Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

beanlog.vercel.app

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

281–290 of 512 posts

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#281

Post by smachiz »

LocalPCGuy wrote: post #242
smachiz wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they refund the entirety of the second transaction, logic follows a third transaction of $9,975 would be correct if you actually wanted to buy $10k. I suspect that's not what's going to happen though. OP will get a refund of $25 + $9,975.

You're forgetting there appears to be a race condition at play. The third transaction was marked as canceled because the second has not finished processing and so is still counting against the total. There is no guarantee the govt system will check that again once 2 completes (in fact, I'd be shocked if it did). And by the time both 2 and 3 process, the window to buy looks like it will be closed per the author's post…

There is no race condition.

The order won’t actually matter here - but even if it did, the “right” thing will happen either way depending on which interpretation of the email you have.

The third transaction got the same response as the second. Which would actually imply that the common reading of that email (he’s getting $25 back from the second deposit is correct, and he’s going to get the entire $9,975 back from the third.)

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#282

Post by scarface74 »

rockbruno wrote: post #116
jtc331 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Options? Or RSUs?

Spotify has both RSUs and options, you can choose which one you want and I think they do a very good job of explaining the differences in risk. You can also choose to be paid in cash if you want zero risk (but also zero gain)

And zero loss as I watch my unvested FAANG RSUs drop by a third. I’m glad at least the first two years were mostly a signing bonus I could use to stabilize my finances - pay off debt and build a cash reserve. My RSUs vest heavily on the back end.

Yes I know, how do you tell someone where you work without telling them where you work.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#283

Post by latchkey »

bmitc wrote: post #254
ntkachov wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is ridiculously annoying. I have to edit the HTML every single time to remove "readonly" on that field and paste in my randomly generated password.

Why are some fields like that? I have never understood why. It happens a lot when entering in bank account numbers. I am almost always copying and pasting the bank account number directly from my bank's website, but yet, these fields require me to type it in, increasing the possibility of a mistake.

I wish I could remember where I saw this UX, but the best is when they not only don't let you paste, but also treat the bank account number like a password field and don't let you see what you're typing in... and you have to do it 2x.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#284

Post by onionisafruit »

jen729w wrote: post #256
xkbarkar wrote: post #69

I thought this was funny. Weird comments in the thread about how he/she should have known better. Author is not making a complaint to demand internet outrage. There is no inflammatory justice warrior content here. Sheesh! Author admits they screwed up, decided to share the screwup, and who hasnt been trough that exact dunder blunder? Fun short read 8/10.

Best thing my content blocker (1Blocker) does is remove comments. It does it so well I’ve basically forgotten that they exist. :-) Agreed, fun little article.

Yet here you are replying to a comment.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#285

Post by scarface74 »

tjoff wrote: post #158
vasco wrote: post #32

The venn diagram of internet users that read about super specific financial products, decide to buy them, while not even understanding the need to keep an emergency fund such that a move like this leaves them with under $200 in their account seems to be growing. It seems to be a weird mix of wall street cosplay and financial ineptitude.

This move was calculated though. With incoming pay he knew that he'd be fine regardless. Sure, another emergency before the payback might suck but likely not catastrophic given the $10k coming back in a few weeks.

Exactly, he wrote it as if it were more of a minor and semi amusing nuisance than a life altering mistake.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#286

Post by misiti3780 »

todd8 wrote: post #279

Roughly the same thing happened to me on a much much bigger scale. I was making an estimated income tax prepayment (as required by law) on the ridiculous IRS direct pay site. There was no way to undo my error that I could find on the IRS websites. I foolishly thought that when the IRS web page said something like “system problem try again later” meant that I should try again later. I feel like the agencies should jus…

you get that money back in 2-3 weeks though.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#287

Post by scarface74 »

mynameishere wrote: post #241
fortran77 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can take the money out of an ibond with a small penalty after a relatively short time. So it's not a huge risk if you have enough short-term credit, etc, for an emergency before the time comes when you can cash the iBond.

Seriously, what the hell. Acting like this guy is blowing his future on a roulette wheel by getting some savings bonds. Is anybody else just sick to death of the term "emergency fund"? If you go to /r/personalfinance, every other comment is reminding people to stock up their emergency fund. Towelie says, "Don't forget to bring a towel!" I'll tell you about my real "emergency fund": In an actual, living emergency, eve…

I agree, I get downvoted merciless on r/personalfinance when I say that my only conceivable true “emergency” is a job loss. Anything else I can use credit to income smooth and cash flow. I keep one month of bills in savings

More specifically, I have a HELOC and I’m always getting low and no interest balance transfer options from my bank.

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#288

Post by js2 »

baobabKoodaa wrote: post #258
js2 wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

8.5% rate is based on locking in 7.12% for first six months (Nov 2021 - Apr 2022 rate) and 9.62% for second six months (May - Nov 2022 rate). You only "get screwed" depending upon how much the rate drops in future adjustments. I personally think this is an overblown concern given the absolute dollar amount is so tiny. We're talking about interest on $10K. It's just not that much, a few hundred dollars. https://tipswa…

Sure. I just explained what the author's concern was. I'm not arguing in favor or against that concern.

I'm in agreement with you. I was just trying to provide some additional color. :-)

Re: I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government

#290

Post by leephillips »

cesarb wrote: post #253
UncleEntity wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hell, Canadians usually correct me by saying ‘Canada is in America too’ when I tell them I’m ‘Mercian.

> Canada is in America too Even Brazil is in America. This is why I dislike using the term "American" when referring to US citizens, it's hopelessly ambiguous: are you talking about the country or the continent?

Among native English speakers, “American” almost always means someone from the United States. That’s partly because, unlike every other country, the US doesn’t have a convenient adjective for its residents.

However, after a few years in Central America I’ve broken myself of this usage. Spanish has an adjective for US people (aside from gringo, etc.) that I can use in Spanish, and when speaking English I find some other phrase. Note also that for many people in South and Central America “America” is what US people call “the Americas”: one continent, not three.

Post reply on HN