As a member of a credit union, you are a part owner in the institution and it is not for profit. Better rates as well and it still has deposit insurance. https://www.moneycrashers.com/why-credit-unions-are-better-than-banks/. @John O -#7072

I've never not used credit unions

Those are the basics. For everyone else, essentially you get better rates and customer service because off the non profit coop structure

Any suggestions for making some extra money on the side in college apart from a basic entry-level job? At the moment I'm doing the max credit hours for my university plus a job at a library making minimum wage, but I'm curious if there's any other options to remedy the stereotypical "broke college student" issue.

@Marseille I'm hesitant to suggest manual labor to a woman, but stuff like cutting grass is pretty easy, and especially rn when it's not hot out, not very exhausting

@Marseille apply to call center jobs online, there might be one in your area. I got a job during last semester at a call center making $17 an hour. If you get it, drop the low paying student job. Call centers love college students because they’re ok with short term assignments, are educated, can speak well and follow a flow chart, and don’t have to pay them benefits.

Also, any money made right now will be insignificant in a few short years. Make sure the GPA is solid and that you’re networking regularly. Practice interviewing, polish resume, get good summer internships, get to know job recruiters from your target companies, attend multiple career fairs. Prep work now could get you a signing bonus or a salary offer that blows away all the part-time work you’re doing now.

Source: Engineering degree in 2010, MBA graduate last month

@Marseille I have to agree 120% with @Tanner - SC here. Economically any work you do now actually works against you in the long run. If you're not studying for better grades, "work" by networking, which can even be as simple as participating in college clubs relevant to your future career. The kids I knew who worked the least (often not at all) in college are now the ones making the most, because they were able to dedicate their college years into investing in themselves. I have a strong suggestion that is going to be controversial if I don't make a certain nuance clear: i strongly suggest taking out loans and using credit cards to finance your *personal consumption* as much as possible. The nuance is that I am not saying to take out money for tuition (though you may not have a choice in that), but your personal consumption as a single college student is going to pale in comparison to the paychecks you get from a well paying job after you graduate.

@ThisIsChris I've heard a lot of that from acquaintances. They're living really well and waiting to pay it off later, which obviously can be an issue if you're living far beyond your means, but the idea is there.

Thank you guys.

Tfw an apprentice and my school is my job

@Deleted User How's that going?

Good

If you ever need help, let me know. I still have a ton of notes.

Thanks brother 👌🏻

My classes don't start till August to be fair

@Deleted User @Zyzz I've been longing over NVDA, decided to buy some calls again, 230 strike with 2/9 expiry (right after earnings), I tried to offset the cost a bit by selling a 240 call expiring Friday. (That makes this my first diagonal calendar spread)

@ThisIsChris good luck to you. This market seems like it can’t go down. I hit my 10% threshold for SSO today and sold half my stake. Now letting the other half ride for now. I will reassess in May

@Zyzz nice job, I agree have to take some profits along the way. at the same time I'm trying to not sleep on the wayside while things go up, so I'm using options to rigidly define my p/l scenarios. But I don't want to be waiting years for an eventual crash before making bullish trades. Trying to tread carefully

@here I try to give a warning a week about risk in investing, instead this week I give you this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1xqSZy9_4I

It's a guy who's job is to read market quotes as his normal day jobs, and he's reading the quotes out during the Flash Crash of May 6 2010

@ThisIsChris sheeit

@John O - yeah, that was crazy. anyone who didn't panic sell turned out fine though, the market recovered in a few minutes, it was basically attributed to algorithmic trade machines going into a negative feedback loop and causing each other to go down

That's one of the most frightening things, to realize how fragile everything is. My cousin was telling me about cyber security a few months ago, and I almost shit myself. This is another great example of no matter what you do, a huge portion of your fate is out of your control

@John O - omg so true, I interviewed at a cybersecurity firm once and they said all the computer exploits outthere are like a giant iceberg and the entire cybersecurity industry is just frantically trying to get visible peak above water and doesn't have the resources for everything below

There's some service (governmental I think) that whites reports on all exploits found and that company's whole job was trying to sift through to inform sysadmins which ones they were most at risk of

@here This should be really easy idk why I'm being so slow atm: What is the cash flow of a 15-year bond that pays coupon interest semiannually with coupon
rate 7.5% and par value $100,000?

