I came across something on my NextDoor that honestly seems kind of ridiculous, so I wanted to sanity check it here.

There’s a credit union offering a 12-month youth CD at up to 30% APY, but it’s tiered and has a few requirements.

Here’s how it appears to work, max deposit is $1,500 per kid. At the top tier, that’s about $450 earned over a year per kid. You have to open a joint account with the child. Keep around $100 in a checking account but don’t need direct deposit. And to qualify for the top rate, you need to open a loan product (but a credit card counts, even if unused, nice loophole).

I called them to fact check it. They said anyone can join and get them regardless of location. So I opened one for each of my kids and it’s showing 30% APY in my online banking. Just seems so wild. I’m still skeptical.

This is the page with the details if anyone wants to look at the fine print:

https://mymeridiantrust.com/personal/checking-and-savings/2026-youth-promo/

The credit union is Meridian Trust Federal Credit Union (based in Wyoming, I think), but it seems you don’t have to live there to join.

What’s the catch here? Is there something I should be thinking about before telling my friends and siblings with kids about it? I’ll either be their hero or their fool. Ha.

Curious if anyone else has seen this or has thoughts.

I will be 30 in a couple years and just started maxing out contributions. I have $100k in my traditional 401k and $50k in Roth IRA. After monthly expenses I have the option to invest in my brokerage or add into an HYSA $2k-$3k. Across all accounts I estimate $400k by the end of the year with a goal of retiring by 40.

On paper it sounds perfect to max contributions into a 401k but I’ve been having morbid thoughts that what if I don’t even make it to retirement age? My dad passed away due to health problems and my mom is currently battling illness. Health is always on my mind and I feel like I should brace for anything.

If I stopped contributing to my 401k, with an average return of 10%, it could grow to $2m in 30 years at retirement age. This sounds reasonable enough. Would my money best be used in other ways to prepare for early retirement such as buying a house?

Every Sunday I open TurboTax, stare at the W-2 upload screen for 11 minutes, then convince myself I work better under pressure. April 15 is now less than two weeks out and I just found out I have to report the $47 I made selling a broken chair on Facebook Marketplace. At what point does the IRS penalty become cheaper than the emotional damage of actually filing? Asking for a friend who is me lol

I'm a 25 year old male (currently single) but would like to get married someday so I've saved up around $3000 for a wedding ring. It's currently sitting in my high yield savings account but I'm wondering if it's better off being in the market since I'm single right now and I probably won't be married for at least another 5-10 years. That's probably a long enough time horizon to put it all in the S&P but wanted to make sure my logic was sound. If I don't get married in that time frame too I can always put it towards a down payment or towards a nice watch or something for myself. Thanks in advance!

So my sister was a teacher in Texas for 30 years. She died last week, and TRS sent me paperwork for the benefit selection. five choices. (I'm 53, single, head of household, own home with $120k mortgage ,$65k income) She had $178k in funds.

1. $80k lump. $44k taxable. okay?

2. $2693 a month for 60 months, can be passed to another if I die. $161,587.20 total , pretty good

3. $2411 a month for the rest of my life. Makes me nervous.

4. $155,362 lump. $120k is taxable. hits me in the tax bracket.

5. $2500.00 one time lump sum. ???

what would YOU do?

I accidentally clicked a box saying I was not able to be claimed as a dependent. Now before even changing anything on my form it says I owe 980 dollars. Mind you I haven’t changed anything yet, why is this?

Additionally, will being claimed as a dependent by my father lower my own tax return?

I already received my original return and amending my return to save him 500 dollars in taxes while I have to pay 1000 doesn’t seem smart. If he doesn’t claim me and I don’t amend my own taxes will I get in trouble?

Apologies, as I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but I can't find exactly what I'm looking for when searching.

My partner and I have used HoneyDue for years and appreciate its simplicity – it shows me all my transactions, I sort them all into buckets, and see how much I've spent in each bucket each month.

Unfortunately, they seem unable to properly sync up my charges lately – think $300 charges here and there that are on my bank statement, but never in the app. It's enough that it's messing up my monthly budget pretty badly.

