Even if the cost of electricity is the same, you'll spend more to cool a house in Tucson than Santa Monica.

Housing might be the single largest component, but there is variability in a lot of budget categories between different areas.

Then how are you maxing?? Are you sure she doesn’t want to run this to see how much salary you need to draw?

$3000, depending on where you live, can buy you a running car.

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That seems worth looking into. Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

I was thinking about forbearance when I mentioned it, not sure how hard that is to get. Just hoping to avoid default/minimize fees at this point. I appreciate the comment.

No

If you buy a laptop from Amazon it's the same price. Gas, food, utilities, insurance, just about everything that is local is going to vary. Wages vary, transportation costs for good and services are affected. Everything is more expensive in Hawaii because it comes by boat.

check with /r/legaladvice

>how could I politely request an actual appraisal and not have this devolve into family drama?

'that drive-by is a good start but I'd be more comfortable with a fully detailed appraisal and comps.' this is a totally reasonable request. you can't control their reactions to it, and the trustee should be willing to follow reasonable requests and might be obligated to follow reasonable requests.

> Is an appraisal likely to come in higher and I am essentially shooting myself in the foot?

maybe higher, maybe lower. an appraisal is just an estimate, it's not an offer to buy. people can have this idea that an appraisal is a 100% correct guarantee or something. it's just an educated guess. that's it.

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Okay, first of all, CONGRATULATIONS! I am proud of you for addressing the gambling, which is a tough nut to crack.

Second, I'm unaware of any way to "pause" payments, I'm afraid.

I mean in this case I think those numbers are meant as an upper bound not as a suggestion. IE you shouldn't spend more than 25% on a house, you shouldn't spend more than 8% on a car...not that you SHOULD spend that much. So it doesn't really make sense to expect to be comfortable if you are hitting what they are saying is the maximum for housing AND car.

Viewed that way my percentages of 14%, 2% and 40% all match up really...I don't spend more than 25% on housing, I don't spend more than 8% on a car. I do invest or save at least 25%. I don't think spending 8% on a car is meant to be a goal just meant to say if you are spending more than this you might want to reconsider. Again as a guideline.

As other posters have pointed out there are parts of this country where unless you are in the top 5% you are absolutely not spending only 25% of your income on housing. That just isn't a thing. Maybe Money Guys would suggest that means you are in an area that is overpriced for your income and you should try to move I don't know but I think they know that, they are just trying to give broadly applicable advice and not focus on the edge cases of very HCOL areas or very high or low incomes.

Interesting. She has been holding these piles of cash for decades though.

Would you be willing to ask a parent to add you as an authorized user on their credit card? You don't even need the physical card, just to be added to the account.

Assuming they have good credit, this will help your score immensely/immediately. You can then apply for a new CC that offers introductory 0 APR, usually for 18-24 months.

As it stands with 650 score and no income, I think you will struggle to qualify for better financing. Make sure you at least pay the minimum each month.

Probably not the advice you asked for, but you should also consider that commuting 170 miles a day is a big mistake, either in your choice of living arrangements or employment. Any car will eventually break down with that much daily use.

The 18% interest rate is also way too much to pay on any loan. I don't believe Hyundais have a great reputation for reliability.

Check if there's public transit options for your new job and look for apartments closer. If not, try to find a used car (1-2 years old) from a more reliable brand.

Cars can be expensive in certain cities (both financial and time-cost) due to taxes and parking costs and food costs vary widely in the US. I live in the south in a small city and food costs are about half of you drive even an hour or two into the countryside.

At this point, at 18, you are tremendously time wealthy. Every possibility is open to you. Really, i believe it is well into your 30s, 40s, maybe 50s or even later. But it's especially true for you. The most valuable thing you can do is the self exploration to find what will make you happy and sufficiently financially well off. If it were me, I'm not looking for a 2nd low paying job for money, rather I want experience and knowledge to help me define my path. That, OR, take a risk that can have a big upside payoff. You still probably have plenty of time to make money, but there ARE certain things may be much easier when you're younger. College, travel, study abroad, building a business, writing a novel, pursuing love. All more important.

But if money is especially important for you, I would reco reading up on the 4 types of millionaires. Maybe see which one you think you could be.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/07/31/i-spent-5-years-interviewing-225-millionaires-3-money-habits-that-helped-them-get-rich.html

I would payoff everything it it were me or you came to me (fa/cpa). Inheriting money doesn’t incur taxes but if any of the inheritance was ira money, you may want to stretch it out rather than take it out all at once. Good luck.

You can get a financial advisor but frankly unless it’s a networked connection for the amount of money it’s not worth it. You won’t be able to trust they are decent. If it were me you have two options:

1. Buy an investment property. Could be lucrative cash flow for you and you won’t lose the down payment.
2. invest in an index. Yes this year sucked, especially in S&P. but realistically if you put it in an index and come back in 15 years. you aren’t going to be unhappy with the returns. And considering your age still plenty of time to run it up.

I can’t picture for the life of me why you would pay off the debt. Especially since you aren’t struggling to pay the bills.

I'd like to see those numbers flipped: $100k cash and $710k in 401k. unless there's some compelling need to keep that much cash.

quick dirty estimate, $750k would produce about $30k a year income if invested. that's substantially less than you're accustomed to living on. $100k in the 401k will produce about $4,000/year.

is there a pension or something in the background? if this is all your savings, you are likely nowhere near prepared for retirement.

Depends what they offer in the Dominican. You probably can't get any loans from a US bank to purchase property there.

Pay it off ASAP

It’s 6.15%

I don't see any pros.

You are not in the position to buy a new car (which loses it's value as soon as you drive out the lot). Insurance will be higher. 18% is crazy.

If you signed it's too late. Just because you didn't drive the car away doesn't mean it's not already yours. So why bother questioning it now.

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