I'm assuming I just calculate the cash flow for all 30 payment periods? I missed class the day this was discussed.

nvm

@ThisIsChris Thanks for the heads-up! I'm going to take a look. I'll let you know if I decide to piggyback it

@Deleted User Yeah I am curious what you think!

Wow, that stock has been on a tear the last two weeks.

I would have jumped on it if I had seen it yesterday.

With that huge gain today I think I've missed a lot of the opportunity.

What's surprising is that Intel's stock is basically unchanged from its earlier highs despite the tech-heads freaking out over Spectre and Meltdown

At the same time it's clearly more wind in nvidia's sails.

Yeah it's hard to judge when the NVDA train might stop. I mean, "now" is a valid answer, but earnings report is just 2 weeks away

@ThisIsChris knowing when it’ll stop is a tough game to win. SSO is currently up 1% since I sold half my stake. Of course I would have loved to make that extra money but I had no idea it would continue to go up. At some point you have to look at your current profit, be content with what you made, and sell a portion (or all of it)

As the saying goes “bears make money, bulls make money, but pigs get slaughtered”

@Zyzz yep, good thing to keep in mind. I just heard one of the signals I consider bearish: normies in my office talking about NFLX earnings. Reminds me of sitting on the subway last month and hearing normies talk about Bitcoin.

http://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/wall-street-firm-slammed-the-door-on-young-warren-buffett-for-religious-reasons/ this is an interesting article I'm not sure what to make of yet. It's written by a Jew, talking about bitter Jews controlling Wall Street, and the non-prejudiced non-Jews who eventually warmed some of their hearts.

https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/sites/g/files/eyrktu156/files/styles/embedded_700/public/infotech%20relative%20to%20SP500_0.png?itok=lpqmqjc3

https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/sites/g/files/eyrktu156/files/styles/embedded_700/public/revolving%20credit%20-%20%24.png?itok=5AJTeI4g

https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/sites/g/files/eyrktu156/files/styles/embedded_700/public/retail%20sales%20YoY%20line.png?itok=wafXu40m

@here anyone who's been watching the market especially with respect to AMZN and NVDA

@Zyzz remember a few weeks back you said you were trying to identify where an asset bubble might be coming from? I was interested too so I hunted down this information from the Federal Reserve:

Here it shows that the total debt balance is higher than '08's levels, but it's way lower for Mortgages and HE Revolving this time, somewhat lower for credit card debt, but way higher for auto loans and student loans, just as you were saying.

@ThisIsChris nice find! Seems like the auto loan and student loan balances have increased tremendously.

If those asset bubbles were to pop you’d have to have something happen in the economy where a lot of jobs are lost

I don’t think either will lead us into a recession but they will prolong it

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-27/it-just-gets-worse-and-worse-record-32-used-car-trade-ins-are-underwater

I think the read through here is 1) there will be a ripple effect when the auto loan bubble does indeed pop, 2) the popping of the bubble will cause automakers to pull back on production (cutting jobs) and will cause dealerships to cut back on sales/financings (cutting jobs), 3) lenders have court precedent saying they can garnish wages - this will ripple through the rest of economy as it will take away from other spending, 4) negative equity balances on trade-ins are being rolled into the next car loan - this has its own set of problems and issues

We have 3 varibles that impact how much car someone can buy(monthly payment) - 1) term, 2) interest rate, 3) principal. we know interest rates are increasing. if there is any shock to the economy it would be reasonable to assume interest rates on sub prime and near prime auto loans would spike (flight to quality). Principal balance is increasing - 1) used car prices are increasing, 2) negative equity being rolled into next loan. The only relief for borrowers is to extend the term of their loan.

Historically low interest rates forced there by central bank manipulations is creating crazy levels of indebtedness. It will end ugly. Thanks for sharing, this is the first I've seen data on the equity of trade-ins and I'm not surprised at all.

Good stuff.

@Zyzz Is there anything to stop lenders from extending the terms of the borrowers loans indefinitely?

Are 7 year car loans a thing yet?

@Why Tea I believe so yes

This madness must stop.

