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Retirement, Loan, Financial Advice


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#41 Matt_P

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Posted 14 August 2016 - 10:51 PM

You don't wanna sell life insurance on somebody if a beneficiary ecan cash in, just by killing them...  even the screenwriters for Perry Mason knew that...

 

Plus, didn't you ever see the episdoe of Homicide about Aunt Calpurnia? Like most episodes, it was based on things that really happened....

 

It's not life insurance. 



#42 RShack

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Posted 14 August 2016 - 10:59 PM

It's not life insurance. 

 

That's not the important part. Doesn't matter what it is, the issue is bumping off people so one of the beneficiaries can cash in... you find all kinds of things in the law to prohibit things like that... it's the same basic idea as the legal prohibition against having your house (or car or whatever) insured more than once... if you permit stuff like that, you're inviting people to become beneficiaries and then create the circumstances that allow them to cash in... when looking at contracts that involve beneficiaries, it's routine to find clauses that prohibit that kind of thing...


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#43 Mike in STL

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Posted 27 August 2016 - 09:34 AM

I have a personal finance question. My wife and I have a couple credit cards we got in order to transfer balances and pay off the credit with no intrest for X amount of months.

We don't use the cards, and set up the monthly payments so that the balance is paid in full the month before interest would kick in. What we pay is well over the minimum $25 payment or whatever it is.

We have some money in savings. Could be looking at paying off the balances from that so we have less monthly debt.

Basically, it's roughly $7700 to pay off all the credit card debt. Again, it's not accruing interest at this point. In paying off all the balances, it frees up roughly $720 in monthly payments we are making.

I guess you could look at it as moving money from one place to another, since we wouldn't be closing the credit card accounts. We'd probably use the cards for Christmas shopping, travel, emergencies, any thing that we would temporarily be going over our monthly income.

I'm thinking if we paid the balances From our savings, freed up that $720 a month, we could try to move money from checking back into savings any time we can, and build that $7700 back up over time.

What would you do? Continue to pay it monthly and take advantage of zero interest? Or dip into savings and pay it all off, lower monthly bills, but less savings? Is it six one way, half dozen the other?
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#44 RShack

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Posted 27 August 2016 - 10:15 AM

Well, if your savings is in the bank, you're not making any interest money there (courtesy of the Fed taking care of Wall St by keeping rates at nothing)... and you're not paying any interest on the CC's... so, it's 6 of one, half dozen of the other.  

 

If you had your savings some place where it was making money, then you'd be a dope to pay off the CC's... but as things are, I don't see how it makes any diff... *unless* freeing up the monthly bill would accidentally encourage you to blow more money on dumb stuff...


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#45 You Play to Win the Game

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Posted 27 August 2016 - 10:16 AM

Given the interest rate environment, I'd pay off the cards if the interest is about to start accruing. Even if it's not, I'd go ahead and do that, you can do a lot more with that extra cash flow each month. And so long as you keep the CC balances to an amount you can pay in full each month, I think that's a really solid plan.
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#46 You Play to Win the Game

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Posted 27 August 2016 - 10:19 AM

Going with this plan will also add upwards of 50 points to your credit scores by carrying a significantly lower balance on your revolving available lines.

#47 Nigel Tufnel

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Posted 27 August 2016 - 04:59 PM

You need to have an emergency fund, enough to pay a few months of living expenses. If that's what your savings account is, don't touch it

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#48 Pedro Cerrano

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Posted 27 August 2016 - 08:13 PM

Showing you  can use a credit card and pay it off every month is good for your credit.

 

Simply carrying a balance (or even not carrying a balance) and making monthly payments doesn't do much for it.

 

Just a thought.


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#49 Matt_P

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Posted 28 August 2016 - 07:23 PM

What would you do? Continue to pay it monthly and take advantage of zero interest? Or dip into savings and pay it all off, lower monthly bills, but less savings? Is it six one way, half dozen the other?

 

I would pay it off and be done with it. It's one thing if it's debt at a low rate, but credit card debt can be brutal if you do something wrong. I wouldn't want to chance it.

 

But weren't you worried about cash flow problems a few months ago? Didn't you mention something about being worried about whether you'll keep your job and something about a house? If so, you may need that money in savings. 


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#50 Cisc-O's

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 12:27 PM

Mike a few questions. Do you have car payments and if so how many? Do you pay rent or mortgage? Have you sat down to see after all your bills and utilities and your monthly spending habits how much you come ahead or even? We can talk in pm if you would like. If you are looking to get rid of debt though start with the smallest. If your car note is under the 7000.00 pay that off first. Leave yourself 2k in savings though. Don't zero yourself out.
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<p>I am pretty sure Shack is thinking of PBR.

#51 Mike in STL

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 01:11 PM

 
I would pay it off and be done with it. It's one thing if it's debt at a low rate, but credit card debt can be brutal if you do something wrong. I wouldn't want to chance it.
 
But weren't you worried about cash flow problems a few months ago? Didn't you mention something about being worried about whether you'll keep your job and something about a house? If so, you may need that money in savings. 



