As stated in the title we got a call from our wedding venue saying that they found a cashier's check from us in a lockbox after doing an internal audit. The venue has a website portal that says everything has been paid (since before the actual wedding). Their rep says the check was never endorsed so it was never cashed. Now they're asking us to pay again.

It's my understanding that venues won't even let you have the wedding unless everything is paid up. I don't understand how they could have possibly made a $7000 mistake.

With the way cashier's checks work, that money was gone as soon as the check was made. Not sure what to do since we definitely don't want to pay double for the venue's mistake.

EDIT:

We went through all of our statements for that year and the funds were never returned to our account. The venue also sent us a copy of both sides of the check showing that it doesn't have an endorsement signature. So, that's basically proof that they got it from us. The check says VOID AFTER 90 DAYS, so that's probably why they are asking for the money now. My wife and I will go to the bank to see if it can be reissued. It's really annoying that we have to jump through these hoops.

Please don’t come for me. I’m 32, recently divorced, and just finished nursing school. It’s been a year, to say the least. I’m basically starting from scratch. I have about $10k in savings, but I’m also carrying $7k in credit card debt that’s keeping me up at night.

I start my first nursing job next week, and I’ll be bringing home around $5k a month. My monthly expenses are pretty manageable, around $2.5k. I do have a car loan and student loans as well.

Should I just bite the bullet and pay off the credit card debt with my savings? The thought of being debt-free sounds amazing, but losing that financial cushion makes me really uneasy. Debt scares me but so does having no safety net. What would you do?

EDIT: no children, 4k is on a zero APR until September and the rest is on another cc. I had about 15k up until February (paid off a large chunk, down to my last 7k).

EDIT: thank you so much everyone! Sincerely appreciate all the insight and advice.

Went to get a routine cleaning and they said I needed fillings. They didn’t do the cleaning and had me come back in two visits to do one side of my mouth each for fillings and proceeded to do the cleanings with each side.

Insurance covered some of the fillings. I paid like $350 each visit for my portion.

3 months later they want me to pay $800 for more cleaning fees- just the cleaning portion. They billed insurance $400 per quarter of my mouth.

Insurance only covered half because they did some kind of procedure that requires more evidence of bone loss. Dentist is saying I approved a “deep cleaning”. Dentists said they were being preemptive but did not inform me that it was anything beyond a normal cleaning.

Edit: so just expect them to be scum? I asked for details and everything to be confirmed which they assured me of. God. They are medical professionals but apparently only have the morals of carsalesmen or worse

What the title is asking. My old state has no state taxes but my new state does. Which one am I reporting? My new state considers me a part time resident for the tax year 2024 since I hadn’t been in my new state for more than a 184 days, the requirement.

ETA: new state is Pennsylvania.

I'm a sophomore in college. I'm at a tough spot in my life. But I need to find a way to budget $48 until early May when I get start working at my internship. Is there anyway of budgeting the $48 for the next 4 weeks for food? Anything I should buy in bulk? I don't mind skipping a meal every other day if that works since my body can use some fat instead. It's also exam season.

I've also looked at the food banks near me and I got 500 grams of pasta and small snacks. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm a senior in college who receives a lot of financial aid due to my family's low income. In addition to my tuition being covered, I typically get about $9K per semester which goes to things like rent, groceries, and whatever other expenses come up during the semester. Aside from a part time job, this is my only source of income; I get no support from my family.

I was filing taxes this year through turbotax as usual and somehow only this year I came upon the menu which asked about my tuition and educational expenses, prompting me to upload my form 1094-T. I know its really, really dumb and I'm honestly not sure how I failed to do this for the last three years, but this was the first time I did this. Typically when I do my taxes I end up with a small refund from my job, but after uploading it turbotax indicated I owed around $1.2K. I was a little horrified seeing this, because I think this means I have not been paying the taxes I owe for the time I've been in college. Another wrinkle in this is that I've budgeted my remaining financial aid for next month's rent, so I can't afford to pay what I owe all at once.

After doing some reading, my current plan is to first get into a short-term payment plan for this year's taxes, and then file amendments to my last three years of taxes in order to pay whatever else I may owe. I have a job lined up once I graduate which will pay me very well, so if I can wait to pay the bulk of it until around July, I don't think it will be a major financial burden.

My question is, am I screwed? I mean, it is definitely gross negligence on my part, but honestly I truly made an error in my filing, I did not intend to dodge taxes. I've never been in a position like this before and it's been stressing me out. I really don't want to be in bad standing with the IRS, and want to resolve all of my issues ASAP through the proper channels. Does my plan seem sound, or is there other stuff I should know? And lastly, would it be better to do a short term payment plan for this year's taxes and file amendments afterwards, or file all my amendments before this year's tax deadline and get into a payment plan for whatever the total amount comes to?

