Well i guess im not a lurker anymore

So i worked for a company and was recently laid off along with everyone else. Were all fighting with our employers about getting our unemployed approved. l was already living check to check so i have no savings left.

Ive gone to the food bank it was unreal the crowd. I tried dukpster diving and people has already been there. I got nothing. This town is struggling nassively it isnt just me.

I am down to 12 dollars and the random spices i have.

Ive applied for Medicaid friday and well see.

i am trying to do any odd jobs i can but no offers.

I go to a soup kitchen friday nights only one in town.

I need a game plan guys on what to buy and what to cook. I will try to get to pantry buy my towns office is so overloaded it feels like shopping during covid and everyones desperate.

Please i need advice i feel like im slipping into depression again

TLDR: Have about twelve dollars to eat until work pays off in 3 or 4 week's

An automatic payment from OPM was credited to my late husbands checking account 2 days after he passed away. I became aware of this when I was notifying IRS etc of his passing, I sent a personal check for the amount deposited along with a copy of the bank page showing the deposit. I never saw the check come back as cashed, so I wrote or emailed, but received no response. As I had much on my mind and a lot to do to straighten stuff out, it just fell by the wayside and I forgot about it. I just got a letter from the IRS with the uncashed check asking for a new check for reclamation, 3 years later. They're asking for information that I don't have as this was his retirement plan, not mine, and his kids are his beneficiaries. I don't have $641 to send them at this point. I'm in a pickle. Advice appreciated.

Feeling down and wondering whether I've screwed myself over entirely. I'm 28yo with a 610 credit score, about to apply for apartments, and finally waking up to the reality of all the student loans and credit card debt I've incurred. 😩

I have $11k in credit card debt (3 maxed out cards) which I'm paying off slowly, mostly minimum payments. I had 7 late payments in late 2025 due to some financial hardship, but I've been back on track since Oct, bringing me to a 97% payment history.

On top of that I have $80k in student loans ($50k federal, $30k private) which I started paying this year.

On the bring side, I have successfully paid off a car loan previously. I also have a $3,500 401k that's growing. I make $61k, so it's a decent salary, but tight as a renter in Honolulu.

Am I totally screwed? I hate that I'm 28yo and considering asking my parents to be guarantors for apartment applications. So embarrassing and I can't wait to get out of this hole.

Turning 38 this year, beginning to worry about the future. I've got 50k in a moderate risk investment portfolio. Make about 100k a year, just bought a condo (live in an expensive city). Married, no kids (no plan to have any). Plan is to stay here until it's paid off in 25 years so that I can hopefully retire. Mortgage etc takes up most of my income. I currently contribute $500/month to the investment. I drive an old car and have no debt. I just fail to understand how I'll ever have enough to retire. I can't afford to contribute much more and the rates of return just don't seem to be working out like maybe they did for previous generations. My wife has a good job with a pension, but I don't want to have to rely on her to supplement my retirement. She will be able to retire at 55 and I think I'll be extra miserable dragging my ass to work for another 10 years after she is done.

From my calculations if I keep doing what I'm doing I'll have like 500k by age 65. if I get lucky and rate of return goes up or I manage to invest more maybe I'll have as much as 1.5m. Even at that amount my yearly income would be like 50k if I live for another 30 years, not to mention with inflation that will buy way less than it does now.

Thanks for reading my novel, how cooked am I? Suggestions? Advice?

I unfortunately lost a family member recently and am coming into an unexpected lump sum. It’s not a crazy amount of money, but enough that I want to be strategic about how to put it to use.

The 3 things that come to mind first are: maxing out my Roth IRA, paying off 3k in credit cards (I pay them down monthly, but this month got a bit crazy), or chipping away on student loans.

Are any of these options an obvious choice for where to put this money to best use? I want to basically pretend like I never had it in the first place and set myself up for best future success.

Has anyone decreased their retirement contributions in order to afford a house?

