Comments on: Reader Mailbag: Winter Wonderland?

By: KTHunter

KTHunter — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:31:59 +0000

Q7 – This just sounded like an odd question. It’s almost like some details were left out of its asking, like it was more than just lunch, almost like the writer was expecting some kind of Amway pitch or something along those lines. (I’ve had a couple of those types of invitations, myself.) If that were the case, yeah, I’d probably skip it. But if it’s just lunch and one does enjoy the person’s company (or at least remembers it being enjoyable), one could probably use the break away from the office.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:03:07 +0000

Q2: Sounds like you could use the advice of a real financial planner. Ask your friends, coworkers and family for a recommendation. If you are no longer employed by those employers, nearly all corporate retirement plans are eligible for rollovers to IRA. You can then chose the best place to put your money, as most corporate plans limit your options.

By: Joan

Joan — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:17:17 +0000

I have strawberries in bloom, trees re-budding out and other signs of spring. Hope this doesn’t hurt the plants when spring really gets here. Expecting a late winter here in Texas.

By: Bella

Bella — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:52:02 +0000

About question one,you have to pay import tax for à car in italia. It is About 40 percent of The.of .if you own the car longer then à year, it Will be put aside. So don’t bring à car to italia. In city you do not need it. It you really need one buy it There. Regards

By: AnnJo

AnnJo — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:44:57 +0000

Q5, Annie, besides the pay, be sure to compare the benefits – at least the ones that are valuable to you. But since it sounds like you would enjoy the new position just as much as your current job, the most important factor should probably be the long-term impact on your career. Advancement in the private sector can be faster and more lucrative than in the public sector where it sounds like you work now but the trade-off is that your employment may not be as secure and you may be held to a higher standard of measurable productivity.

By: AnnJo

AnnJo — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:39:15 +0000

@Q3, Monica,
Double check this, but I believe Virginia allows the same exemption on state tax returns as the feds allow.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:14:45 +0000

I loved #18Gretchen’s reply to Q7.

Is it just me or did the questioner and the answer feel a bit cold and calculated? Yowsa. Have we sunk to this? Deciding if someone is worth my time by if they fit into my career plans?

By: Evita

Evita — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:43:58 +0000

Q5 Annie: you got TWO unsolicited offers at better pay for the same work ? lucky you! contrary to Trent, I would definitely consider upgrading.
Why would you not be as happy somewhere else ? Is the flexibility you have now worth the low pay? will a new job advance your career ? if so, go for it!

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:36:05 +0000

All three of the commenters whose identities were hacked – Kacie, jim, and J.C. – link to their personal blogs/websites in their comments. The prankster probably visited your sites, got your email addresses, and used those to get around the filter that sends new commenters to moderation.

By: jim

jim — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:27:16 +0000

All : It looks like someone is posting fake comments under assumed names that are crude in nature. THe #13 comment is probably not really from Kacie. There is a crude comment in moderation that says it is from me that I did not write.

By: jim

jim — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:25:41 +0000

Johann, good point. Since the balance is being paid down over the 6 month period the actual interest paid would probably more like half that $125 so closer to $62.

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:17:40 +0000

Someone contacts you out of the blue after 10 years and you have to write to a blogger to see if it can advance your career?

it’s one lunch.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:40:48 +0000

@jim: “You have $2500 on a credit card at 10%. THat will cost you about $125 in interest for 6 months.”

It would cost $125 in interest only if she maintained the $2500 balance for the entire six months. If she’s paying the balance down over that time – and if she pays it off completely at the end of the 6 months – the average balance will be much less than $2500, so the interest paid will be much less than $125.

By: Riki

Riki — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:32:25 +0000

I’d like to reiterate what several other commenters are saying – sell your car here, pay off the existing loan, and then wait until you get to Italy before making the purchase. Things are very different in Europe. Gas is much more expensive and they drive very different vehicles. Anything you buy here will probably seem gigantic in Italy and SUVs are not common over there at all. Also, lots of cars burn diesel fuel there.

Get to Italy, rent for a week or two, and then figure out what you need. I think taking a car with you would be a big mistake. In fact, if I were in your position, I wouldn’t even consider it.

By: jim

jim — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:28:00 +0000

Q1 : I agree with others that it would be best to sell your car here then wait till you get to Italy to decide what to buy there. If your company is paying relocation they may pay to ship your car so that may seem free/easy to you. However what if you ship a car over there and it doesn’t work well for you in Italy?

Q6 Ron : If you plan to move for long then I would definitely SELL. Renting long distance is difficult and costly. You don’t sound like you had planned to be a landlord so do not do it by accident or just cause you figure selling is hard.

Q7 : If you don’t want to have lunch with the person than don’t. Don’t feel you need to do it in order to help your networking or something. But as far as being ‘worth your time’, how hard it it to meet someone for lunch? You have to eat anyway, right? Doesn’t seem like a significant investment of time.

Q8 Elizabeth: Like Johanna points out in your case that 401k loan will cost you MORE. You have $2500 on a credit card at 10%. THat will cost you about $125 in interest for 6 months. You’re thinking of paying $100 fee and $67 interest for a 401k loan. You’d be paying $167 for the 401k loan versus $125 interest on the credit card.

Q9 Robbie : I’d also recommend getting term insurance and disability coverage.

By: JD

JD — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:06:34 +0000

Question: I’m 24, newly employed, and my employer offers a 401k with a target date retirement fund. A few questions about target date retirement funds.

Hypothetically, what happens if I decide that I don’t want to invest in a target date fund anymore (like in 5 years, for example?) If the stock market is way down, does that mean selling would mean a big loss?

Also, what if I moved to a different employer with different 401k selections? Would it be best to hold my savings in the original target date fund?

By: Jackowick

Jackowick — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:00:56 +0000

Q7: Don’t go out of your way, but it is nice to reconnect with people. I’m sure this person, even though they are just “passing through” probably has other things they could be doing as well.

Maintaining a softline/longline of communication can pay out when you’re hit by tragedy, or for fundraising, or just being nice.

I’ve noticed a lot of friends who reconnect with me on facebook, send one email of “hey how are you” and the dialog pretty much ends. It doesn’t bother me, but it is kind of odd how we treat people in the wired world; if you have a chance to actually face-to-face, GO FOR IT.

By: Brit

Brit — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:44:45 +0000

Q4 – I’m not sure if I’m missing something here, but while in graduate school your student loans will go into deferment, so a lower payment wouldn’t really matter when your minimum will be zero right? I’m currently in graduate school and have been able to keep up with the interest payments because I don’t want them to be added to the principal when I graduate, but you technically don’t have to pay anything while in school full-time.
Because of this, I definitely wouldn’t consolidate if your interest rates will go up at all, just pay back aggressively until you start school, then pay what you can until your graduate.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:29:03 +0000

Q4–
Read the blog nomoreharvarddebt.com. It is about a 28 yr old guy trying to pay down 90K in student loans in 10 months. He started in September and only has about 30K to go.

By: 2million

2million — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:20:43 +0000

I still get periodic letter and collection notices from the VA Dept of Taxation even though I moved out of the state 10 years ago. Little things like some mail going to my parent’s address in VA in their view make me still a VA resident. It’s been a pain.