Financial Tips Thread (Saving, Budgeting, Etc.) Everyone drop some knowledge in here

[Tyuhnjko]

...........

 

[Atlrocafella]

Never play 'keep up with the Jones' game. People who make more than you have a totally different budget and have disposible income that is more than what you make in a week/month/year. No reason to pretend you are middle or upper income when you aren't.

Try to buy a car outright, no financing. You can always haggle lower. Never buy new. It's a big purchase item, so if you have to get a loan, then try to loan the least amount. Research it too. The same manufacturer can be putting out lemons and reliable cars in the same year.

Don't impusle buy.

Live beneath your means.

THIS! Even though I got a new car

Do shyt in your own time, don't be pressured to feel like you gotta have this/that at a certain age..

 

[Pool_Shark]

This thread is a feast subbin for later. Gonna spread some daps and reps in a min

 

[Gus Money]

It's a tax-deferred retirement account usually offered by employers.

How it works is you sign up for a 401(k), then choose what percentage of your pre-tax income you want to go into the account. You contribute each pay period, and your employer will also kick in a certain amount (called contribution matching).

Basically, it's a very simple way to get started with investing. And it's free money.

Some employers are part of a 401(k) retirement program. What happens is that you have a percentage (maybe 2%) or static amount (maybe $100) that is taken out of every paycheck. This is pretax so the amount your gross income that is taxed is lower.
The amount that gets taken out is put into an account. This account is like a savings account but your company can also do what is called matching. So if you put in $100, your company will put in $100. So, you can control what your investments go into. Financial companies have different investment packages that split up the money in your account into different stocks and bonds and investments. When you retire, you can tap into this cash. Either a lump sum or a montly disbursement. The amount you withdraw is then taxed. You can also take out a loan from this account, but you have to pay it back and with interest. Don't take a loan from your 401(k). You can withdraw from this account before retirement but you have to pay a penalty. It's a big penalty too.
You can think of a 401(k) as a pension.

Speaking of 401(k) accounts, my job just started a new matching system that I'm eligible for. They will match the first 6% of pay, but you will get 100% of up to 1% pay and 50% on the next 5% pay. They also make additional 2% contributions every pay period, whether or not you enroll.

This is only a part time job, and I don't plan on being here by this time next year, so I'm hesitant about enrolling. How do you guys feel about this plan?

I really need to step my financial knowledge up.

 

[RicanFury]

anyone have any experience wit buying CD's?

 

[Economics]

Never play 'keep up with the Jones' game. People who make more than you have a totally different budget and have disposible income that is more than what you make in a week/month/year. No reason to pretend you are middle or upper income when you aren't.

Try to buy a car outright, no financing. You can always haggle lower. Never buy new. It's a big purchase item, so if you have to get a loan, then try to loan the least amount. Research it too. The same manufacturer can be putting out lemons and reliable cars in the same year.

Don't impusle buy.

Live beneath your means.

^^ Too many people don't know how to use credit nor budget anymore, they want to live beyond their means until they can't anymore..

Saving money is simple, its just discipline at the end of the day. Investing might seem like a daunting task, make sure you save a good 10K to do so...chances are your bank teller will stop you when you reach that number to talk to one of their analysts...thats when they stopped me.

Food? Buy whole chicken and cut it up to save on the $ spent per pound.

Cellphone? Cut the fukking contract, BUY your own phone at full price and go to simple mobile/straight talk.

Trade your car for a hybrid/electric

Cut your cable tv bill and subscribe to services like Netflix/Hulu/Sports online.

Switch to cfl bulbs all over the house. Open all the blinds in your home and leave them up permanently (probably not a good idea in the hood)

Set the central A/C a little higher every week, you do NOT need it to be 65 inside all the damn time (76 is comfortable for me in the summer, 69 in the winter)

Have a problem always having to go to an ATM and paying fees? Consider opening an Ally Bank account so you never have to pay those annoying ass "convenience" fees.

Buy a laptop with long battery life. HP has a laptop that will run 30+ hours on a single charge, that can help with your electric bill as well.

Flip hot items if you have spare time. I have made BANK when fire sales pop up.

Consider moving if you have a tough time making ends meet. I will pose the same question to you all as I do to people back home who refuse to adapt. What is the point of living in an expensive ass city when all the amenities and entertainment is not available to you given your financial situation? The venues have bills to pay and they are not letting you in for free. Move out to a smaller suburban area...use your vacation time (with the money you will be able to save) and enjoy all the venues wherever you want to go.

^^ This man, knows what's up. Ally even has e-checking where you can scan a check for deposit now, don't need to mail or deposit to a separate physical bank, saves time and money doing that. Also, using a smart power plug can cut your electric bill too.

None in default for now.I m not behind in any of my loans. Now the problem is the car. I m not buying a lemon for 5k and end up paying 7k to repair it. I m trynna buy a used car 2005-2009 in the 10-20k range.

How about credit unions though ?

You can try getting a car from a personal owner which can be just as safe as off the lot and check the carfax report (but that should be standard for any used car purchase) in addition to kelly's bluebook look at the blackbook on what the car you may get, it's auction price on the market. Then negotiate to get your best deal with the info you have. Credit unions are good, it's even better if you are a member, to get that low rate they would offer you. Try looking at bankrate.com

That looks like my dog in your avi. My baby has yellowish eyes tho.


Anyway, where does one get a savings bond these days. Banks don't offer them anymore, do they?

