Financial Thread

[Rhoadhoused]

A little off topic, but I am getting car insurance for the first time here soon. What's the best place to get it done? It's just a car my parents let me drive and it's under $6000 one blues book. I'm in my early 20s and have not moving violations.

 

[colbycheese]

A little off topic, but I am getting car insurance for the first time here soon. What's the best place to get it done? It's just a car my parents let me drive and it's under $6000 one blues book. I'm in my early 20s and have not moving violations.

You could try the Glenn Waterhouse State Farm agent that sponsors Cyclone Fanatic...

 

[Rhoadhoused]

You could try the Glenn Waterhouse State Farm agent that sponsors Cyclone Fanatic...

I'm down for that will that work if I live in Minnesota?

 

[colbycheese]

I'm down for that will that work if I live in Minnesota?

It might not. I know when I moved out of state I had to find a different agent since my Iowa agent wasn't licensed for the state I moved to. You could always call and ask. At the very least he'd likely be able to recommend someone for you.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

I'm down for that will that work if I live in Minnesota?

I'm through State Farm. You have to be insured by someone in the state you live in. Sucks, because I loved my agent I had in Indiana.

 

[benjay]

I'm down for that will that work if I live in Minnesota?

Insurance is like anything else - make sure you shop around. Get online quotes from the e-surers and compare those to local broker quotes. It totally sucks, but you will almost certainly save money (sometimes significantly).

 

[dmclone]

Next question, we have a new option for an HSA account this year that I think I want to go with over the traditional plan. Anyone have recommendations on this, especially for someone getting married next summer and starting a family in the next few years? HSA is cheaper than the traditional, has a seed amount paid by my employer and they also match up to a certain amount. Not sure if the match is first year or every year but I think it is an annual match. I haven't been to the doctor in my year and a half here so I don't see any negatives about it.

My wife has her own insurance and we have no kids. Because of this I went to an HSA about 5 years ago and have been happy. I don't put anything additional into the account and I think my maximum out of pocket is something like $3k. I've built up about $2,500 in those 5 years.

 

[BikeSkiClone]

RE: the car insurance, I think unless you go through an online company, you have to go through an agent in your state of residency/vehicle licensure. I had a great agent in Iowa but once I moved out of state and changed my residency over to my new state, I had to find a new agent. I was turning 25 around the same time and was going to be dropped from my family's plan anyway.

I live in a pretty rural area and quite a few people I know go through an online agency that doesn't have a physical office anywhere close. I personally enjoy having a physical location and agent I've gotten to know within an hour's drive. My rates are pretty similar to friends who don't have physical offices nearby, FWIW.

 

[wxman1]

For car insurance go to ZanderInsurance.com they are a broker so you will get a bunch of quotes.

 

[IcSyU]

Next question, we have a new option for an HSA account this year that I think I want to go with over the traditional plan. Anyone have recommendations on this, especially for someone getting married next summer and starting a family in the next few years? HSA is cheaper than the traditional, has a seed amount paid by my employer and they also match up to a certain amount. Not sure if the match is first year or every year but I think it is an annual match. I haven't been to the doctor in my year and a half here so I don't see any negatives about it.

An HSA is great as long as you have the money to afford the high deductible in the event something does happen to you. If you can't afford the $5,000 deductible by writing a check keep a regular policy. If you can afford the deductible stop throwing away money on health insurance and start putting away the difference between your normal policy and HSA and you'll have a great HSA in a couple years. If you're healthy an HSA is great. If you aren't healthy an HSA is going to get expensive quick because you're going to spend a lot before the insurance company picks anything up.

 

[dmclone]

An HSA is great as long as you have the money to afford the high deductible in the event something does happen to you. If you can't afford the $5,000 deductible by writing a check keep a regular policy. If you can afford the deductible stop throwing away money on health insurance and start putting away the difference between your normal policy and HSA and you'll have a great HSA in a couple years. If you're healthy an HSA is great. If you aren't healthy an HSA is going to get expensive quick because you're going to spend a lot before the insurance company picks anything up.

You're right but I have seen some instances where if you're REALLY unhealthy an HSA makes sense. You pay the 5K and then everything else is covered.

 

[BikeSkiClone]

I'm sure it's been covered, but "IRA" isn't a searchable term on this site and I don't want to read every single post in a finance-related thread looking for it.

I make less than $20k/year and am looking into setting up some sort of long-term savings account. From what I've gathered through some the use of the internets, a Roth IRA is my best option b/c of my low-income and that contributions will be post-tax w/ tax-free withdrawals later on and it's the better option (vs traditional IRA) for those who expect their income to increase significantly over time. I certainly don't plan on sticking around at less than $20k for the rest of my life.

I work for a non-profit that offers a 403b for full-time year-round employees...of which I am not. Maybe someday if a position opens, but not now. Currently, no retirement options are offered for employees of my level.