@ThisIsChris I dont think so. or at least i hope not because an unwillingness to extend the loan term wil result in a cascade of defaults

@Zyzz yeah I don't see why a lender wouldn't allow it unless he's worried the borrower is going to die soon. What this makes me wonder if this bubble could just keep growing for a decade or two, since I don't see why lenders would start clamping down now. Although I think that's what you are saying, now that I think about it, that it is something that will instead exacberate some other crisis if lenders become short on money and start demanding the balances start getting paid off. Right?

@ThisIsChris an easy way around "the borrower may die soon" is to require a cosigner to the loan. or require a down payment upfront. yes, the zero hedge article does mention this could be a slow build in the level of debt some people have. a slow snowball effect. I think this is probable.

yes i think in times of crisis during a refinance a lender may require a downpayment from the borrower. or they may require the borrower pay down the negative equity balance

Interesting, do you have any suggested investments that might take advantage of this information? Shorting car manufacturers perhaps? @Zyzz This is on my todo list of things to research this week but I don't have many ideas to start. As I understand it for new cars it is often the manufacturer themselves that provides the financing, I don't know about the used car market though.

@Why Tea I knew a guy who had been paying off his car for 7 years

@ThisIsChris yeah shorting car manufacturers and suppliers is a good start. Subprime lenders or really any company that has exposure to subprime credit is a good area to look. I do not have the conviction to name companies/price targets but those are the areas

Another way to think of it is what ripple effect will these defaults have.

I remember during the financial crisis is seemed like it was one subsector after the other that was getting hit on different weeks and months. First it was the banks, then the agencies, then the home builders, etc

Also just so you know I am not necessarily keeping track of this stuff bc I want to start a short on any particular company but because I want to keep my pulse on the boom in the business cycle.

The real money will be made when it all crashes. And I don’t mean on the short end. I mean when it crashes and settles. When that happens no one will 1) have money and 2) will want to buy anything. This is where the real money is made

The richest guys are those who had spare cash in 2010 and 2011. Those who bought property when you couldn’t give it away

@Zyzz It's really just hard for me to believe it will get down to those levels again. I kinda WANT to believe that it will, just because it was such an amazing time to buy and now I might actually be able to, but there's a huge question to me whether I should stay in the stock market or hold back and wait for an economic crisis.

@ThisIsChris i would continue to invest in the market. the idea is to keep your hand on the pulse of it all. the main reason why i think about and attemp to predict the next cause of the next recession is so i can pull my money out when it looks like we are getting close

with that said, keep a diversified portfolio and a healthy amount in cash

@Zyzz Thanks for the perspective man

Yeah I would like to know that too, my head's been spinning seeing Bitcoin then NVDA then AMZN going up so fast, as well as the overall market in general.

the market has been on a tear which makes me nervous which is why i sold half my SSO stake when i hit a 10% return

i am taking part of that money and redeploying in an Aerospace & Defense fund and adding a little bit to my CLNS-J preferred stock which is currently yielding ~7.6% after selling off

i go back and forth between how much cash i want on hand vs. how much i want to be invested

most of my investments are in retirement accounts so i wont have access to it for quite some time

@Zyzz yep most of my investments are in retirement accounts too, split about half and half between retirement accounts and retail accounts.

@Zyzz is it a good idea to buy and hold bond funds as interest rates are rising? The underlying fund will go down in value but would the interest payments make up for the decline?

@GetOffMyState#8267 highly unlikely. Now is generally a good time to get out/not buy yield stocks and bonds. If you absolutely have to(or want to) hold some sort of fixed income product you’re going to want to buy something with a high coupon/dividend rate (assuming they can actually make the payment/cover the dividend). The idea being is a a larger part of their present value is made up of the coupon payment as opposed to the bond maturity value so the inevitable decline in value (as rates rise) will not be as severe as it would at a lower coupon level (all else equal). To answer your question directly, given the low level of interest almost all bonds pay right now, no the interest earned would not make up for most of the decline

No stockmarket watchu doin stahp

haha thanks @Deleted User . WIsh I had checked my Doom Paul o'meter this morning

http://archive.is/Ie18I

Old Fed Chair says she created a bubble

Lol created a bubble? Of course she did. This entire “recovery” has been about asset appreciation. Only now are we actually starting to see wage growth

hm, market opening strong today

Bro my normie mom has lost so much money the past few days and is buying at the same time lol.

