You have gross income listed, but I don’t see a line item for retirement. What are you putting away for retirement? If that is gross, what is it after tax?

You have $10k in debt. What was that from? You should clear that debt before buying a house. If you can’t clear the debt, you can’t afford a house.

I was thinking the same thing. HELOCs should only be used to improve the asset itself, not for unsecured stuff. People got in real trouble a few decades ago by using HELOCs to pay for vacations and such. Similar principle with this. My own take, not a professional advisor.

I think you might be underestimating some spending in there. It’s great that you’ve listed out the basics AND some wiggle room, but that consumer debt (credit cards and such) is a bit revealing.

You can likely afford the house just fine, but you should do some “soul searching” in regards to finances to ensure things are as they seem.

Was this a layoff that happened last week?

Generally it's not a good idea to transfer "unsecured " consumer debt to a "secured" loan like a HELOC. Good way to lose your house..

Concentrate of keeping the mortgage paid in full and on time.

If you really cannot cut spending or earn more, then it'll be time to stop paying the credit cards and save up as much as you can in cash to make offers to settle.

HELO still requires a decent credit score. Sounds like yours might not be high enough.

Take the job. A 45 minute commute isn’t bad, and you can always move closer when you move out if you don’t like it. Even if the commute isn’t for you and moving closer is impossible for some reason, it will at least set you up for a higher salary in future job searches.

Most people will be able to get used to a 45 minute commute. A few (myself included) will actually come to enjoy it.

Get all of your deducting, co-somethings, and OOPing ducks in order. Those are the first 3 ducks.

>Why in the world would anyone want to do more?

Because their marginal rate is higher than 20%. If you're in the 37% bracket and only withhold 20% it won't be enough.

>I have 3 other retirement accounts so I don’t need 4

You can roll it over. Account consolidation is preferable to raiding your retirement.

Sorry if it’s off topic but how do you calculate the percentage increase?

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It’s because you can incur a fee for underwithholding if you owe too much in taxes at the end of the year. You’re supposed to pay estimated taxes in the quarter in which you received the income.

The 20% is just the prepayment withholding. What you owe will be based on your income tax rate. Why do you think you won't pay the tax rate plus the 10% penalty?

Can you go back to your old company? Or the company your friends are working at? I’m so sorry that’s happening to you, unfortunately that’s how 90% of businesses work and I can’t stand it. I would try to find a new job for sure, especially if it’s making you unhappy and affecting you’re mental health. No paycheck is worth your health & time. Especially if you could be getting paid the same if not more to be dealing with a lot less stress and annoying things

Cash is paying more than 3.9% right now, there’s no reason at all to consider paying that loan down.

You listed three places; two of them are legit, one will try to take take your kidney on the third visit.

True. I have found that *67 tends to be less answered. 🤷🏻‍♂️ good option, though. Thanks!

The golden rules apply:

• admit nothing

• deny everything

• demand proof

To me...it sounds like a scam...leaving a note on a random car ...by a hospital where people are generally emotional and maybe even praying and promising thier God they will be good.

I'd take it seriously if a policeman came calling...otherwise I would not respond at all.

....for all I know, that note blew away.

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Such anguish. /s I do it everyday and it does suck but audiobooks and podcasts become your crutch. I learn a lot while driving so it’s not terrible.

not everything is about money. is this a better job? will it lead to more opportunities? are you going to just stay at your current level bc it’s a good deal? all depends

i mean if one month of your expenses is truly only $1.6k then sure you can just put 6.5k into Roth from savings now.

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Just some notes of interest:

We are at the waning end of a unique point in history where used cars are worth far more than their typical depreciation rate would otherwise indicate they should be. This is not expected to continue. The new car will not hold its value like your current one has, but if you plan to keep it indefinitely, that's not a concern. However, any increase in your trade-in value is probably going to be offset by extras the dealer throws on the new vehicle. In the past, it wouldn't be unreasonable to negotiate $4-5K off the MSRP (although probably not that much on CRVs). That hasn't been the case the last couple years, so the numbers are probably working out more or less the same.

Something you could try, is to price out the new vehicle you want, do all the math considering trade in value, loan payoff, TT&L, cost of interest over the life of the loan, and figure out how much that would be, and then knock $3K off that total and insist to the dealer that's what it needs to be out the door or you're not interested. It's highly unlikely that they'll accept, but you might get lucky and it might make the whole transaction worth it. They're getting some amount of profit baked into this deal, so it's just a matter of how much of it they're willing to give up. It hasn't been a buyer's market for the last couple years, but the waters are a bit murkier right now. Again, probably not going to work to your benefit, but worst case you're right back where you are now, so no loss there.