@ you changing the avi so quick . You can go to Individual. for bonds. But the rates are so low it's not worth it as much right now. You can also use a discount broker like Tradeking or MBtrading where you can get muni bonds and if you get the bonds from your state/city (you can most likely get them tax free, but it depends need to check yourself). I'd stay away from bonds in the event rates rise (although shouldn't in the near term and even then since the rates are so low it's not worth it) and your bond becomes cheaper and you miss out on the higher rates. Corporate bonds might be worth it depending on the corporation and it's balance sheet.

Speaking of 401(k) accounts, my job just started a new matching system that I'm eligible for. They will match the first 6% of pay, but you will get 100% of up to 1% pay and 50% on the next 5% pay. They also make additional 2% contributions every pay period, whether or not you enroll.

This is only a part time job, and I don't plan on being here by this time next year, so I'm hesitant about enrolling. How do you guys feel about this plan?

I really need to step my financial knowledge up.

Since you don't plan on staying there check with your HR department to since if any fee needs to be paid if you were to switch that 401(k) to another one when you were to leave, it depends on the companies set up they have if not. The conventional wisdom is to take the "matching" money from the firm since it's free. Also, if you leave you can still have that account there unless rules changes last time I checked. So you'd have different 401(k) plans one from your old job and then from your new one eventually.

anyone have any experience wit buying CD's?

I used to do it for a college group before rates dropped. Check out a CD ladder strategy. https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/advice_CD_Laddering. Thing is rates are so low for the near term, it might be best just to save the paper and do it at a later time.

 

[Brown_Pride]

You're going to want to find 3 friends to pay 10 a month for your wisdom, this is a first level price rate btw. YOu'll want to instruct them to find 3 of their friends to pay them 10 dollars a month for their wisdom along with a 25 dollar processing fee. YOur first group of friends will keep 1 dollar from the 25 processing fee, you will see the 24.
...fuk it just read this.
Pyramid scheme - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[BlvdBrawler]

Speaking of 401(k) accounts, my job just started a new matching system that I'm eligible for. They will match the first 6% of pay, but you will get 100% of up to 1% pay and 50% on the next 5% pay. They also make additional 2% contributions every pay period, whether or not you enroll.

This is only a part time job, and I don't plan on being here by this time next year, so I'm hesitant about enrolling. How do you guys feel about this plan?

I really need to step my financial knowledge up.

Do it. It's a no-brainer. It's free money, and you'll end up paying less taxes as a result of taking part. Also, even though it's only a part-time job, you can always roll your 401(k) up into another when you get a full-time job. I wouldn't go balls-out with it, I'd probably just do the 6% since the matching isn't that great, but it's still free money.

 

[feelosofer]

Start learning how to barter. You'd be surprised what is trash to people and what is treasure.

 

[JP_614]

Can you guys school me on roth ira and ira my no lie my white friends talk about them all the time i need some advice

 

[Gus Money]

Since you don't plan on staying there check with your HR department to since if any fee needs to be paid if you were to switch that 401(k) to another one when you were to leave, it depends on the companies set up they have if not. The conventional wisdom is to take the "matching" money from the firm since it's free. Also, if you leave you can still have that account there unless rules changes last time I checked. So you'd have different 401(k) plans one from your old job and then from your new one eventually.

Do it. It's a no-brainer. It's free money, and you'll end up paying less taxes as a result of taking part. Also, even though it's only a part-time job, you can always roll your 401(k) up into another when you get a full-time job. I wouldn't go balls-out with it, I'd probably just do the 6% since the matching isn't that great, but it's still free money.

Appreciate the input from both of you. I'm going to ask about fees tomorrow when I enroll in the plan.

 

[Economics]

Can you guys school me on roth ira and ira my no lie my white friends talk about them all the time i need some advice

A Roth IRA is an account where your money isn't taxed after withdrawal at a certain age. Before, it was only the 401(k) and regular IRAs accounts that were it was tax free for deposits and taxed at a later date, the senator Roth set up a bill that allowed this type of account where you use dollars that are already taxed but not taxed at a later date, that is the Roth IRA. The limit (ceiling) of what you can put in a Roth IRA or regular IRA is lower than a 401 (k). You'd have to check as it changes with inflation, I forgot off the top of my head. It's not uncommon to see people with different IRA because of the limits. Individual Roth and regular IRA's (as in you investing on your own w/o an adviser) allow for greater flexibility in investment choices than most 401(k)s through your company another reason why they were created.

I used to have a Self Directed HSA (but that shyt was tedious ) Health Savings Accounts (since I'm in good health, thankfully) were and others still used as alternative investment vehicles. Since the earnings were tax free along with the disbursement at a certain age (or disbursement on "qualified" medical expenses).

I knew a few small business owners who set up their Roth's and HSA's to fund their business, the HSA's and IRA's were the owner of the business (so they can put the profits back into the accounts tax free). You have to set it up as an LLC and go over it with a lawyer to make sure everything is 100. Too much hassle though for me Some firms are starting to offer a Roth 401(k) which is even better since the limit to max out is higher than a regular Roth. It's not common though last time I checked.

The point is, if you are in a higher tax bracket in later in life you'd what that money taxed less or free. If the opposite was true, you'd go with the regular IRA or 401(k)...

 

[South Paw]

Lets talk about Universal/Whole life insurance.

I just spoke with a guy that showed me charts if I buy in now, I can get a 8.2% return, can draw from it anytime, and can still get my death benefit as well.

Is this too good to be true?

 

[88m3]

anyone have any experience wit buying CD's?

The return isn't worth it anymore.

Just put it in a savings account and stack it till you can find something worthwhile. Property is a good bet.


Everyone talking about 401k's.. I hope you have Roth IRA's.


Personally I would just put it aside for real estate these days but if you're getting matched by your company why not.

 

[RicanFury]

whats a good credit union in nyc?