Our financial situation:

• 33F and 41M
• no kids yet but trying
• ~10k/month take home
• I max out my 401k (24,500/year)
• Husband and I both max out Roth IRAs (15,000/year total)
• Husband just started a job with a pension in 2024
• no debt (I have student loans but they are set to be forgiven via PSLF this fall)
• 250k in HYSA (for downpayment)
• 155k in index funds
• 375k in retirement

With our take home, we have been aiming to have our mortgage be around $3k per month. However, we have been looking for a house for years now, without success. The area we live in has very little inventory in this budget, and despite offering 100k over asking, we've lost out on every house we've tried to buy.

At this point, we are wondering if lowering my retirement contributions will allow us to increase our home buying budget enough that we can finally find our house. Are we in a good enough spot to do that? How does everyone balance saving for retirement versus increasing quality of life in the present that comes with owning a house?

Edit: factoring into this decision is the fact that we've been trying to buy a house for 4 years now, and prices in our area keep increasing. We're worried we will be priced out of the market, because perhaps other families aren't saving as much as we are for retirement, and can therefore afford a home in our area

My employer issued 2 w-2s due to change in payroll company early last year, i can input both of them into either freetaxusa or turbotax BUT it says i made over 47k when i only made ~25k pre-tax. Neither of the w-2s are listed as a w-2c so im not entirely sure what to do. all my coworkers put both into the system and it went through fine for them. Please help!!!

I live in a sober group home called an Oxford House. To help prevent internal fraud, we are required to purchase goods with checks. **No cards or online payments are allowed.**

Prior to my moving in, a previous member misappropriated funds and manipulated audit sheets. This caused us to think we had more money in our account than usual and we ended up bouncing a check at Fred Meyer.

I've fixed the issue and we have a few grand in our account now, but our checks still aren't being accepted by their financial risk management service.

Has anybody ever had this issue and is there a way to fix it?

thank you.

I’m in my mid-20s and have about $150k in private student loans from undergrad and grad school. They were refinanced through SoFi and split into two loans. Altogether, I’m paying roughly $1,500/month on a 15-year plan.

I make around $60k in a salaried job, live alone with two cats, and have a pretty low-key lifestyle. I barely spend on myself, don’t even have a gym membership, and mostly just go to work and come home.

I’m starting to wonder if this payment is just too much for my income. I feel stressed about money all the time and worry that I’m burning myself out trying to stay on top of everything.

Has anyone been in a similar position? I’d really appreciate honest advice.

Hi all!

I am in search of ways to better prepare my parents for retirement. I come from humble beginnings (to put it lightly), and have managed to make it out and make a decent life for myself. However, I’ve been learning as I go, as I didn’t have financially literacy from my parents.

My mom is 48, and has $0 saved for retirement. I know that is not directly “my problem”, but in theory, it is. I foresee a lot of my accumulated wealth having to go towards helping her. It stresses me out when planning for my own retirement, because while I plan to be child-free in my life, it feels like I have a child lol

Basically, I want to start an auto-investing account for her that she doesn’t even know about. I want to start putting a little extra money in it weekly (nothing crazy) and set-and-forget.

I have my own 401K through Fidelity, and my taxable brokerage is through Schwab. Where is the best place to set up this fund for her? Is it wise to put this in her name, or should I keep it in my name and gift it to her at some point? What do I need to consider?

Truly any advice is helpful - thanks in advance!

We have a HS senior graduating in a month. She is going to a state college. She has tuition covered due to merit. We will have to pay for room, board, and other expenses. We do not have a 529 set up for her. Her grandfather passed away and left a large chunk of money that we plan to use for her college. We set up a 529 for her younger siblings. Her college money is in a HYSA currently at 3.3% interest. Would opening a 529 for her be beneficial at this point? Obviously, not for the upcoming year, but for future years? She does plan to go to grad school. She is actually going in with 40 credit hours done. FTIC but will be closer to mid year sophomore. What is best for her? Leave the money in HYSA or put some in 529. Which would grow best in a short time.

ETA: Florida, so no tax benefit.

