Money and Finance

[Gigiree]

Call your bank and ask to speak with a personal finance rep. They will help you roll-over your former 401K and set up any other retirement accounts you'd like. (If you qualify for a RothIRA, set up one of those. The money you invest into the account is post-tax, but the distributions after retirement are tax-free.) The fees that you will pay will come out of the account and should be quite reasonable. MMS and I did this years ago, and it really only took a single meeting of about 30 minutes and then some forms to sign a few days later. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezey.

[ladyboy]

I'm a fan of vanguard because they have low fees. Might be worth speaking with someone there too.

[chonies]

I was looking into Vanguard, too. And I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but I've been pushing myself to think about financial planning and this website has helped quite a bit: Ride Free Fearless Money. Financial stuff beyond basic budgeting and and saving is a difficult topic for me because money is a hugely emotional topic, and I tend to panic because I know I know almost nothing AND I know it's a big worry-spot, so I go from, "[deep breath] let's do this" to flailing in despair pretty quickly, although there is often a detour into "upside-down turtle" mode.

That said, I opened a Roth IRA over the phone about 9 years ago. I haven't been the best about contributing to it, but that's a topic for another day.

All the other advice is good, although I would also recommend seeking a few opinions from reasonable-seeming institutions.

[chonies]

I have a tax question! In the past, my ethos has been to be as anal retentive as possible and tracking down all the answers BEFORE filing, which means a lot of stress. This year, I am taking a more casual approach. For example, since my student loan interest alone was enough to cover the deduction, I didn't enter Mr Chonies'. There was also a question asking how much I regularly contributed to my Roth account before 2016. I...didn't? Like, I would put sporadic chunks of money in as I had them, but there was nothing regular about it, and at least a few years I contributed $0. Was the question really asking what the fair market value was?

Am I asking for trouble? Normally I wouldn't be this lax, but I was tired.

[petitesuite]

This is a potentially stupid question, but google isn't helping me and I can't figure it out. Roughly two weeks ago, I got a cashier's check to pay for the safety deposit on my new apartment and gave it to my landlord the same day. My landlord says the check went through fine, but still, two weeks later, the money hasn't come out of my account. Does anyone know why this would be? It's getting annoying to keep having to mentally deduct the money every time I check my account and I won't be able to go to my bank and ask someone there until Saturday. The bank in question is Wells Fargo, if it matters.

[americanchai]

From Google: A cashier's check is a cheque guaranteed by a bank, drawn on the bank's own funds and signed by a cashier. Cashier's checks are treated as guaranteed funds because the bank, rather than the purchaser, is responsible for paying the amount.

I would still check with the bank and see what's up.

[petitesuite]

Thanks, americanchai! I did find that--I think what might have happened is the bank forgot to reimburse itself from my account but you can see why that strikes me as improbable.

[ladyboy]

Whenever I’ve gotten a cashiers check the money is taken from my account at the point of purchase, not when the check is cashed by the recipient. Maybe if you DONT ask the bank you’ll just have a lucky mistake in your favor?

[petitesuite]

The thought obviously crossed my mind (I am poor enough that I would just be robin hood-ing to myself) but I would be/am constantly paranoid that the money will be withdrawn at ANY MOMENT.

[chonies]

Do you need to go into the bank? I'd recommend just calling a customer service line.