Better options than a Roth? Recommendations for places to open one? I have my checking account at Wells Fargo and another account available to me through Navy Federal Credit Union.

 

[k123]

An HSA is great as long as you have the money to afford the high deductible in the event something does happen to you. If you can't afford the $5,000 deductible by writing a check keep a regular policy. If you can afford the deductible stop throwing away money on health insurance and start putting away the difference between your normal policy and HSA and you'll have a great HSA in a couple years. If you're healthy an HSA is great. If you aren't healthy an HSA is going to get expensive quick because you're going to spend a lot before the insurance company picks anything up.

Plus you can use your HSA contributions and employer match contributions to fund your "check" toward the $5,000 deductible.

Load it up the first year and then if you are generally healthy it will steadily grow with your and employers contributions in future years.

How can I use the money? You may spend the HSA money tax-free on out-of-pocket medical expenses, such as your deductible, co-payments for medical care and prescription drugs, or bills not covered by insurance, such as vision and dental care. Most plans provide a debit card and an online bill-payment option.
http://www.kiplinger.com/article/in...lth-savings-accounts.html#DyiXKJcTwSLq0pGg.99

 

[capitalcityguy]

I'm sure it's been covered, but "IRA" isn't a searchable term on this site and I don't want to read every single post in a finance-related thread looking for it.

I make less than $20k/year and am looking into setting up some sort of long-term savings account. From what I've gathered through some the use of the internets, a Roth IRA is my best option b/c of my low-income and that contributions will be post-tax w/ tax-free withdrawals later on and it's the better option (vs traditional IRA) for those who expect their income to increase significantly over time. I certainly don't plan on sticking around at less than $20k for the rest of my life.

I work for a non-profit that offers a 403b for full-time year-round employees...of which I am not. Maybe someday if a position opens, but not now. Currently, no retirement options are offered for employees of my level.

Better options than a Roth? Recommendations for places to open one? I have my checking account at Wells Fargo and another account available to me through Navy Federal Credit Union.

Yeah, Roth probably makes sense for you and I believe, at your income level you'll also qualify for the saver's tax credit which is nice. http://www.kiplinger.com/article/taxes/T054-C001-S001-retirement-savers-tax-credit.html

 

[Mtowncyclone13]

I did some number crunching this morning. Our expenses are equal to what we save (retirement, cash, stocks, etc) and we have about $1500 left over each month after those two things. It made me realize A) we waste a lot of money on pointless crap and food, and B) in order for ME to save more I need have even more taken out of my account automatically. I do everything automatically now but clearly it's not enough since we blow a ton of money. Now I feel like I've wasted 5+years that I could have been saving more.

 

[NATEizKING]

What documents do you save?

I have every student loan statement, bank statement, credit card statement, etc. for as long as I've been receiving them. My parents have always saved everything just in case. I'm looking at cleaning out the file box and was trying to figure out what I should save and what I should get rid of. I also save my past utility bills and stuff too, I like to check over everything and have it on hand in case but I need to cut back on the length of history I have for many of those.

Also, for the loans that I have paid off, is it safe to get rid of all of those statements as long as I keep the letter confirming a zero balance and maybe the last statement received?

 

[jj-cyclones]

For those that have a Roth IRA, what is a reasonable rate to expect on them? The financial person I have been speaking with is saying I should expect an 8% return. Is that out of line?

 

[ArgentCy]

You can buy just about anything in a Roth IRA. 8% return is pretty close to the long term return for bonds. You should be able to get closer to 11-12% with good stock mutual funds. Or so the past records indicate. Just make sure you understand what you start investing in.

 

[CascadeClone]

For those that have a Roth IRA, what is a reasonable rate to expect on them? The financial person I have been speaking with is saying I should expect an 8% return. Is that out of line?

As Argent said, you can invest in anything in a Roth. I have run into a lot of people who don't quite get what a Roth or an IRA is exactly. A Roth is not an investment, it's a "wrapper" for investments.

So you could put money into a Roth, then invest it in CDs and make 1%. Or you could invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc etc and make different return %s. Your return has nothing to do with the Roth, but with the investments inside it. If you invested in stock funds inside it, you might expect 8%.

If your advisor says to expect 8% from a Roth, that's kind of a mis-statement. I'd be a little leery about that advisor, might be conflating things on purpose in order to sell you something for his benefit as opposed to yours. Or maybe not, I am always on my guard around advisors, skeptical/suspicious.

 

[heyguy85]

For those that have a Roth IRA, what is a reasonable rate to expect on them? The financial person I have been speaking with is saying I should expect an 8% return. Is that out of line?

Dave Ramsey preaches "good growth stock mutual funds" and to expect 10-12%. He makes sure to clarify that your Roth IRA should be maxed out and left alone for long-term investments.