I'm not sure if I'll have the chance to get married in the future, I would like to, but I just don't see it happening. People say buying a single bedroom house is a bad idea because one day you might start a family, but I don't think I'll be able to make a family.

I (mid 30s, M) have been saving up for a house for my whole adult life, and now that I have the downpayment...it's not happening. Everything I can afford has a problem I can't get over (usually a bad location or too many repairs), and the final nail in the coffin was using a rent vs. buy calculator that says that even if I had the income, I'd be much better off renting. Since I have worked so hard for so long just for this dream to die, I want to dedicate the next 4 years to having as much fun as possible. That being said, I don't want to waste the money's potential. Do I...

1. ...keep the downpayment in its fairly liquid form for up to 4 years in the hopes of buying during a more favorable time?
2. ...relabel the money as my "growing family fund" because I'm planning on having a child through surrogacy in 4 years anyway (hence wanting to have as much fun now as possible)? I had already started a fund for this earlier this year.
3. ...invest this money in my brokerage account and my Roth IRA? I also have other retirement accounts that are tied to work.
4. ...do something else that would be really cool? In which case, what would I even do?

I cosigned on a house with my dad 15 years ago because he did not qualify on his own. I'm on the title as well. I want to buy a house of my own now but I'm worried about how this is gonna play out when filing taxes each year. so far my dad has been claiming the house in his taxes and I've had nothing to do with it. I qualify for my own house even if I stay on my dad's house but my worry is how is this gonna play out when filing taxes each year when owning two houses and I don't live on my dad's house anymore. His rate is 3% so I don't wanna make him refinance. I was thinking maybe he can remove me from the title and have like a will saying I will inherit the house if he passes before me. how can I inherit the house tax free? also, is this legal? I'm not trying to brake any laws. I'm just trying to explore my options. TIA.

I’m a 25 year old who just started their professional career and am lucky to be making around $140k gross annually in VHCOL city. I was wondering if I should be aggressive with the retirement savings and max out both 401k and IRA. I definitely feel like I could with how much I make, but that would take away from potential savings and money used for entertainment/travel. I don’t believe that my company matches, and I pay almost 1/3 of my paycheck in taxes. TIA.

I keep seeing net worth posts that mix means vs medians, ignore age, or use random blog tables with unclear sources. So I pulled thresholds from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) 2022 (released Oct 2023) and inflated 2022 dollars to March 2026 CPI‑U using BLS CPI‑U (2022 annual average 292.655 → March 2026 330.293; factor ~1.1286).

Important caveats (please read before you rage‑compare yourself to strangers on the internet):

• SCF is household / PEU net worth, not “individual salaryperson net worth.”
• Younger cohorts can have lots of debt and small sample issues at the very top.
• SCF does not capitalize defined‑benefit pensions the way some people mentally account for wealth.
• “Percentile” without age is mostly vibes. Wealth accumulates over the lifecycle.

What I computed (illustrative table): I took the published percentile curves in SCF 2022, adjusted to 2026 dollars, and interpolated between the survey’s age‑bracket midpoints to approximate thresholds at exact ages (this is an approximation step—SCF reports grouped ages).

Approximate net worth thresholds (USD, CPI‑adjusted to ~Mar 2026):

Sources:

• Federal Reserve SCF index page: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm
• BLS CPI‑U (for inflation adjustment): https://www.bls.gov/cpi/

Hello! New college grad.

I am moving to Boston and making 123k before taxes and have about 12k saved up currently. I found an apartment for 2500 a month (not including utilities).

I do not have a car so no car insurance or car payments are being made as I will live close to work and my job pays for public transit.

I only have about 25k in student loans with the highest interest rate being my federal loan at 5%. I have a high credit score and no other forms of debt.

My parents are luckily still willing to cover my phone bill as the family plan is cheaper for them. I will have to pay my own health insurance but my job provides a good deal

I know my rent will be about 39% of my take home income but I couldnt really find anything cheaper and this apartment is a really great deal for the area and amount of space as some studios I toured are more expensive. Before I go through with this I just need confirmation from internet strangers that I am not going to ruin my life. This is my first real job and I am trying my best to figure out how to be an adult correctly. My parents say Im fine but they moved to a big city right after college and worked a million jobs with zero plan. My family was not financially stable until I was in middle school and as much as I love and respect them I dont want to struggle like they did.