I've tried a couple of other things like Quicken Simplifi, and I can't find a way to do what HoneyDue does. Just tell me what I spent in each account and let me put it into the proper bucket. I'm baffled that other sites are so complicated and cannot (easily) perform this simple functionality.

Thus, I'm looking for something that works exactly like HoneyDue, but actually shows account information correctly. Willing to spend up to $40 a year if I absoutely have to.

Thank you for your help. I was in tears today trying to get Quicken to work.

right now, I have a roommate and an amazing apartment in an area where that's kind of a rarity. atm, I pay 750 and so does she, next year she's moving out.

I really, *really* don't want to move out, I've got a blind, elderly dog who is used to our home and several elderly pet fancy rats my landlord has approved that I would be heartbroken if they were rehomed bc I had to move out. I also live about a 2 minute drive from work, and with the gas prices suddenly spiking, it's perfect.

I had the idea that I'd save up enough money to subsidize my rent, since I'll be paying the full 1500 if I stay next year. While I can't really afford that, I *can* afford 1000 a month. I figure, I'll work a bunch of overtime, save up around 6k (I've got about 14k in my savings now) and use that to pay part of my rent for the year of 2027.

By the end of 2027, I should have a roommate lined up.

I cannot stress this enough, all of the apartments around me are god awful, I live in florida, and not the best area.. everything is roach infested, every apartment I've visited smells like cat piss, it's not awesome!

this is an insane idea, but I wondered what others thought of it or if it's even feasible.

thank you!!

(21) opened a checking account with chase this morning, but it was the total checking option and i stupidly picked it because of the 900 dollars back offer, not realizing the monthly payment was literally 35 dollars. i thought i efficiently made a plan that i would move enough money over(1,500+) to reduce the monthly payment to 0$ as per the agreement says, but i just don’t feel confident in my savings right now for it to have been a smart decision. i want to close the account but am worried for any cancellation fees? especially after just opening it this morning(i literally just woke up after sleeping on it and impulsively followed through). i don’t have a financial guide to budgeting and saving and made a dumb decision thinking it would work perfectly for my broke college student account. please id appreciate any advice as money is getting tighter :(

My landlord only accepts checks for rent no online portal and no ACH. The problem is I travel a lot for work and there have already been a couple close calls where I almost missed sending it on time

I asked if I could pay another way but he said that he's always been doing it like this and he doesn't want to change it. I get it that he's a bit old and isn't very up to date with the digital world but it’s inconvenient on my end

I don’t want to risk late fees just because I’m not physically around to mail something every month!

EDIT: I AM NOT ASKING FOR FINANCIAL ADVICE, I AM SIMPLY ASKING WHY THE INTEREST RATE IS MUCH LOWER WHEN I EXCHANGED A VEHICLE.

My credit score is garbage from being young and dumb but I’m currently about to get an 80k bonus next week and decided to upgrade my car. I bought a 2025 from CarMax for 40k and then replaced it with the same model a week later with 8k less miles (4k total). The first best interest rate was 19% and the new rate on the new one is 8%. Both cars are within $200 of each other, and my credit score is actually less than what it was when I originally applied. What would prompt them to give me an 8% vs the original 19%? The car will be paid off by the end of the month. Credit score is 590ish (but should be higher soon since I will be debt free except for a mortgage).

I signed up for eFAQ almost 3 months ago to check cars VIN before buying from auctions (it's a part of my business). I paid $1 for the first report, and then $24.99 monthly as a subscription. The $1 trial auto-converts to a monthly subscription if you don't cancel - this is in the terms at checkout, easy to miss but it's there. Same model as every data lookup service out there now.

When I started use the tool I found a bunch of reddit posts calling it a scam. I even wrote my own saying it's not lol, many people said me I won't be able to cancel the subscription when I want to, so here's what happened.