@JesseJames wow i feel bad for her losing money , today was a respite for her though, market went up

I haven't spoken to her today but I'd say she is pleased with that. She was telling me it was some kind of correction where it shot up so fast. I'm not into trading and all of my investments are in very safe places. And I leave them alone. She is very into trading and investing. She lost 200k after 911 and stuck with it and loves it.

@JesseJames despite the loss, she sounds like a lady that follows stocks! People have been expecting a correction for a few weeks now, it's part of the normal business cycle

Yes for a woman she is pretty smart. Also pretty darn successful.

https://youtu.be/b-9hX3H_9qI

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/352760194775777282/406713267898155019/Screen_Shot_2018-01-27_at_2.31.15_AM.png @Tanner - SC interesting check out this picture I made a few weeks ago, it's just snapshots comparing household debt by asset class now and before the 2008 crash. One noticable thing is how HIGH automotive debt is. And if you look deeper in the fed report, some 31% of automotive loans are in default, it's crazy

The auto loan market is a mess. I don’t understand how they can still make all of these auto loans and have defaults like that. Who the hell is buying all of these securitized auto loan products?

A pull back in auto lending will send ripples through the auto industry which will probably result in layoffs at manufacturing plants/dealerships/auto lending people. Perhaps even at the corporate level as well

Wow, this may be one of the most accessible yet comprehensive investing guide's I've seen: http://tlc.thinkorswim.com/center/howToTos/main/0/groups/0/file/HowTothinkoswim.pdf

Will check this out after work

I don't know where it is appropriate to post this but my brother will graduate this semester from undergrad and is still looking for a job. He goes to Pittsburgh uni, double major in actuarial science + Econ, he has a 3.5 gpa but a 3.8 in his majors. Will give transcript + resume to those who dm. He isn't "one of us" but he is "trumpist". He is willing to move wherever in the continental US. If you have experience getting a job in this field please DM places he should look, or other contacts you have and would be willing to give. If you yourself have leads/openings those would be greatly appreciated. If you are wary of leaking personal info(personal leads/business opening you have) to me please DM @Matthias and he will confirm that I am trustworthy.

@everyone ^

@Bobby - Pa#5314 with a GPA like that in those majors and at a school like Pitt I find it hard that he would have trouble landing something. Is he a bad interviewer?

@Bobby - Pa

@Zyzz thats the thing I am finding so odd...the area has so many jobs related to the industry and apparently he has sent out a massive amount of apps, idk whats going wrong

He's a fucking white male. They are probably only looking for diversity hires. It kinda sucks but it would be a good time to drop some red pills.

@Bobby - Pa when did he graduate? Big companies go through hiring rounds for entry level employees close to graduation dates.

Also what is he using to apply? Some people I know get sucked into Indeed but I found it pretty poor on both sides

@ThisIsChris he didn't graduate yet, I told him that, and mainly the pitt database, I don't know what other options he has used, will make sure to ask. He graduates this semester

He should go to some firms and apply directly. School job boards are a real mixed bag of results. I posted a job to one a few years ago and I never took it down. I still get emails with people applying that I just don't look at. They should notice the ad is 2 years old but maybe that information isn't made very clear on the website.

@Bobby - Pa

Once he gets his foot in the door and gets a few years experience it should be much easier to get a new job somewhere else if he wants

@ThisIsChris thanks I will tell him to use that strategy, I really appreciate all the advice

thank you to those who responded so quickly and messaged me with advice on this thread or privately, I really appreciate it

a lot of companies hire on an as needed basis too. i graduated without a job offer

Great organization to join for financial networking. Best events are the annual meeting and holiday party. Highly recommend.

http://philasecurities.com

I’m an MBA grad who landed my dream job recently.
* First, start earlier. Many top jobs are interviewed and tied up more than one semester before graduation. Too late for him now, but make your friends and family aware to avoid this mistake in the future.
* Networking is critical, referrals are what get jobs
* Have a professional review the resume
* Practice interviewing with a professional. Pay for it, it’s worth it. Learn how to interpret what the typical interview questions are *really* asking, none of them are to be taken at face value
* Buy a decent suit in gray or navy, get it tailored to fit
* Figure out what you want to do, identify target industries, target positions, target companies
* Research said targets
* Develop a sales pitch on why you will add the most value for your target employer, explain how you’re passionate about the subject, and turn it up a notch to “wow” them. Upsell your experience and skills
* Find national career fairs relevant to your targets, travel to that fair (often out of state), and get in front of recruiters. Observe their body language and response to your pitch. Learn from their feedback.

