Finance Advice Thread

[Hawker]

I really need to start saving i keep blowing my entire paycheck on unnecessary shit

Divide up your paycheck into percentages every month like I mentioned in the OP and cancel your credit card until you get it sorted.

60% for daily expenses (checking account)
10% for leisure (checking account)
10% for holiday (high interest savings account)
20% for an emergency fund (can divide further for house deposit savings...also put in high interest savings account)

[bladefd]

Do you guys give to charity? I don't save much because I give little bit of extra money leftover to not-for-profit charity (charity varies by month). I just can't stop myself.

[Draz]

Do you guys give to charity? I don't save much because I give little bit of extra money leftover to not-for-profit charity (charity varies by month). I just can't stop myself.

That

[sammichoffate]

Does anyone have experience w/ credit card/bank account churning? Been watching vids on it from Graham Stephen, seems easy as hell as long as you pay the balances in full every month.

[Raymone]

Pretty sure enayes was churning a few years ago. Not sure if he's broke or in massive debt yet.

[Cleverness]

It's about income and spending.

Here's the priority for spending:

First, take care of absolutely necessary expenses*
Second, pay off debts
Third, save 20% of your income (start with 401k & Roth IRA)

If you have leftover money then you can spend it on stuff you don't need. Unfortunately most people overspend on stuff like transportation (new cars are ridiculously expensive) and deem it as "necessary" when it isn't.

Stop buying shit you don't need
with money you don't have
to impress people you don't like

[Draz]

Does anyone have experience w/ credit card/bank account churning? Been watching vids on it from Graham Stephen, seems easy as hell as long as you pay the balances in full every month.

Banks use Chexsystem and you can be banned.

I wouldn't

[enayes]

Pretty sure enayes was churning a few years ago. Not sure if he's broke or in massive debt yet.

You are correct. I churned HARD for about 3 years. At this point I've used up all the available offers.

It would take me awhile to calculate exactly how much money I've earned from credit cards but it's definitely over $10K at this point (signup bonus offers, cash back, free flights/hotel stays).

You have to be extremely disciplined with your spending, and actually ENJOY the process. I have NEVER PAID any interest on my cards. That's the key. If you pay interest it defeats the point of trying to churn.

At it's core, you are simply using credit cards for EVERYTHING you can, just like you would with a debit card. It also helps to have some big purchases that you need to make in order to take advantage of large signup bonus offers. For example: putting new kitchen appliances on a new card to get a free $500 back)

I can go into more detail if people are interested but just spend some time reading about credit card churning.

A few of my fav cards:
1. Amex Blue Cash Preferred (6% back on groceries, 3% back on gas)
2. Capital One Savor (4% back on dining/entertainment)
3. Citi Double Cash (2% back on everything)

All in all, I've opened over 25 cards since 2013 (only have about 10 currently active). Credit score is around 775 at the moment.

**just bumped one of my old credit card threads**

[sammichoffate]

Banks use Chexsystem and you can be banned.

I wouldn't

That's fine w/ me tbh, I was only gonna use the checking account I have now and maybe Ally Bank for high interest savings.

[Draz]

That's fine w/ me tbh, I was only gonna use the checking account I have now and maybe Ally Bank for high interest savings.

Right. But I wouldn't do it with the more popular banks because interest rates vary yearly and are subject to change at any time. Ally might be one of the best now but in a few years it may not be.

I considered it too and may dabble with it with a few lower end banks but not for the higher end ones.

[ItsMillerTime]

You are correct. I churned HARD for about 3 years. At this point I've used up all the available offers.

It would take me awhile to calculate exactly how much money I've earned from credit cards but it's definitely over $10K at this point (signup bonus offers, cash back, free flights/hotel stays).

You have to be extremely disciplined with your spending, and actually ENJOY the process. I have NEVER PAID any interest on my cards. That's the key. If you pay interest it defeats the point of trying to churn.

