wrote

For me, buying the $282k house is a no-brainer. As is knowing that I don't need to furnish a new house. You need a bed. Your daughter needs a bed. Buy a sofa. The rest can come later or be bought second hand and updated with paint. New homeowners often make the mistake thinking a house needs to be fully furnished with brand new furniture and decorated with new rugs and accessories. I'd also caution that new builds often mean that the new homeowner needs to buy and install window coverings.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j2bvlpw wrote

Honestly, you have to change yourself rather than relying on something or someone else to fix the problem. You have to break your shopping habit.

The closest thing to what you want would be an online account, such as a savings account, at Ally or similar firm. No physical location to go into to get money. Don't get a debit card so you can't spend the money. Looking at your balance means going online and having to input a password to get access to account information.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j29om1l wrote

Before marriage, I'd split the mortgage payment based on income. If one of you makes 60% of the total household income, that person pays 60% of the mortgage.

If you're sure you'll get married, this is a broader question than how to split the mortgage. The two of you will need to decide how you'll handle all the finances after marriage. Will both paychecks go into one account and every bill come out of that account? Will you utilize the three-account method where the majority of each of your paychecks goes into one main account and bills are paid out of this account and the remainder of your paycheck goes into an account only you use and can spend how you want with a similar account for your spouse? Only the two of you can decide what method works best for your marriage.

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wickedkittylitter t1_j24k9v3 wrote

In your situation, there's nothing wrong with going to a food bank so that you're eating more than PB sandwiches.

Have you sat down and looked at where your money has gone over the last few months? You need to do that before you can fix the problem. Don't lump things together. List all your utilities separately. List all your monthly subscriptions separately. Separate out food and restaurants.

And yes, it sounds like you need a higher paying job. Hopefully, finding one will be easier after the first of the year when budgets reset and the holiday chaos is over. You might also consider a second job for the evenings and/or weekends as a short term partial solution to your cash flow issue. You have a house. Renting out a room or two would also be a huge help.

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wickedkittylitter t1_iydcwm7 wrote

I'd sell the house. I'd be required to disclose all the issues that have been found and wouldn't expect to get what I paid. The loss would be a life lesson on 1. not buying something without an inspection; 2. not buying a house without the approval of someone who is important to me; and 3. never listening to my brother's advice again.

Best of luck!

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