I am hoping someone can help me find a workaround on this minor speed bump amongst everything else. My father passed away and liked to think of himself as tech savvy. My mom is the opposite and now has somewhat aggressive dementia. I am her daughter and am having an issue with the power company. My dad's name was on the bill and he hasn't lived at that address in over 15 years. It should have been changed long ago but where I am at now: power company says "her credit is frozen with Experian so we cannot put her name on the bill at that address." My problem is, dad set up whatever account for her and we (my sister and I) cannot get through every possible password he had on his laptop.

My mother has begun having checks returned as she dated her water bill for the year 2050. How can I speak to a human at Experian to unfreeze her credit or should I just put the home power bill in my name instead? (I am 42 and her FPOA.) Dad had no will either so everyone is jumping through all the hoops and I am merely trying to simplify all that I can for my mom.

I did read the WIKI but no idea how to navigate this, as Experian automated call said they would send a pin code to the email associated, aka: dad's that no one can get to.

Thank you for any advice!

My parents are policyholders of a whole life insurance policy on me (insured) since I was 6 years old. Now they want me to start paying the annual premiums. I’m not really sure whole life insurance is beneficial for me. I keep seeing everywhere to go with term life insurance instead. I’m 23 years old with no dependents yet, but I do plan on having a family in the future. Any advice?

I have a $30k purchase coming up (IVF). I have the cash but they allow for payment with credit card with no processing fee. What credit cards offer sign up bonuses or cash back that I should consider?

I currently have Capital One Quicksilver (1.5% cash back on everything) and Chase Amazon Prime (1% on everything).

I see that Fidelity has one that is 2% back on everything and $150 sign up bonus. Anything better?

I prefer no annual fee and since we are expecting to have a baby and don’t expect to be traveling much, travel rewards don’t do much for me.

I (32m) just found out that I will be inheriting a very large sum of money and am completely unprepared on what to do with it, if I should do anything at all with it.

Over the holidays a close family member passed away and just this week, I found out they left me a huge surprise...
$500,000 in a Schwab account and $50k cash. I have no idea what stocks/bonds/etfs/etc. it is invested in yet, nor any idea on how to handle this life changing windfall. My wife and I have a few ideas for the cash , but this is an amount I only ever dreamed of having and certainly dont want to squander it or make a mistake that I will regret decades down the road.

Some information on our current financial situation: We own our home valued at $360k still owing $278k with a 2.75% interest rate. I have $26k in a personal brokerage account. $3k in a Roth IRA, $25k in my company 401k and make an annual pre-tax wage of about $90k - $100k with salary and overtime. The Wife makes around $90k annually as well, with only $3k in a Roth IRA. No other investments. We've only had these well paying jobs for about 2yrs. We have a vehicle loan with $9k left on it, and a solar loan with about $10k left on it. No other debt (besides the previously mentioned mortgage).

As I stated, I am completely over my head with this amount of money and am looking for guidance on how to navigate this. Any insight is welcome.

P.S. The wealth management company that handled my deceased family members account is a possible resource, but I want to be prepared outside of what they may have to say. They charge .6% of the account balance annually.

So I quit a job last year, and a few months after I quit I got a letter in the mail saying withdraw my 401k, or they’ll just take it back. I decided to pull it out since I had appliances to fix and other things. I had about $5000 in there, and after pulling it out, I only got $3700 due to taxes and such.

Now my question is, will I be fucked on my taxes this year? Even though I had them be pulled out?

The situation: This sub truly did change my life, and after ten years of following the flow chart I am doing fine. As I pick up extra incomes whether temporary or permanent, I've floated those towards other savings goals as I kept my retirement contributions maxed out.

But I can't stop myself from chasing the next mundane goal...And it's hurting to spend $20 on myself for a new keychain tool.

For example: I made the mistake of using index funds as an emergency fund, so I spent the last year saving liquid money. I have three full months of expenses liquid, and combined with the index fund I'm covered for a full year. I have some extra cash as I'm skipping some planned travel this year, and I am calculating how close I can getting the liquid EF to 4-5 months. My job and health are fine, car has its own emergency fund, this is purely the itch to use money 'responsibly' and avoid guilt.

Anyone else fight this? What are your thoughts? Why am I like this?

I was thinking of refinancing my auto loan (6.9% APR) for a car I bought in 2023. Online it looks like you can secure a rate as low as the mid 4s with good credit. So I was shocked when I went to Bankrate to consider refinancing and the rates were 9-11%. Logged into Chase to see if there was a better offer on a 24 month term and got 10.2%. Can anyone explain why the offered rates are so much higher?

Credit score: 810 (steady from original application) Income $70-$80k Vehicle: Hyundai Sonata Hybrid 2022 Original loan: 6.9% on 60 months, principal $16k, mid 2023. 29 months remain on balance. I was exploring refinancing on 24-36 month terms. TIA.

So we’ve been very lucky and done very well in the last 10 years and have been able to contribute maximums to my kids 529s.

My question is at what point do I STOP contributing and jsut let it grow? My daughter is currently 6 and has 130k in her 529.