At it's core, you are simply using credit cards for EVERYTHING you can, just like you would with a debit card. It also helps to have some big purchases that you need to make in order to take advantage of large signup bonus offers. For example: putting new kitchen appliances on a new card to get a free $500 back)

I can go into more detail if people are interested but just spend some time reading about credit card churning.

A few of my fav cards:
1. Amex Blue Cash Preferred (6% back on groceries, 3% back on gas)
2. Capital One Savor (4% back on dining/entertainment)
3. Citi Double Cash (2% back on everything)

All in all, I've opened over 25 cards since 2013 (only have about 10 currently active). Credit score is around 775 at the moment.

**just bumped one of my old credit card threads**

I'm trying to avoid interest on my Card, and I just transferred my balance to another carrier to do so.

I'm trying as hard as I can to lower the balance and finally pay it off. Is there any downside to continuing to transfer my balance to take advantage of the new account 0% interest offers?

[sammichoffate]

Right. But I wouldn't do it with the more popular banks because interest rates vary yearly and are subject to change at any time. Ally might be one of the best now but in a few years it may not be.

I considered it too and may dabble with it with a few lower end banks but not for the higher end ones.

Yeah, big banks like Chase would probably be less incentive to piss off so you can have access to other products. I only use a Chase Freedom but might look into a higher end card in the future as an example.

I think after a year of having the account/card, they don't rly gaf if you cancel though especially if you've been with them for a while.

[sammichoffate]

I'm trying to avoid interest on my Card, and I just transferred my balance to another carrier to do so.

I'm trying as hard as I can to lower the balance and finally pay it off. Is there any downside to continuing to transfer my balance to take advantage of the new account 0% interest offers?

Other than transfer fees, not really. It's a very common strategy to try and control interest, I consolidated alot of my CC debt into a low interest loan from a bank at 4.5%. I'm in no hurry to pay it off, the interest is low enough to not hurt me so

[Bosnian Sajo]

That $30k better be in a high yield savings account. You have sex and do other things against your religion too. Did your parents business require them to borrow any money? Bet they had to pay interest. Just a thought dude. Great amount of savings either way.

Paying interest and profiting from interest are two very different things. Interest is among the worst of sins because it compounds, same with gambling. Sex before marriage is a sin as well, but that is something that is sinned for the one act. When it comes to money, whatever you spend from that profit becomes sin, even if it's for good.

Just for an example (albeit for gambling, not interest, but nonetheless the two are up there when it comes to sins), it is said to be less of a sin for us to eat half a pound of pork everyday for the rest of our lives than it is to gamble once. I learned that only recently, I dabbled in gambling before but strictly stay away now. And besides, just because I sin by having sex and smoking doesn't mean I should go all out and do all the sins.

Anyway, I don't want this to turn into a religious discussion, I respect you making this thread and feel like it would be best to keep this strictly financial, just wanted to answer your question.

Is your company matching your 401k? Are you maxing our your contribution every year?

Also, have you taken a look at how your 401k is invested? Should be high growth for your age. Check your fees too.

While it’s good to pretend it doesn’t exist so you don’t freak out if it dips too much but you need to look into those things.

My company is pretty dope with 401k tbh, they do it in a way I haven't seen any other company practice. Whatever your salary is (lets say 60k, not what I make) you get a percentage of your salary on top of that for benefits. So 60k is your take home salary, and then you get 20k (33%, depends on length at company..but lowest is 25) on top to invest in health insurance, 401k, etc.


After all my insurance packages, dental, whatever..I am left with 6k invested in my 401k annually. Not a dime from my salary.

No, I am not maxing my contributions. Is this really the best way to go though? I feel like I can do more for myself with cash on hand rather than waiting till I retire.

[Bosnian Sajo]

As for how I'm investing my 401k, yes I am investing it aggressively. It's a mix, I got about 50% of my 401k in aggressive stocks, 15% in growth, and the other 35% in growth & income.


TRowe Is my go to for aggressive, and their tech package has done very well for me. But I am ALL EARS on any advice yall may have, I'm still a novice in this.