Split (2)

train · 300k rows

conversation stringlengths 56 26.4k
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " ttoilleynnek (ttoilleynnek): "Seconding this. Moving jobs generally moves you up in pay much quicker than yearly raises will. When the new guys ask what the old guys are paying, always tell them a little more than what you're actually making. This is on the honor system and can not actually be verified." Amairch (Amairch): "That's bad advice. It's better to say "my current employer considers that information confidential but I'm looking for at least x" where x is a number or range of what you would accept for a job. Getting caught in a lie could get your offer pulled, and also what you were making before is none of their business. Just because they ask the question doesn't mean you need to answer it. " awall222 (awall222): "I've heard of places that check pay stubs and catch people doing this, even for six-figure salaries." Babycarrot_hammock (Babycarrot_hammock): "What shitty company makes you turn-in pay stubs before onboarding? It's not as if previous pay is remotely relevant, either." jstef (jstef): "Government jobs use pay stubs from previous employers as part of their salary negotiations." SerJorahTheExplorah (SerJorahTheExplorah): "Government jobs that have non-negotiable pay scales?" vitametahegemon (vitametahegemon): "I'm not entirely sure about federal (I do think it's similar though) but I know here in TX for state jobs each job title has a salary group associated with it, and each salary group has a range. The ranges are rather large (for example, a B25 can be anywhere from $63,104 to $103,491) so there can certainly be room for negotiation. "
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "You need to leave. \n\nI have 20 direct reports and they are broken down into 3 groups:\n\n* 2 or 3 people whom I would be lost without and would try to get them a matching raise\n\n* a huge chunk of people who are so-so but replaceable, but because hiring good people takes time, would tell them "I can't match it, however I really value you and would like you to stay"\n\n* 4 or 5 who I am desperate to get rid and would say "completely understand - when's your last day?"\n\nDoesn't mean you aren't a solid worker, you just aren't valued and there's nothing you can do to change that perception at this point.\n\nGood luck!" IsNomad (IsNomad): "This is solid advice, and I doubt there is a manager anywhere who doesn't have a very similar breakdown. 5-10% employees: fight to keep. 5-10% employees: happy to see go. 80% of employees: good enough."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " ttoilleynnek (ttoilleynnek): "Seconding this. Moving jobs generally moves you up in pay much quicker than yearly raises will. When the new guys ask what the old guys are paying, always tell them a little more than what you're actually making. This is on the honor system and can not actually be verified." Amairch (Amairch): "That's bad advice. It's better to say "my current employer considers that information confidential but I'm looking for at least x" where x is a number or range of what you would accept for a job. Getting caught in a lie could get your offer pulled, and also what you were making before is none of their business. Just because they ask the question doesn't mean you need to answer it. " awall222 (awall222): "I've heard of places that check pay stubs and catch people doing this, even for six-figure salaries." Babycarrot_hammock (Babycarrot_hammock): "What shitty company makes you turn-in pay stubs before onboarding? It's not as if previous pay is remotely relevant, either." Rirere (Rirere): "I work at a Fortune 100 firm and I had to turn in pay stubs, such as they were. My salary also showed up in my background check. " 4GettableOne (4GettableOne): "Had a pretty serious set of interviews at large company, got to salary negotiations, and afterwards they wanted a copy of my W-2. I wrote them back and told them that as they weren't yet my employer there was nothing obligating them to protect that information, and I may one day need a job so bad I will provide that info, but today wasn't that day, thanks but no thanks.\n\nEnded up in a much better job with none of that BS..." Babycarrot_hammock (Babycarrot_hammock): "You are the man/woman we need, but (from most of these comments) clearly do not deserve."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " User (wheezyFpuppy): "Thanks - going to try and make the best of it. Even if I dislike it as much as I expect, it will at least be a solid learning experience and resume builder. " markman1231 (markman1231): "You could always just keep interviewing once you're hired. Or if you have money saved up, just quit and work on personal projects while you continue looking. Don't list the new job on your resume/linked in, and when you go to interview, say you're unemployed and working on personal projects at the moment." NABDad (NABDad): "I would never recommend quitting without another job lined up, even if you have enough savings. The blank time on your resume just looks bad unless you have one hell of a good explanation. A short time at a job is easier to explain as long as it doesn't appear to be part of a pattern." QuietLotus (QuietLotus): "I did this recently. I don't recommend it unless it's the only way. I explained in interviews that my company was going under so after laying off 1/2 my team I just quit to take some time off, relax and look for a new job (truth) and that served me well enough in interviews. It probably would not have been ok if I had done it a lot or had many gaps but as long as it doesn't appear to be a pattern it's not the end of the world. But no paychecks gets stressful quickly, so not recommended." gl00pp (gl00pp): "Why is a candidate shitty if he, in say the span of 10 years, has GASP 6-18 months without GASP working?!\n\nIt's absurd. There are a million reasons.\n\n" MikeGolfsPoorly (MikeGolfsPoorly): "Hell, tell them that you took off 6-12 months to act as an in-home care provider for an elderly relative, and the gap is because you only wanted to have relevant employment listed on your resume." ForeverInaDaze (ForeverInaDaze): "Can.. can I use this? I left my job because they relocated far enough that a commute wasn't in the cards. I have a job now, but I went six months interviewing pretty much the whole time and eventually started getting the "so why so long without employment"\n\nHonest answer was I was only looking in the city I lived in because I loved it and had also signed a lease so anything out of a commutable distance was out of the cards.\n\nI'm also a pretty bad liar so I'd hate to have to explain later in detail when they ask me how that elderly relative is." MikeGolfsPoorly (MikeGolfsPoorly): "Of course you can use it. You can also decline to answer any personal questions regarding the situation.\n\nIt also doesn't have to be an elderly relative. Reconstructive Knee Surgery has a long recovery time, so you could have been helping someone out with that as well. Perhaps a parent or a sibling."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " User (wheezyFpuppy): "Thanks - going to try and make the best of it. Even if I dislike it as much as I expect, it will at least be a solid learning experience and resume builder. " markman1231 (markman1231): "You could always just keep interviewing once you're hired. Or if you have money saved up, just quit and work on personal projects while you continue looking. Don't list the new job on your resume/linked in, and when you go to interview, say you're unemployed and working on personal projects at the moment." NABDad (NABDad): "I would never recommend quitting without another job lined up, even if you have enough savings. The blank time on your resume just looks bad unless you have one hell of a good explanation. A short time at a job is easier to explain as long as it doesn't appear to be part of a pattern." QuietLotus (QuietLotus): "I did this recently. I don't recommend it unless it's the only way. I explained in interviews that my company was going under so after laying off 1/2 my team I just quit to take some time off, relax and look for a new job (truth) and that served me well enough in interviews. It probably would not have been ok if I had done it a lot or had many gaps but as long as it doesn't appear to be a pattern it's not the end of the world. But no paychecks gets stressful quickly, so not recommended." gl00pp (gl00pp): "Why is a candidate shitty if he, in say the span of 10 years, has GASP 6-18 months without GASP working?!\n\nIt's absurd. There are a million reasons.\n\n" MikeGolfsPoorly (MikeGolfsPoorly): "Hell, tell them that you took off 6-12 months to act as an in-home care provider for an elderly relative, and the gap is because you only wanted to have relevant employment listed on your resume." ForeverInaDaze (ForeverInaDaze): "Can.. can I use this? I left my job because they relocated far enough that a commute wasn't in the cards. I have a job now, but I went six months interviewing pretty much the whole time and eventually started getting the "so why so long without employment"\n\nHonest answer was I was only looking in the city I lived in because I loved it and had also signed a lease so anything out of a commutable distance was out of the cards.\n\nI'm also a pretty bad liar so I'd hate to have to explain later in detail when they ask me how that elderly relative is." Goodasgold444 (Goodasgold444): "but why don't you tell them the honest answer?" ForeverInaDaze (ForeverInaDaze): "Because the honest answer isn't a legitimate excuse." Amairch (Amairch): "Seriously? Commute is a great excuse! The company moved locations that made it difficult for you to commute and you were looking for the right position in the right location. Look, interviewers are human. They understand reasonable explanations. The problem is when you say something about conflict with a boss or coworker - at that point, they don't know enough about you to know whether you were the asshole. But something like your employer was doing something illegal, or the company is going through layoffs and it seems like a good time to find something with more stability, or the company moved locations... those are all normal, valid reasons that a non-asshole would choose to leave a job. You don't have to be superman. Quite frankly, dancing around the question because you're embarrassed about the answer is more likely to turn an interviewer off than just giving a matter-of-fact response." ForeverInaDaze (ForeverInaDaze): "I have a job now but I was unemployed for six months. I interviewed for several positions. Within the first few months, I was never asked "so why such a large gap in unemployment" but toward the end I was. Leaving the job for company moving makes a ton of sense, but not having a job for six months is a red flag to a recruiter." Amairch (Amairch): "Yup, the longer you don't have a job the harder it is to find one. It totally sucks." ForeverInaDaze (ForeverInaDaze): "It's fucking awful dude. I mean, I have a job now but I had a mental breakdown while I was on the phone with my parents. I haven't had one in YEARS. I mean, at LEAST five years but then everything just sort of started crumbling around me."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: ">A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away\n\nYeah.. that is pretty much common sense." User (wheezyFpuppy): "yupppp. I was stupid and grossly overestimated my worth to current place. " PrancingPeach (PrancingPeach): "I know you don't want to hear this, but that's why you were underpaid to begin with: you weren't worth that much to them.\n\nMaybe it's a bit counter-intuitive, but companies are much more likely to make counter-offers to employees who are already very highly paid than to employees who are grossly underpaid." Amairch (Amairch): "I think if you're "grossly underpaid" then it tells you something about how your company operates. Do they bring in naive new grads and work them to death for a few years? Do they figure that having mediocre employees and high turnover is just cheaper than paying market rate? If you're underpaid relative to other people in your position at the same company then maybe they'll be willing to bring you up to par. But if they just underpay everyone then even if they bring you up to par they'll probably fire you or lay you off within a year anyways. " PrancingPeach (PrancingPeach): "It might tell you something about the company. The OP could also have been unusually inexperienced for those hired into his/her position, so they offered him a lower salary. Then perhaps he never really performed all that well, so they never gave him major raises. When he said he had another job offer, they didn't really care." Amairch (Amairch): "That's true, and is a much more charitable interpretation than I was giving the company. I think you need to know what kind of company you're working at as well as what kind of employee you are in their eyes."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " ttoilleynnek (ttoilleynnek): "Seconding this. Moving jobs generally moves you up in pay much quicker than yearly raises will. When the new guys ask what the old guys are paying, always tell them a little more than what you're actually making. This is on the honor system and can not actually be verified." Amairch (Amairch): "That's bad advice. It's better to say "my current employer considers that information confidential but I'm looking for at least x" where x is a number or range of what you would accept for a job. Getting caught in a lie could get your offer pulled, and also what you were making before is none of their business. Just because they ask the question doesn't mean you need to answer it. " ttoilleynnek (ttoilleynnek): "I totally agree with this side of thinking as well. My advice though was intended more so for those looking for a dollar or two more per hour. Maybe someone who was making $15 an hour and jumped up to $20 over a couple of years by changing jobs a couple of times. My point was that this is much more achievable than sticking to one employer and trying to make that much more. I totally agree that my advice was bad advice for those trying to negotiate tens of thousands of dollars per year differences." Amairch (Amairch): "I think if you're looking for a dollar or 2 more an hour it's even easier. Just say you have 'x' years of experience and therefore you think you're worth 'y'. They probably won't even notice if you sidestep the question. Interviewer: what are you currently making? You: I have experience in A and B, and I'm looking to make $c in this position. But yes, it's definitely true that changing jobs usually leads to bigger salary growth than trying to stick it out at one company."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " User (wheezyFpuppy): "Thanks - going to try and make the best of it. Even if I dislike it as much as I expect, it will at least be a solid learning experience and resume builder. " markman1231 (markman1231): "You could always just keep interviewing once you're hired. Or if you have money saved up, just quit and work on personal projects while you continue looking. Don't list the new job on your resume/linked in, and when you go to interview, say you're unemployed and working on personal projects at the moment." NABDad (NABDad): "I would never recommend quitting without another job lined up, even if you have enough savings. The blank time on your resume just looks bad unless you have one hell of a good explanation. A short time at a job is easier to explain as long as it doesn't appear to be part of a pattern." is_it_beer_30_yet (is_it_beer_30_yet): "Genuinely curious why blank time looks bad? If someone wanted to "work on personal projects" as the post you replied to mentioned is that seen negatively? \n \nAlso, if you are at a new job for a short time and it doesn't work out what is the best way to explain the short stint? \n \nedit: spelling"
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "You're bored, stressed, and under paid, tell me again why you want to keep this job???" OnlyReadsLiterally (OnlyReadsLiterally): "Because that describes almost every job?" SolomonGrumpy (SolomonGrumpy): "Bored OR stressed. Not both. Usually." WhistlingDead (WhistlingDead): "I would love a job where I'm bored. Boredom is so easy to solve. I don't get why some people pick stress over boredom." ThePancakeChair (ThePancakeChair): "I'm often bored at my job, and i was stressed when i was in school, but I'd rather go back to stress of school because once i learned how to manage it, it felt way more engaging and satisfying to be challenging myself than to be sitting at my desk with nothing to do. I think it might just be a matter of a "workaholic" or similar mindset (someone who likes to keep themselves externally busy and challenged)" WhistlingDead (WhistlingDead): "But that's the thing, if I'm bored, I can entertain myself. Read, write, whatever. Boredom is a void that can be easily filled. Stress on the other hand is overwhelming to me. It's harder to get rid of stress than of boredom. I don't get how people get bored to be honest." ThePancakeChair (ThePancakeChair): "I agree; I've held the same viewpoint most of my life. The past year or so, though, I've been finding myself to be bored here and there. I don't think I'm lacking same the imagination i had before; instead, i think I'm just now recognising the difference between keeping myself busy and keeping myself engaged. I can do things to keep myself busy no matter what, but if they don't feel ultimately fulfilling then i realise I'm still bored but just going through motions. Menial tasks are often this way, just going through motions. I think, though, that maybe in my own personal case, the change came with the introduction of smartphone and tablet usage, where I'm now conditioned to externally entertain myself at any given time, less inclined to use creativity and imagination of my own mind. Wow that sounds a bit trippy" WhistlingDead (WhistlingDead): "No, I get what you mean. I can spend two hours playing a videogame and feeling entertained, but afterwards I still feel empty. Or I can spend two hours writing 1000 words of fiction and afterwards I'll feel more productive and useful, even though during writing it's not as entertaining."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " ttoilleynnek (ttoilleynnek): "Seconding this. Moving jobs generally moves you up in pay much quicker than yearly raises will. When the new guys ask what the old guys are paying, always tell them a little more than what you're actually making. This is on the honor system and can not actually be verified." Amairch (Amairch): "That's bad advice. It's better to say "my current employer considers that information confidential but I'm looking for at least x" where x is a number or range of what you would accept for a job. Getting caught in a lie could get your offer pulled, and also what you were making before is none of their business. Just because they ask the question doesn't mean you need to answer it. " awall222 (awall222): "I've heard of places that check pay stubs and catch people doing this, even for six-figure salaries." Babycarrot_hammock (Babycarrot_hammock): "What shitty company makes you turn-in pay stubs before onboarding? It's not as if previous pay is remotely relevant, either." rreiter01 (rreiter01): "Besides if they think you're good enough for the position at that price, why would they care what you were paid before?" jkovach89 (jkovach89): "Why would you pay more than you need to. Paying what someone is worth is irrelevant if you know you can get them to move for 10% over their current salary." ParadoxDC (ParadoxDC): "Forcing someone else to show their cards prematurely in a negotiation, especially for this reason, is disgusting. I have never and will never disclose my current salary to a prospective employer. If they are the kind of place that demands it, I know they are trying to screw me and I'd walk away immediately. THIS IS HOW PEOPLE GET TRAPPED making roughly the same amount of money their entire life. Don't let it happen to you.\n\nI'm also disturbed that your tone suggests you are ok with this practice and that you think it's fair game." jkovach89 (jkovach89): "I'm not suggesting that at all, but from a managerial standpoint, paying as little as possible makes sense, assuming all other factors are the same."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " ttoilleynnek (ttoilleynnek): "Seconding this. Moving jobs generally moves you up in pay much quicker than yearly raises will. When the new guys ask what the old guys are paying, always tell them a little more than what you're actually making. This is on the honor system and can not actually be verified." Amairch (Amairch): "That's bad advice. It's better to say "my current employer considers that information confidential but I'm looking for at least x" where x is a number or range of what you would accept for a job. Getting caught in a lie could get your offer pulled, and also what you were making before is none of their business. Just because they ask the question doesn't mean you need to answer it. " notgoingtofuckthisup (notgoingtofuckthisup): "Saying your salary information is confidential is a lie, unless you were coming from a company not covered under the NLRA." Amairch (Amairch): "No it's not. I highly expect if you walked around your company asking coworkers what they made someone would tell you to knock it off. You're not saying that your company would sue you for revealing your salary or that they made you sign something saying you wouldn't reveal it, just that they consider it confidential. " mrgriscomredux (mrgriscomredux): "Whoever told you to knock it off would be breaking the law: http://www.govdocs.com/can-employees-discuss-pay-salaries/" Amairch (Amairch): "Depends. What if your coworkers complained? They can't prevent you from discussing working conditions and organizing but if your coworkers are uncomfortable with it then they could absolutely tell you to stop. Also, what if you went to HR and asked what your coworkers are making? They'd tell you it's confidential because it's personal information. Also, lots of employers consider their compensation structures to be confidential because it affects their bottom line.\n\nI also don't understand why all these semantic arguments are coming up. This is not a big deal, especially compared to a direct lie like inflating your salary. Lying about your salary can be directly verified. Lots of companies request pay stubs, or do background checks that use or return such information. Catching an employee lying before they even start working for you is a major red flag and employers can and will pull an offer for that. If you're that uncomfortable saying your employer considers it confidential information then just deflect the question. My only point was that, rather than getting drawn into an irrelevant conversation about what you're currently making or have previously made, answer the question that really matters: what salary are you looking for in this job." mrgriscomredux (mrgriscomredux): "I guess my point was trotting out "my previous company considers my salary confidential" as the reason for not disclosing it to your next company is also a lie. You could still disclose it if you wanted to; you just don't want to. So that's what I say instead of some weaselly excuse. If they demanded pay stubs, I'd walk (at least before I had an accepted offer)." Amairch (Amairch): "But the point is it's a lie only because the way you're saying it and the way you intend them to interpret it is different. Unlike lying about hard number, which can be directly verified. Salary is considered confidential because it's personal financial information. Whether or not your company would explicitly prevent you from telling an interviewer about it isn't really the point. It's like telling your friends your mom won't let you go somewhere when you're too embarrassed to say you don't want to go or are scared or something. \n\nIf you have the confidence to outright say "I won't tell you", that's fine. But if not, better to hide behind something like this than to tell a real lie and risk failing a background check or getting an offer rescinded because they asked you how much you make and you said 50k when you actually make 40.\n\nAlso note that immediately following that statement is a redirect to the important question. That's the important part of my statement. Get to that redirect however is most comfortable for you, but don't lie about something that can be easily verified."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "Ive been through this one. If you are unhappy just move on. Dont sit around there. The 20% more that you will make will help you make the 20% more the next time around. You will learn more and experience more by moving on. Have lots of jobs, get lots of experience and you will be a more well rounded person because of it. " radarksu (radarksu): "Wow, so tell me I'm crazy but I graduated college in 2005 with an engineering degree. I still work for the same company, 11 years single employer. I like my job, I make a decent wage, and I basically do what I want. \n\nCould I make more by "job hopping"?, yeah probably. But I also might be the 1st person to be laid off when the nest recession hits. \n\nI'll say this, in my 11 years I've seen many people leave my company only to come back. I only hope that they didn't get a significant raise for doing that move. I trust my boss isn't witholding my raise/wage in order to give someone who once left more money. " Amairch (Amairch): "Did they come back right away or over a year later? If the latter, you're definitely getting the short end of the stick and there's a 95% chance those boomerang employees are coming back for more money. Lots of companies will depress the salaries of their current employees but hire in new people at market rate. Going away and coming back might be an established way to get a substantial increase. You should look into that."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "You need to leave. \n\nI have 20 direct reports and they are broken down into 3 groups:\n\n* 2 or 3 people whom I would be lost without and would try to get them a matching raise\n\n* a huge chunk of people who are so-so but replaceable, but because hiring good people takes time, would tell them "I can't match it, however I really value you and would like you to stay"\n\n* 4 or 5 who I am desperate to get rid and would say "completely understand - when's your last day?"\n\nDoesn't mean you aren't a solid worker, you just aren't valued and there's nothing you can do to change that perception at this point.\n\nGood luck!" Amairch (Amairch): "Question: For the people in the middle, would you offer a smaller raise or nothing at all. If nothing at all then I think you'd probably lose them, wouldn't you? Or would you use this time to fill up your hiring pipeline and prepare for when they go?" Self: "The problem with giving even a small raise out of cycle (we do annual raises at my company) is that it depletes the pot of money that I have at my disposal at normal raise-giving time. And that money is scarce.\n\nSo if I have to give an out-of-cycle raise to retain a stellar employee I will, but if it's someone who is a mediocre performer and makes an above-average salary (I happen to have a lot of those folks working for me at the moment), now that I know they think they are worth more than I think they are, they really should move on because we are on different pages regarding what they are with, and this comment will either send that message or they will hang in there and not earn fantastic raises.\n\nBtw, OP's last edit indicates a very different scenario, where they were looking for an excuse to outsource. The manager may have even been relieved that it was one less person he had to lay off." Amairch (Amairch): "Ok, that makes sense. They're replaceable but you're not anxious to shoo them out the door."