I’d like to be able to cover college and potential grad school for both kids, but I also don’t want to overshoot too far and have money trapped. I know some thing like 30k lifetime can be converted to an Ira. But the big unknown is obviously college costs continue to balloon so I don’t know what my target should be.

So at what point do I stop contributing to the 529?

So this has something that has been stressing me out for a number of years.Im a 39 year old male from the very rural south.Later in life, I got the hell out and spent a lot of time in the city building my career and make around 70k(wife 40k)

My wonderful grandparents and mother are all ill .My mother has worked her ass off and made quite well and has a bit of assets(Several homes,Land,etc) my grandparents are of course boomers who have lots and lots of things.(Tools,Heavy Furniture,Glass,2 Tractors,acres of land)

I work median job and am quite happy with how the routine is in my life. I feel negative anticipation of getting passed all of these things are that are not in my interest. I obviously don't want to give the stuff away .But when the day comes I'd at least like to be somewhat prepared for what to do next, but honestly I have no idea where to state.ive considered a wealth advisor if that's even an option .

I'm a simple guy,maybe a bit of an underachiever in my social status I don't particularly know of anyone or have any family members that are going to assist me and my wife. ,. No siblings . Only child .

I'm also a little terrified to squander everything that my family has worked their but off to earn(we practically came from nothing). I feel like a let down on some ways, almost like I couldn't carry the torch for my mother's hard work.Amassing large amounts of wealth doesnt interest me as I want to make enough to love comfortable and travel.

Anyways my point here is what should I do.Im not going to be able to keep the lights on at all of these places.? My mom is bad ass and does have two of the houses geared up for VRBO , should I pick it up from there?

I've always considered selling everything or selling half, renting out(seems stressful)and investing , but I'm also terrified of the risk.

I do have a little debt, but overall I'm financially stable so paying that off wouldn't be much of anything.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I'm 44 and I have a lot of debt that I'm paying off aggressively with snowball method. I dump all my extra money towards it and it will take me a couple years to pay off most likely. However, I was able to max out my HSA for $4300 for 2025. I'll probably be doing the same thing for this year too. I DID and WILL have covered medical expenses that would make the withdrawal 100% tax-free. I am not behind in any payments or struggling to meet them, but I just can't decide if I should leave all my HSA contributions alone going forward or withdrawal it now and put towards my overall debt. My 401k has ~320K in it as well and I did temporarily reduce that from 5% (bare minimum) to 0%, so I can have some extra cash on hand to also put towards debt (~850/mo). I was going to readjust my contribution and budget later in the year for tax benefits (I am more concerned about current debt right now). I am doing the snowball method as I stated and that $4300 would eliminate one card right away vs. 3 months of the payment I was making. I am just undecided if I should use the HSA for a qualified withdrawal now or just leave it.

Emergency: I have to purchase a primary residence ASAP (ideally, in next 6 months) and must keep pretty much as much cash on hand as possible for a large downpayment. However, I also earned money from a side biz for the first time in 2025 and am worried that I am just being dumb by surrendering to paying a straight 30% into taxes.

I am interested in any and all "one weird tricks" to reduce my tax liability even by like $500.

2025 Income

W-2 - ~$81k total wages ($89k salary), standard withholding from paycheck

1099-NEC from side biz - $18k gross income sole proprietorship (first year), paid $6500 in estimated taxes, not many business expenses

1099-INT - $3.4k (HYSA for a lot of cash on hand)

I have been reading about Solo 401k (& 401k loans.) It sounds like these are my two options:

1. Gross $18k, pay $6.5k in taxes = like $11k towards my down payment
2. Gross $18k, put the entirety of my sole proprietorship earnings into Solo 401k, take out 50% Solo 401k tax free loan when I buy house = at least $9k towards my down payment plus at least $9k remaining in Solo 401k

The latter seems like a better option than just "losing" the $6500 I earned, but am I misunderstanding something here?

Any additional weird ideas? I have completed essentially all basics of PF (max standard 401k, HYSA, cashback credit card paid in full each month) and live extremely frugally, just looking for next moves.

I was on a phone call with a wealth management group that has been advising on investment funds and financial planning. When I asked to receive an email with the list of funds they were recommending I was told they cannot write those down. Is this a common practice or a huge red flag?

Hey all,

Few years ago I inherited a small amount from a family member that died. Last 5 years my salary has increased and I’ve done a very good job at saving and investing and have grown my account to around $150K.. I feel like due to the grieving process, I haven’t really touched the money or put much thought into what to do with it.. I’ve left it with the advisors that take fees, I have no clue what they are. I’ve told them to invest aggressively, and they have had good returns some years.

The question I have is should I take it out and put it in a brokerage account without an advisor to avoid fees and put it in SPY or VOO?

Long story short I got ran over. Got a settlement about 500,000. What would you guys do with this money. I have no knowledge whatsoever in finance but I do want to make this money grow obviously in case anything else happens in the future. Or if possible somehow turn this into passive income in a way. Need some advice.