@Bobby - Pa

@Der Seeteufel - SD I got my job by going to a career fair for Hispanics.

They asked what my relationship was to the organization hosting the conference and I told them I’m here because it’s a national conference in my field (engineering) with all of my target employers present, what a great opportunity. I didn’t say anything about Hispanics.

@Tanner - SC that’s ballsy

Anyone collect meme metals?

🤔

What are meme metals?

It's a joke, people on the chans talked a lot of crap about gold and silver holders claiming they were a meme

In that case, yes, I do have a nice stack of bullion.

Yeah, I'm preparing for high demand in the future. I'm coinciding that with a plan for a large family.

Indeed, I'm holding physical long-term. Big fan of Maple Leafs and PAMP Suisse.

You think we'll see a big upside soon or will it be a decade plus?

Is there any compelling reason why they would go up soon?

@Jacob I don't see one for a few months, so I keep buying

War requires a lot of silver

I'm seeing ARM loans being peddled again. Stocks are laughably high. The flight into metals will probably occur when the cascade happens again.

Ever hear Doug Casey talk about the hurricane analogy?

Nope

A hurricane has an entry wall, an eye, & an exit wall. Consider 2008 (Bear Stearns/Lehman Brothers) as the entry wall. We then moved into the eye--it's bright and sunny, yet we still have to come out of the hurricane. The exit wall will be far more violent and catastrophic. He suggests this will dwarf the Great Depression.

@Argument of Perigee Yeah, Doug Casey is pretty cool. Got me into further research about markets in general.

@Argument of Perigee I've been house hunting since I left work today. Thank you. That makes me feel really good about my future

Interest rates are so low, get a fixed mortgage, and have capital saved to anticipate danger, or don't buy. I've considered a house also, but I'm not ready just yet.

Interest rates are low, but does that offset the insanely high cost if a house? I'm willing to eat the higher cost just because I hate paying rent

In my unprofessional opinion, I would wait for the crash, but paying rent is shitty. If you rent your house for most of the payment, that would be cool.

@Freiheit - CA yes i plan to wait until a crash happens before i buy a house. i also don't need a house right now

I remember in 2006-2008, I was a college student thinking about the future, and I remember laying in bed several times thinking "how tf is anyone supposed to get a house for the first time, it looks like you have to buy as soon as possible so you can try to latch onto whatever house you can possibly afford at the time to try to ride the wave up" Well, I learned that if prices seem absolutely bozongo then there may be a problem with the prices.

I say this because I have the same gut feelings nowadays. We'll be having kids soon so I've been looking around at housing and even with both me and wife working full time the housing prices just seem insane or not worth it. I work in New York City and I'm struggling to find a house within 3 hours of where that is a nice safe neighborhood with good schools and a family sized house under 600k. I'm likely just going to rent for a while waiting for another housing crash, or I'm going to find a studio apartment and put wall dividers and live like those huge families did during the industrial revolution

@ThisIsChris thats why i got the fuck out of NYC

Where do ya'll buy silver and gold?

@Zyzz I think about that all the time. Maybe one day but all my roots are here. Family, long time friends, business networks...

So for the time being I'm just trying to see if I can make it here, really hoping for that housing crash

@ThisIsChris that sounds Trad AF. Do that

@ThisIsChris Go with the wall dividers, fam. It's very similar to how our ancestors lived in log cabins/hovels/huts for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

@Deleted User like bullion? I use JMBullion.com

@ThisIsChris i moved down to FL and knew not a soul. i understand the apprehension but then again so did our ancestors when they left europe.

@John O - @Deleted User yeah everytime I go back to that idea I'm like "ya know wall dividers aren't such a bad idea..." I just have to give up on my dream of having a home squat rack/bench press/deadlift platform

Fuck personal time. People didn't have time to themselves during the Industrial Revolution

@Zyzz Florida sounds great man, especially when thinking about the weather. I'm glad you have made it work.

tfw no cramped house full of kids and waifu

I'm going to get a 3 story house for me, my parents, my 3 siblings, and all our kids

@John O - that's so awesome.

