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Originally Posted by Xist
They indicated this could be life changing and mentioned some mundane ways to spend a little over a thousand dollars.
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Having an emergency fund - even only $1,000 is life changing. It allows people to break out the the cycle of debt where they have to put any unforeseen expense on a credit card or get a payday loan - both at huge interest rates that make it hard to break the cycle of debt.
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Originally Posted by Xist
Well, Bask Bank now offers 4.07% on my savings account, but I don't have any money there. Navy Federal still pays me 0.25% and I have over $4,000 there.
Bank of America still pays me 0.01% and I have over $10,000 there.
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So why don't you move your money?
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Originally Posted by Xist
I finally got Mom to call her attorney and leave a message saying she wants to leave the house to me in her will, although I reminded her that I couldn't afford to pay the tax, and I wouldn't need to if she added my name to the title.
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Can't pay the annual property taxes or can't pay an estate tax? I really doubt your mother has an estate large enough to pay any federal estate taxes. Inheriting a house is different than buying the house from your mother.
You don't want to get you name put on the title now. As Piotrsko said – you get liability along with that but there is another reason. Taxes on a house are based on the difference between the purchase price and selling price – the gain. When you inherit a house the base starts at the date you inherit the house and you are only pay taxes on the gain from that date to the date the house sell. If your name gets put on the house tomorrow that is also when the new base value starts. You could end up owing taxes on years of decades of gains if you every sell the house down the road.
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Originally Posted by Xist
I told her that I would give her my accident money for her to put towards her mortgage.
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This house still has a mortgage? That brings with it a lot of questions and I’ll be direct. If your mom died tomorrow can you afford to pay the mortgage, taxes, utilities etc on your own? It doesn’t do you much good to inherit a house if you can’t afford to keep. You mother might need life insurance to pay off the mortgage or you need a plan ASAP of how you are going to get your income to a level that you can support your brother and yourself on your own.
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Originally Posted by Xist
Most of Vanguard's funds have lost money for a while, so I don't know how likely I could match this return elsewhere.
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The best time to buy is when the market is down. Remember when market lost 50% in the 2008 / 2009 recession? It is worth more than double the prerecession peak today even with the losses over the last year. However, stocks are for long term investing - not money you will need in a short period of time. Saving or investing?
