General Adulthood, Planning for the Future: Business, College, Budgeting, Investments, etc! $$$ - General

[QUOTE=The bird Man;49987024]I live in a place called "Trollywood", because it's the main center for enthuastic and creative minds. It's all about photography, journalism, and especially film and TV-production. It is possible to dig myself into a spot were I can get a full time job, but it requires a lot of work and patience to get a position. Like you said, they don't want any "regular Joes". The film world want individuals with certain charactaristics, that think different, especially the creative areas. But they have to see it, and therefore I'm doing freelancing, but it is so slow. That's why I fit in there, and I'll be 100% honest here: I am so obsessed by making films (not watching), so much that I am a golden tool to have, but it may even be dangerous for me, because I am litteraly working so much on it I kill myself mentaly. There's a union called "Film i Väst" ("Film in the West", swedish translations are weird). They fond a lot of studios because Sweden believes in a nation that motivates cultural explorations and expansions. You create your product from the budget they give you, and send it back to them for review, and than it might get sent to several places for film corporations to check out and hire. In just that area they create somewhere around 5-20 amateur projects a month, while 2-10 big budget once per year. While shooting a film takes only a few weeks, unless the weather and feaver hits you; so there's a lot of paperwork before and afterwards (atleast some kind of job opportunities?).[/QUOTE] Well, I recommend keeping up with your passion for film making because talented, passionate film makers will always make something out of themselves. I also recommend looking into the local sports stadiums. I don't know much about the sport scenes in Sweden, but I imagine there's sports that are broadcast either online or on TV. Being a camera operator for them is great money, and great experience with a camera. [editline]22nd March 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Anti Christ;49987119]So up until fairly recently, I've been convinced I could hack it through life without going to college. I've never wanted to rack up the debt that you hear so much about. But I recently realized that I can't stand the type of work I've been doing, and I want to pursue a career that won't make me miserable. Since I've been avoiding college up to this point in my life, I know literally nothing about it. I really do mean that in the literal sense of the word "literally", too. I checked out a few local schools near me and it's a whole foreign world to me. I know we've got a lot of college students and graduates here, so is there anyone that would be willing to chat with me and help guide me in the right direction? I'm actually slightly embarrassed by my lack of knowledge on this subject, and I feel like I need to be almost babied, but anything and everything is appreciated.[/QUOTE] Don't waste your time or money on art schools or liberal arts colleges.

[QUOTE=OvB;49985895]There's definitely risk involved with homes in storm areas, but the added risk could translate into more opportunity if it's keeping some prospective buyers away. I'm not sure about the insurance rates, and I was using that location as an example since it's local to me. I'm willing to bet there's a lot of similar opportunities for vacation rentals in Florida or other Gulf states. A thing to consider is while they are vacation rentals, not everyone does their vacations in the summer. You'll get a lot of snowbirds that come down in the winter to escape the cold since it's warmer here year round. Though it's definitely more active in the summer. I've heard of places having a year long waiting list you had to sign up for in advance. And if you can't get a tenant you can always spend a week there yourself and take some time off by the sea![/QUOTE] Oh yeah, I'm sure there's a ton of potential! I just don't know enough about the market or the short-term rental strategy for vacation homes to make an informed decision either way! It's something I would definitely consider looking into though.

I went through a budget on google drive and it turns out with all of my current expenses I have about 49% of my yearly salary to invest or save. What's the best way to go about this? This is my first big girl job so I want to cover all of my bases early to set myself up later. I've already got a savings account that I'm putting $500 in biweekly but I feel like I should be doing more. Additionally, I have future expected costs. I plan on dropping 25-30k in a couple of years so I'd like to plan on that being something I can do when I need to, what kind of account should I keep this money in?

[QUOTE=reedbo;49987364]I went through a budget on google drive and it turns out with all of my current expenses I have about 49% of my yearly salary to invest or save. What's the best way to go about this? This is my first big girl job so I want to cover all of my bases early to set myself up later. I've already got a savings account that I'm putting $500 in biweekly but I feel like I should be doing more. Additionally, I have future expected costs. I plan on dropping 25-30k in a couple of years so I'd like to plan on that being something I can do when I need to, what kind of account should I keep this money in?[/QUOTE] A Roth IRA is a very simple and effective way of growing your wealth over a long period of time. They tend to have solid compound interest rates. It's as simple as sending a portion of your paycheck into the account each month and watching the interest kick it into high gear. I don't know much about them yet, but I believe somebody on the last page gave a good explanation.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;49987170]Don't waste your time or money on art schools or liberal arts colleges.[/QUOTE] I've been looking at community colleges. Those are still decent, aren't they?