Yes and no. My job is in jeopardy, but am currently exploring options, and I maybe landing something sooner rather than later. With that, we won't be buying my dad's house, so we don't have to worry about taking on more debt than we currently are.
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#52 Mike in STL

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 01:16 PM

Mike a few questions. Do you have car payments and if so how many? Do you pay rent or mortgage? Have you sat down to see after all your bills and utilities and your monthly spending habits how much you come ahead or even? We can talk in pm if you would like. If you are looking to get rid of debt though start with the smallest. If your car note is under the 7000.00 pay that off first. Leave yourself 2k in savings though. Don't zero yourself out.



It's all good. My car is paid off. My wife's is not. We have a mortgage. Would you suggest paying my wife's car off first before the no interest credit card debt?

I have no intentions of zeroing out.
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#53 RShack

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 06:38 PM

It's all good. My car is paid off. My wife's is not. We have a mortgage. Would you suggest paying my wife's car off first before the no interest credit card debt?

I have no intentions of zeroing out.

 

Depends in the interest rate on you're wife's car loan...  if it's some cheapy promotion, maybe not... if it's a std car loan, then sure, pay the damn thing off... renting money is essentially free these days (unless you're a normal person), so there's no good reason to pay somebody to rent it... the exception would be if you had your savings parked someplace where it was earning more than you're paying on that car loan...


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#54 RShack

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Posted 29 August 2016 - 06:38 PM

Also, if your mortgage is not dirt cheap, you might wanna think about re-doing it... 


 "The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige


#55 Cisc-O's

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Posted 30 August 2016 - 08:04 AM

Mike this is what I would tell a family member to do if they told me they wanted to clear their debt.  You are at a place where you can choose which one you would rather do between the car or credit card.  I know the credit cards are at 0% right now but I would pay them off if you have the means.  You said that would save you 760$ a month?  You then take that amount minus $100 so 660$ and add that on top of what you are paying your car for monthly note. Your car would be paid a lot faster. Once your debt to income ratio looks awesome you should look at refing your house to a 15 year loan on a dirt cheap interest rate.  

 

What Sean said about carrying a balance is true.  You have already used the cards and kept a balance just don't close them and you keep the history.  You don't have to hold a balance unless you are rebuilding credit.  What Shack said has merit about the house.  First to get the best rate possible work on debt to income that way you can get the best rate possible.  It will also allow you to have more monthly income so if the mortgage goes up $400 a month for a shorter term it doesn't hurt you.  The goal in refing your house is to get a shorter term not just free up cash. 

 

After you pay each one out do a new list of how much total income you bring in to how much you have to payout.  Include monthly expenditures like (kids?) school shopping, going out to eat, and groceries. These list let you know where you stand and you can utilize it when you need a new car, windows, deck  etc....   


<p>I am pretty sure Shack is thinking of PBR.

#56 Mackus

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Posted 07 September 2016 - 01:22 PM

Anybody know anything about peer-to-peer lending/investing?  Looking to do something other than a savings account or CD to hopefully get a few more percentage points of return.  P2P seems intriguing, not as prone to market fluctuations but probably more active management required than simply investing in some fairly stable mutual funds.



#57 McNulty

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Posted 07 September 2016 - 02:42 PM

I'm definitely in the winter of my current career with 3 and change to go.  I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to do in my second act.

 

Ideally, I'd love to have a job where I can set my own hours, maybe work from home, with low stress.  The pay isn't important since I'll have a steady retirement check every month.  

 

I'd love to buy something, and have most (if not all) paid off.  I've got about 16K in savings, and that should grow to around 45 while I'm here.  

 

Any suggestions?  I pretty much have a blank canvas here.  I've considered buying a tiny house, or a living aboard a boat.  My main goal is to get my bills down to as little as possible.  Where would you live if given the choice?


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#58 RShack

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Posted 07 September 2016 - 02:46 PM

I'm definitely in the winter of my current career with 3 and change to go.  I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to do in my second act.

 

Ideally, I'd love to have a job where I can set my own hours, maybe work from home, with low stress.  The pay isn't important since I'll have a steady retirement check every month.  

 

I'd love to buy something, and have most (if not all) paid off.  I've got about 16K in savings, and that should grow to around 45 while I'm here.  

 

Any suggestions?  I pretty much have a blank canvas here.  I've considered buying a tiny house, or a living aboard a boat.  My main goal is to get my bills down to as little as possible.  Where would you live if given the choice?

 

If I imagine myself in that situation... single... cash to buy... steady income... a sailboat sounds good to me... move it around with the seasons... 


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#59 McNulty

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Posted 07 September 2016 - 02:52 PM

I'm definitely in the winter of my current career with 3 and change to go.  I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to do in my second act.   Ideally, I'd love to have a job where I can set my own hours, maybe work from home, with low stress.  The pay isn't important since I'll have a steady retirement check every month.     I'd love to buy something, and have most (if not all) paid off.  I've got about 16K in savings, and that should grow to around 45 while I'm here.     Any suggestions?  I pretty much have a blank canvas here.  I've considered buying a tiny house, or a living aboard a boat.  My main goal is to get my bills down to as little as possible.  Where would you live if given the choice?
  If I imagine myself in that situation... single... cash to buy... steady income... a sailboat sounds good to me... move it around with the seasons... 
As much as I know about boating, I'm a novice at sailing. But I could learn. I'd almost rather buy a yacht

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#60 RShack

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Posted 07 September 2016 - 02:58 PM

As much as I know about boating, I'm a novice at sailing. But I could learn. I'd almost rather buy a yacht

 

When you say yacht, whaddya mean?


 "The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige





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