User (wheezyFpuppy): "A cautionary tale for all those who read that getting a new offer is a good way of leveraging a raise at your current job - if you do this be prepared that you may have to walk away. \n\nI have been bored, mildly stressed, and grossly underpaid at my current job. I had been looking around at other jobs and submitting resumes, and recently was asked to interview at a position that paid 15-20% more than I currently make. As I went along the interview process I realized this new job would be more hours, less flexibility, and more stress. I figured worst case scenario they would make me an offer, I could use it at my (then) upcoming employee review to try and get a raise.\n\nWelp, I went into my review and told them of the offer, and they didn't attempt to counter. Boss basically said 'okay, when is your last day going to be?'. Now I am suffering from job buyers remorse, and don't think the extra money from the new job will be worth everything else that goes along with it. \n\nAlso totally screwed myself out of a hefty bonus. Maybe I should x-post to TIFU.\n\n\n\n\n\nEdit: obligatory 'this got way more attention than I thought it would.' I just want to add some context. \n\nOne - I did not go to my employer demanding a raise 'BECAUSE OFFER' like many assume, I was very brief in my original post and the actual conversation was far more civil than I implied, and a lot of the acceptance regret came after I agreed that leaving was best. (Change is terrifying amirite?)\n\nTwo - I am getting replaced by a outsourcing company in India which will cost my employer probably half of what they currently pay me in salary and other benefits. My boss ultimately looked at their bottom line and realized they had an opportunity to get someone to do my job at half the cost of my salary and benefits, without having to lay me off and pay unemployment. The more I think about this the more I realize this is exactly why I wanted to leave because its indicative of how they view their employees, I was just reallyyyyy dumb in how I went about it and jumped the gun. \n\nTL/DR Summary - Don't give your notice and reference a new job offer unless you're 100% willing to take new job. Duhhhhh.\n\n\nTHIRD EDIT: I want to add that I have never not been a model and hardworking employee, and had a good relationship with my boss. I am an international account coordinator, part of my job is sales and another part is coordinating projects around the globe to ensure my clients get what they want when they want it. I was naive and thought that this was un-outsourceable. (In hindsight, the signs were there. Other people who left were never replaced, or new projects were sent to 3rd party companies etc...) I thought I was that employee that would be indispensable, but I failed to consider how 'penny wise pound foolish' my employer could be, and that they ultimately would always put their bottom line ahead of relationships. Again this is a legitimate reason to leave a business as well as a good thing for me to get out ahead of it. I just should have not jumped on the opportunity with a new offer I wasn't sure about.\n\n" Self: "You're bored, stressed, and under paid, tell me again why you want to keep this job???" CerwinVegas55 (CerwinVegas55): "I'm bored, stressed, underpaid, overworked and constantly going away on business but the time off and the benefits are out of this world. If I typed them out for you, you would be flabbergasted. I have applied and interviewed for other jobs with 30% more pay, but I like only working 175 days a year. My time off is worth a lot more to me than what I make an hour. " ShinyTile (ShinyTile): "In that case, it sounds like you've got an almost reverse opportunity cost thing going on. Sounds good to me! " CerwinVegas55 (CerwinVegas55): "It sounds good to a lot of people I talk to. But the job feels like torture. I always joke to the new guys that they don't pay you to work there, they pay you to stay. And it's true. I have looked around and I choose to stay. It's just extremely taxing. I could have nicer cars and a bigger house and probably have a lake cottage and a boat and all the toys I want, but then I'd never have time to enjoy them. I love this sub and almost all of it's advice, but I am of the opinion that if you can live comfortably and can provide for your family and have fun doing it, then you might not need or even want a raise/promotion. Mo money mo problems. " eazolan (eazolan): ">I could have nicer cars and a bigger house and probably have a lake cottage and a boat and all the toys I want, but then I'd never have time to enjoy them.\n\nYou have 50% of the year off. How could you NOT have time to enjoy them?" SethB98 (SethB98): "Pretty sure its referring to how they could find a job that pays better, but would lose out on the time in doing so considering the vast majority of jobs that you could actually live on don't give you half the year off." eazolan (eazolan): "> have applied and interviewed for other jobs with 30% more pay, but I like only working 175 days a year.\n\nDoesn't look like it to me." SethB98 (SethB98): "Could have a different job, but he likes having half the year off. Seems pretty straightforward."
User (ultrafinitist): "From my understanding, a roth IRA allows one to invest post-tax income in a retirement account with no tax on the capital gains, but you can't withdraw until you're 65. \nIf one falls within the lower tax brackets, where long term (1 year+) capital gains are taxed at 0%, would it still make sense to invest in a Roth IRA? " Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Retirement Accounts](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_retirement_accounts) (articles on 401(k) plans, IRAs, and more)\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (ultrafinitist): "From my understanding, a roth IRA allows one to invest post-tax income in a retirement account with no tax on the capital gains, but you can't withdraw until you're 65. \nIf one falls within the lower tax brackets, where long term (1 year+) capital gains are taxed at 0%, would it still make sense to invest in a Roth IRA? " Self: "Yes, that's the best time to use a Roth IRA, because the money you put in there is taxed very little."
User (ultrafinitist): "From my understanding, a roth IRA allows one to invest post-tax income in a retirement account with no tax on the capital gains, but you can't withdraw until you're 65. \nIf one falls within the lower tax brackets, where long term (1 year+) capital gains are taxed at 0%, would it still make sense to invest in a Roth IRA? " Self: "The Roth is a long term investment. In the future do you expect to say in such a low tax bracket?" User (ultrafinitist): "Ah i see now, wasn't thinking long-long term XD. Though I suppose people who don't expect to leave a low tax bracket, it would be in their best interest to not invest in a Roth IRA? Given that socioeconomic mobility is difficult these days... " Self: "My personal belief it is is ideal to have both pre-tax and post-tax investments. That way, you can balance them each year to maximize you cash and minimize the tax you will owe.\n\nAlso, you can only put in 5500 a year (under age 55 I think), so you cant go back in time and add it if you wanted to, but can pull principle without penalty."
User (ultrafinitist): "From my understanding, a roth IRA allows one to invest post-tax income in a retirement account with no tax on the capital gains, but you can't withdraw until you're 65. \nIf one falls within the lower tax brackets, where long term (1 year+) capital gains are taxed at 0%, would it still make sense to invest in a Roth IRA? " Self: "> but you can't withdraw until you're 65\n\nClose. You can withdraw any time after 59.5 years old without penalty. You can withdraw the principal from a Roth IRA any time without penalty. You can withdraw the gains before you are 59.5 years old but there is a 10% penalty so you don't want to do that.\n\nA rollover Roth IRA is slightly different, you can't withdraw the principal without penalty for 5 years."
User (PizzaIsItsOwnReward): "I currently have two loan payments I make every month: one to my school and one to NAVIENT. \n \nSchool: 10% interest. $6,272.91 in principal remaining. \nNAVIENT: 3.4% (subsidized) interest. $6,599.89 in principal remaining. 6.8% (unsubsidized) interest. $11,231.45 in principal remaining. \n \nThe loan payments are roughly $375 per month. \n \nI'm not struggling and I make pretty good money; more than enough to pay my loans as it is. However, I'm always looking to improve my financial position. I've heard of loan consolidation. Since interest rates are low and my credit is much better than it was when I got the loans, I thought I'd take a try at it. \n \nMy questions are: (1) Should I do it? (2) If so, with whom? I've heard of companies like SoFi and others. I'd like /r/personafinance's opinion. \n \nThank you!" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Student Loans wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/studentloans)\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n- [What's the best way to pay down my debt?](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/debt#wiki_what.27s_the_best_way_to_pay_down_my_debt.3F)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (PizzaIsItsOwnReward): "I currently have two loan payments I make every month: one to my school and one to NAVIENT. \n \nSchool: 10% interest. $6,272.91 in principal remaining. \nNAVIENT: 3.4% (subsidized) interest. $6,599.89 in principal remaining. 6.8% (unsubsidized) interest. $11,231.45 in principal remaining. \n \nThe loan payments are roughly $375 per month. \n \nI'm not struggling and I make pretty good money; more than enough to pay my loans as it is. However, I'm always looking to improve my financial position. I've heard of loan consolidation. Since interest rates are low and my credit is much better than it was when I got the loans, I thought I'd take a try at it. \n \nMy questions are: (1) Should I do it? (2) If so, with whom? I've heard of companies like SoFi and others. I'd like /r/personafinance's opinion. \n \nThank you!" Self: ">NAVIENT: 3.4% (subsidized) interest. $6,599.89 in principal remaining. 6.8% (unsubsidized) interest. $11,231.45 in principal remaining. \n\nThese are Federal. Leave them the way they are.\n\n>School: 10% interest. $6,272.91 in principal remaining.\n\nRefinance this with another lender. Sofi, citizens bank, wells fargo, and a bunch of others all offer it. Apply all at once and pick the best rate offer." User (PizzaIsItsOwnReward): "Perfect. Thanks, /u/ANGR1ST!"
User (PizzaIsItsOwnReward): "I currently have two loan payments I make every month: one to my school and one to NAVIENT. \n \nSchool: 10% interest. $6,272.91 in principal remaining. \nNAVIENT: 3.4% (subsidized) interest. $6,599.89 in principal remaining. 6.8% (unsubsidized) interest. $11,231.45 in principal remaining. \n \nThe loan payments are roughly $375 per month. \n \nI'm not struggling and I make pretty good money; more than enough to pay my loans as it is. However, I'm always looking to improve my financial position. I've heard of loan consolidation. Since interest rates are low and my credit is much better than it was when I got the loans, I thought I'd take a try at it. \n \nMy questions are: (1) Should I do it? (2) If so, with whom? I've heard of companies like SoFi and others. I'd like /r/personafinance's opinion. \n \nThank you!" Self: "If you work for the government or a non-profit, or think you might in the near future, keep in mind that consolidation [can affect your eligibility for loan forgiveness.](https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service#eligible-loans) If this doesn't apply to you, then disregard. " User (PizzaIsItsOwnReward): "Thanks!"
User (PizzaIsItsOwnReward): "I currently have two loan payments I make every month: one to my school and one to NAVIENT. \n \nSchool: 10% interest. $6,272.91 in principal remaining. \nNAVIENT: 3.4% (subsidized) interest. $6,599.89 in principal remaining. 6.8% (unsubsidized) interest. $11,231.45 in principal remaining. \n \nThe loan payments are roughly $375 per month. \n \nI'm not struggling and I make pretty good money; more than enough to pay my loans as it is. However, I'm always looking to improve my financial position. I've heard of loan consolidation. Since interest rates are low and my credit is much better than it was when I got the loans, I thought I'd take a try at it. \n \nMy questions are: (1) Should I do it? (2) If so, with whom? I've heard of companies like SoFi and others. I'd like /r/personafinance's opinion. \n \nThank you!" Self: ">NAVIENT: 3.4% (subsidized) interest. $6,599.89 in principal remaining. 6.8% (unsubsidized) interest. $11,231.45 in principal remaining. \n\nThese are Federal. Leave them the way they are.\n\n>School: 10% interest. $6,272.91 in principal remaining.\n\nRefinance this with another lender. Sofi, citizens bank, wells fargo, and a bunch of others all offer it. Apply all at once and pick the best rate offer." Frictus (Frictus): "Why should the federal be left how they are? My loans look similar to theirs (apr % and amount) but i have 5. I was thinking of consolidating them into 1." Self: "Because there's no benefit. You'll still get one bill and make one payment for the 5 loans. (Or you just set up auto-pay and not worry about it anyway, we're not writing and mailing paper checks any more.)\n\nConsolidating in the Federal program will give you a balance weighted average interest rate, rounded up 1/8%. Which can hurt you a little bit. Then it removes the ability to avalanche the higher interest loans with extra payments.\n\nConsolidating out of the Federal program strips the flexible repayment options and isn't really worth it for a percent or 2 in interest."
User (please_gib_job): "I am thinking of going into personal shopping, maybe groceries and housewares. I am looking for anyone who is a personal shopper, whether independent or with a company, to give me a primer. \n\nNone of the companies I found service my area, so I want to start doing it independently. Any good tips on how to start up, what rates to charge, etc? Maybe any good websites with info?\n\nI tried searching the subreddit and wili, came up dry. If y'all know of an old thread or a subreddit like this, I'd appreciate any info. \n\n" Self: "Try /r/careeradvice maybe?"
User (please_gib_job): "I am thinking of going into personal shopping, maybe groceries and housewares. I am looking for anyone who is a personal shopper, whether independent or with a company, to give me a primer. \n\nNone of the companies I found service my area, so I want to start doing it independently. Any good tips on how to start up, what rates to charge, etc? Maybe any good websites with info?\n\nI tried searching the subreddit and wili, came up dry. If y'all know of an old thread or a subreddit like this, I'd appreciate any info. \n\n" Self: "What is a personal shopper?" adalida (adalida): "Someone who tells you what to buy, basically. \n\nNordstrom's has a complimentary personal shopping service that my mom used a lot when I was young. She would call a day or two ahead and tell them what she was shopping for and her sizes. We'd show up to the mall (lived half a day away from the nearest mall) and the dressing room would be full of stuff in her size, color, and style preferences that the personal shopper had pulled. \n\nThey also kinda hand-hold you through the buying process--tell you what colors look good together, what style shoes would look good with that length pant, etc.\n\nObviously, for things like groceries they'd probably just make a list and you'd go get the food; for things like furniture, you'd probably be more of a contractor-lite/interior designer.\n\nGenerally, personal shoppers work on commission. You wanna sell enough to make money, but you also wanna provide a valuable service that makes people happy to use you again and again, so screwing your customers isn't a great policy either."
User (bri25burton): "Hi r/personalfinance! First time poster here, long time lurker. I searched through this sub and on google and could not find the answer. I am to receive a signing bonus when I start my job with my first paycheck. I understand that typically this is taxed at 25%. What I am wondering is how this affects my income tax? Last summer as an intern I received a signing bonus and that messed with how I was taxed the rest of the pay periods. I was at a Big 4 Accounting Firm and was told that they prorate the income tax rate off your first pay check. This sounds wrong to me instinctively, but it was a Big 4... This equated to me getting over taxed during the summer and getting a larger return. In the end its a wash(time value of a few months), but I am trying to budget my monthly expenses and am trying to calculate my monthly revenue. Thanks!" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/41dew6)\n- [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes)\n- [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates)\n- [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (bri25burton): "Hi r/personalfinance! First time poster here, long time lurker. I searched through this sub and on google and could not find the answer. I am to receive a signing bonus when I start my job with my first paycheck. I understand that typically this is taxed at 25%. What I am wondering is how this affects my income tax? Last summer as an intern I received a signing bonus and that messed with how I was taxed the rest of the pay periods. I was at a Big 4 Accounting Firm and was told that they prorate the income tax rate off your first pay check. This sounds wrong to me instinctively, but it was a Big 4... This equated to me getting over taxed during the summer and getting a larger return. In the end its a wash(time value of a few months), but I am trying to budget my monthly expenses and am trying to calculate my monthly revenue. Thanks!" Self: "> ... they prorate the income tax rate off your first pay check ...\n\nIf you mean that later paychecks have withholding that is somehow related to your first paycheck, that's not the way it works. \n\nWithholding for bonuses might be a flat 25%. But there is another method also sometimes used, described here: http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/income-and-investments/bonus-time-how-bonuses-are-taxed-and-treated-by-the-irs-8003/\n\nWithholding on other checks looks at the gross of the check, and extrapolates that as if you earn that much all year. So the fact that your first paycheck might have more than typical withholding will not affect later paychecks.\n\nAt your internship, if you just worked during the summer, it's possible too much withholding was taken out, because tax on someone working 12 months is more than 4 times the tax on someone working 3 months. That might explain why you got a refund. "
User (bri25burton): "Hi r/personalfinance! First time poster here, long time lurker. I searched through this sub and on google and could not find the answer. I am to receive a signing bonus when I start my job with my first paycheck. I understand that typically this is taxed at 25%. What I am wondering is how this affects my income tax? Last summer as an intern I received a signing bonus and that messed with how I was taxed the rest of the pay periods. I was at a Big 4 Accounting Firm and was told that they prorate the income tax rate off your first pay check. This sounds wrong to me instinctively, but it was a Big 4... This equated to me getting over taxed during the summer and getting a larger return. In the end its a wash(time value of a few months), but I am trying to budget my monthly expenses and am trying to calculate my monthly revenue. Thanks!" Self: "Like a lot of people on this sub, you are confusing tax withholding with tax owed. These two things have very little to do with each other.\n\nAt the end of a year, it is possible to calculate tax owed for the year. Income is one of the main factors in determining how much tax is owed.\n\nHowever, Uncle Sam won't wait until the end of the year to collect owed tax. Uncle Sam instead insists on collecting an estimated amount of tax from each of your paychecks. Your employer has no leeway in determining this amount; the amounts are fixed by law. Most employers use a computer to know how much tax to withhold from each paycheck, because consulting the paper tax tables is extremely complicated and confusing. It's confusing enough that another commenter's casual comment:\n\n>If you mean that later paychecks have withholding that is somehow related to your first paycheck, that's not the way it works.\n\nis simply not always an accurate statement. It actually sort of is how it works, in some circumstances, in the sense that using the withholding tables correctly means you are taking into account a process which is intended to estimate full-year income.\n\nYou, on the other hand, have a small say in the matter of how much tax is withheld, via the number of exemptions and the filing status (married filing joint, single, head of household, etc), both of which are elected by you giving form W-4 to your employer. You may submit a new form W-4 any time.\n\nAt the end of the year, you or your tax preparer will prepare and file Form 1040. The actual amount of tax owed will be compared to the actual amount of tax withheld for the whole year. If you wind up owing Uncle Sam tax at the end of the year for two years in a row, you will be liable for penalties and interest at the end of the second year and all subsequent tax-owed years."