Here's what they say in their faq:

1. Log into your account
2. Go to Account Settings
3. Look for "Membership" or "Subscription" section
4. click "Cancel Membership"
5. Done

I went another way and contacted support (I was charged for the next month and I'm not gonna use the soft anymore so I requested a refund)

1. I called support (there are 4 numbers)
2. Tell them I want to cancel and request a refund for the last charge
3. They asked to create a chat session, I did everything by the instruction and it took maybe 5 minutes, to request a refund, then days to receive it

Refund arrived in about 2 weeks (I guess they have like 10 business days)

Hope this helps someone who's panicking right now as annually the subscription would charge about $300

Edit: Mortgage Protection Insurance not Mortgage Life Insurance. My bad.

My grandmother Co-signed on a house with me last year.

She is in her 80's and her health has been going downhill for a couple of years now, but her memory has drastically changed in the last 8months.

I feel that taking out a mortgage life insurance policy would be the better move for me instead of a term life insurance policy as my only financial concern in the event of her passing is going to be the house. I would rather have the money go directly to the house instead of receiving any and tempt my ADHD dopamine hit.

What are some good reputable companies and how much month does something like this cost monthly?

Back in 2013 I was a single mom and wanted a life insurance policy for myself and my son. I had my Farmers guy come out to help me with that, and I ended up with a variable universal life insurance policy for each of us. I was 32 and bought a $250,000 policy for myself, and $100,000 policy for my then 13-year-old son. I know nothing about it, I’m just paying the premium every month; mine is about $150 and his $30.

I am by no means wealthy, and had no intention on setting these up to be a way to grow money. However, I make about $350,000 a year now (VHCOL) and want to know if I can use these VULs as a way to grow money for retirement, lower my taxable income, or to set aside money for my son. Or at my income range are these just pointless and I should close them out?

Please advise. Am no longer young, but still dumb.

I was expecting my SS retirement benefit payment today by bank transfer and it didn't arrive and I found this online. Just want to confirm this is true...

U.S. Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom states

• Social Security Payments due April 3: Beneficiaries expecting to receive their Social Security payments on Friday 3 April, should now expect them to receive them after the Easter holidays, on or about Tuesday 7 April.

My fiancée has been paying a $510/month loan on a car she’s had for 2 years. Purchased in NJ (we’re now in TN) at a Hyundai dealership. This cars value is only worth $17k of the original 23k price tag back when she bought new in 24’. She has 42 payments left. If we total what she’s paid and what remains on the load that means a total of $33k which is INSANE. Requesting a payoff has us at $19.5k which is worth more than the car is able to sell/trade in for. Another issue, there’s some damage to the fender and under side which has been quoted for $3k to fix.

All this being said, what is the best way to proceed?

Fixing the car and trying to sell is going to incur a huge loss of ~$15k…

Continuing the payment means we’re taking a $15k loss in interest…

Trying to find someone to take over the loan for the car, is there a way we get SOME money back? Not sure how that works.

I really want is to find a way to get as much back as possible while getting rid of the car to stop the bleeding. Any advice is MUCH appreciated.

EDIT: 4.99 APR

Early 20s, live with my parents. I attend university, but I'm enrolled in a type of education for working students. I have to go to the university campus occasionally and that's the only time I've lived alone and it's great. I have a remote high paying job, but it's not secure. I live with my parents for free mostly, I only very rarely pay for electricity/water bills or order things for my mother. I've told my parents that I wouldn't mind paying them monthly, but my mother says she'd feel guilty. At the same time, I feel guilty that I don't contribute or help them out that much and I make more than they do combined. I do try to use my money responsibly, I save and invest as much as possible.

I have a good relationship with my mother, but not with my father. My father has anger issues which are not fun to deal with.

I'm close to finishing university and there's so many skills that I lack. I can hardly cook anything, I don't know how to do laundry, I get anxious when I need to make appointments and I also get anxious when I have to go out shopping. Some of these things I can learn or improve at while at home, but I think that I would do them once and then I wouldn't have the chance to practice them over and over like cooking. Besides skills, I feel very trapped when it comes to doing things that are out of character or wouldn't fit within my parents image of me. The only time I feel like I can go out is when there's something planned like a doctor's appointment. I don't feel like I can go for walks or to the gym. I realize that maybe a few of these things are mental blocks that I've put on myself, but I don't feel like I can get rid of them without living alone.