Kek, not really dude

That would be hellish

Maybe not the literal 3 story houses, but I have looked into those two-family homes before

I would like to have my dad right next door

thatd be sweet

i was very close to my grandparents growing up.. they were a 10 min drive away

Yeah having multi-family homes with family is a pretty great idea if you're close

When my grandma grew up in the Bronx, her family all lived in the same building. Same with my other Grandma in Boston, and my Grandpa in Brooklyn

Err, not quite my grandpa

Ha yeah only kicker is my dad loves his house too much to move

Have you tried looking in ossining or peekskill? my buddies sister just bought a house up there for around 500k. Very nice home fit for a family. @ThisIsChris

The metro north has its last stop in croton on hudson right between the two so the ride into the city is not terrible.

Yeah that area is super nice. I will have to think about it, thanks for the recc @Louis Loire - NY

500k not bad for a house in a place that nice

I have to admit I haven't looked North of NYC yet, will have to do my research. I'm usually poking east since my family is that way

Westchester is super expensive in spots but quite reasonable in others

much cheaper then the city though

Ossining, Peekskill, Tarry Town, Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, upper Yonkers, Croton all of these are decent little river towns.

All of them are also on the Metro North line so getting to the city is again not terrible

@Deleted User APMEX, Provident Metals, or Gainesville Coins are my go-to online bullion dealers, with Provident being my #1

@Deleted User Sorry, was AFK. Buy at the local coin shop and become friends. You will never pay spot, usually spot plus the shop premium, ~3%, but building he rapport is better than buying online, some states charge tax for buying gold and silver, there are transactions that may not apply to &c. and they will inform you after due time.

@John O -#7072 Sorry for the doom & gloom, my dude. Acknowledging and understanding the warning signs can be a powerful tool in itself though. I'm right along with you in the house-hunting boat--working with a realtor in Colorado right now...

Economists Urged to Use Fertility to Predict Recessions: https://archive.is/bo5i4

lol, they should have done that a generation ago when they had the ability to warn of demographic decline.

@Argument of Perigee Yeah, I know it's dumb to buy my first house rn, and I'm not going to. I'm just worried about being ruined if there is another depression

@John O -#7072 fwiw, if I could afford a house that I wanted to live in for 20+ years, then I would just buy it now.

^ For long-term, buying now is probably always better.

Here's what I'm worried about. I want to buy a house, and I have enough saved where I can buy something decent and put down 1/3 of the cost and still have savings rn. My biggest apprehension is, if the economy absolutely shits itself, will I be able to keep working? I do construction, so I'm not very insulated from the whims of the market. Plus, I'm only 23. My credit score is something like 650, but I'm not sure if my age is detrimental to my loan prospects

I've got other things to do with my money, though. I just hope I don't become destitute if the bottom drops out from the economy like @Argument of Perigee was saying

@John O - to judge that a measurement that's commonly used is what % of your income would be used to pay the mortgage. There's varying %s I've read that are good: 28% is a number I hear pushed a lot as "good". Sometimes 33% is considered OK. What number is right for you is usually based on what your income is and how stable it is. If you pull a million a year then even 50-60% is fine since you'll have so much left over. If you pull in 50k then you probably don't want to top 30%. Just to give a rough idea.

Hey guys, I'm tired of renting and am trying to buy a house soon.
I still need to go through all the bank stuff first, but does anyone in here have any advice? maybe things to avoid or watch out for? anything that might make this process easier?

There is a first time homebuyer tax credit.

If a veteran, ask USAA questions.

@Goose i am happy to help but could you perhaps be a little bit more specific. Is there anything you are worried about in particular?

obviously look up the demos of your area and see how good the schools are. issues with the property should be disclosed to you prior to you buying it. lenders usually require an appraisal and an inspection so i wouldnt be too worried about getting sold a shitty house

@Zyzz nothing construction-wise (I'm familiar with that end) right now deciding on which company to get a credit card with

@Freiheit - CA thanks. You think i should go with USAA to get a credit card?

I've heard good things but, USAA I'm told for home loans is good for veterans insurance etc. No personal experience.

First time home buyer credit is something like $7k IRS deduction.

@Goose

Sadly, the tax credit is no longer available.

Wtf

That was really only a 2007 thing.

