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Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

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211–220 of 417 posts

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do downvotes even work here? I've been posting here for years and (as far as I know) am in good standing and don't have the option.

I think it unlocks at 500 total karma, although that number has changed a few times and I'm not sure if it's current. Looks like you're still at 330.

It was 500 a few months back when I got it.

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Financial literacy is pure garlic to every common vampire financial advisor. I have a couple friends right now that do not want wage raises because "it will knock them into the next tax bracket". Believe me, I've tried to explain how the simple concept of income and taxes work. I trusted my financial advisor years ago when I started my career. It took me a couple years to realize I was the product, not his client wit…

Dunno about the US, but in the UK there are a few wage points where a small rise can lead to a reduction in net income. Specifically moving into the higher tax bracket, which removes £200 off their personal allowance if they were using the pooling allowance option -- i.e. a £100 tax rise could lead to £46 extra income but £201 extra outgoing, a net reduction of £155 There are more perverse options with housing, child…

I've always been a bit sceptical of things like a citizen's income, but a negative income tax instead of things like universal credit seems to be quite an elegant solution to dealing with benefit cliffs.

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#213
post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dunno about the US, but in the UK there are a few wage points where a small rise can lead to a reduction in net income. Specifically moving into the higher tax bracket, which removes £200 off their personal allowance if they were using the pooling allowance option -- i.e. a £100 tax rise could lead to £46 extra income but £201 extra outgoing, a net reduction of £155 There are more perverse options with housing, child…

Does the US not have marginal tax brackets? That seems really odd and dumb. The benefit cliff you cite is real, but for actual income taxes, there's no such thing as a reduction in income from higher earnings. Going to a higher tax bracket just means you pay higher taxes on money over a certain threshold. So if bracket A is 20% under $50k, and bracket B is 30% over $50k, if you make $51k, you'll pay 20% of 50k, plus…

As far as I know, the US tax system works the way you describe.

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#214

I would personally advise against taking advice from Reddit beyond simply basic answers about various financial products and maths. My problem with larger communities on Reddit is that prevailing opinions seem to emerge, and anything that questions or disagrees with them gets downvoted to hell. On the personal finance subreddits these include ideas like "You should always have 18 months of expenses saved" and "Any mo…

It's ironic that I upvoted this post to agree with you - which is exactly the issue you talk about in your post.

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#215
post #188

I would personally advise against taking advice from Reddit beyond simply basic answers about various financial products and maths. My problem with larger communities on Reddit is that prevailing opinions seem to emerge, and anything that questions or disagrees with them gets downvoted to hell. On the personal finance subreddits these include ideas like "You should always have 18 months of expenses saved" and "Any mo…

You disagree that more than $10,000 for wedding is a waste of money? That's $10k that could have gone to student loans.

It really depends on your financial situation. What if you have no student loans and a six-figure income?

A $10k wedding (or a $50k one, for that matter) is only a waste of money if you don't value big fanc events where you're the center of attention, and it's only a financially unwise decision if you cannot afford it.

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#216

I would personally advise against taking advice from Reddit beyond simply basic answers about various financial products and maths. My problem with larger communities on Reddit is that prevailing opinions seem to emerge, and anything that questions or disagrees with them gets downvoted to hell. On the personal finance subreddits these include ideas like "You should always have 18 months of expenses saved" and "Any mo…

Financial literacy is pure garlic to every common vampire financial advisor. I have a couple friends right now that do not want wage raises because "it will knock them into the next tax bracket". Believe me, I've tried to explain how the simple concept of income and taxes work. I trusted my financial advisor years ago when I started my career. It took me a couple years to realize I was the product, not his client wit…

[deleted]

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#217

I would personally advise against taking advice from Reddit beyond simply basic answers about various financial products and maths. My problem with larger communities on Reddit is that prevailing opinions seem to emerge, and anything that questions or disagrees with them gets downvoted to hell. On the personal finance subreddits these include ideas like "You should always have 18 months of expenses saved" and "Any mo…

Mega backdoor roth (MBR) can be done in addition to traditional/roth 401k. When people discuss it on Reddit, usually MBR comes after maxing traditional 401k. The suggestion of being a replacement isn't a fair characterization of the going narrative.

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#218

I would personally advise against taking advice from Reddit beyond simply basic answers about various financial products and maths. My problem with larger communities on Reddit is that prevailing opinions seem to emerge, and anything that questions or disagrees with them gets downvoted to hell. On the personal finance subreddits these include ideas like "You should always have 18 months of expenses saved" and "Any mo…

I can’t tell which of the ideas you think are crazy. - 18 months in low risk savings (not invested) - seems like overkill. - I personally think any money spent on a wedding is overkill - we went to the courthouse and saved a ton of money by having a smallish reception (in fairness we were in our mid 30s and on our second marriage) - 401K - I have no opinion either way. I haven’t thought about the pros and cons. I don…

==in fairness we were in our mid 30s and on our second marriage==

How much did you spend on the first marriage?

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Financial literacy is pure garlic to every common vampire financial advisor. I have a couple friends right now that do not want wage raises because "it will knock them into the next tax bracket". Believe me, I've tried to explain how the simple concept of income and taxes work. I trusted my financial advisor years ago when I started my career. It took me a couple years to realize I was the product, not his client wit…

> I have a couple friends right now that do not want wage raises because "it will knock them into the next tax bracket". is that not a real thing where you live?

So many people don't understand how tax brackets actually work. They think if they make one more dollar they pay X% more tax on every single dollar they earned.

It's actually terrifying to me how little understanding the average person has of finance.

Re: Reddit has become a guide to personal finance

#220

I would personally advise against taking advice from Reddit beyond simply basic answers about various financial products and maths. My problem with larger communities on Reddit is that prevailing opinions seem to emerge, and anything that questions or disagrees with them gets downvoted to hell. On the personal finance subreddits these include ideas like "You should always have 18 months of expenses saved" and "Any mo…

Financial literacy is pure garlic to every common vampire financial advisor. I have a couple friends right now that do not want wage raises because "it will knock them into the next tax bracket". Believe me, I've tried to explain how the simple concept of income and taxes work. I trusted my financial advisor years ago when I started my career. It took me a couple years to realize I was the product, not his client wit…

I feel like the widespread misunderstanding of tax brackets is used as a weapon.

Candidate X wants to tax you 60%!

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