User (Pepsiman34): "Today in the mail I got a check for the amount of $175.46 from Rust Consulting saying I once had HSBC's CreditKeeper which I don't ever remember even signing up for." Self: "Googles seems legit. Cash it. If it's a scam, somebody'll ask you for money back and you can say no." User (Pepsiman34): "I'm sure its legit but like I said don't remember using this CreditKeeper. I know a few years ago I would get something in the mail that would show my credit score but haven't gotten on in some time now." Self: "Somebody at the bank might've signed you up and you forgot about it. According to Google, looks like the service was discontinued in 2012, but HSBC was ordered recently to pay former users restitution for bad billing practices they engaged in. Grats on the free money."
User (Pepsiman34): "Today in the mail I got a check for the amount of $175.46 from Rust Consulting saying I once had HSBC's CreditKeeper which I don't ever remember even signing up for." Self: "Rust is legit. You were probably a class member of a class action you didn't know about."
User (Pepsiman34): "Today in the mail I got a check for the amount of $175.46 from Rust Consulting saying I once had HSBC's CreditKeeper which I don't ever remember even signing up for." Self: "Googles seems legit. Cash it. If it's a scam, somebody'll ask you for money back and you can say no." User (Pepsiman34): "I'm sure its legit but like I said don't remember using this CreditKeeper. I know a few years ago I would get something in the mail that would show my credit score but haven't gotten on in some time now." TheSamZzz (TheSamZzz): "If you ever had a loan or credit card account with them, they likely had this CreditKeeper service attached to your account even though you may have been unaware. I've gotten three different checks from Rust Consulting over the past three years because we had a mortgage through HSBC that was later discharged in bankruptcy following a voluntary repossession - gotta love how the economy tanked in 2009, eh? \n\nI have since rebuilt my credit and a few of the credit cards I have include a credit watch service or report my credit score to me on a monthly basis. I could opt out if I wanted to, but I don't since for my cards, at least, it's free. According to the settlement info I was able to find, HSBC was billing people for CreditKeeper but not providing any of the actual services to them. I'd suspect it was added to your account and you were being billed but didn't notice anything different because you weren't getting a service from it and it was probably hidden in with your other fees or deducted from your account unceremoniously. Apparently HSBC was doing a lot of shady things back in the 2009-2012 period. "
User (mightbedylan): "Hello everyone, thanks much for taking the time to read this.\n\nMy pretty-decent paying internship is coming to a sudden end. I thought I had until the end up this month but somewhere along the line I got some info wrong, and it turns out its ending next week. I've been applying for jobs like crazy and have a few prospects that seem very very very likely, but the hiring process will take a few weeks and I likely won't see a paycheck from a new job for at least a month and a half. Considering the holidays coming up I assume many places won't be doing much hiring until the start of next year, so that pushes things out even further.\n\nI recently purchased a car and have $350/month payments on it plus insurance, phone bill, and some medical bills.\n\nOn top of this I am currently living with my mom in small town no where and am definitely going to have to move for any feasible job I've applied for, and that's going to be a large upfront cost.\n\nRecent emergency events in my life have drained my finances, and even this last paycycle at my internship has been nearly cut in half by holidays and being very sick.\n\nSo for this next month It's looking like I'm not going to be able to cover most of the bills, and I'm not sure the best way to handle it. I know it's largely due to bad planning, I should have been applying for jobs last month, but anxiety and depression have gotten the best of me.\n\nI really just need a way to manage maybe the next 2 months of bills, and I've been considering getting a personal loan for about $2,500 just to make entirely sure I can cover everything. I have very good credit so I know I could get a decent loan with good rates, but I'm wondering how effective it will be in the long run, or if there are any other options I might look into?\n\nI have a handful of freelance type work that comes and goes that provides a small bit of income, but not nearly enough to cover all the upcoming problems. Under my regular paycheck it all would have been no problem but having such a big gap between paydays is going to be difficult.\n\nSo what would be my best move here? Should I tackle a personal loan or seek other options?" Self: "I wouldn't go further into debt with a personal loan without a source of income to pay it back. I'd advise finding a job ASAP. Unfortunately at the end of the year most companies are closing their books and not hiring anyone. They probably won't begin hiring next year until around March or April once the budgets are formalized and spending and payroll is approved. The next few months might be difficult. Hopefully you can sell off that car and get out from under that monthly payment." User (mightbedylan): "Well like I said I'm extremely confident about these jobs. Its not a matter of finding work, just making it until pay gets steady again. At least one of the jobs could start me pretty immediately, just pay wouldn't come for a month or so. \n\nAny of these perspective jobs I could pay back a loan in 2 or 3 paychecks. \n\nSelling the car is definitely not an option either. "
User (mightbedylan): "Hello everyone, thanks much for taking the time to read this.\n\nMy pretty-decent paying internship is coming to a sudden end. I thought I had until the end up this month but somewhere along the line I got some info wrong, and it turns out its ending next week. I've been applying for jobs like crazy and have a few prospects that seem very very very likely, but the hiring process will take a few weeks and I likely won't see a paycheck from a new job for at least a month and a half. Considering the holidays coming up I assume many places won't be doing much hiring until the start of next year, so that pushes things out even further.\n\nI recently purchased a car and have $350/month payments on it plus insurance, phone bill, and some medical bills.\n\nOn top of this I am currently living with my mom in small town no where and am definitely going to have to move for any feasible job I've applied for, and that's going to be a large upfront cost.\n\nRecent emergency events in my life have drained my finances, and even this last paycycle at my internship has been nearly cut in half by holidays and being very sick.\n\nSo for this next month It's looking like I'm not going to be able to cover most of the bills, and I'm not sure the best way to handle it. I know it's largely due to bad planning, I should have been applying for jobs last month, but anxiety and depression have gotten the best of me.\n\nI really just need a way to manage maybe the next 2 months of bills, and I've been considering getting a personal loan for about $2,500 just to make entirely sure I can cover everything. I have very good credit so I know I could get a decent loan with good rates, but I'm wondering how effective it will be in the long run, or if there are any other options I might look into?\n\nI have a handful of freelance type work that comes and goes that provides a small bit of income, but not nearly enough to cover all the upcoming problems. Under my regular paycheck it all would have been no problem but having such a big gap between paydays is going to be difficult.\n\nSo what would be my best move here? Should I tackle a personal loan or seek other options?" Self: "While you're looking for a new job, most retail places will be hiring seasonal help right now. One caveat is that you'll likely be expected to work at least Christmas Eve if not Christmas as well.\n\nETA: If you've ever waited tables, holidays usually mean good tips, and you can start taking home cash as soon as you're out of training. Even if you haven't waited tables, you may find a place willing to train. " User (mightbedylan): "Hm I hadn't considered waiting before but I do enjoy customer service. Might be a good option for immediate relief. "
User (mightbedylan): "Hello everyone, thanks much for taking the time to read this.\n\nMy pretty-decent paying internship is coming to a sudden end. I thought I had until the end up this month but somewhere along the line I got some info wrong, and it turns out its ending next week. I've been applying for jobs like crazy and have a few prospects that seem very very very likely, but the hiring process will take a few weeks and I likely won't see a paycheck from a new job for at least a month and a half. Considering the holidays coming up I assume many places won't be doing much hiring until the start of next year, so that pushes things out even further.\n\nI recently purchased a car and have $350/month payments on it plus insurance, phone bill, and some medical bills.\n\nOn top of this I am currently living with my mom in small town no where and am definitely going to have to move for any feasible job I've applied for, and that's going to be a large upfront cost.\n\nRecent emergency events in my life have drained my finances, and even this last paycycle at my internship has been nearly cut in half by holidays and being very sick.\n\nSo for this next month It's looking like I'm not going to be able to cover most of the bills, and I'm not sure the best way to handle it. I know it's largely due to bad planning, I should have been applying for jobs last month, but anxiety and depression have gotten the best of me.\n\nI really just need a way to manage maybe the next 2 months of bills, and I've been considering getting a personal loan for about $2,500 just to make entirely sure I can cover everything. I have very good credit so I know I could get a decent loan with good rates, but I'm wondering how effective it will be in the long run, or if there are any other options I might look into?\n\nI have a handful of freelance type work that comes and goes that provides a small bit of income, but not nearly enough to cover all the upcoming problems. Under my regular paycheck it all would have been no problem but having such a big gap between paydays is going to be difficult.\n\nSo what would be my best move here? Should I tackle a personal loan or seek other options?" Self: "While it doesn't directly answer your question, my advice would be cut every expense that you can. Don't spend any money unless you absolutely need to. Could you defer the medical payments for a few months? Could you cut your cell phone plan or downgrade it? If you're living with your parents your expenses should be relatively low, see what you can mooch off them maybe? Also it might be better to get a loan from them than the bank.\n\nAnd look for temp work while you work on getting your full time job. As others have said, retail is an option. Maybe look into fast food? You won't make much money from these but it might be enough to help you stay afloat." User (mightbedylan): "Cell phone payments are pretty low, part of a family plan and my dad can cover those in an emergency. How do you look into deferring payments? \n\nAs for asking family for money, I'd be dreaming for my mom to ever spot me more than a few bucks. I loan her money more often then not. As for living with mom I could but she just lives in such small town there really isn't much, barely any fast food. My most likely jobs are in the town I went to college in and Im certain I could find a friend to stay with, although living totally rent free would make me feel very bad.. But I suppose it's an option. Just put off getting my own place for as long as I can " Self: "For deferring payments, just call whoever it is you owe the money to. Hospitals tend to be understanding with not being able to make full payments from what I've heard, plus the worst they can say if you ask to lower or defer payments would be no.\n\nMaybe see if you could stay with a friend and pay low rent? That way you'd keep expenses low and still be somewhere that you could work. \n\nWhen you do find a full time job, since you said you'd have to move to work there, ask if they'd pay your relocation costs. It probably depends on the work you'd be doing, but I've had friends where the company paid their moving costs to move across the country. "
User (mightbedylan): "Hello everyone, thanks much for taking the time to read this.\n\nMy pretty-decent paying internship is coming to a sudden end. I thought I had until the end up this month but somewhere along the line I got some info wrong, and it turns out its ending next week. I've been applying for jobs like crazy and have a few prospects that seem very very very likely, but the hiring process will take a few weeks and I likely won't see a paycheck from a new job for at least a month and a half. Considering the holidays coming up I assume many places won't be doing much hiring until the start of next year, so that pushes things out even further.\n\nI recently purchased a car and have $350/month payments on it plus insurance, phone bill, and some medical bills.\n\nOn top of this I am currently living with my mom in small town no where and am definitely going to have to move for any feasible job I've applied for, and that's going to be a large upfront cost.\n\nRecent emergency events in my life have drained my finances, and even this last paycycle at my internship has been nearly cut in half by holidays and being very sick.\n\nSo for this next month It's looking like I'm not going to be able to cover most of the bills, and I'm not sure the best way to handle it. I know it's largely due to bad planning, I should have been applying for jobs last month, but anxiety and depression have gotten the best of me.\n\nI really just need a way to manage maybe the next 2 months of bills, and I've been considering getting a personal loan for about $2,500 just to make entirely sure I can cover everything. I have very good credit so I know I could get a decent loan with good rates, but I'm wondering how effective it will be in the long run, or if there are any other options I might look into?\n\nI have a handful of freelance type work that comes and goes that provides a small bit of income, but not nearly enough to cover all the upcoming problems. Under my regular paycheck it all would have been no problem but having such a big gap between paydays is going to be difficult.\n\nSo what would be my best move here? Should I tackle a personal loan or seek other options?" Self: "Bend over. Grip tight." User (mightbedylan): "Thanks friend "
User (questionregardingfin): "I had just turned 17 when my father passed away and I never concerned myself with the financial aspect - just wanted to move on with life really. Recently I've been wondering if I should have inherited anything? My mother never married my father and is seemingly living off whatever funds came about from my father's passing. I think she also plans on selling the family house soon. I have no issue with this and I'm in no immediate need of money, I just want to know if I should or will ever inherit anything, whether that be money, property, or possessions? As far as I'm aware, he never had a will. This is not something I want to discuss with my mother - at least not right now. " Self: "Depends on if you think your mother got money for your inheritance and acted as trustee to your assets. If your father and mother lived together as a common law couple then she would most likely have managed those funds for herself and by extension you. But if your parents were not in a relationship, your father died and then mom was supposed to use money for you and grant it to you upon the age of 18 then she's be liable for fraud if she used your inheritance for herself. Can you give a few more details about their living arrangement? Was there a will? Were there any lawyers involved? Did your dad have any other kids?" User (questionregardingfin): "I just dropped out of uni and so I'm living at home right now. As far as I'm aware, there was no will. No lawyers involved. I have two older brothers. I've never received any money, at the time or since. As far as I'm aware, my mother is living off it, whilst paying off the mortgage etc. " Self: "If your brothers didn't get any money either then it is likely the money was left to her, which is pretty common in marriage/relationships. The money they (mom and dad) put together and worked for/saved is meant to take care of your mother then. I would just go forward not expecting any money and hoping that mom can live off of those assets for the foreseeable future. "
User (ICameForTheShine): "I saw a post yesterday that someone was using a rewards credit card to pay off their student loan debt. They said they made around $50,000 a year, and had about $35,000 in student loan debt which is very similar to my current situation. The problem is I'm pretty sure they deleted their post and now I can't get in touch with them to ask some questions about how they did this. Does anyone know if/how this can be done? Thank you." Self: "Your loan provider might not accept credit card payments. If they do, there may an additional processing fee that is higher than the reward. If not, then go for it and get some cash back."
User (ICameForTheShine): "I saw a post yesterday that someone was using a rewards credit card to pay off their student loan debt. They said they made around $50,000 a year, and had about $35,000 in student loan debt which is very similar to my current situation. The problem is I'm pretty sure they deleted their post and now I can't get in touch with them to ask some questions about how they did this. Does anyone know if/how this can be done? Thank you." Self: "I would carefully check whether this kind of payment is considered a "cash advance" and if it is...you will spending way more than you think...there is no savings"
User (ICameForTheShine): "I saw a post yesterday that someone was using a rewards credit card to pay off their student loan debt. They said they made around $50,000 a year, and had about $35,000 in student loan debt which is very similar to my current situation. The problem is I'm pretty sure they deleted their post and now I can't get in touch with them to ask some questions about how they did this. Does anyone know if/how this can be done? Thank you." Self: "This depends on your lender. GreatLakes allows you to pay with a credit card via phone. Unsure of any others that do as well." Litterboxer1 (Litterboxer1): "This is great (haha) info, thanks. Let's say you get 2% cash back... that's good, but how does it compare to the 0.25% interest rate reduction you get on Direct loans when you use their autopay?\nEssentially is that 0.25% interest rate reduction just equal to 0.25% cash back, or could it somehow be much greater in the long-term?" Self: "I guess that would probably depend on how big your loans are." Litterboxer1 (Litterboxer1): "Ok, that's what I was figuring... Thanks!"
User (ICameForTheShine): "I saw a post yesterday that someone was using a rewards credit card to pay off their student loan debt. They said they made around $50,000 a year, and had about $35,000 in student loan debt which is very similar to my current situation. The problem is I'm pretty sure they deleted their post and now I can't get in touch with them to ask some questions about how they did this. Does anyone know if/how this can be done? Thank you." Self: "Navient will let you make CC payments over the phone, but they don't take every kind of card for every kind of loan. I called about this the other day, and the woman I spoke to said federal loans can only be paid with Visa/Mastercard while Department of Education loans can be paid with Visa/Mastercard/AMEX/Discover. You can only make CC payments over the phone."
User (JamisTour13): "How can I file my taxes from 2015? \n\nI have all the info (w2's 1099's) but I started to on Turbo Tax in April, but was missing a 1099 from a previous employer. I got it in Otober and am too late. Turbo Tax wants to only file for 2016 now.\n\nAgain, I'm younger and on my own, and have no idea what I'm doing. \n\nEDIT: Currently on hold with IRS trying to figure out what to do. " Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Tax Software Megathread](http://redd.it/41dew6)\n- [Taxes wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes)\n- [Understanding tax brackets](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes#wiki_eli5.3A_taxable_income.2C_tax_brackets.2C_marginal_tax_rates)\n- [W-4 IRS Withholding Calculator](http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (JamisTour13): "How can I file my taxes from 2015? \n\nI have all the info (w2's 1099's) but I started to on Turbo Tax in April, but was missing a 1099 from a previous employer. I got it in Otober and am too late. Turbo Tax wants to only file for 2016 now.\n\nAgain, I'm younger and on my own, and have no idea what I'm doing. \n\nEDIT: Currently on hold with IRS trying to figure out what to do. " Self: "You have to file by mail after mid October. \n\nCan you print out your results from Turbo Tax and send it in?\n\nHere are steps if you're using TT online: \n\nhttps://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1944348-how-do-i-file-a-paper-mailed-return-in-turbotax-online"
User (JamisTour13): "How can I file my taxes from 2015? \n\nI have all the info (w2's 1099's) but I started to on Turbo Tax in April, but was missing a 1099 from a previous employer. I got it in Otober and am too late. Turbo Tax wants to only file for 2016 now.\n\nAgain, I'm younger and on my own, and have no idea what I'm doing. \n\nEDIT: Currently on hold with IRS trying to figure out what to do. " Self: "So TurboTax hasnt gone live for 2016 until yesterday I believe. You wont be able to file until January if I remember correctly. But once that happens you can start your TY16 taxes and it will ask you if you filed in TY15 and should be able to help you out. You may still have to file your TY15 taxes with a tax expert. \n\nI know people that didnt do taxes for multiple years and it wasn't too bad to file those taxes. I hope this helps. Good Luck. " User (JamisTour13): "what are the repercussions of that anyways? " Maccin15 (Maccin15): "If the government owes you money then there are no repercussions, and they pay you what you're owed. I can't speak to what happens if you owe though. Source - didn't file taxes for 3 years. Did all 4 at once the next year and ended up with like $5,000. That was as a 24 year old making $9-14/hour during those 3 prior years I didn't file. I can't even recall a late fee, but I'm not positive on that." User (JamisTour13): "Except as far as I can tell...I will owe. " Boblow_Jihobey (Boblow_Jihobey): "If you will owe, they will assess fee and interest and send you a bill above and beyond what you originally owed. You can call and work with them at that point to hopefully lower it a bit. Best advice I can give here. Do it sooner than later, it only gets worse when it comes to owing the IRS money."