I’m so frustrated and I honestly don’t know what to do. Be as harsh as y’all want, I just need advice. I feel like every month I either lose money, or am just barely making it paycheck to paycheck. The stupid thing is that I’m not even living it up with “fun money” or anything, it’s that it feels like every 2 seconds there’s some random problem. Have to pay for. Car problems, medical bills/ medication, vet stuff, whatever, you name it. I even added a hundred dollar section called “shit happens” to try and account for this, but I keep exceeding it. What am I able to do about this? I got a new job that pays a bit more, but I found out they found a legal loophole to steal our tips, so only by 150 or so more a month. There are times I’m up to 1,000$ in the deficit. (Of my planned budget, not my bank account, thank fuck). Yah I know, it’s ridiculous, and 90% certain it’s my fault, I just don’t know how to fix it

I’m about to settle a car accident and get about $11k.

I have about 9.5k in debt.

If the economy tanks further wouldn’t it be better to hold onto the 10k and let my credit get fucked or would you advise to pay the debt and then deal with maybe being lay off?

Basically if you are unemployed would you rather have $10k cash or zero debt?

My go to since I've been filing (over 10 years) has been with TurboTax and I was honestly a fan. It's easy to use and very well built in terms of interface and guidance through the overall tax process.

I don't have anything bad to say about the software but I hate the company behind it because they lobby against making any real progress on making the tax process more approachable so that they can stay relevant.

More on that kind of activity here:
https://www.notus.org/money/turbotax-lobby-tax-prep-direct-file

My point in posting this is to share big credit to FreeTaxUSA. I used it for the first time and had an amazing experience. In and out in 30 minutes and no big cost for the service. I cannot recommend it enough.

To those who typically would use TurboTax out of habit, please give it a try and stop supporting people who don't support you.

Edit: I'm really happy this post resonated with so many people and inspired a few people to give it a try. Now, more than ever, it's so important to spend your hard earned money and attention only where there is a real return. We should only be investing in goods and services that invest back in us as people.

have an associates degree and make around $100,000 a year. My job is incredibly in demand and I have a lot of flexibility with hours, I can work anywhere from 1-5 days a week if I want. While those things are awesome, I find my job to be SO stressful and I am filled with dread every day I have to go. It's so hard on my body and my back is always somewhat sore at the end of the day, my hands are also starting to hurt. I need one recovery day a week just for my body. It's also just killing my spirit. My specific role is not respected, i find it exhausting to adjust my personality 10 times a day to make my clients happy and still most of them are still so rude and it just drains me. I also don't receive any benefits like 401K, but have health insurance through my husband. I would love to get out of this field but would probably have to start over from scratch. I can't use my degree for anything else at this level and I'm not interested in getting a bachelor's degree in something I loathe. It is ridiculous to want to leave? Nothing else pays even remotely close which is what makes leaving hard. I know we are heading into economically difficult times which is why I'm not making any drastic decisions now, but would love any advice anyone has.

I'm wondering what would be the advantage of contributing $3K into an HSA for the next 10 yrs... Or only contribute up to the annual max deductible amount and stop there? It sounds great to save 20-30K for future medical expenses as one gets older and less healthy, but what if you have $50K in HSA acct but never have/need to pay for a major medical expense and now your 80yo? What does one do w those funds? Can you pass the acct/funds down to your children? Assuming they don't have an HSA account of their ownn would this be a taxable event for them or can the funds be transferred tax free (if they have an HSA)?

I'm so sorry if this is a silly question. I have very slim understanding of retirement plans and the stock market. My FIL is retired, drawing on a state pension and has vascular dementia. At some point in the next couple years he will have to move into assisted living or memory care which is heavily dependent on his monthly pension amount.

My question is - if we go into a recession, or if the stock market continues down, would that affect his monthly payment, or do pension payments mostly remain static?

My husband and I currently have saved up 160k in a HYSA. We make about 250k pre tax and pre bonuses( best case scenario is 50-60k but more likely to be in 30k this year for bonus). We found some new builds in the south California area between 650-700k that are around 2000-2200 sqft. The only issue is my current job will keep us here for minimum 3 years but potentially 6 years( I’m in my medical training currently, potentially fellowship) and debating if it is worth potentially owning for at least three years.

I am interested in starting a 529 for my nephew. He has one parent that works a minimum wage job and isn’t working towards anything more, and another who has come up with every excuse to not work. If he finishes high school and wants to pursue further education, I would like to be able to support him, because his parents sure won’t be able to.

Does anyone have experience setting up a 529 for someone who is not your child? I do not want his parents to ever be able to access the money, can things be structured in that way?