There should be a state one. I think.

Definitely worth checking into based on locale.

If we're talking military/veteran stuff, I can speak about alot of that. I have accounts with USAA, Navy Federal Credit Union, & Pentagon Federal Credit Union. For credit cards, it all depends on how deep into the credit card game you want to go with perks and how disciplined you intend to be with it. It can get really interesting if you can qualify for an American Express Platinum Card as active military, because they waive the $550 annual fee--it is a charge card though, not a credit card.

Charge vs credit...explain @Argument of Perigee

Credit cards have a revolving balance if not paid and you assume a finance fee (interest) to your balance if not paid in full each month. A charge card MUST be paid in full each month, no exceptions.

Cool

What's the charge limit? Does a charge card affect credit score?

Yup, same general principles apply. The spending limit will be based upon credit worthiness/trust with issuer--could be a few thousand, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, no limit. The almost-mythical American Express Centurion (Black) card is said to have no spending limit whatsoever.

I'm just trying to get a credit card for basic expenses so I can establish a good credit score so I can qualify to buy a house

Not using it for large purchases otherwise

@Argument of Perigee I've seen a black Centurion...sold a guy some stage lighting.

Solid titanium, yea?

I stay in contact with him from time to time...

It's heavier than titanium from my experience.

...I work with Ti parts a lot at work.

I could be wrong, but it had weight.

Centurion sightings are pretty neat.

@Goose Are you military/vet? Just want to clarify that upfront.

I saw a black card twice. Both times were at a bowling alley I worked at. I don't think they were Ti at all.

@Argument of Perigee no, I am not

"Amex is tight-lipped on the terms and conditions surrounding its ultra-exclusive Centurion card, reserved for high net worth consumers, but it is widely known that the card is made of anodized titanium."

Yea, unless something changed in the past handful of years, the card is very different from any other charge/credit card you've handled.

@Goose This might help, but try to stay away from those banks that are particularly of the 👃 people or benefited from opioids like HSBC: https://www.creditcards.com/top-credit-cards.php

Your local credit union might just be the best place for a basic starter card.

☝️

can someone explain the pros and cons of a major credit co vs a credit union?
plz no bully

No worries. Regardless of which financial institution issues the card, you'll almost certainly be applying for a Visa or Mastercard (maybe American Express.) Then it really boils down to terms (interest rates, limits, fees) and perks (rewards, points, cashback). Some credit unions and even smaller banks will have their name on the credit card, but it will actually be issued by a different finanical institution, so keep that in mind when looking around. For example, I have some accounts with a regional credit union in a previous state in which I've resided. In looking at their credit card options, I see in the fine print "The creditor and issuer of these Cards is Elan Financial Services, pursuant to separate licenses from Visa U.S.A. Inc., MasterCard International Incorporated, and American Express."

But how do they affect me differently as the card holder? @Argument of Perigee

The credit company vs the credit union I mean

@Goose Can you pop into the voicechat real quick?

sure

@everyone Hello. I have a tentative summer internship opportunity in the financial field. Looking for a college student. No experience required. DM if interested. (Pennsylvania)

I'm not a candidate but I just wanted to say that is awesome and hope one of our guys takes it.

Hey! Quick question. Does anyone have their CFP certificate? Looking for advice.

<@&322715617138311171> <@&387091385075105804> ^^^

Reminder everyone to save while the economy is good. We **will** have another recession, don’t get caught without a rainy day fund (preferably a rainy “month” or rainy “year” fund). Don’t over-spend during the good times.

Agreed. I would recommend, in case of severe weather, have many small bills to make exact change at grocer. Where I live the weather knocked out power to half the city for a day, no one could use the ATM, and the grocery stores ran short on change. Some stores couldn't take cards so some families ate whatever they had in their pantry...most shit tier Americans have ramen or worse, nothing in their pantry @everyone.

This was last year.

Midwest Steel Futures for April delivery

trump danke

https://www.thebalance.com/how-bond-funds-can-lose-money-2466567

Thinking of buying long deep out of the money puts on twtr

Like jan 2019, strike $10-15

Trump will destroy twitter

@greenpond here's the chain

They do look extremely cheap, so as long as you're willing to completely lose that money (fairly likely) for a possibly of a MASSIVE payoff, then I agree with you to go for it @greenpond