User (JamisTour13): "How can I file my taxes from 2015? \n\nI have all the info (w2's 1099's) but I started to on Turbo Tax in April, but was missing a 1099 from a previous employer. I got it in Otober and am too late. Turbo Tax wants to only file for 2016 now.\n\nAgain, I'm younger and on my own, and have no idea what I'm doing. \n\nEDIT: Currently on hold with IRS trying to figure out what to do. " Self: "So TurboTax hasnt gone live for 2016 until yesterday I believe. You wont be able to file until January if I remember correctly. But once that happens you can start your TY16 taxes and it will ask you if you filed in TY15 and should be able to help you out. You may still have to file your TY15 taxes with a tax expert. \n\nI know people that didnt do taxes for multiple years and it wasn't too bad to file those taxes. I hope this helps. Good Luck. " User (JamisTour13): "what are the repercussions of that anyways? " Maccin15 (Maccin15): "If the government owes you money then there are no repercussions, and they pay you what you're owed. I can't speak to what happens if you owe though. Source - didn't file taxes for 3 years. Did all 4 at once the next year and ended up with like $5,000. That was as a 24 year old making $9-14/hour during those 3 prior years I didn't file. I can't even recall a late fee, but I'm not positive on that." User (JamisTour13): "Except as far as I can tell...I will owe. " Self: "Definitely do it sooner. Not sure what state you are in but in California they can start garnishing your wages earned. But I saw that for a case where the lady didn't file for 7 years and owed. " User (JamisTour13): "Ha! Good luck with that! I lost my job from the hurricane and haven't gotten lucky yet :/" Self: "Hang in there. You will get through it. I'm sorry that happened to you" User (JamisTour13): "Got the call today! I AM EMPLOYED! "
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Retirement Accounts](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_retirement_accounts) (articles on 401(k) plans, IRAs, and more)\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "I wouldn't change jobs just to get a 401k. However, I would change jobs so I wasn't working for the exact same company as my wife. Not because I don't enjoy spending time with her, but because I wouldn't feel comfortable with my entire family's source of income coming from one company. It's all about diversification, right? As far as stocks or mutual funds go, mutual funds tend to be less volatile than stocks because they're a diversified group of stocks. One stock in the fund could go down and the other nine would still prop up the fund. However, if you only hold one or two stocks you're sunk if one loses." User (L2adult): "That's a really good point and something we have considered. "
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "I wouldn't change jobs just to get a 401k. However, I would change jobs so I wasn't working for the exact same company as my wife. Not because I don't enjoy spending time with her, but because I wouldn't feel comfortable with my entire family's source of income coming from one company. It's all about diversification, right? As far as stocks or mutual funds go, mutual funds tend to be less volatile than stocks because they're a diversified group of stocks. One stock in the fund could go down and the other nine would still prop up the fund. However, if you only hold one or two stocks you're sunk if one loses." Psycik99 (Psycik99): "Came here to say just that. Especially if it is a small business. "
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "I wouldn't change jobs just to get a 401k. However, I would change jobs so I wasn't working for the exact same company as my wife. Not because I don't enjoy spending time with her, but because I wouldn't feel comfortable with my entire family's source of income coming from one company. It's all about diversification, right? As far as stocks or mutual funds go, mutual funds tend to be less volatile than stocks because they're a diversified group of stocks. One stock in the fund could go down and the other nine would still prop up the fund. However, if you only hold one or two stocks you're sunk if one loses." AlphaDomain (AlphaDomain): "If they have enough of a buffer I dont see a problem. I think it's cute and could make work and life higher quality. Somethings you can't put a price tag on, this could be one of the those things for them. " Self: "The problem is there is a greater potential for both of them to lose their job at the same time than if they worked at two different companies."
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "I wouldn't change jobs just to get a 401k. However, I would change jobs so I wasn't working for the exact same company as my wife. Not because I don't enjoy spending time with her, but because I wouldn't feel comfortable with my entire family's source of income coming from one company. It's all about diversification, right? As far as stocks or mutual funds go, mutual funds tend to be less volatile than stocks because they're a diversified group of stocks. One stock in the fund could go down and the other nine would still prop up the fund. However, if you only hold one or two stocks you're sunk if one loses." AlphaDomain (AlphaDomain): "If they have enough of a buffer I dont see a problem. I think it's cute and could make work and life higher quality. Somethings you can't put a price tag on, this could be one of the those things for them. " User (L2adult): "Thanks! We ultimately want to own our own business together. Took this on for experience together and job security while we save. It might be a small business but has been around for 40+ years. "
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "You don't need to change jobs to open various accounts.\n\nIf I were you I would go to Vanguard.com, register for a Roth IRA (contribute maximum every year till retirement) Also register for a brokerage account. You need to be a citizen with a valid Social Security Number to do this.\n\nMake your initial investment of $3,000 into the VFINX fund. Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares (VFINX). It has an expense ratio of 0.16% Every month from here on out until you retire contribute $1,000 if you can, or as close to it as you can. This will work with Dollar Cost Averaging and as an example let's say $1,000 = 10 Shares at $100 a share. You still buy $1,000 worth when it's $200 a share, that equals 5 Shares, You buy $1,000 worth when it's $100 a Share, that equals 10 Shares, and you buy $1,000 worth when it is $50 a share and that equals 20 Shares. When you average this all together for the "Dollar Cost" You have 35 Shares that you paid $3,000 for. So, when the price of the shares is at is normal rate, you would have paid $3,000 for 35 shares, which is now worth 3,500 total when the shares are at the average price.\n\nIf you have the extra money, invest in the Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX) $10,000 minimum and it has an expense ratio of 0.05% and still contribute $1,000 a month. If you did this for 22 years, (Still a good age to retire at) You will (with history showing the average return of at least 10% for the S&P over a good period of time) "Investopedia. According to historical records, the average annual return for the S&P 500 since its inception in 1928 through 2014 is approximately 10%. However, that number can be very misleading."\n\n\nIf you do not believe the math, go to http://www.helpfulcalculators.com/compound-interest-calculator and enter your principal of $3,000 or $10,000 (depending on the fund you choose), Monthly deposits of $1,000, Return rate of 10%, and Years 22 or 23.\n\n22 Years:\n\nFinal Balance: $980,003\nTotal Deposits: $264,000\nTotal Interest: $713,003\n\n23 Years:\n\nFinal Balance: $1,095,188\nTotal Deposits: $276,000\nTotal Interest: $816,188\n\nFinal Notes: With your income, you should be able to give up $12k a year that goes to your S&P 500 fund. If you can't, you need to change your life style now so you can live lavishly later. Work on other forms of passive income as well to help with your retirement providing you with assets and other forms of valuable items.\n\nAlso I'm not responsible if the market crashes and you lose all your money, but the S&P is generally a safe fund that is diversified and it did not lose that much on the theoretical "if you invest 10k today" back in 2008.\n\nGood luck, I hope things work out for you and your family." User (L2adult): "Wow, thank you! This is what I was looking for. I'll look into all of the above. Since I made this post I found out one of my cousins is a financial advisor and is willing to talk to me on his own time and give us some advice. I'll ask about all of your suggestions! "
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "A small business? Can you talk to the owner about providing retirement savings options to you, their valuable employees? It doesn't have to be a 401k, small companies also have the option to create [SIMPLE IRAs](https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/choosing-a-retirement-plan-simple-ira-plan) for all their employees (and the boss(es)). Costs are low, tax benefits can be substantial, also for the boss(es) themselves.\n\nBy all means, put in $5500 per person into an IRA for 2016 and fill up the $5500 limit for 2017 starting in January. By the way, choose a company for your IRA with good investment options and low fees. Vanguard comes to mind. Fidelity and Charles Schwab possibly have good options too.\n\nFinally: good that you're starting now. You still have a decent chance of saving up for retirement. " User (L2adult): "Thank you. A little worried that we are starting late but hopefully we can get this changed around and start contributing to our retirement! " Self: "Sure you can. You have to work on it, and you have to have a little bit of luck, too (stay employed etc), so no sitting back and relaxing, but if you start now, you can build a very decent retirement account. "
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "A small business? Can you talk to the owner about providing retirement savings options to you, their valuable employees? It doesn't have to be a 401k, small companies also have the option to create [SIMPLE IRAs](https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/choosing-a-retirement-plan-simple-ira-plan) for all their employees (and the boss(es)). Costs are low, tax benefits can be substantial, also for the boss(es) themselves.\n\nBy all means, put in $5500 per person into an IRA for 2016 and fill up the $5500 limit for 2017 starting in January. By the way, choose a company for your IRA with good investment options and low fees. Vanguard comes to mind. Fidelity and Charles Schwab possibly have good options too.\n\nFinally: good that you're starting now. You still have a decent chance of saving up for retirement. " User (L2adult): "Thank you. A little worried that we are starting late but hopefully we can get this changed around and start contributing to our retirement! " Self: "You have to work on it, and you have to have a little bit of luck, too (stay employed etc), so no sitting back and relaxing, but if you start now, you can build a very decent retirement account. So good luck & do it !! "
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "You can each contribute to an IRA, which is a start at $11k.\n\nNot sure how you're fixed for health coverage, but if you get a high deductible health plan you can get an HSA. For HSAs the contribution limit for single coverage is $3,450 and for family coverage is $6,750 (the family max applies to both of you once married, but if you set up two HSAs it's split between you). HSAs are designed to be used for medical expenses, but the contributions are tax deductible, the assets can be invested, and you can take them out tax-free at age 65 whether you have medical expenses or not. There are some tips to using HSAs for retirement planning, if you look around.\n\nNot sure how large or sophisticated your employer is but you can straight up ask if they are willing to sponsor a retirement plan. They don't have to be very expensive or complicated. There are various options like safe harbor 401(k), SIMPLE 401(k), SIMPLE IRA. If your employer sponsors a plan, that may affect your personal IRA contribution limits." User (L2adult): "Thanks! I will look into HSA's. We currently have healthcare through our employer. I pay about $235/mo (female) and my fiancé pays less but I'm not sure exactly what he pays. HSA might be more expensive but the benefits sounds promising.\n\nI'll definitely ask if they are willing to look into a SEP or SIMPLE." Self: "If you're healthy, HSA is usually the cheapest option. You would realistically need your employer to offer high-deductible health plan (HDHP) coverage. Without HDHP, you can't use an HSA. HDHPs are typically the lowest premiums and the least generous health coverage."
User (L2adult): "I will be turning 30 in February and my fiancé will be turning 29 in January. We both work together at a small business that does not offer 401Ks and we have been negligent in planning for our future - hoping to change that around.\n\nFinancial Breakdown: Up to this point we have had a household income of $95K but we both just received raises and will have a household income of $130K next year. \n\nWe have $5K saved in our emergency fund and $20K saved for a down payment on a house. We plan on growing that to $40K over the next 18-24months. \n\nOur only debt is about $7500 on a car loan that we should have paid off next month (using our annual bonuses). Our other car is paid for. No student loans, no mortgage and no credit card debt. Also, we do not have kids nor are we planning on having any in the future.\n\nHere is where I need help: Our plan is to open up Roth IRA accounts ASAP but you can only contribute $5500/yr which does not seem like enough to retire on. What are other ways we can invest/save for retirement? \n\nIs it worth a career change to have a 401(k)?\n\nShould we be investing in mutual funds or ETFs or stocks?\n \nAs you can probably tell, I’m lacking knowledge in this field. I don’t really know where to start. Any advice would be greatly appreciated or recommendations on podcasts, books, etc. to learn more about investing and planning for retirement. \n" Self: "You don't need to change jobs to open various accounts.\n\nIf I were you I would go to Vanguard.com, register for a Roth IRA (contribute maximum every year till retirement) Also register for a brokerage account. You need to be a citizen with a valid Social Security Number to do this.\n\nMake your initial investment of $3,000 into the VFINX fund. Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares (VFINX). It has an expense ratio of 0.16% Every month from here on out until you retire contribute $1,000 if you can, or as close to it as you can. This will work with Dollar Cost Averaging and as an example let's say $1,000 = 10 Shares at $100 a share. You still buy $1,000 worth when it's $200 a share, that equals 5 Shares, You buy $1,000 worth when it's $100 a Share, that equals 10 Shares, and you buy $1,000 worth when it is $50 a share and that equals 20 Shares. When you average this all together for the "Dollar Cost" You have 35 Shares that you paid $3,000 for. So, when the price of the shares is at is normal rate, you would have paid $3,000 for 35 shares, which is now worth 3,500 total when the shares are at the average price.\n\nIf you have the extra money, invest in the Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX) $10,000 minimum and it has an expense ratio of 0.05% and still contribute $1,000 a month. If you did this for 22 years, (Still a good age to retire at) You will (with history showing the average return of at least 10% for the S&P over a good period of time) "Investopedia. According to historical records, the average annual return for the S&P 500 since its inception in 1928 through 2014 is approximately 10%. However, that number can be very misleading."\n\n\nIf you do not believe the math, go to http://www.helpfulcalculators.com/compound-interest-calculator and enter your principal of $3,000 or $10,000 (depending on the fund you choose), Monthly deposits of $1,000, Return rate of 10%, and Years 22 or 23.\n\n22 Years:\n\nFinal Balance: $980,003\nTotal Deposits: $264,000\nTotal Interest: $713,003\n\n23 Years:\n\nFinal Balance: $1,095,188\nTotal Deposits: $276,000\nTotal Interest: $816,188\n\nFinal Notes: With your income, you should be able to give up $12k a year that goes to your S&P 500 fund. If you can't, you need to change your life style now so you can live lavishly later. Work on other forms of passive income as well to help with your retirement providing you with assets and other forms of valuable items.\n\nAlso I'm not responsible if the market crashes and you lose all your money, but the S&P is generally a safe fund that is diversified and it did not lose that much on the theoretical "if you invest 10k today" back in 2008.\n\nGood luck, I hope things work out for you and your family." User (L2adult): "Can you clarify how to register a brokerage account? " Self: "Do you still need this advice? \n\nGo to vanguard.com and sign up for a brokerage account! "
User (thanksfortheride): "IF i am looking correctly the vanguard doesn't do dividends? and keycorp does. I am a bit of a new investor, 24, just wanting some guidance and confirmation. Thanks.\n\nVanguard: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0085&FundIntExt=INT\n\nKEY: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/key\n\n" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n- [Investing wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/investing)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (thanksfortheride): "IF i am looking correctly the vanguard doesn't do dividends? and keycorp does. I am a bit of a new investor, 24, just wanting some guidance and confirmation. Thanks.\n\nVanguard: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0085&FundIntExt=INT\n\nKEY: http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/key\n\n" Self: "I do recommend VTSMX because it is safer and more diversified than investing your money in one stock.\n\nVTSMX has dividends. From your link, click on "Distributions" to see them for the past year. Both VTSMX and KEY give about 1.9% dividends per year. If dividends are important to you, you might be interested in [Vanguard High Dividend Yield](https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/view-all/921946505) which has about 3% dividends per year."
