I currently have a 403b which is my primary method of building up my retirement. I'm currently 30 right now and anticipate working another 35-40 years. With a recession likely, my return on investment has gone down and I'm beginning to lose my retirement it seems. Throughout the subreddit, I see people stating that since I'm so far out, I shouldn't be worried at this time. But, I want to make sure all my bases are covered. I plan to begin trading and investing in a few months after I get my nest egg to a specific place. Am I overreacting, or should I just let it be for now?

Hi

I'm a Canadian citizen currently working in the U.S. and planning to return to Canada in about a year upon my retirement. I'm seeking a company that offers trust services, including document preparation and acting as an executor, with reasonable fees and reliable customer service. Ideally, the company should have an office in Vancouver, BC, be well-versed in U.S.-Canada tax laws, and have at least 20 years of experience in the industry.

Considering the drop right now, any recommendations whilst they’re on sale? for the long term?

My sons' 529s (through the state of Michigan) have dropped 16% in value over the past few weeks (and more once the market opens tomorrow). I can temporarily move the funds to less volatile portfolios but Michigan's 529s only allow 2 fund changes per year, which has been restricting my options/timing.

My question you all are: 1) are y'all just leaving your 529s alone during this time? 2) do your state 529s have the same restrictions with fund reallocations only 2x year?

I enrolled in classes for my masters back in January of 2024, I started my current job that December. With a hectic schedule I forgot to withdraw and assumed I automatically would be withdrawn due to non-payment. Keep in mind I was entirely relying on financial to cover for classes but I never heard back from them.

Fast forward to this year, my balance of $9k was sent to a collection agency since I failed to pay-in-time. I reached out to my student accounts office explained my circumstances and they were willing to offer a waiver and I'd only have to pay $500 so long the dean of college and computing is willing to withdraw me out of my classes and he refused since it's only meant of "administrative errors".

What are my options now? I contacted student accounts and they said they don't have any other solutions besides the one they offered, and my best bet would be to get on a payment plan w collections.

Should I contact my college again or reach a settlement with the agency? I know it is entirely my fault but it sucks having to pay 10 grand for virtually nothing.

Thank you in advance for any advice!!

So I’m getting a divorce, and the auto loan for the car my husband drives is in my name. We are trying to refinance the loan in his name, but there are a couple problems:

1) My husband has terrible credit (past bankruptcy, car repossession, bills sent to collections). 2) There’s $12,000 left to pay on the loan and the retail value of the car is $9,000, so it’s about $3,000 upside down.

What are our options and what advice can you give me so that we can get this car in his name?

As of right now, we anticipate needing to pay off at least $3,000 to break even on the value of the car. And then we also anticipate him needing a co-signer for the new loan.

Is there anything else we haven’t thought of that could help move this process along? Are there any resources you know of that have been helpful in similar situations?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

I'm two years into recovery from depression and related disorders. I recently got a job - a decent job that pays enough to cover my rent and expenses. I need a car for commuting and I'm wondering what's my best bet for an auto loan. Likely around $10k, with $1k down. Bank? Credit Union? I've heard credit unions are better for loans- do you have to be a member (and for some time) before you can get a loan from a CU?

TIA for any advice.

If you are heavy long in stocks and already lost 10-20% of your portfolio, is it smart to sell Monday or through this week, hold, or buy? I know nobody can see the future but just want to understand different theories on how to protect one’s self?

So im 23, I have ~20k in fundrise(real-estate app) ~170k in fidelity (40k of that on margin @12.075%) daily intrest of $14, 2k in robinhood, and another 3k in another investment manager app, I owe 25k on my car, and ~7k in credit cards, I have ~6k in savings, with income of around 2,600 take home every month, car is 600, insurance is 300, and other expenses is another 700, im currently trying to save for property. What do you all think? Should I focus on paying down debt, or should I focus on saving and just keep doing what I have been ? Thank you in advance!

My city recently gave me an ordinance violation for three palm trees on my property. They haven’t been trimmed in many years. We have the option to trim or remove them to avoid fines going forward.

Obviously trimming them is cheaper in the short term, $1,800 for this trim, but since we will now have to do it annually (~ $500 or more every year) in perpetuity the cost in the long run will end up being significantly more. We are thinking that removal might be the best option for long term savings and also less work since once they are gone we won’t have to deal with them anymore going forward. They are extremely messy and are a fire hazard. Fronds fall onto our house and onto our neighbors house and into their side yard. Their location on property makes trimming a hassle as well. we have to use our neighbor’s driveway for the equipment to access them, so I think our neighbors would love to have them gone as well.

