Your Money Stories

Hello, I am resident alien in the US and I previously worked abroad and planning to wire transfer my own money +$200k USD from abroad dormant bank account to the US bank account. Would that wire be taxable in the US? Would I need to fill any form to IRS related to that wire? Thank you

@VolvoGirl   So, you never actually solved this.  Got it.

I am formulating a complaint to a federal financial regulatory agency and I want to ensure my complaint is very clear, especially in terms of how a credit to an account must be dated, whether legally or in terms of mandated accounting standards (e.g., GAAP or IFRS).However, I first want to be reasonably sure there are no legitimate reasons whereby an institution may change the date of a cash deposit where the credited funds are immediately available for withdrawal (i.e., no holds). Any comments would be appreciated.

Do you give substantial gifts to charities? Are you 72 years old or older? Do you have a Traditional IRA? Do your Itemized Deductions do not exceed the Standard Deduction? If you answered YES to all the questions above you need to investigate Qualified Charitable Distributions.    See IRS Pub 590-B. What does a Qualified Distribution (QCD) do for you?  In short it decreases the taxable amount of the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from your IRA.   Example: Couple A have an income of $100,000 which includes  $20,000 RMD from their IRA.  Their itemized deductions which include $10,000 given by checks from their bank account to Charities amounts to $22,000.  So the Standard Deduction $27,800, plus $600 of the $10,000 given to charities, reduces their taxable income to $71,600. Couple B also have an income of $100,000 which includes  $20,000 RMD from their IRA. And their itemized deductions do not exceed th

I'm just sharing my experience in case it might show up and be helpful to someone researching the Billshark service which Mint has partnered with under the lower your Bills section.The general gist of the service made sense, they negotiate a lower rate on your behalf and take a 40% cut for the convenience of not having to sit through a phone queue and haggle with reps.The were able to save me 25$ over 12 months with my internet service, of which I have to pay them back 40% for but they are trying to bill for 24 months.I took a chance out of curiosity because I enjoy both Mint and TurboTax and figured if they went through the trouble of partnering and integrating an entire module with Billshark it should at the very least be legitimate.However, everything about the Billshark experience was pretty bad.  They needed more insecure information than what was provided in the portal form.  They negotiated savings with my internet provider with 0 transparency and the rep that called m

I learned tons from my parents, but almost nothing about money. I ended up getting my handle on my finances through a lot of trial and error (mostly error). I mean I've seen it all: spending more than I make, letting my credit score drop, not contributing to savings like I should when I'd get the biggest gains from compound interest....I can go on.    Anyone have a playbook or template they used right out of the gate? 50 - 30 - 20 rule or something like that they could help others avoid those pitfalls? My little brother just finished college and I'd love to help him sidestep my mistakes.    Thanks in advance!

Anyone needing some encouragement? I had a moment this weekend where I realized, I've completely dropped the habit of buying bottled water while running errands. Used to be an expense I didn't even think twice about. Now, I'm super diligent about filling up my water bottle at home before heading out. It's not a big thing, so hardly a moment to share out with my family and ask for props. ha! But thought maybe I'd ask here, anyone else have a small $$ win? I want to celebrate together!

Have you looked back to your younger days and think "Why in the world did I possibly think that is a good idea?" when it comes to your credit card spending?      My confession is allowing my fiance to  participate in  "Credit Card Roulette" on our nights out.  Now my husband of 22 years, he was a Navy Pilot in Flight school and on Friday nights we would go on group dinners and enjoy libations and billiards to wind down from the week.  At the end of the night, our friends would throw their credit cards in a hat and  one chosen to pay for all the drinks and sometimes dinner.  Sometimes the bill would be $800!     I didn't know at the time  how much  credit card debt limited the amount of a mortgage loan we could receive! Lesson learned!   Is there something you would tell your younger self? Share your confession! 

tsssssss

In my younger years I liked listening to the radio as I proudly drove around town with my buddies checking out the bikini clad babes on the beach. We’d roll down the windows, crank up the tunes and cruise the dunes. Pumping hard rock through the radio speakers at an ear splitting volume got a fair number of those fine beauties in the car with us too! Upon arriving home in the late afternoon, windows rolled down and the car stereo blaring the latest tunes at an ear splitting volume while dad was tinkering in the garage, he’d always greet my arrival with the same comment:  “Turn that shit-kicking music down!” His generation grew up in the Big Band era. People and things change over time. Or do they? After serving my country overseas for my entire 20 year career, I retired and returned to my hometown to find work and raise my own family. Dear old dad had it right. When my son turned 16 and we upgraded his driver’s license from a learner’s permit, I let him drive the car to

I imagine most people, especially those who have made radical life changes (or any change for that matter) can remember their tipping point.  I have one I’d like to share. It happened during a lunch break at work.  Myself and a coworker were eating perhaps a bit too much and bit too quick.  Still in my early 20’s and a former collegiate athlete these poor eating habits had started to show on my body.  But being one of the younger people in the company the habits hadn’t transformed me as much as others in the company.  This particular coworker being twice my age was getting bigger and in more pain by the year as you could see and even hear when he moved.  We made eye contact that said ‘yeah that’s not good to eat like that’ and he stood up, patted his belly, looked at me and said, “You just wait.  This will happen to you too.” The interaction and those six words hit me like a brick.  I looked around. Everyone looked just like him. Tired,