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some advice on a few financial decisions I’m trying to figure out. I graduated college recently and moved to a new state for a job, and I’ve been living here for about 8 months now. Here’s my situation:

1) I don’t have a credit card yet (I know, not ideal) and I’m not sure how to improve my credit score. Last time I checked, it was around 600.

2) Right after college, I made a pretty big financial mistake by buying a brand-new $40k car with a $5k down payment. My living expenses are a bit high: I’m paying $2k/month for rent and $620/month for the car. Other than that, I’m just covering basic expenses like groceries and personal care. 3) After 8 months of working, I have about $15k in savings. I’m 21, but I haven’t invested in a 401k yet. The reason is that I’m not planning to stay at this company for more than a few years, and if I leave before the 3-year mark, I won’t be able to take full advantage of the 401k benefits.

Here’s what I need help with:

1) Improving my credit score: I have no idea where to start, so any tips would be really helpful.

2) What should I invest my savings in? I’m thinking about putting the money into property or some other assets, but I don’t have much experience in investing. I’d love to hear what you think would be the best option. 3) Is buying a house in Utah a good idea? I don’t think I have enough saved for a down payment, but I’m considering it. I’m planning on moving to Colorado soon, so I’m wondering if it even makes sense to buy a home here or if I should look into other options.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

My whole life until about a year ago, I thought my dad was well off and handled his finances well.

Over the past year I noticed things about my father who keeps finances secret from my mom. She just writes checks ok’d by my dad and my dad will just give her cash weekly for home needs

• my mom told me there were periods where her electricity would be cut for lack of payment which she would call my dad who would then “talk” to the electric company

• my brother found out there were credit cards under his name maxed out. My mom did not know of these cards. We talked to my dad who had his name removed off the cards

• I found out my dad had borrowed during the year over 40K USD from my brother. The excuse he used was “it’s to help out a family friend who’s sick and has no health care”. My mom has never met this person and neither has my brother

• we had found out my dad had opted out of his life and home insurance, not sure what my mom would do if something happened to him

• I asked my dad for information on the mortgage in case something happens so I can take care of my mom. My dad refuses to talk about his finances

• deep down I feel like my dad has a second family, he works in a different city 5 days out of the week and hour out in which we have never visited

Is there any way I can get better transparency on my parent’s financial information? I feel like I’m going to find out the hard way later on.

My dad is 61 years old and just found out late last year that he needed to invest his 401k all along (it’s just been in a stable fund his whole career of about 20 years). He asked me to help him put it all in the stock market and now he has lost 10% of his portfolio.

I feel sick to my stomach and guilty knowing I could’ve done more research which would have avoided this. My dad is an immigrant who asks me for help with things like this but I guess I just never imagined this happening to the stock market. I now know that for his age he needed to invest conservatively.

As much as I would like for someone to talk me off a ledge, I need some guidance on what to do from here (especially cause the stock market opens tomorrow). Should I move it all back to the stable fund? Or a percentage of it? Or should I leave it where it’s at in hopes it comes back in the 6-7 years until his retirement? I’m trying to do my own research as well but am feeling a little overwhelmed. Thank you for reading

-a shitty daughter

I just joined a new employer recently and signed up for their 401k plan.

I still have my old 401k from my last employer. Both are managed by the same bank, so I know rollovers from old accounts to new ones are fairly easy. I've done it once before. I even have a VERY old 401k from my very first employer more than a decade ago, also managed by the same bank, that I could roll over but just haven't.

My question is, does it actually make any difference in the growth rate of these 401ks if I roll them all into one? Would they grow faster together than apart, or would they just be simpler to manage? Holding everything else constant and assuming that they're all invested in the same funds of course.

I do put away a very significant portion of my total pay, probably at least 50%, but I've never been great at analyzing performance and choosing the most optimal investments. I basically have accumulated a lot of money in both 401ks and personal investment accounts from investing a lot and not spending a lot.

I think now is a good time to finally answer this question and try consolidating these scattered old 401ks into a single account, especially considering that 3 of them are in the same place.

Thanks in advance for helping answer this question. I've attempted to do research to answer it myself in the past, but I remember my eyes glazing over every time I dug into the rollover process. One of the chief reasons I've only ever done it once.