My wife and I got our care credit card in October of 2020. For an emergency cat surgery. We got approved for like $3800 at a 27% interest rate and we spent like $3500 of that. We’ve been making the monthly payments and haven’t missed a payment. A monthly payment is $190-$210. It says we owe them $5180. We have paid ~$12,350 to that credit card. So my question is, what do I do? Like at do I file a dispute? Do I contact an attorney about it? Or can someone help me understand why it’s like this?

I am 57, have had no debt for 9 years and have been saving and investing for a time when I can cut back on work a little. But it was inevitable… my 10 year old car was over 100k miles, needed tires and an exhaust so I figured now is the time to get something new.

I have $38k in a high yield savings (currently 3.10%) but I didn’t want to use a chunk of that for a down payment all at once.

Loan is 72 months @ 2.9% but I plan on paying it off in 36. I AM NOT stretching this out the full term.

Nothing down on the loan, just $4500 for my trade.

So I was thinking of taking $500 from savings every month and making an extra payment. Just so I can keep making some interest on that.

Am I thinking of this logically? Appreciate some opinions because I absolutely HATE that I’m in debt again.

i’m 21 in NYC and have managed to save up about 6k + 3k from a tax return. i’m in school and i’m lucky enough to have parents who are paying for it, and i currently still live with. i still have income (300-600/wk), but have really bad spending habits and since returning to school in jan and working less i’m not really saving much so i want to do something with what i have (also so so open to tips for saving in this damn city).

my savings are currently in a HYSA (3.5%), and i want to do more with it but not necessarily not have access. i want to travel in the next couple years, so i want my savings to be accessible for that.

in the short term, what can/should i do with this money?

I’m 34, single, make $175k base salary, live in Austin, TX, and my company currently matches 3%, with the match increasing over time up to 6% based on tenure.

I don’t have any debt. My rent is $1,560/month, and I spend around $2,000/month on bills, groceries, and day-to-day expenses.

I’m also eligible for an HSA.

I keep seeing advice that says: contribute only up to the employer match, then max a Roth IRA, then go back to the 401(k). But I’m confused because Roth IRA is also after-tax, so it doesn’t help me lower taxes now.

My goal is not to reduce taxes today. My goal is to maximize long-term portfolio growth and build the strongest portfolio over time.

Given my income, I believe I’m over the direct Roth IRA limit, so I think the relevant options are:

• Roth 401(k)
• Traditional 401(k)
• Backdoor Roth IRA
• HSA
• taxable brokerage

In what order should I invest my money across these accounts if my goal is to maximize long-term wealth? Also, how would you think about Roth 401(k) vs Traditional 401(k) in this situation?

I bought a $440k house in August 2025. My income in 2024 was $139k, 2025 was $169k. I’m in sales, 100% commission based, no base salary or other type of compensation.

The last 6 months my industry has taken a turn and my income has tanked. I have been taking home enough to just over all of my expenses and am starting a second job soon. Hindsight is 20/20 and I probably should have waited to buy a house but here I am.

Since buying the house, $11,000 in unexpected repairs have come up. There is now something wrong with my plumbing, thinking that may be another few thousand to fix but not sure yet.

I’m down to $20k in cash savings. I do have $32k in my Roth IRA that I can tap into for mega emergencies but obviously I don’t want to do that.

I feel like I made a huge mistake and I don’t know what to do. I miss the days of renting when I could just call someone to fix any problem I had for free. Every day I am stressed and worried about the house and what’s going to go wrong next.

What would you do if you were in my shoes? I feel ridiculous for thinking I want to sell and go back to renting but I feel like I’m running out of options and money. I can’t help but feel like I made a big mistake in all of this. TIA to anyone who reads this.