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49987487]A Roth IRA is a very simple and effective way of growing your wealth over a long period of time. They tend to have solid compound interest rates. It's as simple as sending a portion of your paycheck into the account each month and watching the interest kick it into high gear. I don't know much about them yet, but I believe somebody on the last page gave a good explanation.[/QUOTE] Ahh went back and took a look thanks!

[QUOTE=RenegadeCop;49988021]Check out Tech school if you think that might be up your alley. Cheaper, shorter, easier to find a job more than likely as well.[/QUOTE] I've always heard that tech schools are pretty bad, but I think that was always in relation to Devy, ITT Tech, etc. Are those just some renown bad ones, or is that the norm?

[QUOTE=Chickens!;49976104]My dad is in court right now finding out whats gonna happen to our house. We may be out this day next week and all the rent people are ignoring us. Between the 3 of us we can afford a 3 double bed penthouse but nobody is returning calls or emails so I'm a little worried. My dad is trying to stall them, the bank that owned the mortgage "Bank of Scotland (Ireland)" Died in 2009 then somehow in 2014 Tanager inherited it somehow so he's gonna try stall it by making them clarify and also they spelled the house name wrong in all their documents. Any advice on how we can stall them or get some replies about renting a new place? For clarification the bank isnt interested in us paying the mortgage they just want us out so they can sell for short term profit.[/QUOTE] Update to this, My dad has to go back on the 11th of April and there's a 95% chance we get a weeks notice to leave at that point but at least we have time to sort our shit out now. I'm calling around about viewings for houses since it all has to be done in my name because my dad is likely blacklisted. The judge is a famously mean bitch, she asked my dad why he hadn't been paying the mortgage and he replied "Because I'm not convinced the bank has a legal claim to the house" and the whole courtroom gasped. :ohno:

[QUOTE=Chickens!;49996927]Update to this, My dad has to go back on the 11th of April and there's a 95% chance we get a weeks notice to leave at that point but at least we have time to sort our shit out now. I'm calling around about viewings for houses since it all has to be done in my name because my dad is likely blacklisted. The judge is a famously mean bitch, she asked my dad why he hadn't been paying the mortgage and he replied "Because I'm not convinced the bank has a legal claim to the house" and the whole courtroom gasped. :ohno:[/QUOTE] I'm a bit confused about what's going on here. The mortgage to your home was bought or acquired by another bank while you still owed on it, right? This is not a terribly uncommon thing (in the US at least), and generally all you have to do is continue paying the mortgage. In your case, however, you are claiming that the bank is refusing to allow you to pay the mortgage and simply wants to void the entire thing and repossess the house? I'm no expert on property or contract law and could definitely be wrong, but so far as I am aware a bank cannot foreclose on a home for just [I]any[/I] reason. So long as you are still making regular payments on that property, on what basis are they trying to force you out of it? Or is your dad simply refusing to pay the mortgage on the grounds that he thinks that the bank that now holds the loan for his property misspelled something and thus he thinks they have no legal claim to that debt? I'm not your attorney, but if it is the latter, couldn't he simply solve this issue by resuming payments on the loan? Not to be rude, but your debt being transferred to a different bank and a typo on one of the documents doesn't invalidate that debt. That's not a legal battle you could win.

He's not trying to win, he's just trying to buy some time so they can find another place to live.

Why, though? Why not just continue making payments and list the property for sale? Surely selling the property, even at a loss, would be preferable to having it repossessed by the bank?

