Originally Posted by Amnorix:
DaFace's post says it all in terms of the priority list. Get that CC paid off asap.
Once you pay off the CC and have started the matching 401(k), etc. what you would REALLY like to do is refinance the house and NOT pay PMI. This requires that you have paid down 20% of the house based on valuation. PMI is money out of your pocket solely for the benefit of the bank and is COMPLETELY BAD.
He may, and I emphasize may, be eligible to refinance and not pay PMI, depending upon his credit score and the lender. My wife and I were pretty satisfied with our current rate and lender (Arvest- 30 year fixed at 4.2%). I looked into refinancing through Quicken Loans, they dropped our rate to 3.4% and waived the PMI based on my credit score. It was nice to tell Arvest to fuck right on off and not waste 120$ per month. [Reply]
Originally Posted by hometeam:
I have A+ credit as well. Have been thinking about looking into some debt transfer options and turning some of that high interest debt into low interest debt, but dont know if thats worth any fees etc.
Not that this really matters as you shouldn't be opening new lines of credit anyway, but there's no way you have A+ credit carrying a balance equal to your yearly income. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Red Beans:
He may, and I emphasize may, be eligible to refinance and not pay PMI, depending upon his credit score and the lender. My wife and I were pretty satisfied with our current rate and lender (Arvest- 30 year fixed at 4.2%). I looked into refinancing through Quicken Loans, they dropped our rate to 3.4% and waived the PMI based on my credit score. It was nice to tell Arvest to fuck right on off and not waste 120$ per month.
PMI is a federal thing IIRC. Your house probably appreciated since you bought it and got you over the threshold. Credit score might have something to do with it but I'd bet the appraisal was what triggered it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Amnorix:
I'm not kidding when I tell you that some disturbingly HUGE percentage of America is basically in this boat, which is a huge part of why people are so disaffected and voted for "Hope and Change" in 2008 and for Trump in 2016.
MEDIAN savings (half of population above, half below) for people aged 56-61 is $17,000. SEVENTEEN thousand. It's fucking mind-boggling.
And no offense Hometeam, I think you clearly stated you weren't great with money, but it blows my mind someone can rack up debt like that in a housing area this is so cheap ($85k mortgage?). This seems to be a common trend across the country though.
I wouldn't worry about investing in anything outside of your 401k since you have never had one and have nothing saved for retirement. Take the highest contribution you can that maxes your employer match. Bump up your contributions after that according to getting your debt paid off. The 401k is a great investment vehicle for you to lower your taxable income on the higher salary. [Reply]
Originally Posted by lewdog:
All of this is so mind blowing to me.
And no offense Hometeam, I think you clearly stated you weren't great with money, but it blows my mind someone can rack up debt like that in a housing area this is so cheap ($85k mortgage?). This seems to be a common trend across the country though.
I wouldn't worry about investing in anything outside of your 401k since you have never had one and have nothing saved for retirement. Take the highest contribution you can that maxes your employer match. Bump up your contributions after that according to getting your debt paid off. The 401k is a great investment vehicle for you to lower your taxable income on the higher salary.
Having a family hurts savings initiatives. Notice the stark increase once the kids are out of the house and college is paid for. Still not a lot but enough to survive an emergency. I suspect those older peeps are invested.
I don't have $17K in savings and I'd consider myself in a great place financially. [Reply]
Originally Posted by eDave:
Having a family hurts savings initiatives. Notice the stark increase once the kids are out of the house and college is paid for. Still not a lot but enough to survive an emergency. I suspect those older peeps are invested.
I don't have $17K in savings and I'd consider myself in a great place financially.
I am assuming that graph includes retirement accounts as "savings?" Read the bottom of the graph. So this graph is including cash and investments, right? Which is fucking scary! [Reply]
Originally Posted by lewdog:
All of this is so mind blowing to me.
And no offense Hometeam, I think you clearly stated you weren't great with money, but it blows my mind someone can rack up debt like that in a housing area this is so cheap ($85k mortgage?). This seems to be a common trend across the country though.
I wouldn't worry about investing in anything outside of your 401k since you have never had one and have nothing saved for retirement. Take the highest contribution you can that maxes your employer match. Bump up your contributions after that according to getting your debt paid off. The 401k is a great investment vehicle for you to lower your taxable income on the higher salary.
When you have two 50k incomes with bills to match, and you lose one of those for four years, the other drops 10 grand, and you have a kid at the same time. Couple that with a edit: 16k bad business investment, and a 6k emergency, and its pretty easy.
Still have never missed a payment and have perfect credit. Plus I like to do racecar shit :/ [Reply]
Originally Posted by Jewish Rabbi:
Not that this really matters as you shouldn't be opening new lines of credit anyway, but there's no way you have A+ credit carrying a balance equal to your yearly income.
I would be a tier 0 for any bank with a car loan, I am 750+ last I checked 3 months ago, I have quite a bit of debt, but I also have high limits and it has all come way down.
DTI was my only issue and that has now been erased. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Amnorix:
DaFace's post says it all in terms of the priority list. Get that CC paid off asap.
Once you pay off the CC and have started the matching 401(k), etc. what you would REALLY like to do is refinance the house and NOT pay PMI. This requires that you have paid down 20% of the house based on valuation. PMI is money out of your pocket solely for the benefit of the bank and is COMPLETELY BAD.
Here are your numbers:
So, what you're looking to do is (1) be certain it's worth $85K, and (2) cobble together $17K so you can refinance to get a loan for $68K at a LOWER interest rate and NO PMI.
That will save you quite alot every month. Based on your numbers, you already have $7K of that $17K, so you need $10K more to make it happen.
I am going to do this. I just switched jobs, so I want to get some time under my belt so I have something to show than a couple stubs, refi is high on my list. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
My understanding is that a credit rating isn't about your net worth or your ability to pay so much as it is your actual history of paying. A person with debt who pays on it unerringly is perceived as a very positive risk, even better than a person without debt who doesn't have a record of unerring payment.
This is it.
Banks knows I will pay. I havent missed a payment since I first took out a 500 limit card when I was 18. I have racked up and payed off tens of high dollar loans, and am way down from my total credit limits.
800+ credit vs 750 doesnt really mean anything when you look at the whole picture. The whole picture shows I pay, and they can make interest off me. They want to give me money.
Beyond that, my plan is to have my emergency fund in place by jan 1. I went ahead and did 6% on my 401k at the new job, but I dont get a match until 1 year, and im not vested until 5 :/
I have already been offered a raise at my new job, as I have taken on even more responsibilities than we initially thought, once we got into the heart of things and found out wtf was happening here behind the scenes. That raise goes into effect Jan 1 also. [Reply]
Originally Posted by hometeam:
I am going to do this. I just switched jobs, so I want to get some time under my belt so I have something to show than a couple stubs, refi is high on my list.
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
Didn't you used to sell cars?
What are you doing now?
Im in the same industry. I took a management position as the head of the internet department (to put it loosely, but I wear many hats) for a 4 store dealership complex here in town. Officially I am the 'Internet Sales Director'.
