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The Finances and Debt Thread

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Anyone have Chase and Amex cards? Does it make sense to have both? I currently have the Chase trifecta and have a decent amount of UR points saved up.
 
Anyone have Chase and Amex cards? Does it make sense to have both? I currently have the Chase trifecta and have a decent amount of UR points saved up.

My guess is that for 99% of cardholders (myself included), it only makes sense to have one since the overlap on benefits is pretty large.
 
Question. Am I able to buy individual stock with my Roth IRA? I put in to an index fund for it, but can I buy let’s say one individual stock and stack it? Or would that be a dumb idea?
 
Question. Am I able to buy individual stock with my Roth IRA? I put in to an index fund for it, but can I buy let’s say one individual stock and stack it? Or would that be a dumb idea?

Yes, you are able to invest in individual stocks with a Roth IRA. If your account holder makes it difficult for you I would transfer your account. Putting it all in a single stock is risky (all your eggs in one basket), but the potential returns can far exceed any index fund if you pick well.
 
Yes, you are able to invest in individual stocks with a Roth IRA. If your account holder makes it difficult for you I would transfer your account. Putting it all in a single stock is risky (all your eggs in one basket), but the potential returns can far exceed any index fund if you pick well.
I was thinking that I’d keep the index fund, but maybe have a couple individual stocks to go along with it as well. Or would that be a dumb idea?
 
I started this thread to detail my journey through debt, particularly my credit card debt. I am happy to say that, as of yesterday, I am completely credit card debt free. What's more is that my wife and I are about to close on a house on July 12th. I used the early wihlthdrawal exception for IRAs, where you can withdraw up to $10k for the purchase of a home. We are only putting 3% down, but the house is almost 500k, so waiting to be able to put down 20% would have taken years.

My new branch manager job at my credit union has been going very well. I may even be transferred to a bigger branch since some people have left recently. I am currently commuting an hour each way, but, with my up-and-coming move to my new home, that is about to be cut down to about 2 to 8 minutes each way, depending on which branch I end up at in the next month or two. I'm lining myself up to ask for a raise at my six-month review, which should be in the $5k to 10k range. I'll have to get the pay scale for my position, but I'm just going off of % increase for lower positions' jump in pay as you go up the pay scale.

Now we just have to get my wife working in Bellingham so she isnt commuting to everett, which is going to be 1 to 1.5 hours each way, depending on traffic.

I am going to try to refinance my student loans once I close on the house. One issue I'm worried about is that half of my student loans (~$26k) are locked up in my parents' home equity line of credit, so I'm not sure if I will be able to wrap that up in a student loan or if I will have to pay that off in another way. I want to get that off of my parent's backs so I can be as independent from them as possible even though I have been paying on those loans.

Gonna be applying for a few more rewards credit cards too now that my credit score is around 775 and I dont have to worry about mortgage lenders questioning every inquiry. Vantage West credit union offers 5% back on Costco purchases. Fort Knox credit union has a 5% back on gas card, which also works at costco. Alliant credit union offers a 2.5% unlimited card with no foreign transaction fees for 99 a year, which beats out any 2% back card as long as you spend at least 20k a year on it (we spent 40k on our 2% card last year). Finally, we want the costco credit card, more so for the special deals it unlocks for TVs, appliances, tires, etc (like warranties, 15% cash back, extra discounts) rather than the 2% back on costco purchases or 4% back on gas since the previously mentioned cards make the costco credit card pale in comparison.

Congrats on the job and the house. The credit card thing just sounds like you're really overcomplicating it. From my experience with debt and finances, the more complicated, the more likely you find yourself in trouble again.

Are you potentially talking about signing up for four new credit cards just for the rewards? If I were you I'd seriously re-evaluate that plan.

For example: 2% back on 40k is only $800. Odds are you spent more than an additional $800 on that card than you normally would because you're "Getting cash back." Are you really coming out ahead on something like that?

Make sure you evaluate what you're doing and take a step back. Sounds like there's been a lot of change in your financial world in the last couple months. No need to rush into anything just to do it.

Just from an outsiders perspective: If someone told me they dealt with credit card problems in the past, finally got out of credit card debt, and then is looking to open four other credit cards for the rewards, that would be a big red flag for me.

I'm personally working out of $12k in credit card debt that I aggressively started paying off at the beginning of the year. If all goes to plan, I'll be done with it by the end of the month. The last thing on my mind at this point is signing up for new credit cards, but maybe that's just me. Haven't used a credit card in two-and-a-half years.
 
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Question. Am I able to buy individual stock with my Roth IRA? I put in to an index fund for it, but can I buy let’s say one individual stock and stack it? Or would that be a dumb idea?

I strongly advise against that. Way too risky for a retirement specific account. I would suggest putting a mix of funds (or a total retirement fund) in your IRA, UNLESS you are allocating taxable funds to the proper retirement allocation. Some people like to put dividend stocks (for example) in their IRA since t hey will never be taxed on the dividends. However, when they do that, they often (or at least should) allocate part of their other investments to total stock market funds/retirement specific funds.
 
I have a 401k from my job I just left two months ago. Am I better off rolling it over? Do rollover 401ks have a lot of options? What are the best places to look to find the best rollover options? I'd love to have some Bitcoin in my portfolio if possible.
 
I have a 401k from my job I just left two months ago. Am I better off rolling it over? Do rollover 401ks have a lot of options? What are the best places to look to find the best rollover options? I'd love to have some Bitcoin in my portfolio if possible.

YES. Roll it into a roth IRA on vanguard or wherever you have a brokerage account and put it in a LOW fee mixed asset fund. For the love of god do not put bitcoin in your retirement portfolio. If you want to fuck around with bitcoin, do it with money that you will not need when you are 75.

 
YES. Roll it into a roth IRA on vanguard or wherever you have a brokerage account and put it in a LOW fee mixed asset fund. For the love of god do not put bitcoin in your retirement portfolio. If you want to fuck around with bitcoin, do it with money that you will not need when you are 75.

I wanted like 1% nothing crazy.
 
I wanted like 1% nothing crazy.
Then do it in a taxable account. You get no tax savings with bitcoin, no need to put 1% in your retirement where you could get gains and tax savings.
 
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I have a 401k from my job I just left two months ago. Am I better off rolling it over? Do rollover 401ks have a lot of options? What are the best places to look to find the best rollover options? I'd love to have some Bitcoin in my portfolio if possible.

You can roll your old 401k into a 401k you have with your new employer, or into an individual IRA account. The only real downside to rolling it into an IRA is the tax implications if you ever want to make backdoor Roth IRA contributions (if you make more than the allowable income to contribute directly). I wouldn't recommend rolling a non-Roth 401k into a Roth IRA unless you want to give a good chunk of your savings to the IRS.

You should shop around for an IRA account. Some places will offer you $ and/or free trades to transfer your balance to them depending on the size. You should also take into consideration the commission fees for trading. Most brokers have a list of funds that are commission-free for example, so see what is on offer.
 

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