Sorry, I don't want you to feel like I'm attacking you. Hell, we had to allow our house to be repossessed and declare bankruptcy after an eroding cliffside threatened out house and all other legal recourses were exhausted, so I'm the last one to judge. I'm just trying to understand the situation and reasoning that led to your dad deciding this was his best or only option.

please correct me I am terrible at math, but I think my uncle is ripping me off... minimum wage in massachussetts is $10 an hour. I work from monday-saturday 8-4. I get paid less than $300 weekly... I guess it's $290 something, I am doing manual labor. I am a landscaper/apprentice carpenter/contractor cleaner. But $10 an hour is minimum wage, If I'm working 9 hours I should make $90 a day. Right? 90 times 6 days a week is $540. So in theory I should be paid $540 right? How do you take out taxes? Is that right? [editline]24th March 2016[/editline] My parents really messed me up. I'm broke, was homeless for a month, just got back to massachussetts where I'm staying with my grandpa until september and then I'm on my own.

[QUOTE=IJNOMED;49998682]please correct me I am terrible at math, but I think my uncle is ripping me off... minimum wage in massachussetts is $10 an hour. I work from monday-saturday 8-4. I get paid less than $300 weekly... I guess it's $290 something, I am doing manual labor. I am a landscaper/apprentice carpenter/contractor cleaner. But $10 an hour is minimum wage, If I'm working 9 hours I should make $90 a day. Right? 90 times 6 days a week is $540. So in theory I should be paid $540 right? How do you take out taxes? Is that right? [editline]24th March 2016[/editline] My parents really messed me up. I'm broke, was homeless for a month, just got back to massachussetts where I'm staying with my grandpa until september and then I'm on my own.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.paycheckcity.com/calculator/salary/result[/url] Here is a website that can help estimate how much you should be paying in taxes. They can take a huge bite out of a paycheck. Keep in mind that labor laws may require mandatory breaks/lunch breaks, and that could be eating into your time too. For example, that 9 hours spent at work may only be 8 hours of billable work. I'm not sure how it works in Massachusetts. You may also have health insurance costs, or other paycheck deductions that I'm not aware of. Check your paystub. It will tell you exactly how much money you are be paid, for how many hours of work, and how much of your money is being withheld for taxes, insurance plans, etc. Taking a good look at that would probably clear things up for you. If there are still discrepancies (maybe you're not being paid for all the hours you're working, for example?) the best thing you could do is [I]calmly[/I] speak to your uncle about it. Show him the paystub, and ask him if there's been a mistake or something. Just don't accuse him of ripping you off right out of the damn gate lol just gonna piss him right off.

[QUOTE=IJNOMED;49998682]please correct me I am terrible at math, but I think my uncle is ripping me off... minimum wage in massachussetts is $10 an hour. I work from monday-saturday 8-4. I get paid less than $300 weekly... I guess it's $290 something, I am doing manual labor. I am a landscaper/apprentice carpenter/contractor cleaner. But $10 an hour is minimum wage, If I'm working 9 hours I should make $90 a day. Right? 90 times 6 days a week is $540. So in theory I should be paid $540 right? How do you take out taxes? Is that right? [editline]24th March 2016[/editline] My parents really messed me up. I'm broke, was homeless for a month, just got back to massachussetts where I'm staying with my grandpa until september and then I'm on my own.[/QUOTE] Assuming he's not paying you under the counter then he should be basing your taxes off your W-2. If he's paying you legitimately then you should have a pay slip that should show you hours worked, pay before taxes, taxes, and pay after taxes.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49999423][url]http://www.paycheckcity.com/calculator/salary/result[/url] Here is a website that can help estimate how much you should be paying in taxes. They can take a huge bite out of a paycheck. Keep in mind that labor laws may require mandatory breaks/lunch breaks, and that could be eating into your time too. For example, that 9 hours spent at work may only be 8 hours of billable work. I'm not sure how it works in Massachusetts. You may also have health insurance costs, or other paycheck deductions that I'm not aware of. Check your paystub. It will tell you exactly how much money you are be paid, for how many hours of work, and how much of your money is being withheld for taxes, insurance plans, etc. Taking a good look at that would probably clear things up for you. If there are still discrepancies (maybe you're not being paid for all the hours you're working, for example?) the best thing you could do is [I]calmly[/I] speak to your uncle about it. Show him the paystub, and ask him if there's been a mistake or something. Just don't accuse him of ripping you off right out of the damn gate lol just gonna piss him right off.[/QUOTE] I guess he doesn't know how he's going to pay us yet so I'm not even sure how much I'll get now. It's a small business starting up.