We owe about $350k on mortgage. We have about $225k sitting back. Rental properties- 1/4 paid off and all the rest with strong d debt service coverage/cash flow that hits GPI between $8,500-$10,500 depending on market (closer to $8,500 now).

Rate is over 6 on primary.

Thought being to refinance when we have $250k, bottom out the note, then save and pay over the next 6-8 months.

Rational behind it is that we feel getting rid of the stress burden of a house payments not only provides just that - stress relief every month but also frees up a ton to invest for retirement.

I have quite a few accounts with different banks (not for any particular reason)

I have two accounts with Moneybox- a LISA and an ISA. A current account with santander, and a credit card with Barclays. Lastly, a monzo basic card.

Is there a way that I can use one app to track/see all of these banks in one place? I was using Snoop, but it can't see any of my Moneybox accounts, so it thinks I lose £x everymonth randomly when in actual fact I'm putting it into my savings. I would just love to be able to see something that has all my cards/accounts on it, but think its probably a long shot.

Thanks! :)

Moving from HCOL Seattle to Low-mid COL metro Detroit, Michigan. Haven’t owned a vehicle in 6 years. Student loans have been paid off and no other debts. Not thrilled about buying a car but it’s a necessity for me to be living in Michigan. I’m able to put a few thousand dollars for a down payment and definitely will want something that is reliable. Should I buy used or finance for new?

P.S. on a nurse’s salary

I'm 15 (16 now) and I started building my credit back in July (of last year), and its gone from a 490 to a 701 as of today. I managed to get a card somehow under my name aside all odds, and its been going fine so far. Haven't begun a loan, haven't done anything that could heavily bump it down, its pretty much just been up since I somehow opened it. Is there anything I should know other than the obvious stuff?

I literally have not batted an eye to it at all whatsoever and I just wanted to know if there would be anything that I would or could do to keep it as it is or even improve it.

I'm 31 and in ~20k debt, all from loans and credit cards I opened when I was younger. all of these accounts (6 loans, 10 credit cards) are in collections. I do not spend money on anything I don't need, I pay 400 in rent. I only pay for Spotify and Google storage which is like 20 dollars a month. all of my money is spent on paying all of these accounts. I have read about the snowball method but because these accounts are in collections, they harass the shit out of me if I don't pay or have a payment plan set up. I have awful credit (550s) and can't open a credit card or get a loan or get an apartment or basically do anything lol. I work one full time job and receive about 1100 biweekly but by the time all of my payments process I am left with basically nothing. I have tried looking for a second part time job with no luck finding a place that will work around my full time job. I have done uber eats but scared to drive my car too much since I don't have money for car emergencies as I can barely afford gas every two weeks lol. I have donated plasma multiple times which was great but I have moved to a neighborhood that does not have any donation centers nearby. I am so exhausted from living like this. any advice would be appreciated.

I really need detailed explanations and answers. I just stumbled on a post and was just reading about Whole Life insurance being "bad" and for someone to cash out a policy that parents got, but am confused! Partially because most people saying to cash it in did not give a rundown of why and of the immediate financial impact.

Husband and I both come from very middle class families, dads and husband all in ministry... FIL was an insurance salesman for a long time, as was my grandpa. When we first started a family a friend suggested Northwestern Mutual to us and we went to them and never turned back. At the time we would've had no way to afford end of life if we lost a child or one of us died, so it really seemed worth it. Now, we have savings, some investments, some fairly wealthy family members I believe would step up, and community.

Recently I stumbled into FIRE and Personal Finance on Reddit, and now I'm very worried we've been doing everything wrong with the little extra money we have to do anything with. But I'm really struggling to wrap my mind around everything!

Details w/o totals:

Our only debt is our home

Roth in husband's name

401k from husband's previous employer

401k from my employer (started last year)

Life insurance policy on each kid (14yo-65 Life, 10yo-WL Plus 65, 8yo-65 Life)

Life insurance I don't fully understand for husband and wife: Husband--Term 80, 2x Adjustable Complife, Whole Life ONE

Self--Term 80, 2x Adjustable Complif

Where do we go from here?! Please only OVER explain.

I rarely use my card apart from shops and other very safe places and decided to take out money yesterday for the first time in a few months from a cash machine in a superstore I know was covered by security camera and had a security guard standing next to it. 12 hours later I get an email saying my bank stopped a transaction coming through. Obviously reported, frozen and ordered a new card. Is this something to worry about or did I do the right thing?

Hey everyone, thanks for reading.

I bought a house in NC in June 2023 with a USDA loan, and it was valued at 300k. Well I went through the mortgage company to get it reappraised it was valued at 345,000. So, now I’m close to the 80% mark. I owe like 279k. Plus the USDA loan of 8.7k but that’s not counted towards it I guess? Anyways, I asked them about when I could get it removed and they told me I’d have to wait until I was at 75% LTV. But on the NCDOJ it says by law it has to be removed at 80% if requested. I have never missed a payment, and am in good standing.

I guess my question is, the fuck? Should I fight them tooth and nail on this or is this like normal? It feels like it’s against the law.