User (OriginalWF): "I don't know if this is the right place to post this, and I'll try to keep this short and understandable, but I'm in an interesting situation right now.\n\nI'm 21, married with a child, and living in Section 8 housing while my wife and I attend college while working part time. She is going for Elementary Education, and I for Electrical Engineering. \n\nThe only debts we currently have are about 7k left on a car loan that has pretty minimal interest (~4.89%). I don't know if this is pertinent information or not.\n\nHere is the issue. My daughter was hospitalized recently, so my wife and I were out of work for about 2 months during this previous semester. We do not have any bills from this except for having to drive 300 miles every couple of weeks for follow up procedures.\n\nWe had to medically withdraw from school, and while we didn't have to pay much back in scholarships, I have to pay back about $2300 to the VA for money they sent me. In addition to that, the next semester will start soon and we will have to pay about $1,000 or so out of pocket for that, including books.\n\nWe only have a surplus of about $500 every month after low-ball estimating our costs, and that is with my wife's parents helping us with daycare and our phone bill.\n\nWe don't have the money to pay any of this currently since we were out of work for so long and we don't make enough as it is to save up in time for the semester to start.\n\nPerhaps this isn't as big of a deal to some people, but this worries the crap out of me. \n\nDoes anyone know of any support or loophole we might be able to take advantage of in this situation? We talked to the financial aid office, who basically said they couldn't do anything except for offer us a student loan. \n\nI don't want to take the loan if I don't have to, but I don't see any other choice except for that. \n\nWe live in Idaho, if it helps. Any advice is very welcome. I apologize for the wall of text." Self: "$3300 in student loans so that you can continue your Electrical Engineering degree should be something you do without a second thought - assuming your degree is a 4 year Bachelor of Science and the school is ABET accredited. "
User (OriginalWF): "I don't know if this is the right place to post this, and I'll try to keep this short and understandable, but I'm in an interesting situation right now.\n\nI'm 21, married with a child, and living in Section 8 housing while my wife and I attend college while working part time. She is going for Elementary Education, and I for Electrical Engineering. \n\nThe only debts we currently have are about 7k left on a car loan that has pretty minimal interest (~4.89%). I don't know if this is pertinent information or not.\n\nHere is the issue. My daughter was hospitalized recently, so my wife and I were out of work for about 2 months during this previous semester. We do not have any bills from this except for having to drive 300 miles every couple of weeks for follow up procedures.\n\nWe had to medically withdraw from school, and while we didn't have to pay much back in scholarships, I have to pay back about $2300 to the VA for money they sent me. In addition to that, the next semester will start soon and we will have to pay about $1,000 or so out of pocket for that, including books.\n\nWe only have a surplus of about $500 every month after low-ball estimating our costs, and that is with my wife's parents helping us with daycare and our phone bill.\n\nWe don't have the money to pay any of this currently since we were out of work for so long and we don't make enough as it is to save up in time for the semester to start.\n\nPerhaps this isn't as big of a deal to some people, but this worries the crap out of me. \n\nDoes anyone know of any support or loophole we might be able to take advantage of in this situation? We talked to the financial aid office, who basically said they couldn't do anything except for offer us a student loan. \n\nI don't want to take the loan if I don't have to, but I don't see any other choice except for that. \n\nWe live in Idaho, if it helps. Any advice is very welcome. I apologize for the wall of text." Self: "If your engineering degree is ABET accredited and your wife's degree will lead to teacher certification, then take the loans if it means the difference between continuing and dropping out. \n\nAn engineering career will be worth it. Teachers have lower salaries but can have fantastic benefits and retirement. They are also eligible for some loan forgiveness programs after graduation. \n\nIt's a small amount to borrow to set your family up for future success. You're not borrowing for the wrong reasons. It's better to continue both of your educations rather than delay further. "
User (NonElectricalNemesis): "Hello,\n\nLet's talk numbers; I'm attaching 10 months worth of expense data to help you, help me.\n\n**\n\n \| February \| March \| April \| May \| June \| July \| August \| September \| October \| November \| \n:---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| \nEating Out \| 69.13 \| 139.41 \| 64.59 \| 113.64 \| 66.53 \| 199.39 \| 242.06 \| 139.97 \| 161.99 \| 129.96 \| \nGroceries \| 29.67 \| 36.44 \| \| 73.32 \| 39.94 \| 46.73 \| 126.86 \| 117.54 \| 138.74 \| 173.95 \| \nElectric Utility \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| 101.95 \| 53.56 \| \| \nGas Utility \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nApt. Maintenance/Cleaning/Pest Control \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nWater/Hot Water/Sewage/Trash Utility \| \| \| \| \| \| 15.48 \| 54.75 \| 63.35 \| 57.66 \| \| \nTelevision/Cable & Internet/Cell Phone \| \| \| \| \| \| 25 \| \| \| \| \| \nCredit Card Payments \| 1286.11 \| 200 \| 400 \| 300 \| 530.86 \| 461.14 \| 300 \| 208.64 \| 242.84 \| 343.65 \| \nMortgage/Rent/Motel \| \| \| \| \| 1200 \| 636.01 \| 575 \| 43 \| 1150 \| \| \nInsurance \| \| \| \| \| \| \| 193.76 \| 74.5 \| 118.25 \| 73.11 \| \nStudent Loan and Other Loan \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| 500 \| \| 1730.77 \| \nCar Loan \| \| \| \| 243.22 \| 243.22 \| 343.22 \| 143.22 \| 300 \| 300 \| 300 \| \nEducation \| 5 \| 424 \| 241.63 \| 119 \| \| \| \| \| \| 17.15 \| \nFuel \| 74.45 \| 113.39 \| 90.16 \| 37.59 \| 98.28 \| 40 \| 20 \| 20 \| 45 \| 20 \| \nClothing/Shoes/Accessories \| \| \| \| \| 62.45 \| \| \| 32.67 \| \| \| \nMedical/Dental/Vision Expenses \| 17.09 \| 8 \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nGrass Cutting \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nLaundry/Dry Clean \| \| \| \| \| \| 6.66 \| 28.25 \| 1.5 \| 6 \| 1.5 \| \nTransportation (Uber, Taxi, Rent Car, Airfare, Tolls) \| \| \| \| \| 463.39 \| 2347.81 \| \| 489.22 \| \| 1005.81 \| \nPersonal Hygene (Hair, Brush, Mouthwash) \| \| 9 \| 8 \| 8 \| \| 18.34 \| 10 \| \| 20.73 \| 13 \| \nGym \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nEntertainment \| \| 52 \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nCar Maintenance/Registration/Inspection \| \| 1.25 \| 2.46 \| \| \| 38.62 \| \| 10 \| \| \| \nOvercharges/Overdraft Fee/Fines in General \| 36.91 \| 10.16 \| \| \| \| 36 \| \| \| \| 25 \| \nCar wash \| \| \| \| 15 \| \| \| 8 \| 8.64 \| \| \| \nProperty Tax/Income Tax & Other Taxes \| \| \| \| \| \| 670.36 \| 1501.54 \| 1058.98 \| 1278.04 \| 745.63 \| \nFurniture/Appliances/Cookware \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nMisc \| \| \| \| 109.34 \| 90.98 \| 177.77 \| 1289.86 \| 300 \| 22.35 \| 153.75 \| \n\n*\n\n\nThis is how much I currently owe:\n\n Car loan left: $13,000 @ rate of ~2.0%\n* Credit Cards: $4,500 @ rate of 0% (No annual fee; APR will not kick in for next 3 months)\n* Student loan: $2000 @ rate of ~5.0%\n\n***\n\nFuture expense plans:\n\n I am going back to school later in fall 2017.\n\n* I am planning on changing my current apartment in summer 2017.\n\n******\n\nWhat I hope I will get out of this:\n\n1. I hope to receive good advice to help me cut down in areas that are not important and finally come up with a budget that I can follow.\n\n2. Some cool graphs that portrays data in a way that is helpful. For example, a graph comparing all the categories compared against themselves (monthly) or comparing monthly trend of final expense or comparing categories against each other in a specific month or whatever you can think. Also, please let me know how I can do edits.\n \n3. Someone that can help format my question better.\n\n\n\nI feel I have gathered enough data to get constructive feedback. If everything turns out great, I am hoping to have this thread updated every month!\n\nTl;dr: I attached expense data to get help plotting it. And need advise to minimize expenditure.\n\nThanks a bunch in advance!!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Budgeting wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/budgeting)\n- [Spreadsheets section of the Tools wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/tools#wiki_redditor_created.3A)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
User (NonElectricalNemesis): "Hello,\n\nLet's talk numbers; I'm attaching 10 months worth of expense data to help you, help me.\n\n**\n\n \| February \| March \| April \| May \| June \| July \| August \| September \| October \| November \| \n:---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| :---: \| \nEating Out \| 69.13 \| 139.41 \| 64.59 \| 113.64 \| 66.53 \| 199.39 \| 242.06 \| 139.97 \| 161.99 \| 129.96 \| \nGroceries \| 29.67 \| 36.44 \| \| 73.32 \| 39.94 \| 46.73 \| 126.86 \| 117.54 \| 138.74 \| 173.95 \| \nElectric Utility \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| 101.95 \| 53.56 \| \| \nGas Utility \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nApt. Maintenance/Cleaning/Pest Control \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nWater/Hot Water/Sewage/Trash Utility \| \| \| \| \| \| 15.48 \| 54.75 \| 63.35 \| 57.66 \| \| \nTelevision/Cable & Internet/Cell Phone \| \| \| \| \| \| 25 \| \| \| \| \| \nCredit Card Payments \| 1286.11 \| 200 \| 400 \| 300 \| 530.86 \| 461.14 \| 300 \| 208.64 \| 242.84 \| 343.65 \| \nMortgage/Rent/Motel \| \| \| \| \| 1200 \| 636.01 \| 575 \| 43 \| 1150 \| \| \nInsurance \| \| \| \| \| \| \| 193.76 \| 74.5 \| 118.25 \| 73.11 \| \nStudent Loan and Other Loan \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| 500 \| \| 1730.77 \| \nCar Loan \| \| \| \| 243.22 \| 243.22 \| 343.22 \| 143.22 \| 300 \| 300 \| 300 \| \nEducation \| 5 \| 424 \| 241.63 \| 119 \| \| \| \| \| \| 17.15 \| \nFuel \| 74.45 \| 113.39 \| 90.16 \| 37.59 \| 98.28 \| 40 \| 20 \| 20 \| 45 \| 20 \| \nClothing/Shoes/Accessories \| \| \| \| \| 62.45 \| \| \| 32.67 \| \| \| \nMedical/Dental/Vision Expenses \| 17.09 \| 8 \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nGrass Cutting \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nLaundry/Dry Clean \| \| \| \| \| \| 6.66 \| 28.25 \| 1.5 \| 6 \| 1.5 \| \nTransportation (Uber, Taxi, Rent Car, Airfare, Tolls) \| \| \| \| \| 463.39 \| 2347.81 \| \| 489.22 \| \| 1005.81 \| \nPersonal Hygene (Hair, Brush, Mouthwash) \| \| 9 \| 8 \| 8 \| \| 18.34 \| 10 \| \| 20.73 \| 13 \| \nGym \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nEntertainment \| \| 52 \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nCar Maintenance/Registration/Inspection \| \| 1.25 \| 2.46 \| \| \| 38.62 \| \| 10 \| \| \| \nOvercharges/Overdraft Fee/Fines in General \| 36.91 \| 10.16 \| \| \| \| 36 \| \| \| \| 25 \| \nCar wash \| \| \| \| 15 \| \| \| 8 \| 8.64 \| \| \| \nProperty Tax/Income Tax & Other Taxes \| \| \| \| \| \| 670.36 \| 1501.54 \| 1058.98 \| 1278.04 \| 745.63 \| \nFurniture/Appliances/Cookware \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \nMisc \| \| \| \| 109.34 \| 90.98 \| 177.77 \| 1289.86 \| 300 \| 22.35 \| 153.75 \| \n\n*\n\n\nThis is how much I currently owe:\n\n Car loan left: $13,000 @ rate of ~2.0%\n* Credit Cards: $4,500 @ rate of 0% (No annual fee; APR will not kick in for next 3 months)\n* Student loan: $2000 @ rate of ~5.0%\n\n***\n\nFuture expense plans:\n\n I am going back to school later in fall 2017.\n\n* I am planning on changing my current apartment in summer 2017.\n\n******\n\nWhat I hope I will get out of this:\n\n1. I hope to receive good advice to help me cut down in areas that are not important and finally come up with a budget that I can follow.\n\n2. Some cool graphs that portrays data in a way that is helpful. For example, a graph comparing all the categories compared against themselves (monthly) or comparing monthly trend of final expense or comparing categories against each other in a specific month or whatever you can think. Also, please let me know how I can do edits.\n \n3. Someone that can help format my question better.\n\n*\n\nI feel I have gathered enough data to get constructive feedback. If everything turns out great, I am hoping to have this thread updated every month!\n\nTl;dr: I attached expense data to get help plotting it. And need advise to minimize expenditure.\n\nThanks a bunch in advance!!\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n" Self: "I think you know where most of your money is going and need to cut back, but want to hear it from somebody else. \n\nStop eating out, there is no reason you should be spending more on eating out than on eating at home. Cut transportation expenses unless absolutely necessary. I'm guessing the Uber and taxi go along with the eating out, having a bit too much to drink and needing a way home? If you don't need to fly anywhere, don't. I think you know exactly what you need to do. Nice formatting by the way. Good luck."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Wait, are you still in school or are you graduating? Have you talked to the university about taking out a loan directly with them for your tuition? I think you need to go in person to the financial aid office and sort this out. It's in their best interests to help you graduate." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I am still in school. I am graduating Winter 2016, a semester early- this is the issue. My last day of classes is Dec 16th, and the dean of students and director of financial aid both told me that if my parents' tax transcripts are not in by then, then they cannot apply any aid for me because I will have completed my degree reqirements. (I do not honestly know if they will complete financial aid even if we get them in on time due to general lack of faith in the financial aid office due to prior issues. They are particularly bad about deadlines. However, this information was given to me by the dean of students)\n\nI have been to the financial aid office weekly or more for the past month trying to focus on resolving the tax transcript issues. I have not pressed them for more information regarding what to do if this debt falls to me- they have of course expressed their desire to help me graduate. (Mostly due to still being a full time student and working two part time jobs; anxiety is killing me over this but I know I need to address it) \n\nI have not talked with my university regarding taking a loan out from them for my tuition. I did not know that was an option. Can you tell me more about what that is?" 75footubi (75footubi): "Basically the university can act as a direct lender (instead of the government or a private company being a middle man). I don't know what their repayment terms would be though" User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "Thank you, this is helpful and makes sense. I wonder if their repayment terms would be worse than the 100$/month late fee- I doubt it, but it is such a large sum. I will discuss this possibility with them on Monday. "
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "> How likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving?\n\nWas the return accepted by IRS on 11/24?\n\nDid the return show a refund or a balance due?" User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I do not know, and have asked. I believe that due to the 24th being Thanksgiving, the return was most likely received 11/28. I am not sure if it has been accepted yet, period." Self: "The IRS Very Old Computer works on federal holidays, so it's entirely possible the return was accepted within minutes or hours from filing.\n\nThe 21 days normal processing time frame begins at acceptance, so you really need to verify that date.\n\nIf all goes well, the return processes without any issues and timely, he or your mom can make the transcript request on the phone, or face to face, or online at [Get Transcript](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript)."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "It depends on the university and your fafsa package, but generally:\n\nTalk to someone in the financial aid department at your school, and inform them of the issue (your parents didn't file their taxes on time). Chances are, they can fill out your financial aid package using records from the tax returns of the previous year, and you just have to promise to provide them with the new tax returns as soon as you receive them. When they get the new tax returns, they will adjust your financial aid package to reflect the differences and either issue you a greater award, or request a payment be made to their office.\n\nThis happened to me numerous times at my private university. This was always my quick fix.\n\nFun fact: Most financial aid reps, particularly at private universities, are human beings! They tend to understand that you and your parents are separate entities and that their fuckups aren't yours!" User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "This is a great idea, thank you. I will definitely be compiling a list of suggestions from this thread and asking to sit with the director of financial aid if one of the people in the office cannot help me- this is something I have asked about (albeit not as eloquently) but the person in the office said that wasn't something they were able to do. Perhaps if I phrase it this way and talk to the right person, it's possible. I'm not sure if the fact that I'm graduating early is a factor- you sound like you've done it a few times, but did it also work for graduation?\n\n(The people at my financial aid office, while they make human mistakes, have all been lovely people. A few of them even recognize me now, and give me that sort of sad piteous smile.)" Self: "When I finished my classes, I owed about $2,400 to the school directly (this doesn't include any federal perkins or stafford loans, this was just a loan straight from the school). I was able to pay it off in about 8 months and got my degree in February of the following year. While interviewing, I called it like it was. "I have a Bachelor's Degree, but my college is holding onto it for me until I pay them (enter amount owed)." Background checks can verify what school you attended, so it goes a long way toward credibility if you are up front about why it says "no degree awarded."\n\nLegally, they can't hold your degree unless you owe THE SCHOOL money. If you have Federal Loan Debt, they can't hold your degree for that.\n\nEdit: Better explanation of how my time between finishing classes and receiving my degree went."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "> How likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving?\n\nWas the return accepted by IRS on 11/24?\n\nDid the return show a refund or a balance due?" User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I do not know, and have asked. I believe that due to the 24th being Thanksgiving, the return was most likely received 11/28. I am not sure if it has been accepted yet, period." Plut0nian (Plut0nian): "Just print out the tax forms your parents submitted and turn them in. Don't wait any longer. The forms aren't going to change in any way. The irs is just going to give you noticed they processed the forms and transfer payment if they owe you money.\n\nSubmitting a copy of what you filed with the IRS would be how everyone normally submits this info.\n\nIf for some reason the tax form is changed later, you can file a correction. But you need to meet initial filing deadlines, so submit exactly what you sent the IRS on monday, don't wait."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Wait, are you still in school or are you graduating? Have you talked to the university about taking out a loan directly with them for your tuition? I think you need to go in person to the financial aid office and sort this out. It's in their best interests to help you graduate." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I am still in school. I am graduating Winter 2016, a semester early- this is the issue. My last day of classes is Dec 16th, and the dean of students and director of financial aid both told me that if my parents' tax transcripts are not in by then, then they cannot apply any aid for me because I will have completed my degree reqirements. (I do not honestly know if they will complete financial aid even if we get them in on time due to general lack of faith in the financial aid office due to prior issues. They are particularly bad about deadlines. However, this information was given to me by the dean of students)\n\nI have been to the financial aid office weekly or more for the past month trying to focus on resolving the tax transcript issues. I have not pressed them for more information regarding what to do if this debt falls to me- they have of course expressed their desire to help me graduate. (Mostly due to still being a full time student and working two part time jobs; anxiety is killing me over this but I know I need to address it) \n\nI have not talked with my university regarding taking a loan out from them for my tuition. I did not know that was an option. Can you tell me more about what that is?" wraith_legion (wraith_legion): "Why don't you drop one of your required classes and take it next semester? Or, if your program allows you to replace grades by retaking failed classes, fail one of them. Since you won't have completed your degree, you'll still be eligible for aid." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "This is possibly an option. I've got As in all but one of my classes (B+), so I don't think even bombing the final is a possibility, but... I'm the research assistant for my capstone class' professor, and that is a course that is 100% necessary for graduation. I could probably ask him to fail me... I really do NOT want to go with this option. My GPA is not a 4.0 but this would tank it, and the fact that it's my capstone... I don't know if that would ravage my job prospects in the long run. I will try to run this option by financial aid and see how feasible it is, perhaps even the career center would be able to help." confatulations (confatulations): "Having done some recruiting, I think employers pay very little attention to GPA, especially if you have great letters of recommendation/references from your past professors."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "It depends on the university and your fafsa package, but generally:\n\nTalk to someone in the financial aid department at your school, and inform them of the issue (your parents didn't file their taxes on time). Chances are, they can fill out your financial aid package using records from the tax returns of the previous year, and you just have to promise to provide them with the new tax returns as soon as you receive them. When they get the new tax returns, they will adjust your financial aid package to reflect the differences and either issue you a greater award, or request a payment be made to their office.\n\nThis happened to me numerous times at my private university. This was always my quick fix.\n\nFun fact: Most financial aid reps, particularly at private universities, are human beings! They tend to understand that you and your parents are separate entities and that their fuckups aren't yours!" Self: "Additional fun fact for your follow up:\n\nFun Fact: Most interviewers for job openings are human beings! A simple phrase like "I've finished and passed all of my classes, and my degree is waiting for me. The only thing standing between me and a pretty placard for the wall is my bank account." goes a long way." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I'm just very worried they will toss my resume away because of the lowered GPA, failed capstone course, and additional semester (though that would make it a normal year, I still feel like my 3.5 year graduation without any high school credits is a decent tidbit to include on resumes) and not even give me the chance to explain myself.\n\nOr run a background check and see that I have not completed my degree.." Self: "1. Don't put GPA on your work resume. Chances are, they don't care. GPA tends to factor if you want to pursue a masters or phd, but if you are just getting a bachelor's degree, there is a reason the phrase exists "C's get degrees." I'm sure there are plenty of professionals you've dealt with in life that had terrible GPAs in college.\n\n2. Don't put individual class grades on resumes (see 1.)\n\n3. If you are up front in the interview about why you don't have your degree, then when they see it in your background check, they know why and don't worry about it." melvinater (melvinater): "Gpa is becoming increasingly asked for actually. It's on all paperwork and at job fairs if it's not listed they will ask and write it on" Self: "Also, I generally recommend that my students avoid job fairs like the plague.\n\nIt's just a breeding ground of competition, like a cattle competition to find the prized bull. There are far too many applicants for far too few positions, your chances of landing a job are negligible. \n\nOn the other hand, taking the proactive steps to go to the business directly and inquire about open positions (it's also helpful to do a job hunt online beforehand so that you know the answer is "yes"), people see this as you being a motivated person who goes after their own success. It doesn't matter what job, you're more likely to get it if you show up in person in a suit and ask then to stumble upon them at a job fair."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Wait, are you still in school or are you graduating? Have you talked to the university about taking out a loan directly with them for your tuition? I think you need to go in person to the financial aid office and sort this out. It's in their best interests to help you graduate." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I am still in school. I am graduating Winter 2016, a semester early- this is the issue. My last day of classes is Dec 16th, and the dean of students and director of financial aid both told me that if my parents' tax transcripts are not in by then, then they cannot apply any aid for me because I will have completed my degree reqirements. (I do not honestly know if they will complete financial aid even if we get them in on time due to general lack of faith in the financial aid office due to prior issues. They are particularly bad about deadlines. However, this information was given to me by the dean of students)\n\nI have been to the financial aid office weekly or more for the past month trying to focus on resolving the tax transcript issues. I have not pressed them for more information regarding what to do if this debt falls to me- they have of course expressed their desire to help me graduate. (Mostly due to still being a full time student and working two part time jobs; anxiety is killing me over this but I know I need to address it) \n\nI have not talked with my university regarding taking a loan out from them for my tuition. I did not know that was an option. Can you tell me more about what that is?" wraith_legion (wraith_legion): "Why don't you drop one of your required classes and take it next semester? Or, if your program allows you to replace grades by retaking failed classes, fail one of them. Since you won't have completed your degree, you'll still be eligible for aid." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "This is possibly an option. I've got As in all but one of my classes (B+), so I don't think even bombing the final is a possibility, but... I'm the research assistant for my capstone class' professor, and that is a course that is 100% necessary for graduation. I could probably ask him to fail me... I really do NOT want to go with this option. My GPA is not a 4.0 but this would tank it, and the fact that it's my capstone... I don't know if that would ravage my job prospects in the long run. I will try to run this option by financial aid and see how feasible it is, perhaps even the career center would be able to help." NW_Runner (NW_Runner): "Might or might not help, but maybe you could ask for an incomplete instead of an F."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Wait, are you still in school or are you graduating? Have you talked to the university about taking out a loan directly with them for your tuition? I think you need to go in person to the financial aid office and sort this out. It's in their best interests to help you graduate." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I am still in school. I am graduating Winter 2016, a semester early- this is the issue. My last day of classes is Dec 16th, and the dean of students and director of financial aid both told me that if my parents' tax transcripts are not in by then, then they cannot apply any aid for me because I will have completed my degree reqirements. (I do not honestly know if they will complete financial aid even if we get them in on time due to general lack of faith in the financial aid office due to prior issues. They are particularly bad about deadlines. However, this information was given to me by the dean of students)\n\nI have been to the financial aid office weekly or more for the past month trying to focus on resolving the tax transcript issues. I have not pressed them for more information regarding what to do if this debt falls to me- they have of course expressed their desire to help me graduate. (Mostly due to still being a full time student and working two part time jobs; anxiety is killing me over this but I know I need to address it) \n\nI have not talked with my university regarding taking a loan out from them for my tuition. I did not know that was an option. Can you tell me more about what that is?" AndrewWaldron (AndrewWaldron): "Then work out with one of your professors to delay them submitting your grade. If you aren't complete then you may be able to stall?"