[QUOTE=IJNOMED;50001956]I guess he doesn't know how he's going to pay us yet so I'm not even sure how much I'll get now. It's a small business starting up.[/QUOTE] If you're getting paid under the table you don't have much recourse

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49997224]I'm a bit confused about what's going on here. The mortgage to your home was bought or acquired by another bank while you still owed on it, right? This is not a terribly uncommon thing (in the US at least), and generally all you have to do is continue paying the mortgage. In your case, however, you are claiming that the bank is refusing to allow you to pay the mortgage and simply wants to void the entire thing and repossess the house? I'm no expert on property or contract law and could definitely be wrong, but so far as I am aware a bank cannot foreclose on a home for just [I]any[/I] reason. So long as you are still making regular payments on that property, on what basis are they trying to force you out of it? Or is your dad simply refusing to pay the mortgage on the grounds that he thinks that the bank that now holds the loan for his property misspelled something and thus he thinks they have no legal claim to that debt? I'm not your attorney, but if it is the latter, couldn't he simply solve this issue by resuming payments on the loan? Not to be rude, but your debt being transferred to a different bank and a typo on one of the documents doesn't invalidate that debt. That's not a legal battle you could win.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49997606]Why, though? Why not just continue making payments and list the property for sale? Surely selling the property, even at a loss, would be preferable to having it repossessed by the bank?[/QUOTE] When the Bank acquired the mortgage, without recording just how they acquired it (They just suddenly said they own it and there's no proof of transaction). They hiked the price up to 1400€ a month which is totally unpayable, my dad attempted to make a deal to pay at a lower rate and/or also to sell the house for 70% of its worth and take on the other 30% as debt. The bank refused both of these proposals for some strange reason. Basically they're trying to bully us out. When the court asked my dad why he wasn't paying, "Because I dont want to" / "Because I cant afford to" are not good responses so he decided to challenge the bank to see if they are legitimately the owners of the house. We havent paid the mortgage since it got hiked up so we are not actually making payments. Anyway we have more time now and I've made some calls about viewing houses, I'd rather just leave and be done with the stress impact on my father.

I can see how that would leave you in a very vulnerable position. I can't believe that's even legal. Contract law goes both ways, a bank shouldn't just be able to arbitrarily change the terms of your loan payment on a whim like that. Absurd. But you own the property, right? Is selling it an option? Sell the house and use the proceeds to finish paying off whatever is still owed on the property so that you can at least cut loose without the foreclosure hanging over your heads? Or do you owe re more on the property than its current value? Good luck, either way. That sounds like an awful situation. I've never heard of anybody getting such a raw deal from a bank before. Hope you land on your feet! Bakruptcy isn't the end of the world, after all. It will take a good few years to put it behind you, but your credit will recover in time.

Do adults get vacations? I realized I only have the summer of 2017 left unplanned for any fun adventures I want to go on, anytime after that I would be working.

If you get a job that isn't terrible with how they handle leave! Most adults with careers will get some form of vacation time. And if you work for an Educational, Federal, Government, or Bank institution, they typically give time off for federal holidays.

How do I build good credit when using a credit card? Does it even work with something like a VISA card?

Hot and simple tips about credit cards: - You just want to watch your limit. If your limit is 500, you don't want to constantly be at 400. That fucks up your score. - Only use it for what you need. Small purchases. Big purchases will rack up your debt if you're not used to owning a credit card. - Make payments on time. This is also why it helps to make small purchases. It's easy to make payments. - Only increase your limit in an emergency. I would recommend against it otherwise. - Your score will fluctuate HEAVILY for the first 1-3 years. The longer you have it and the longer you prove that you're responsible, the better your score will be.

When you say make payments on time, does that mean make the payments before they demand a minimum payment per month? I only ever reach aroujnd $100 per month and my limit is 800 so i'm good right? Does that increase my credit score?

usually your bank will say "$20 due by 3/8/16" or something similar like that if you do online banking. And if you DON'T do online banking, figure out if there's a way you can because it helps credit card payments a lot. But yeah making the payments BEFORE those deadlines is always preferable. And 100/800 is fine! You just don't want to be constantly near the limit.

Here's a tip if you want to stay on budget, avoid credit cards altogether. You can ask friends/family to borrow cash from and then pay them back, they usually won't charge you interest and you can sometimes do favours for them to repay. If you're going out shopping withdraw the amount you're likely to spend say £20 and leave all your other payment cards at home, make sure you spend in order of importance Gift Cards>Money>Payment Card>Credit Card. You don't want to rack up charges or fees because the bankers are wankers, do the responsible thing and only spend what you have and if you're overspending then naturally expect to be thrown under the equivalent of a bus financially.