The biggest issue is the upfront cost of removal which will be somewhere between $7,500 and $9,000. I’m unsure about the best way to pay for it. I can put it on my credit card but I’m wondering if a HELOC or personal loan would be a better option because the interest rates for those would be lower than the credit card interest.

Any advice about the smartest way to save money on this type of cost would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Everyone!

I’m a 25 y/o wondering if I have enough in my emergency fund to start diverting my savings into other avenues. Currently sitting at $20k in an HYSA @ 3.75% APY (was originally 4.25% but has gone down since first opening). My Roth IRA is maxed out for the year, and last time I checked (pre-tarriff announcement crash) I had about $22k in it. I have an additional individual IRA with about $12k in it.

Total assets: -$20k HYSA -$34k in retirement

I’m blessed to work from home, and I live with my parents. I just finished paying my car note. My monthly income is ~$7k after taxes. I would say my monthly expenses totals to no more than $1k a month, so I have $6k a month that I’m stowing away.

I’d love to own a house of my own, but mortgages and property taxes (living in Houston) scare tf out of me.

How would you allocate $6k a month to save a healthy chunk for a house downpayment (or even paying cash)?

My initial thought was $3k/50% into HYSA still and $3k into my individual retirement account.

Would love any feedback.

Thanks in advance!

I bought a car last year after my paid off beater got totaled. I currently owe $8k at 7.34%. I have $13k in savings, would it be stupid to deplete that to get rid of the loan? I don’t have any other debt.

Still living at home so emergency funds aren’t as much of a concern nor is my payment a huge burden or anything. I’d like to move relatively soon but would also really, really like to not have any debt to worry about when I do so. There is some uncertainty at my job right now (not to mention general recession anxiety) so I’m wondering if it would be better to wait and pay it down a little while longer. Or possibly pay what would be going to my savings into the loan instead? Just trying to work out my options.

I’m 30 years old and had a profit sharing account with my previous employer. My vested balance is around $8,000. I have some home repairs that need done. I have yet do roll over or do anything with it. I had a thought of just withdrawing this and using for said repairs. I do have a 401 K now with my new employer. Would it be a horrible idea with withdraw the profit sharing? Or should I just rollover to my 401 K…? Advice please??

My HSA card automatically charged my Amazon account and my taxes were completed before I realized this happened. Do I need to get my taxes redone? I already sent payment in to my HSA Bank and a Distribution Reversal form but the amount returned isn’t in my HSA account yet. Taxes are due the 15th of April right? What do I need to bring to my tax person to get this resolved before deadline?

I’m the type of person to always get things done on time and try to always play by the book so I’m worried to say the least!

I have put in a few sales orders for stocks that are under water for me right now. The idea is to lock in the loss for tax reasons and then buy them back with the same money I got from the sale. The assumption is that in the future when I need to sell them again I will be in a lower tax bracket.

I got a voicemail from local dealership that 4Runner Hybrid I want is on their allotment.

Question is should I buy in cash or make a deposit and pay in installments?

I have around $120,000 in savings and I estimate the 4Runner Hybrid will be around 60K, not including fee, registration and possible dealer markup, so up to 70k estimated.

My desire for the SUV is both want and need. Want, I used to drive 4Runner before I lost it in car accident and I want to drive 4Runner again; it is hybrid, so better fuel economy than non-hybrid 4Runner. Need, my family has been one car family (RAV4) for more than five years and hints had been dropped that I should get new car.

My plan is to ask if I can make a deposit and pay the rest in installments without getting a loan. I've done with my current, family, car and manage to paid it down within five years. I know dealerships prefer securing loan since it where they make money but it is same dealership where I bought the same car and I hope I can get same deal.

If not, I will pay in cash but I don't feel pulling huge amount of cash form my savings for something that is depreciating value. Even if I have been patiently waited for 4Runner Hybrid for more than two years.

So your comments is appreciated if buying in cash is better or getting car loan?

Currently paying car off with all extra funds, approximately $1500 per month. With the market how it is would you sell stocks to pay off car @5.9% and then divert that $1500 per month back to buying while the market is down? Or continue paying car off as is without investing extra outside 401k. Would need to sell about $16000 in stock, all long term capital gains.