30 I recently took a step down at work and took a pay cut I bring in about $6k a month after taxes. I currently have: $85k in investments ~$58k in 401k $3k RothIRA $3.5k 529 $19.9k stocks $1.5k crypto

Debt: Chase CC ~$9.9k @ 0% interest until Jan 2026 Margin on Brokerage $10.1k @ 6.5%

Cash: $3k checking $8.5k HYSA Energency Fund

I am worried about the market and facing a margin call, I recongnize the stupidity in borrowing on Margin. I have started to build decent habits with spending and reduced my lifestyle pretty dramatically recently because I inflated my lifestyle when my salary shot up. Now that it's down I constantly feel stressed and anxious that I am behind. I took the paycut because my mental health was starting to decline due to workstress, I was using my money and habits to numb myself. Overspending because I had about $10k a month coming in. Since taking the step down, my health has improved signifigantly. I want to fix my situation and know it starts with habits and discipline. $6k a month is still good money. My question is, should I cash out my brokerage to pay off my debt and start saving/investing debt free, or keep course and do a little bit of everything. I want to stop feeling behind and don't know what the next step is.

Thank you in advance for any insight.

My parent has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, unsure how long left, but the house and some pension contributions will be left to me.

I am single and currently living in the house, but with three bedrooms is excessive for my needs, so thinking of downsizing when the time comes.

So the house is probably worth anywhere between 90-110k, but will need an appraisal on that. Additionally two pensions, one at around 20k and the other amount is unknown to me but from conversations the total could be around 70k from both pensions, either over time or a lump sum.

The house will need a fair bit of renovation if I’m to sell, a new bathroom for certain, and bits of work here and there maybe totalling 15k.

My question is how do I go about investing wisely, as in how do I maximise the profit I can make on the home, and invest what is left in a manner which will continue to benefit me in the future? I want to make sure I make this work for me, and not waste an opportunity to make this work for me long into the future, as I know that’s what my mum would want me to do.

Any advice on investing this properly?

i am honestly absolutely terrible with money. i have bad impulse control and i have a ton of stuff planned throughout the whole year which is going to take pretty much all of my income.

i live with my parents after moving back in, and i am trying to get out as soon as possible. i know that i'm very fortunate that i have a family who will let me live at home, but for reasons i won't get into, i really need to get out.

i have a couple thousand invested (in what exactly, i dont know. i had my parents help me set it up and i am not very knowledgeable on stocks.)

my job does a 401k match and im contributing 8%. my job also covers schooling so i wont accrue any debt there. i am not in any debt otherwise.

i'm trying my best to save money and i think i just found a way that's going to work for me so i wont spend it, but i just started so that amount is pretty negligible.

i make $20/hr and work about 27 hours a week while being in school. i'm trying to get more hours but its currently the slow season.

i know that i'm very behind and i feel incredibly guilty and ashamed about it. i'm really scared i'm going to get people on here telling me that i'm stupid and irresponsible but i truly do not need that. i am just looking for help for figuring out what moving expenses and all that would be.

i've seen some figures for what people suggest to have when moving out, but i'm just not sure what i should really be aiming for.

how can i be better at saving? and how much should i be saving so that i can get out asap?

thank you in advance

I just had a missed payment on a Barclays card account that I completely forgot I even had worse part is that I couldn’t even access the account as I lost the card so I wasn’t notified until a letter came in the post. The most frustrating part is my credit score was doing good being in the high 800s now it’s dropped all the way down to 700….

The payment amount was tiny only being £15 but now it shows up on my credit report as a missed payment is there anyway to explain and get it waived or is that not possible. Thanks!

When I do my expense reviews I usually export csvs of my accounts from my bank account one at a time. The problem is it's time consuming and then I have to spend time organizing data from different banks.

Any recommendations for a simple (hopefully free) way I can automatically pull and organize my transactions securely? Integrating with google sheets would be nice but I also don't mind downloading a csv once a month and then copying the data into google sheets. My expense review is in google sheets and i'm quite happy with my spreadsheet.

Right now it looks like Quicken Simplifi might be my best option at $3 per month. Appreciate any recommendations you have!

I’m 46, take home about 11.5k per month, max out 403b plus put 4k per month into investment account. I have emergency fund plus about 500k i. Investments. I owe 30k at 3.99% on a truck.

I just got a 30k bonus. I could pay off the truck or invest. What’s the best move here?

Hello,

I currently have a truck that was financed in May 2024 at $32,000 ($15,000 down payment, total cost was in the high 40’s) for 72 months (monthly payment $524). I am able to trade it in for $31,000 and am considering using that to pay off the remaing loan balance of $25,500. I would then use the equity of $5,500 to buy something smaller.

I am considering an EV that would be financed around $17,000 after the EV tax credit incentive and putting the $5500 down on it. I would save around $7000 on the loan itself but is this a smart financial move as opposed to just riding out the loan I have? For more context I save around $1000 a month on the side to pay off the principal of that auto loan and make a pretty substantial road trip once a month that was unanticipated at the time of purchase. The truck is an absolute gas guzzler and I love it but I don’t think the utility is necessarily worth the price right now. Thanks!