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "It depends on the university and your fafsa package, but generally:\n\nTalk to someone in the financial aid department at your school, and inform them of the issue (your parents didn't file their taxes on time). Chances are, they can fill out your financial aid package using records from the tax returns of the previous year, and you just have to promise to provide them with the new tax returns as soon as you receive them. When they get the new tax returns, they will adjust your financial aid package to reflect the differences and either issue you a greater award, or request a payment be made to their office.\n\nThis happened to me numerous times at my private university. This was always my quick fix.\n\nFun fact: Most financial aid reps, particularly at private universities, are human beings! They tend to understand that you and your parents are separate entities and that their fuckups aren't yours!" Self: "Additional fun fact for your follow up:\n\nFun Fact: Most interviewers for job openings are human beings! A simple phrase like "I've finished and passed all of my classes, and my degree is waiting for me. The only thing standing between me and a pretty placard for the wall is my bank account." goes a long way." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I'm just very worried they will toss my resume away because of the lowered GPA, failed capstone course, and additional semester (though that would make it a normal year, I still feel like my 3.5 year graduation without any high school credits is a decent tidbit to include on resumes) and not even give me the chance to explain myself.\n\nOr run a background check and see that I have not completed my degree.." Self: "1. Don't put GPA on your work resume. Chances are, they don't care. GPA tends to factor if you want to pursue a masters or phd, but if you are just getting a bachelor's degree, there is a reason the phrase exists "C's get degrees." I'm sure there are plenty of professionals you've dealt with in life that had terrible GPAs in college.\n\n2. Don't put individual class grades on resumes (see 1.)\n\n3. If you are up front in the interview about why you don't have your degree, then when they see it in your background check, they know why and don't worry about it." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "Good tip! I've been leaving my GPA on my resume since I'm proud of it, but it's nice to know it isn't something that is looked for. I do want to go to grad school, however.\n\nI'm not so proud of individual grades that I would put them on a resume, haha, but I don't know how many jobs might request an official transcript from my school to see the classes I've taken. I suppose I'm mostly worried about it due to the nature of my field, animal biology is rough to break into and everything counts when you're looking for good zookeeping jobs.\n\nThis is far from /r/personalfinance territory, but you seem like you know what you're talking about with interviews so I would really appreciate your input on how to broach that subject in an interview, and which ones it might be more/less necessary for. " Self: "No problem. I help people with college questions for a living, so I'm glad I sound a little knowledgeable! Haha.\n\nAs far as interviews, it depends a lot on WHY you failed. If you say "yeah, I failed a few classes, sorry." You probably won't get the job. If your reason was "I was financially struggling at the time and I had to take on an extra job just to make ends meet, so my grades suffered a bit. But you can see that I went back when I was in a better place and blew those classes out of the water!" They might look a little more kindly on it." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "Well, I really, really appreciate you using your spare time to help me, you have been incredibly generous with your responses and it's easing my anxiety.\n\nThat makes a lot of sense, thank you! So, should I avoid mentioning it unless they ask, or can somehow spin it into a relevant answer to a question?" Self: "Interviewers want to hear you talk, that's why you are there, so it's okay to be a little long winded. If they give you an open-ended question like "Tell us about college" or "What is your relevant experience?" You can go into loads of detail, circle around briefly to the fact that you don't have your degree, and end on a strong note.\n\nExample:\n\n"Tell us about college."\n\n"College was quite the experience. I had the opportunity to meet many new people, learn, not just from my classes, but from the whole experience. Life always hits you in ways you don't expect, you know? And I find that it's really how we overcome our greatest challenges that shows us what we are made of. Take me, for example. In my final year, my parents dropped the ball on their taxes and my funding got cut out from under me. Did I buckle? No. I pushed through, finished my classes, and EARNED my degree. Now, I just have to pay for it. But, I digress, college was wonderful. I feel more capable and accomplished than at any other point in my life, and I am excited to bring this knowledge into a career where I can continue to learn and grow."\n\nObviously, it's all in your own words, and you want to add more story line, but that's the gist of the flow. Just remember, the interview is your moment to shine. The worse that can happen is they say no, and you move to the next company on the list. Buckshot approach, buddy. I've interviewed for loads of jobs in my life. Did I get all of them, no. Did I learn something from each, hell to the yes. Did I find the best fit for me? If not, I think it's damn close."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "It depends on the university and your fafsa package, but generally:\n\nTalk to someone in the financial aid department at your school, and inform them of the issue (your parents didn't file their taxes on time). Chances are, they can fill out your financial aid package using records from the tax returns of the previous year, and you just have to promise to provide them with the new tax returns as soon as you receive them. When they get the new tax returns, they will adjust your financial aid package to reflect the differences and either issue you a greater award, or request a payment be made to their office.\n\nThis happened to me numerous times at my private university. This was always my quick fix.\n\nFun fact: Most financial aid reps, particularly at private universities, are human beings! They tend to understand that you and your parents are separate entities and that their fuckups aren't yours!" Self: "Additional fun fact for your follow up:\n\nFun Fact: Most interviewers for job openings are human beings! A simple phrase like "I've finished and passed all of my classes, and my degree is waiting for me. The only thing standing between me and a pretty placard for the wall is my bank account." goes a long way." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I'm just very worried they will toss my resume away because of the lowered GPA, failed capstone course, and additional semester (though that would make it a normal year, I still feel like my 3.5 year graduation without any high school credits is a decent tidbit to include on resumes) and not even give me the chance to explain myself.\n\nOr run a background check and see that I have not completed my degree.." Self: "1. Don't put GPA on your work resume. Chances are, they don't care. GPA tends to factor if you want to pursue a masters or phd, but if you are just getting a bachelor's degree, there is a reason the phrase exists "C's get degrees." I'm sure there are plenty of professionals you've dealt with in life that had terrible GPAs in college.\n\n2. Don't put individual class grades on resumes (see 1.)\n\n3. If you are up front in the interview about why you don't have your degree, then when they see it in your background check, they know why and don't worry about it." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "Good tip! I've been leaving my GPA on my resume since I'm proud of it, but it's nice to know it isn't something that is looked for. I do want to go to grad school, however.\n\nI'm not so proud of individual grades that I would put them on a resume, haha, but I don't know how many jobs might request an official transcript from my school to see the classes I've taken. I suppose I'm mostly worried about it due to the nature of my field, animal biology is rough to break into and everything counts when you're looking for good zookeeping jobs.\n\nThis is far from /r/personalfinance territory, but you seem like you know what you're talking about with interviews so I would really appreciate your input on how to broach that subject in an interview, and which ones it might be more/less necessary for. " Self: "No problem. I help people with college questions for a living, so I'm glad I sound a little knowledgeable! Haha.\n\nAs far as interviews, it depends a lot on WHY you failed. If you say "yeah, I failed a few classes, sorry." You probably won't get the job. If your reason was "I was financially struggling at the time and I had to take on an extra job just to make ends meet, so my grades suffered a bit. But you can see that I went back when I was in a better place and blew those classes out of the water!" They might look a little more kindly on it." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "Well, I really, really appreciate you using your spare time to help me, you have been incredibly generous with your responses and it's easing my anxiety.\n\nThat makes a lot of sense, thank you! So, should I avoid mentioning it unless they ask, or can somehow spin it into a relevant answer to a question?" Self: "Also, I'm happy to help. Like spiderman says "those who have the ability have the responsibility", I feel the same feeling would apply to say "those who have the experience have the responsibility to share it". It's all about learning. Never stop never stopping."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "I was in a similarly complicated situation and ended up not getting any financial aid last year because of it. I can't say when they would be done, but you can check the status of your transcript request on the IRS website. I checked it everyday, and I suggest you check it every morning as you will receive no notification that they are ready for viewing -- it's just up to you to notice! You can also make an account on the site for your parents with info like their SSN, auto loan account number, or mortgage account etc. If they have info like that to verify their identity, then you will be able to log into their account and download a copy of their transcript rather than waiting for the mail, which would surely take too long. In my case, my parents had no auto loan, mortgage, or credit card accounts, so they could not create online accounts, had to wait for the mail, and I missed the deadline to receive aid by a wide margin. Good luck this year! \n\nI also want to mention that what I was able to do (which I had no idea was even an option originally) was appeal to the financial aid office requesting the portion of my aid that was NOT federal money. I also attend a private university that provides a hefty aid package, so I was able to receive the portion of the money that came directly from the institution as scholarship, but I did not receive federal/state grants or loans due to the missing federal verification documentation. This significantly lessened the amount I was on the hook for -- by $15,000! "
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "It depends on the university and your fafsa package, but generally:\n\nTalk to someone in the financial aid department at your school, and inform them of the issue (your parents didn't file their taxes on time). Chances are, they can fill out your financial aid package using records from the tax returns of the previous year, and you just have to promise to provide them with the new tax returns as soon as you receive them. When they get the new tax returns, they will adjust your financial aid package to reflect the differences and either issue you a greater award, or request a payment be made to their office.\n\nThis happened to me numerous times at my private university. This was always my quick fix.\n\nFun fact: Most financial aid reps, particularly at private universities, are human beings! They tend to understand that you and your parents are separate entities and that their fuckups aren't yours!" gingermafia (gingermafia): "If OP has been selected for the Department of Education Verification process, then the school will really need this tax document and will not be able to accept a prior year's info. That process is very highly regulated - I don't want OP getting lulled into a false sense of security that it will all be ok. Thank you for saying that financial aid reps are people! I promise even the state school staff are too ;) " Self: "Absolutely. This doesn't apply every time, and I apologize if I made it seem that way. That was not my intention.\n\nEvery school has different policies and utilize different government programs to secure funding for both the school and the students, so it's really a "depends on the situation" kind of response. But I do know these tactics have worked for a number of students at a number of different institutions. \n\nBut again, you are totally correct. It doesn't work every time. Like Sex Panther, 60% of the time, it works every time."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Why can't your step dad just print out his tax return from efile?"
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Gosh, this is a tough one. Here are what I perceive to be some of your main points to plan- how is the 2015 tax return transcript being obtained? Is parent trying every day to get it electronically at irs.gov? Are they walking into an irs office that takes walk ins? If they request it be mailed via the IRS website then that takes another 5-10 days. Do you have a point person at the university that you are sending this to directly who can confirm receipt? Are you facing or dropping it off? \n\nNow, what types of aid are you expecting from the school? Pull grant, direct loans, Perkins loans, state grant? OR "university grant money"? Merit scholarships? Many of those types of money have different rules attached to them, if it's university grant they may have some more leeway with the rules. Federal aid like pell grant and direct loans are very highly regulated and there are indeed a lot of specific rules about timing. For example they can't process direct loans once the semester has ended. I work in financial aid and this is a difficult conundrum because there is such a thing as "late verification" sometimes, but only for specific types of aid and in certain circumstances. Honestly I doubt the dean of student knows much of anything about financial aid rules so unless this info was passed directly from financial aid, I'm not sure I trust it. Now given all the gray areas you can ask to schedule a meeting with the most cogent-seeming person in financial aid and ask clarifications about whether things are "all set" if you get them the document by that date or whether there is still some risk you won't get that money at that point. Tell them you will do abosuletly everything in your power to try to get the document in on time and that you ask them they do everything in their power to help you get your aid. Calmly explain what a financial blow it would be to not get it and kindly thank them for their time and assistance - hopefully these people will do what they need to do to help you.\n\nNow worst case scenario if you don't get any money one of the last resorts would be a private educational loan from a private lender. Some can be used for unpaid balances in past semesters within a certain amount of time. When you meet with someone ask if they have any resources or recommendations and how that process would work logistically with their office after the semester is over and what the processing turnaround is. They might have resources on their website.\n\nAnother option if they say they won't give you the money is to escalate to the president. This is your abosolutely last resort - write them a professional email or hand deliver a letter to their office. Ask them in writing to confirm receipt and respond at their earliest convenience for whether they can help you. Kill them with patience and kindness. Best of luck!" User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "Speaking with the President is a great idea! Honestly, with this uni, most of the time you need to try to get a higher-up to listen to you if you want anything done. That is why I asked the Dean of Students to contact the head of financial aid for me. I may just scrounge around for his email and phone number too, though, because I feel like this is a serious enough matter that they would be willing to take some time out of their schedule to help me. I will at the very least be taking a sheet in with this specific information on it to talk with one of the folks in the office, they are helpful and perhaps now that I have all this info, it will be easier to work with me. Thank you so much! \n\nThe 2015 transcript will be obtained via irs.gov/transcript, I have sent both my parents the link and told them to check it every day. I may ask for their information to check it myself daily as well. The transcript will be sent electronically, and I will definitely be getting someone's email and phone number to confirm receipt of transcript as soon as I am able to send it off.\n\nMy aid is in the form of: Pell Grant, University Grant, Academic Merit Scholarship, Perkins loan, Stafford Loan (2x Subsidized, 2x Unsubsidized) and Work-Study. I am not sure if any of these values will change based upon my parents' change in income over the past year. That is manageable, though. Would you be able to tell me which of these possibly could have a late verification, and which ones absolutely cannot?\n\nDo you possibly have any links as to how to suss out the best possible private educational lender?\n\nThank you so much again. This post is incredibly helpful and making me feel better about having a plan for the future. " Self: "Glad to hear parents are getting it online. They should get a PDF once it is available, ask them to print a copy even if it is getting sent electronically just in case. Definitely make an appointment with financial aid for next week! A few more questions for you to ask them: Do the Academic Merit Scholarship and University Grant funds strictly require the FAFSA to be complete and verification finished? Could they give you the merit scholarship without the FAFSA totally done if it is merit based and not need based? The one item that could possibly be considered for a late disbursement would be the pell grant - IF you qualify after they confirm parents' income. The direct (sub and unsub- also referred to as stafford) loans absolutely cannot be originated after the semester is over if you are only here for fall. So as another poster mentioned, likely verification has to be done (which in and of itself can take time) and the loan would have to be originated by the 16th. I don't know for sure about late perkins disbursements, we don't do them at my school though. \n\nAre you in the US? That info will inform my resources on private educational loans. " User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I am in the US.\n\nSomeone informed me that the last date to efile taxes is October 17th. So... I don't know what they did. I'll be calling in the morning to straighten that out at least and know if they were accepted/rejected. \n\nDefinitely planning on walking into fin aid with a copy as soon as that pdf is available, if they somehow did efile. \n\nThank you so much for those questions to ask, because I have no idea. With any luck maybe they'll give me my scholarship and grant, which is most of the sum. My FAFSA is completed, not sure if that matters. My scholarship is entirely merit as far as I am aware, falling below a certain GPA removes it. My pell grant is the next biggest thing, so that is also good to know, though I will specifically ask the office about all of them.\n\nYeah it really doesn't seem like the transcripts will arrive on time for the office to do anything before I leave. I may simply try to take an incomplete to defer my completion of reqirements, but this is so helpful for the decision making. Would it be reasonable for me to go in and request this information and based off of my 2015 aid, get a rough estimate of what could be late disbursements, and what will need to be paid? " Self: "Well that's annoying that they may have paper-filed! I am optimistic for at least your merit scholarship as long as they don't have some fine print policy against it.\n\nBe very very cautious about making any move that will delay your graduation. At my school if you take an incomplete you have the next semester to finish up the course work but you do not actually get enrolled in the course for credits for that next semester. Financial aid (aside from pell grant in limited circumstances) typically required at least 6 credits of enrollment to get access to funds and is supposed to be for degree requirements only. I'm not sure if anyone will be checking in on what you're taking. This is the kind of issue where you could get creative with the academic world - is there a minor you can pick up? Another track in your program? Just in case you do have to extend your time there one semester, it would be good to get something academically out of it. \n\nPrivate Educational loans will require a credit check so depending on the results they may want you to obtain a co-signer. Is there anyone in your world who could/would do that for you? Maybe dear ol' mom and step dad since they got you in this pickle? There are companies like Sallie Mae, Discover, Citizens, etc. I don't endorse any one in particular because I don't know what interest rate they will offer. There should also be some kind of state agency that might help facilitate the private loan process or do some lending themselves. They can be a good resource if you'd like to talk with a person - see if your state has an agency/organization here: http://www.collegescholarships.org/loans/state.htm "
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Would it be possible to sign up for more classes in the Spring? It stinks having to push back your graduation, but if it will save you $20k of debt..."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Wait, are you still in school or are you graduating? Have you talked to the university about taking out a loan directly with them for your tuition? I think you need to go in person to the financial aid office and sort this out. It's in their best interests to help you graduate." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I am still in school. I am graduating Winter 2016, a semester early- this is the issue. My last day of classes is Dec 16th, and the dean of students and director of financial aid both told me that if my parents' tax transcripts are not in by then, then they cannot apply any aid for me because I will have completed my degree reqirements. (I do not honestly know if they will complete financial aid even if we get them in on time due to general lack of faith in the financial aid office due to prior issues. They are particularly bad about deadlines. However, this information was given to me by the dean of students)\n\nI have been to the financial aid office weekly or more for the past month trying to focus on resolving the tax transcript issues. I have not pressed them for more information regarding what to do if this debt falls to me- they have of course expressed their desire to help me graduate. (Mostly due to still being a full time student and working two part time jobs; anxiety is killing me over this but I know I need to address it) \n\nI have not talked with my university regarding taking a loan out from them for my tuition. I did not know that was an option. Can you tell me more about what that is?" wraith_legion (wraith_legion): "Why don't you drop one of your required classes and take it next semester? Or, if your program allows you to replace grades by retaking failed classes, fail one of them. Since you won't have completed your degree, you'll still be eligible for aid." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "This is possibly an option. I've got As in all but one of my classes (B+), so I don't think even bombing the final is a possibility, but... I'm the research assistant for my capstone class' professor, and that is a course that is 100% necessary for graduation. I could probably ask him to fail me... I really do NOT want to go with this option. My GPA is not a 4.0 but this would tank it, and the fact that it's my capstone... I don't know if that would ravage my job prospects in the long run. I will try to run this option by financial aid and see how feasible it is, perhaps even the career center would be able to help." noah695 (noah695): "I am not sure about your university, but where I went professors could give you an incomplete grade. This does not count against your GPA. Basically it means that the professor is allowing you extra time to complete the course. At my school, professors had 1 year from the end of the semester to file a grade change on their own. After that they had to get a waiver from the dean of students. Ask your capstone professor to give you an incomplete, explain the whole situation to them. This will mean you haven't completed your degree requirements, but it also won't affect your GPA or require you to spend money retaking a course. That should extend the deadline for your tax info to arrive and clear the aid office." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "This is a great option, I totally forgot that incompletes are a thing and my university does issue them. I believe that this situation (and/or my response) would be enough for them to give me an incomplete. Since I work for the professor, he would also be very willing to work with me on this I think, though I'm not sure how that would work. Could I just finish my assignments on time for this semester and the school considers me an incomplete until he pushes those grades through when I tell him my financial aid has cleared?" Self: "I think if you want to go this route check with the dean of students or financial aid office first. "