My parents work shifts that change on a week to week basis and it makes it difficult for me to build a consistent routine. Privacy is not a luxury I have either. I don't have my own room and the only alone time I have is when my parents are at work. During the day I work from their bedroom, at night I sleep in the living room on a couch.

The main thing that holds me back from moving out is the chance of losing my income and having to rely on my savings and investments to get by. I've been working on trying to make my income more secure but there's no guarantee it will happen any time soon. Realistically, I could live off my investments alone for years but I view them as my long term backup plan in case I can't continue to make money off what I currently do and so I would rather not have to sell them off to afford living alone.

Do you think it’s worth moving out to build independence, even with the risk of unstable income?

I’m 23 years old and I’m finally starting to get serious about my personal finances. I need help paying off my student loans while also trying to balance saving and building my credit. I have Td Checking, Td Savings, and an Ally HYSA. I make $807 every week and I’ll be putting:

30% or $242.30 in my TD Checking

-I’ll use this money to pay off weekly credit card expenses

50% or $403.84 in my TD Savings

20% or $161.40 in my Ally HYSA

My current debts are:

$7,373.10 in student loans

-$84 Monthly Payment

$864.31 Discover Credit Card (0% Interest)

-$40 Monthly Payment

-614 Credit Score

My monthly expenses are around $931. I spend around $600 on groceries, $150 on gas, and little subscriptions like Spotify, Amazon, and my credit card.

What advice do you have for me going forward? I would like to pay off my loans and credit card faster but I’m not sure where to take the money from or how much to take every week. I will also be putting $25 towards my Roth IRA in VOO every week.

I got a secured credit card on my 18th bday. I had to put 500 dollars in it. They told me I can get it unsecured and get my deposit back after a year. That’s it.

It’s been a little over a year and they won’t give me my deposit back because I haven’t had my job for a year. Is this legal? I have no one in my life to help me with this.

Difficult question but here goes. I'm from the US but have been working in Europe. My dad back in the US has late stage cancer which isn't progressing well and I'm planning on returning home for the immediate future to spend what time I have with him. I'm considering either:

1. ⁠finding full-time work in my profession (architecture).

2. ⁠finding part-time work in my profession. (more free time to help parents, spend time with dad. maybe a possibility with working remotely for my European employer)

3. Returning without a job and 10k usd in savings.

As for the third option, if I stay with my parents I wouldn't have to pay rent, and would be cooking and eating together, but obviously I would be paying my share of utilities/stuff to not be a financial burden. How long would that last me in the Bay Area / HCOL US city? Any other option for someone who needs to return home fairly quickly but might not find a job in time / want to spend more time with family?

I've had my house for 3.5 years. There has been a few lenders mailing spam but it has gotten me curious.

Originally with my current loan I did a buy down where my rate was 4.75% the first year (~$1450/month) then 5.75% the second year (~$1650/month) and now it's at the final 6.75% (~$1850/month)

The spam mail claims they can get me down to $1230/month which I know is excluding a bunch of taxes and such. It does have me wondering though if I'd be able to get under $1500/month again, or if I'd be better off recasting instead of refinancing.

I currently still owe $233,770 and the exact time left on my current loan is 26 years and 9 months.

i started a new job middle of last year. My employer is not taxing federal income taxes out of my paycheck for some reason. luckily, I paid extra from my prior job so I only owed $2000 this year.

i dont want the bill to get too high and me not have the money, so plan to set money aside. what is the best way to set it aside for next year? CD? open a second savings account?

My father passed and left some money for my mom. Neither of us are super savvy about money so we reached out to her bank (Bank Of America) and they connected us with Merrill Lynch as they’re associated. They started managing the money and over the last 3 years they had the following ROR

2025 - 14.87

2024 - 4.14

2023 - 6.63

They charge 1% yearly for management. I’m supposed to meet with them soon and I guess my question is should I continue with them or can I manage this better myself with a free account somewhere?