I have about 20-25K per month to invest in after monthly expenses. Should I be putting this in stocks/ETF in this current economic climate? If not, what should I be putting my money in. I've put in a decent chunk the past couple of months in stocks/ETFs and have loss some money so I'm worried about continuing to put my monthly investment money into vanguard. Good time to buy low? Don't think I'll need to touch my portfolio for another 20-30 years so it would be a long play

I received a letter from my mortgage company offering a 4% fixed rate on my house. However, I would have to increase the loan by $23,600 in order to get the rate. I could used that money to pay off the loan on my car. Part of me thinks it's wowlrth it to get the 4% fixed rate but my husband doesn't agree with me. Right now our house loan is around 7%. Also, in 4 years, the payment will go up if I dont refinance, which I planned to. However, with the economy the way it is, this offer is looking better and better to me. Can anyone tell me if this a good investment or a bad one. Thanks

Looking at moving out of my current apartment. Spent a few months looking at houses but probably giving up on that to save a little more and be more confident of where I want to buy.

Found a new complex that at least seems alright, and should hopefully be better than my current situation (the street level space right below me was rented and converted into an event space hosting comedians, bands, karaoke, etc).

Should I splurge on a 2bed unit ($1500)? They have options as 640 sq ft 1 bed = $1100/month 729 sq ft 1 bed + balcony = $1300/month 982 sq ft 2 bed 2 bed + balcony = $1500/month

Utilities are separate. My gross income is $7500/month currently.

What are your thoughts on splurging on housing vs saving or spending on other wants?

This question would be for illinois. I dont know the rules for getting HUD approved. Recently I took in my buddies daughter, because she lost her place and didn't have anywhere to go. She's low income, and has been, and just quit her job because she was getting bullied every day. I'm wondering if HUD would apply here and help her out with her rent. I do charge her rent, because I cannot afford to take on any extras with my bill. Plus she has animals that are going to end up causing damage.

My wife and I are in our mid-30s, with 3 kids. We do not own a home, and pay $2950/mo rent. We've wanted to buy a home, but living in Denver, it's been tough to find a home in our price range (~$500k). When they do pop up, they're instantly snatched up with cash offers.

Despite the current economy issues, both of our jobs will thankfully be very secure. With that in mind, houses are now popping up in the area and actually sticking around long enough to entertain offers. Some are even actively dropping $25k+ in price.

Is now the time for us to really push for a house, since it seems others are hesitant to do so?

We're good about our funds, but we admittedly have ZERO idea what we're getting into. My gut tells me to buy, but if anyone has any insight or advice against it, please let me know!

Thanks so much for any input!

I'm looking for a budget app/website that will allow me to link my Venmo credit card along with all my other cards/accounts. I've tried Empower and MoneyPatrol and they both won't allow me to connect to it. I'm not sure why - maybe it's an issue on Venmo's end? But this is my main card that I use for most daily transactions, so a site that won't import data from it will be missing most of my spending. Any suggestions (preferably free)?

I’m pretty new to personal finance stuff and want to make sure that I’m doing the right thing to keep my money safe. I don’t have any parents to turn to for advice so I’d really appreciate some pointers on if I need to do anything to keep my savings protected.

For context, I’m graduating in May and don’t have a job lined up yet but am looking into remote jobs that would let me relocate to the EU. I currently have all of my savings (around $25k USD) in an HYSA with a 4.27% interest rate. I’ve managed to secure some scholarships and part time jobs that cover my cost of living and tuition so I’m able to use my HYSA as an emergency fund that I deposit some money into every month.

With everything going on with the U.S. economy right now what should I do with my savings to keep it from depreciating in value? I’m worried about the value of the U.S. dollar continuing to fall and am considering using Wise to convert and hold my savings in a more stable currency like the Euro.

The conversion rate right now is: 1USD = 0.9105 EUR

So if I initiated the transfer tonight: 25,000 USD—> 22,698.27 EUR (includes the $70.54 transaction fee)

Any advice on what I should do?

I went through a period of addiction that completely ruined my life and I needed to rebuild life from scratch in the last couple of years, needless to say but I was dead broke during that period. I worked really fkn hard and managed to finally save up an emergency fund as well as a travel fund in just a year which I was feeling incredibly proud of!

My dog needed emergency life saving surgery and it drained my emergency fund, then I had a family emergency overseas which I needed to be there for, and now my travel funds have been drained.

After a year of a lot of hard work, saving money like crazy, I feel like a failure, because all the money I worked so hard to save is now gone and I have to start from scratch again.

I know the money was put to genuine causes, and I am grateful I was able to afford my dogs surgery and family emergency without needing help from credit or family. But how do I deal with my bank accounts being so empty after I worked so hard to ensure that never happened again?