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Wait, are you still in school or are you graduating? Have you talked to the university about taking out a loan directly with them for your tuition? I think you need to go in person to the financial aid office and sort this out. It's in their best interests to help you graduate." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I am still in school. I am graduating Winter 2016, a semester early- this is the issue. My last day of classes is Dec 16th, and the dean of students and director of financial aid both told me that if my parents' tax transcripts are not in by then, then they cannot apply any aid for me because I will have completed my degree reqirements. (I do not honestly know if they will complete financial aid even if we get them in on time due to general lack of faith in the financial aid office due to prior issues. They are particularly bad about deadlines. However, this information was given to me by the dean of students)\n\nI have been to the financial aid office weekly or more for the past month trying to focus on resolving the tax transcript issues. I have not pressed them for more information regarding what to do if this debt falls to me- they have of course expressed their desire to help me graduate. (Mostly due to still being a full time student and working two part time jobs; anxiety is killing me over this but I know I need to address it) \n\nI have not talked with my university regarding taking a loan out from them for my tuition. I did not know that was an option. Can you tell me more about what that is?" Self: "The whole financial aid thing is weird. They've already let you take the classes and now they're holding your degree hostage? I think you really need to sit down with them and figure it out. You did everything you could do, their date of receipt of the tax information seems irrelevant. It's time to start talking plan B. " minniesnowtah (minniesnowtah): "I agree that the financial aid thing is weird. However, it's pretty common to withhold a degree until everything is paid, even if you've fulfilled all the requirements." Self: "I thought it was more common that they wouldn't let you enroll in classes for the semester if you hadn't paid tuition. But they let this guy go all the way through the semester and are just now saying they won't let him graduate if they don't get the tax info on time? That's stupid - they could just apply it retroactively. It sounds like there's a bureaucratic mess that no one's willing to untangle. But again, they have to start looking at this. Do they need OP to remain enrolled as a student for another semester? Or some sort of form or appeals process to get the tuition bill taken care of? They can't leave him/her in limbo forever." Cessily (Cessily): "If there is a delay with the student's aid package (such as verification) the university can decide to let the student stay enrolled. However, a college cannot apply aid retroactively to a semester. So once the semester is up, no more financial aid packages can be applied. At that point he owes the entire balance of the semester. Schools put holds on accounts when monies are due so therefore he can't get official transcripts to prove he graduated even if the school applies the degree to his account with the hold. "
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "> How likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving?\n\nWas the return accepted by IRS on 11/24?\n\nDid the return show a refund or a balance due?" User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I do not know, and have asked. I believe that due to the 24th being Thanksgiving, the return was most likely received 11/28. I am not sure if it has been accepted yet, period." SpaceCrabz (SpaceCrabz): "When the IRS receives your tax return electronically they quote a 21 day timeframe but your return is processed enough to where the data shows up on TDS (the IRS transcript system) usually within 5-10 days. However, I don't think your parents e-filed their tax return because the last day to e-file was Oct. 17th, 2016. This is also probably why you haven't received an answer. They would need to file it by mail which can take 6-8 weeks to process. I would advise you to try to work something out with your university rather than waiting and hoping for the transcript because a number of things could happen during processing that would delay you getting the transcript on time." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "...You are correct. I told them multiple times that they needed to efile for the most rapid returns, and that paper taxes took much longer to get the return. They told me that they efiled. I don't know if they did it and it "went through" but will never be accepted, if they paper filed, or if they just are lying to me. I've asked all these questions and have yet to recieve a response.\n\nI will update you when I know which of the options it is. So- there is basically 0% possibility of their tax return getting there on time is what I'm gathering, though I don't know for sure if it's been accepted or not yet. I will be writing emails this weekend and going in on monday to as many offices as may be able to help me.\n\nThank you for this information." IThoughtSo98 (IThoughtSo98): "Obviously right now your priority is straightening out the school issue, but longer term I just want to emphasize: never, EVER rely on your mother and stepdad for anything financial again. Not only have they repeatedly been late filing taxes even though they know it has consequences for you--even now that it could DOUBLE your student debt--but they're already borrowing money from you while you're still a cash-strapped student because they've run into issues in their risky new business venture.\n\nI guarantee that once you're working full-time there will be many more occasions when they ask you for money because some "crisis" has come up that totally isn't their fault and is all going to get straightened out and result in a big windfall any day now if you'll just loan them a bit of money to tide them over until then. Do. Not. Do. It. And ESPECIALLY do not agree to co-sign any loans, or do anything else that potentially puts you on the hook for their financial issues."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "Wait, are you still in school or are you graduating? Have you talked to the university about taking out a loan directly with them for your tuition? I think you need to go in person to the financial aid office and sort this out. It's in their best interests to help you graduate." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I am still in school. I am graduating Winter 2016, a semester early- this is the issue. My last day of classes is Dec 16th, and the dean of students and director of financial aid both told me that if my parents' tax transcripts are not in by then, then they cannot apply any aid for me because I will have completed my degree reqirements. (I do not honestly know if they will complete financial aid even if we get them in on time due to general lack of faith in the financial aid office due to prior issues. They are particularly bad about deadlines. However, this information was given to me by the dean of students)\n\nI have been to the financial aid office weekly or more for the past month trying to focus on resolving the tax transcript issues. I have not pressed them for more information regarding what to do if this debt falls to me- they have of course expressed their desire to help me graduate. (Mostly due to still being a full time student and working two part time jobs; anxiety is killing me over this but I know I need to address it) \n\nI have not talked with my university regarding taking a loan out from them for my tuition. I did not know that was an option. Can you tell me more about what that is?" wraith_legion (wraith_legion): "Why don't you drop one of your required classes and take it next semester? Or, if your program allows you to replace grades by retaking failed classes, fail one of them. Since you won't have completed your degree, you'll still be eligible for aid." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "This is possibly an option. I've got As in all but one of my classes (B+), so I don't think even bombing the final is a possibility, but... I'm the research assistant for my capstone class' professor, and that is a course that is 100% necessary for graduation. I could probably ask him to fail me... I really do NOT want to go with this option. My GPA is not a 4.0 but this would tank it, and the fact that it's my capstone... I don't know if that would ravage my job prospects in the long run. I will try to run this option by financial aid and see how feasible it is, perhaps even the career center would be able to help." wraith_legion (wraith_legion): "First off, nicely done. I don't think I could have managed all A's while juggling two part time jobs. You sound like a hard worker, and you will go far, no matter what. Three years from now, you will barely mention what you did in college in interviews, because you will be too busy telling people about what you're working on. \n\nAt this point, I don't have much else to suggest, but going to the career center is a great idea. If you're graduating in two weeks, you should have already been talking to them for the last three months anyways, but there's no time like the present. If you can find a way to swing a co-op and stay on as a student to delay the financial aid situation, great, but that's a long shot. Otherwise, put them to work finding alumni that work at companies in the area. Start reaching out to them and explaining your situation. Even if they don't have hiring power, they can still make recommendations and get you in the door. You might have to dig your heels in and ~~start~~ keep working your ass off to pay this thing, and a solid job is how you'll do that.\n\nOtherwise, your capstone professor is your other best bet. There are a lot of potential options here, some long shots, others less so. They could use their influence to get some strings pulled with the dean or financial aid. At many campuses, doors remain closed until the right person knocks. Granted, you'll have to evaluate how much pull you have with this professor. Maybe they could create an independent study to continue your capstone research or even get you a research position in the department. Furthermore, you could enroll as a master's student. With your professor's pull, you could bypass some of the entry requirements and maybe get a TA position as well. If you're still a student, your federal loans won't be due for repayment, and you might get free room and board as well as tuition for the master's program if you're a TA. It sounds like your GPA is good enough to qualify, depending on your institution.\n\nI know it's going to be awkward explaining this situation to people, and asking strangers and professors to pull strings is not easy, but you can do this."
User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I go to a private university and chose to because they gave me a nice financial aid package; everything was covered and there would be no out of pocket expenses and I was set to graduate with around 26k in debt (22k now due to early graduation!) from only federal loans. My parents did not qualify for the Parent PLUS loan, so they would pay that each semester to compensate. We have had issues with the financial aid office in the past due to late tax transcripts and forms, as well as their own internal issues, but all have been resolved.\n\nI am on top of my financial aid. I forward emails to my mother about the things she needs to complete and I do everything on my own that I have the information for. They claim me as a dependent on their taxes because it is apparently "a bigger tax break than I would get a refund if you filed by yourself" which I believe; I work two part-time work study jobs on campus and have taken maximum credits each semester to graduate early. I am not rolling in cash, but I make approx. $800 a month which is enough to cover my personal expenses.\n\nThey recently made a lifestyle change. My stepdad is a real estate developer and had a decent payout at the end of 2015 since he gets paid in lump sums. They decided to move across the country and flip houses instead, because he was tired of making housing facilities. It is not going well, and they owe me about 1k for some expenses I helped them pick up. A contractor absolutely screwed them on their first project and they are meeting next Thursday for a resolution that should hopefully give my parents back about 100k of their investment. \n\nMy stepdad does the taxes. He has always filed them very very late, as far as I can tell; 2014's tax transcript got to my university in early 2016, I believe. I have been crystal clear with regards to what I and my university needs from him and by what deadlines, and the consequences of those actions.\n\nI have also been communicating with financial aid and recently, the dean of students, who told me that due to federal law and my fulfillment of degree requirements on December 16th (last day of classes) they cannot accept my tax transcripts if they arrive after Dec 16, and therefore my aid will not apply.\n\nMy current balance is 24,847.00. An additional $100 late fee has been added monthly since August or July, I believe, and will continue until there is nothing in the account.\n\nHe finished the efiled taxes on Thanksgiving. I presume due to the holiday, that they were registered on Monday by the IRS, so... My question is this;\n\nHow likely is it that their tax transcripts will be available to be sent to my university before December 16th given that they were filed on Thanksgiving? Efile should take 3 weeks according to my financial aid office. This is cutting it excruciatingly close.\n\nAnd as a follow-up;\n\nIf my parents' late tax transcripts do not arrive in time and my aid does not apply... How can I begin to take care of this massive additional debt in my name? I will not have a college degree since I will not have finished paying for it, and the university will withhold my official transcripts. I don't know how this might affect my job prospects. Perhaps it would be possible for my university to take pity on me and waive the $100 monthly interest on the amount. But I have no idea how I'm going to pay this much extra off; my degree is Biological Sciences and I have a good amount of varied work experience, but life science jobs are not well-paying, and I have focused my career towards becoming a zookeeper. \n\nShould I take out a loan to cover it in order to get my degree? What if the university was willing to waive my late fees? Can I try to take out my student loans in another way? \n\nI am grateful for any and all advice. " Self: "It depends on the university and your fafsa package, but generally:\n\nTalk to someone in the financial aid department at your school, and inform them of the issue (your parents didn't file their taxes on time). Chances are, they can fill out your financial aid package using records from the tax returns of the previous year, and you just have to promise to provide them with the new tax returns as soon as you receive them. When they get the new tax returns, they will adjust your financial aid package to reflect the differences and either issue you a greater award, or request a payment be made to their office.\n\nThis happened to me numerous times at my private university. This was always my quick fix.\n\nFun fact: Most financial aid reps, particularly at private universities, are human beings! They tend to understand that you and your parents are separate entities and that their fuckups aren't yours!" Self: "Additional fun fact for your follow up:\n\nFun Fact: Most interviewers for job openings are human beings! A simple phrase like "I've finished and passed all of my classes, and my degree is waiting for me. The only thing standing between me and a pretty placard for the wall is my bank account." goes a long way." User (parenttaxesthrowaway): "I'm just very worried they will toss my resume away because of the lowered GPA, failed capstone course, and additional semester (though that would make it a normal year, I still feel like my 3.5 year graduation without any high school credits is a decent tidbit to include on resumes) and not even give me the chance to explain myself.\n\nOr run a background check and see that I have not completed my degree.." Self: "1. Don't put GPA on your work resume. Chances are, they don't care. GPA tends to factor if you want to pursue a masters or phd, but if you are just getting a bachelor's degree, there is a reason the phrase exists "C's get degrees." I'm sure there are plenty of professionals you've dealt with in life that had terrible GPAs in college.\n\n2. Don't put individual class grades on resumes (see 1.)\n\n3. If you are up front in the interview about why you don't have your degree, then when they see it in your background check, they know why and don't worry about it." melvinater (melvinater): "Gpa is becoming increasingly asked for actually. It's on all paperwork and at job fairs if it's not listed they will ask and write it on" Self: "I found your problem: Job fairs.\n\nJob fairs, particularly if run by or at a school, will ask for GPA. I'll give you that.\n\nIn my experience, however, applying openly by going business to business, GPA isn't a common discussion point.\n\nI'm willing to accept that I just may have gotten lucky though." melvinater (melvinater): "Perhaps. But the places outside of the fairs also asked. Maybe I just got unlucky. I don't have a fabulous gpa... " Self: "May I ask whereabouts you live? You don't have to be specific, like a nearby city would work fine. I'm just curious if maybe there is a geographical aspect to it. Most of my job applications, and those of my students have been split between Greater Boston and Greater Los Angeles. " melvinater (melvinater): "Sorry u/youvillneverguesswho for the delay. I'm in NE Ohio. " Self: "No problem! Ohio, eh? Can't say I've done much work around there. Had a student in Chicago not too long ago, but that's about as close to Ohio as I've worked with. Perhaps the Great-Lakes States have a different methodology. Or maybe it's just the large cities that tend to skip over the GPA due to a need to fill positions?" melvinater (melvinater): "We also have a few large universities in the region. So a huge amount of students. One of them has... Low standards. Plus ITT just went down so they used to be around as well. That may be part of it. " Self: "Well thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'd never tell a student that grade don't matter, I just didn't realize there was a larger market that focused heavily on GPA." melvinater (melvinater): "No problem. To give you an idea the areas I've seen this in at all was computer science related fields, insurance, actuarial, data analysts, and things like that. Not sure about the rest of them. " Self: "I see. I've worked mostly with Architecture, Engineering, Science and Art students. So, mostly engineering positions (Mechanical, Civil, and Electrical, mostly), laboratory positions, and various marketing/advertising positions."
User (hobbes259): "A doctor's office I saw multiple times about a year ago is claiming that I owe them about $100 (consisting of 3 copays for office visits). However, I've reviewed my records and I have copies of cashed checks for the dates of service that they are showing as unpaid. Months ago, I wrote them a letter explaining the situation and attaching copies of the cashed checks for the dates of service in question. They continue to send me bills for the amounts they believe are due.\n\nIs it likely that this will actually try to collect on this or try to mess with my credit for such a small amount owed? I have a credit monitoring service in place, so I will hopefully get notifications if they do. For what it's worth, I have the money to pay it if I really need to but it's more of a principle thing at this point. Does anyone have any advice other than just ignoring their mailings? I still get them once a month. Or would folks here recommend paying it to make it go away?\n\nThanks for the thoughts!" Self: "You may find the [Health Insurance wiki page](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/health_insurance) helpful.\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (hobbes259): "A doctor's office I saw multiple times about a year ago is claiming that I owe them about $100 (consisting of 3 copays for office visits). However, I've reviewed my records and I have copies of cashed checks for the dates of service that they are showing as unpaid. Months ago, I wrote them a letter explaining the situation and attaching copies of the cashed checks for the dates of service in question. They continue to send me bills for the amounts they believe are due.\n\nIs it likely that this will actually try to collect on this or try to mess with my credit for such a small amount owed? I have a credit monitoring service in place, so I will hopefully get notifications if they do. For what it's worth, I have the money to pay it if I really need to but it's more of a principle thing at this point. Does anyone have any advice other than just ignoring their mailings? I still get them once a month. Or would folks here recommend paying it to make it go away?\n\nThanks for the thoughts!" Self: "They don't seem to read the letters. Try calling with your evidence at hand and talk them through that the co-pays were paid. Maybe this is a bill for something else, but if you have billing on the phone they can tell you."
User (hobbes259): "A doctor's office I saw multiple times about a year ago is claiming that I owe them about $100 (consisting of 3 copays for office visits). However, I've reviewed my records and I have copies of cashed checks for the dates of service that they are showing as unpaid. Months ago, I wrote them a letter explaining the situation and attaching copies of the cashed checks for the dates of service in question. They continue to send me bills for the amounts they believe are due.\n\nIs it likely that this will actually try to collect on this or try to mess with my credit for such a small amount owed? I have a credit monitoring service in place, so I will hopefully get notifications if they do. For what it's worth, I have the money to pay it if I really need to but it's more of a principle thing at this point. Does anyone have any advice other than just ignoring their mailings? I still get them once a month. Or would folks here recommend paying it to make it go away?\n\nThanks for the thoughts!" Self: "Up the anti on your response. Find a free legal affidavit form online, fill it out and have it notarized (or executed per the form or your states requirements). Scan it and mail it, your letter, your insurance EOB and the check copies to the billing department certified mail. Make sure your letter references the account number, invoice numbers, dates of service and your backup (either in the body or as enclosures at the foot). Demand written confirmation of closure of the invoices and retraction of the re-billing within 7 business days. \n\nIf they still contact you after that (which I doubt), you will have a shotgun in court. Remember, medical bills will hurt your credit and might not be forgiven by bankruptcy. Things like this grow so it is putting you at risk for more than the $100 they are asking. " miki678 (miki678): "Medical debt can be discharged in a bankruptcy. "
User (HereWithoutHarambe): "I am new to investing in stocks (or investing in general). Are there any books or articles out there that you would recommend?" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n- [Investing wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/investing)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (HereWithoutHarambe): "I am new to investing in stocks (or investing in general). Are there any books or articles out there that you would recommend?" Self: "http://www.updown.com\n\nMay i suggest this as an alternative? It far easier than learning by book which are all opinions. This can let you try it as a simulation and teach you to form your own investing ideas. " User (HereWithoutHarambe): "That's great and all. In fact, I do this on the motley fool site already. However, I am looking for a book to learn about terms and whatnot" Self: "Ok. Sorry i couldnt help. I love motley fool. I gave that advice because i daytrade to increase my income and hands on is what worked best for me. " User (HereWithoutHarambe): "No need to apologize lol. I appreciate the advice"
User (tybear64): "I graduated HS years ago, and just found out that our class account still has about 11k in it. I want to invest this money and hopefully manage to keep our reunions budgeted within the 5 years worth of returns of our investment portfolio. \n\n How do I do this investment? I figure since it's not my money that I should do something low risk, and given the gaps between reunions a market index fund seems like a good idea. Do I need an agent for this? What kind of process do I need to do here?\n\n(I was the class president so that's why I'm the custodian of the moolah)." Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n- [Investing wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/investing)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (tybear64): "I graduated HS years ago, and just found out that our class account still has about 11k in it. I want to invest this money and hopefully manage to keep our reunions budgeted within the 5 years worth of returns of our investment portfolio. \n\n How do I do this investment? I figure since it's not my money that I should do something low risk, and given the gaps between reunions a market index fund seems like a good idea. Do I need an agent for this? What kind of process do I need to do here?\n\n(I was the class president so that's why I'm the custodian of the moolah)." Self: "You need a license and LLC/LP to invest other people's money." User (tybear64): "Do you know how that works for an organization's money? This is X High School's Class of 20xx's money, not mine but also not another person's." Self: "It doesn't change anything. It's other people's money. If it came from school budget, the school board has interest in it. If it came from students/teachers/parents, they have interest in it. \n\nEach state has laws governing securities trading and the license needed. Search "State of ______ securities license" without quotes.\n\n" User (tybear64): "Can a non-profit invest? And those in charge of the non-profit guide investment strategy?" Self: "Even without all the securities laws involved, you are a custodian, not a bank CEO. Your job is to keep the money safe, not to risk it. \n\n> Can a non-profit invest?\n\nYes.\n\n> And those in charge of the non-profit guide investment strategy?\n\nStill need appropriate licenses"
User (dk523): "The wife and I are shopping for a new car. Now I know that sales tax in Texas is 6.25%, but there are several other items on the contract they're asking me to sign. Are these BS or legit?\n\n-Taxes: 6.25% I know this is legit.\n\n-VIT (Vehicle Inventory Tax): $99.96 This seems like BS to me.\n\n-Title and License: $249. I know this is required by law and is legit, but it seems like it's too high, like they're marking it up.\n\n-Inspection: $39.75 seems like BS to me. Why are they inspecting a brand new car?\n\n-Doc Fee: $163 seems like more BS to me.\n\nWhich of these should I be comfortable paying, and which are just the dealer trying to pad their profits?\n\nThanks!" Self: "I didn't look at any of these numbers when I bought my car. I told them what I wanted, gave them the total amount that I will pay which included all the fees and taxes. If they say no, I'll find another dealership. After a couple hours of them trying to add more useless stuff to my car, everything was printed out and ready to sign. They had to figure out the taxes, fees, and other things to fit my price. The $600 clear coat was only $50-something.\n\ntl;dr: Know what you want, and the exact amount you're willing to pay for it. Don't go over that amount, just walk out if they say no."