[QUOTE=Chopstick;50008389]Here's a tip if you want to stay on budget, avoid credit cards altogether. You can ask friends/family to borrow cash from and then pay them back, they usually won't charge you interest and you can sometimes do favours for them to repay. If you're going out shopping withdraw the amount you're likely to spend say £20 and leave all your other payment cards at home, make sure you spend in order of importance Gift Cards>Money>Payment Card>Credit Card. You don't want to rack up charges or fees because the bankers are wankers, do the responsible thing and only spend what you have and if you're overspending then naturally expect to be thrown under the equivalent of a bus financially.[/QUOTE] Sounds like a good way to make your life more difficult for no good reason. I don't know what it's like in the UK, but here in the US, while you can get a home loan without a traditional credit history, it's more of a pain in the ass, and your options are more limited. Also everyone involved will hate you for it, since you've got to go around getting references for everything you've paid for(rent, utilities) in order to establish a credit history. How to stay on budget: Don't [I]abuse[/I] credit cards. Buy things with credit cards that you could otherwise buy with your debit card because you actually have the money to pay for it, then proceed to enjoy your [U][B]free money [/B][/U]they give you for using their cards. Credit cards are great, you need to drop this irrational fear of credit, and more importantly stop spreading it to other people, I've noticed this is a reoccurring thing on Facepunch. It needs to stop. I pity anyone with this fear honestly. I'm racking up hundreds of dollars in AMEX points while incurring absolutely no interest because I pay my cards off before the due date, and what do the non-credit folks get? Issues. Because if you need a loan on anything, be it a car or house, established credit will make it far easier to get, something they wont have. It's not hard to be responsible with your credit cards.

Sure the credit card can be useful in some situations, it's not UTTERLY useless. I use it when in another country and for online purchases as it's easier to reverse payments, especially ones that are later regretted and i've asked for a refund but they won't pay back. I also just don't see why I need to build a credit record in order to be trusted with money if I'm already responsible enough not to get into debt or have to borrow money for things when it can be saved up for with less hassle by just saving money using a budget.

I generally agree with the idea that we should avoid debt and use credit cards sparingly, but it is necessary to build up a credit profile if you want to qualify for fair loan terms on cars, houses etc. I use my credit card only n for non-recurring expenses such as vet bills, car repairs, etc. Even then, I won't exceed $500 owed, even though my limit is $2600. My minimum payment is $25/month, but I make payments of $75-100/month. Always on time (have my bank scheduled to automatically submit the minimum payment each month, and then I manually send any extra). Keeps my credit score high, my interest payments low, and leaves over $2000 on tap in case of emergencies. [editline]26th March 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Chopstick;50009056]Sure the credit card can be useful in some situations, it's not UTTERLY useless. I use it when in another country and for online purchases as it's easier to reverse payments, especially ones that are later regretted and i've asked for a refund but they won't pay back. I also just don't see why I need to build a credit record in order to be trusted with money if I'm already responsible enough not to get into debt or have to borrow money for things when it can be saved up for with less hassle by just saving money using a budget.[/QUOTE] Some things can't be realistically saved for. Unless you're making buku bucks, you're unlikely to ever be able to afford to buy a house outright with cash. I appreciate the Grant Cardone philosophy of never accruing debt by buying everything in cash, but that isn't possible for most people. Loans are necessary parts of life for the majority. As far as the bank needing a credit record, I hear what you're saying, but you gotta consider the lender's position too. The lender doesn't want to risk lending money to somebody who is unlikely to honor the debt. A credit record lets the lender say, "oh, okay. Mr. Chopstick always pays his debts on time. He's probably safe to give our money to." Or, alternatively, "Jeez, this Mr. Chopstick is not very reliable. I don't think I want to take that risk!" Banks aren't concerned about how responsible you are for avoiding debty. They only care about one thing: [I]will we get our investment back?[/I] If you have no credit history, or a very limited one, it's much harder to gauge how likely you are to honor the debt when or if a lender gives you money. So you may not qualify for a loan, and any loans you can get will have much harsher limits.