User (dk523): "The wife and I are shopping for a new car. Now I know that sales tax in Texas is 6.25%, but there are several other items on the contract they're asking me to sign. Are these BS or legit?\n\n-Taxes: 6.25% I know this is legit.\n\n-VIT (Vehicle Inventory Tax): $99.96 This seems like BS to me.\n\n-Title and License: $249. I know this is required by law and is legit, but it seems like it's too high, like they're marking it up.\n\n-Inspection: $39.75 seems like BS to me. Why are they inspecting a brand new car?\n\n-Doc Fee: $163 seems like more BS to me.\n\nWhich of these should I be comfortable paying, and which are just the dealer trying to pad their profits?\n\nThanks!" Self: "Post over in /r/askcarsales, they are helpful."
User (dk523): "The wife and I are shopping for a new car. Now I know that sales tax in Texas is 6.25%, but there are several other items on the contract they're asking me to sign. Are these BS or legit?\n\n-Taxes: 6.25% I know this is legit.\n\n-VIT (Vehicle Inventory Tax): $99.96 This seems like BS to me.\n\n-Title and License: $249. I know this is required by law and is legit, but it seems like it's too high, like they're marking it up.\n\n-Inspection: $39.75 seems like BS to me. Why are they inspecting a brand new car?\n\n-Doc Fee: $163 seems like more BS to me.\n\nWhich of these should I be comfortable paying, and which are just the dealer trying to pad their profits?\n\nThanks!" Self: "Finance manager, not in Texas here. \n\nOn ours, if it says tax, it is a tax, doesn't go to bottom line. \n\nTitle and License, we over calculate it and refund the difference. Washington is about $165, Idaho is about $75, Oregon is about $350, and Montana ranges depending on the value of the vehicle, I have seen some near $1000. \n\nInspection, most likely just a money grab on this one.\n\nDoc fee. Ours is "negotiable" at $150 but good luck negotiating it out. Some states are unregulated and are upwards of $650 (looking at you Las Vegas). It's is more profit for the dealership. \n\nOverall, you probably paid about $200 that you could maybe have, once again "negotiated" out of the deal. \n\nThen again, every state is different." Jordaneer (Jordaneer): "I only paid 55 bucks to renew my registration in Idaho back in August, and before June of 2015, it was $36 a year." Self: "The initial purchase includes a Title Transfer fee. My 2 year just registration was $88."
User (dk523): "The wife and I are shopping for a new car. Now I know that sales tax in Texas is 6.25%, but there are several other items on the contract they're asking me to sign. Are these BS or legit?\n\n-Taxes: 6.25% I know this is legit.\n\n-VIT (Vehicle Inventory Tax): $99.96 This seems like BS to me.\n\n-Title and License: $249. I know this is required by law and is legit, but it seems like it's too high, like they're marking it up.\n\n-Inspection: $39.75 seems like BS to me. Why are they inspecting a brand new car?\n\n-Doc Fee: $163 seems like more BS to me.\n\nWhich of these should I be comfortable paying, and which are just the dealer trying to pad their profits?\n\nThanks!" Self: "I think you're being a little overly critical. Looking at your history, you paid $3,000 for a designer breed dog, and now you're being critical of a sub-$600 set of fees on a new car? Buy used if it's that much of an issue with you, and save yourself 1/3 of the purchase price just to let some little old lady drive the car for 20,000-25,000 miles. \n\nThe doc fee and the title/license fee makes sense, because they have to pay someone to keep their business-related paperwork in order, get it submitted to the various agencies correctly, get you your plates and title, etc. Someone's gotta take care of that administrative crap on the back end. Inspection still has to happen, it's mandated by the state. You never know what craziness could happen at the manufacturer, this just makes sure that the car is certified as road-worthy. On a new car, it's at least 24 months, instead of 12. Vehicle Inventory tax is the only one that you can really argue is bogus. I bet if you look on the paperwork, it says that this is a tax to be levied against the dealer, and not the consumer. So, I bet that with enough arguing, you could get them to waive it. \n\nOr, just negotiate the price down. With my wife's latest car, we told them what we were willing to pay, let them run our credit to prove that we were serious, and they agreed to work with us. This won't work with really in-demand cars like Subarus, but with our TSX, it got us a great car at a reasonable price." ThurleMOBA (ThurleMOBA): "Why is it the costumers responsibility to pay for the dealerships initial car inspection? A company should back their car if that means footing the 40 dollar inspection to prove that their car is worth of the road then they should do that at the time of sale. I'd be pissed about it as well. \n\nAlso bringing up the mans dog is pointless. He could have 10 3000 dollar dogs. If that's what he feels like they're worth and willing to pay that then that's on him. Just because you have the money doesn't mean you need to throw it away on something you feel should be covered. " ThaDTrain (ThaDTrain): "I could be slightly outdated on my examples below but...\n\nTexas requires a vehicle safety inspection each year, and the listed price seemed right to me. New cars get the sticker for two years and you need a yearly inspection after that. \n\nWhy for new cars? Because it's required and it makes the state money.\n\nCalifornia has required smog tests even for low polluting cars that will easily pass inspection, probably for new cars too. Again, to make the state money." DMV_man (DMV_man): "I do not claim to be a professional on Texas motor vehicle law, however I would say you are probably correct. Many states have mandatory inspections that are the customers responsibility either annually or biannually. The fact is those fees have to be covered, and sure the dealership COULD have covered that fee for the customer in a sense. What you would have seen instead of a $163 Doc fee would have been a $202.75 doc fee to cover that inspection which PROBABLY would have worked out to being even worse for the customer. I know personally that in Florida, only certain fees get assessed sales tax, as base price of vehicle is NOT the only amount that sales tax can be charged on. Generally in Florida, Documentary fees are also added into the price of a vehicle when determining sales tax. State title/registration/tag/inspection fees, and other STATE mandatory fees generally do not add to the amount that is sales taxed. Also in many states, these type of fees can also be a write off, so by itemizing those fees out it can help the customer in more ways than one. "
User (dk523): "The wife and I are shopping for a new car. Now I know that sales tax in Texas is 6.25%, but there are several other items on the contract they're asking me to sign. Are these BS or legit?\n\n-Taxes: 6.25% I know this is legit.\n\n-VIT (Vehicle Inventory Tax): $99.96 This seems like BS to me.\n\n-Title and License: $249. I know this is required by law and is legit, but it seems like it's too high, like they're marking it up.\n\n-Inspection: $39.75 seems like BS to me. Why are they inspecting a brand new car?\n\n-Doc Fee: $163 seems like more BS to me.\n\nWhich of these should I be comfortable paying, and which are just the dealer trying to pad their profits?\n\nThanks!" Self: "Finance manager, not in Texas here. \n\nOn ours, if it says tax, it is a tax, doesn't go to bottom line. \n\nTitle and License, we over calculate it and refund the difference. Washington is about $165, Idaho is about $75, Oregon is about $350, and Montana ranges depending on the value of the vehicle, I have seen some near $1000. \n\nInspection, most likely just a money grab on this one.\n\nDoc fee. Ours is "negotiable" at $150 but good luck negotiating it out. Some states are unregulated and are upwards of $650 (looking at you Las Vegas). It's is more profit for the dealership. \n\nOverall, you probably paid about $200 that you could maybe have, once again "negotiated" out of the deal. \n\nThen again, every state is different." DMV_man (DMV_man): "This guy is generally Correct. Unless that inspection is a state required inspection fee, the only real fee that may have been negotiable is the Doc fee, but the dealerships have to make money SOMEWHERE. It sounds more like you didn't do the appropriate research before you purchased the car and possibly overstepped your initial idea of what you had budgeted. I work at the DMV equivalent here in Florida and I see this kind of thing DAILY. People go and buy cars and never decided to call in advance to get a general idea of what the fees are like before purchasing and want to complain about it after the fact. It can be worse depending on state. Purchasing a new car in Florida, if you do not have a previous tag credit to transfer (without sales tax) your state fees for title, tag, and registration fees usually end up around $400, not including any additional dealership fees. The sales(use) tax rate can also vary depending on the county that you live in, as some counties also charge additional percentages of sales tax depending on each individual county. Also as stated above, a lot of times dealerships would rather overcharge you on title and registration fees because its generally a LOT more customer friendly to give them money back after the transaction, rather than have to tell you that you owe more money after the paperwork is completed. " Self: "Even if it was a state required inspection, they can add that to the cost of the vehicle and not separate it out, or have the customer pay for it later. (We have emissions testing like that) By separating it out, it seems to me like they were just putting a reason to charge $40. I have seen it multiple time. Frankly, we can put whatever we want on a purchase order and charge for it as long as it was disclosed (written down) and signed by the customer. The rest of yours was spot on. Hard to say unless you actually work in Texas. " DMV_man (DMV_man): "True, in another comment I broke down how that can actually be worse for the customer in the long run. Adding state required fees like that to the base cost of the vehicle on the bill of sale (at least in Florida) adds to the amount of assessed sales tax. Since it is not itemized out to show that those are state required fees. Most state required fees (again at least in Florida) are not assessed in terms of sales tax. Also breaking it down into the individual fees can potentially be tax write offs, whereas if you bundle all of that into the cost of the vehicle that may not be an option. Out of all of those fees, the only ones (off the top of my head) that would have added to the sales taxable value is going to be the vehicle inventory tax, and the dealerships documentary fee. If the bill of sale shows that inspection as "State Inspection Fee" it would most certainly be rolled into the non sales(use) taxable items."
User (dk523): "The wife and I are shopping for a new car. Now I know that sales tax in Texas is 6.25%, but there are several other items on the contract they're asking me to sign. Are these BS or legit?\n\n-Taxes: 6.25% I know this is legit.\n\n-VIT (Vehicle Inventory Tax): $99.96 This seems like BS to me.\n\n-Title and License: $249. I know this is required by law and is legit, but it seems like it's too high, like they're marking it up.\n\n-Inspection: $39.75 seems like BS to me. Why are they inspecting a brand new car?\n\n-Doc Fee: $163 seems like more BS to me.\n\nWhich of these should I be comfortable paying, and which are just the dealer trying to pad their profits?\n\nThanks!" Self: "I think you're being a little overly critical. Looking at your history, you paid $3,000 for a designer breed dog, and now you're being critical of a sub-$600 set of fees on a new car? Buy used if it's that much of an issue with you, and save yourself 1/3 of the purchase price just to let some little old lady drive the car for 20,000-25,000 miles. \n\nThe doc fee and the title/license fee makes sense, because they have to pay someone to keep their business-related paperwork in order, get it submitted to the various agencies correctly, get you your plates and title, etc. Someone's gotta take care of that administrative crap on the back end. Inspection still has to happen, it's mandated by the state. You never know what craziness could happen at the manufacturer, this just makes sure that the car is certified as road-worthy. On a new car, it's at least 24 months, instead of 12. Vehicle Inventory tax is the only one that you can really argue is bogus. I bet if you look on the paperwork, it says that this is a tax to be levied against the dealer, and not the consumer. So, I bet that with enough arguing, you could get them to waive it. \n\nOr, just negotiate the price down. With my wife's latest car, we told them what we were willing to pay, let them run our credit to prove that we were serious, and they agreed to work with us. This won't work with really in-demand cars like Subarus, but with our TSX, it got us a great car at a reasonable price." ThurleMOBA (ThurleMOBA): "Why is it the costumers responsibility to pay for the dealerships initial car inspection? A company should back their car if that means footing the 40 dollar inspection to prove that their car is worth of the road then they should do that at the time of sale. I'd be pissed about it as well. \n\nAlso bringing up the mans dog is pointless. He could have 10 3000 dollar dogs. If that's what he feels like they're worth and willing to pay that then that's on him. Just because you have the money doesn't mean you need to throw it away on something you feel should be covered. " ThaDTrain (ThaDTrain): "I could be slightly outdated on my examples below but...\n\nTexas requires a vehicle safety inspection each year, and the listed price seemed right to me. New cars get the sticker for two years and you need a yearly inspection after that. \n\nWhy for new cars? Because it's required and it makes the state money.\n\nCalifornia has required smog tests even for low polluting cars that will easily pass inspection, probably for new cars too. Again, to make the state money." ThurleMOBA (ThurleMOBA): "I understand a state inspection for vehicles and I even agree with it to a point. Unsafe vehicles can cause accidents and deaths, my point for him not wanting to pay the inspection fee on a vehicle being sold from a dealer as valid was that the dealership should back their car for the initial inspection. \n\nJust good business that way. " ThaDTrain (ThaDTrain): "Yes, but the state requires a safety inspection sticker to be put on the windshield before you can register the car to drive on the road. It's not a matter of the dealership saying their car is safe, it's the state inspection (which can be done at the dealer) which says it is safe. It should be waived for new cars from the factory as they should already be road worthy. But, the state makes you pay it anyway. It's just a method to tax new car sales just a little bit more, just under the guise of a safety inspection (which as I mentioned, is redundant for a brand new car)." ThurleMOBA (ThurleMOBA): "I agree it should be waived. But since it's not the dealership should pay for it. Otherwise it's "hey thanks for giving us a boat load of money for this brand new car! Oh by the way give us 40 dollars more so that we can have some kid walk a circle around it and give the state a virtual thumbs up""
User (cameronaabruce): "Hi all, excuse my ignorance. I am applying for my first credit card. It says 'Minimum Credit Limit: £200' - does this mean that I have to spend £200 per month? Or year? or am i misinterpreting this completely? Thanks in advance" Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Credit-related wiki pages](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_credit)\n- [Credit Cards](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/creditcards) \n- [FICO / Credit Scores](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/fico)\n- [Improving Credit Scores and Building Credit](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/credit_building)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."
User (cameronaabruce): "Hi all, excuse my ignorance. I am applying for my first credit card. It says 'Minimum Credit Limit: £200' - does this mean that I have to spend £200 per month? Or year? or am i misinterpreting this completely? Thanks in advance" Self: "It means that if you qualify for the card, you limit will be at least £200, but they might give you more based on your qualifications. "
User (cameronaabruce): "Hi all, excuse my ignorance. I am applying for my first credit card. It says 'Minimum Credit Limit: £200' - does this mean that I have to spend £200 per month? Or year? or am i misinterpreting this completely? Thanks in advance" Self: "Im no expert but it probably means that your credit limit wont be under £200. Meaning that you will be able to spend AT LEAST £200 before maxing out your card.\n\nSpend wisely my friend. Pay every month. Don't spend over 30% of your limit." Pressingissues (Pressingissues): "What do you do when you ignore this advice, then max out 3?" Self: "1. Monitor your credit score through places like Credit Karma.\n2. Make a budget and see exactly where your money is going.\n3. Cut your monthly expenses best you can (eat out less, cut cable/phone bill down, generally spend less).\n4. Determine which card has the highest APR and start paying that off first.\n\nOptional: If you have a good/decent credit score, sometimes you can consolidate your debt through a personal loan if you can get a low interest rate.\n\nGetting out of debt can be a long process, but well worth it. Took me about 18 months of disciplined saving and budgeting to get out of roughly 5k debt. It is soo worth it right now.\n\nI'm no expert, just some foundational tips that helped me. Good luck."
User (Hansgeorig722): "After being at my new job for a year I approached my boss about a raise to bring me in line with my industry standard - I was a 'risky' hire, weak work experience, new field, poor references. My initial pay was below, but I was happy to move into the position.\n\nMy boss informed me that he had already requested an out of cycle raise for me two weeks prior. Said I was working out well and he was happy. Great.\n\nHow long do I wait before pushing him? Its clear there are some corporate issues at work here but I cant tell the difference between his hands being tied and him stringing me along. \n\nFor context, its a small office and we touch base frequently but I have a lot of autonomy." Self: "My advice is to always follow up via an email. You can be as direct as possible, but always have it in writing. \n\nExample 1: Hey Joe, thanks for the chat today. I appreciate you've requested that raise for me a couple of weeks ago. Let me know if there's anything you need from me. \n\nExample 2: Hi Joe,\nThank you for your time in today's meeting. As mentioned, you have already submitted paperwork for my upcoming raise. Could you please advise of expected time frames or be process required?\n"
User (Hansgeorig722): "After being at my new job for a year I approached my boss about a raise to bring me in line with my industry standard - I was a 'risky' hire, weak work experience, new field, poor references. My initial pay was below, but I was happy to move into the position.\n\nMy boss informed me that he had already requested an out of cycle raise for me two weeks prior. Said I was working out well and he was happy. Great.\n\nHow long do I wait before pushing him? Its clear there are some corporate issues at work here but I cant tell the difference between his hands being tied and him stringing me along. \n\nFor context, its a small office and we touch base frequently but I have a lot of autonomy." Self: "I would say once you made initial contact about a raise, I would do a follow up about a week later....either face to face or by email...."
User (CoastAndRoast): "In mid October I lost my (retail) job of 5 years and since then I have had no luck in finding a job related to my field. I have a degree in advertising and some internship experience at an agency, but I can not seem to get any traction with an entry level position for brand management or account planning. I have sent out close to 100 applications over the past month and a half, revised my resume countless times and even set up a website for myself (aside from LinkedIn) to act as a sort of visual resume, only to get two phone interviews. I am trying my best to stay positive and keep pushing forward, but it is starting to get greatly discouraging. If anyone in that related field has some advice on getting started, I would greatly appreciate it." Self: "I would think that advertising people respond well to "personal branding". You need to be in their faces looking good and being loud. Your resume should be a YouTube video that is spotlessly overproduced. Create marketing initiatives for local companies and give them to the best contact you can get your hands on. Walk into places dressed to the T and drop business cards with your website URL and nothing else.\n\nWatch the best of Jack Donaghy for some inspiration. :D\n\nhttp://www.nbc.com/30-rock/video/the-ultimate-negotiation/n21406"
User (CoastAndRoast): "In mid October I lost my (retail) job of 5 years and since then I have had no luck in finding a job related to my field. I have a degree in advertising and some internship experience at an agency, but I can not seem to get any traction with an entry level position for brand management or account planning. I have sent out close to 100 applications over the past month and a half, revised my resume countless times and even set up a website for myself (aside from LinkedIn) to act as a sort of visual resume, only to get two phone interviews. I am trying my best to stay positive and keep pushing forward, but it is starting to get greatly discouraging. If anyone in that related field has some advice on getting started, I would greatly appreciate it." Self: "After starting my career in finance, I've worked in marketing/advertising for the past 8 years. All within large corporate marketing depts and working with external Ad agencies. Have you tried to join a local "Ad club" ? You can find them on LinkedIn and they have events. Great way to network. You won't find many Brand Mgmt entry level jobs, typically you need a number of years on the Account or Project mgmt side of an agency. My other suggestion is to get creative with your resume, these are organizations that are filled with people that are creative and value grabbing someone's attention. Is your resume doing that? Think outside the box. My last piece of advice is to read some good marketing books or magazines (Ad Age). This will help you nail the interview. " User (CoastAndRoast): "I just looked into the philly ad club and it looks like they offer mentor programs for members and opportunities to network. Your advice has been the most helpful by far and I appreciate your input. Thank you."
User (dustwads_101): "I am 26 living in Canada. I have about $12K in savings and no debt. I pay all of my bills on time and have a stable paycheque every two weeks of $1300. I have read some of the guides and would like to start an emergency fund. I find that I have made budgets and spreadsheets and I have trouble sticking to them after a few months and then stop paying attention and fall 50, 60, $100 into overdraft every few months. I am looking for advice on how to manage better especially in regards to daily spending habits." Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Budgeting wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/budgeting)\n- [Spreadsheets section of the Tools wiki page](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/tools#wiki_redditor_created.3A)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns."

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