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[snidegrrl]

This past weekend plans went off without a hitch, at least on saturday. We enjoyed the Big Flea (noting that people who rip apart old books and matte the pictures in them make a killing!!), made it to Sunflower where much fake meat was consumed, and then arrived in the nick of time to see Der Golem. For those who attended and enjoyed the music, I

Comments

[serendipity9000]

On the 'paying bills on time' front - I have divided mine between those that autopay every month (generally all the ones that have a fixed amount so they are predictable) and those that I basically pay as soon as they arrive (all the better to not forget about them). The big exception to this is any large credit card bills which I often DO put in my google calender to ensure I pay them before my grace period is up each month. Small credit card bills I just pay right away

[snidegrrl]

Interesting. I always thought that when you left a company, they would disburse your retirement junk if you didn't roll it over in time. Maybe that was just Digex/Intermedia/Worldcom.

I know you're not supposed to just take money out - and I have no intention of doing that - but I thought it was better to have it all in one place. I just don't know what the first step is for rolling it. :P

[omphaloskepsis]

I've found it will only disburse if your account falls below a certain level - the digex one was a magical threshold of 4 or 5 thousand dollars. I found this out when the market tanked and I got a mysterious check.

I already had IRA accounts with Etrade, but I think the same would be true for any broker. What I did is went to etrade and say - I want to open a rollover IRA. The opened the account and said I could either tell my current 401 k to transfer the money directly to them, or I could get a chanck and mail it into etrade. I then contacted my 401k company and said I want to roll the money over. It was something I avoided for awhile because it seemed complicated, but ended up being easy once I actually got started on it.

[squeegibo]

On bills: I use autopay for everything that allows it (after doing an analysis of bill-arrival times and deciding that I'll get paid at the right time to pay the big ones) and everything else I leave in daraflower's capable hands. I think she pays them as they come in.

On 401k rollovers: I think you have to tell your current HR people what you want to do and they should tell you what you need. Then you (or HR) send(s) a letter to the old 401k administrator, who sends a check either to you or to your current 401k administrator. If they send it to you, you send it on right away. It's not too ugly, I don't think.

[snidegrrl]

I'm trying to think if I have anything which is a fixed amt... the car payment, but that is already on autopay (and I've already nearly made that bounce once, because I'm a dipshit and forget it even exists if no physical bill comes.) I guess my phone bill is close... but it still fluctuates a few dollars every month. Hrmph.

[snidegrrl]

I should probably just open all my mail the moment I get it and pay bills right then.

[yoshimi]

finances permitting, that's what i do. when i can't do that, i keep them in a stack, organized by date due, and carry them around with me, in my car or my purse or whatever. it's a disorganized system, but it's also oddly anal.

i do have some payments that get pushed out of our account on the same dates every month, and some that get pulled out on the same dates every month. those i handle as follows: i get paid on the 15th and the 31st, and as soon as i put that paycheck into the check register, i take out all the stuff that's coming until the next payday.

i used to be one paycheck ahead BUT all it took to set us back was one outrageous car repair bill. this is a scary thing. i'm also trying to pay way forward on our ginormous credit card bills (five to ten times the minimum payment), however, so that also accounts for being "behind."

[lexensis]

What style of music do you play? Do you have a gig amp? I only have a 250 practice amp.

[snidegrrl]

We play garage rock/punk/pop, or something. Our bassist is taking her performance amp with her when she goes, I guess. :(

I think you can hear a few songs on myspace.com/jellysharks.

[lexensis]

I played with trephine. They are on myspace also.

[pseudotheist]

Like Serendipity900 said, you're probably better off rolling your 401Ks into an IRA account. Then it's yours to do with as you like, and the next time you feel like you want to move on you won't have to worry about what to do with your 401K, because you've already got an account into which you can easily roll it.

[snidegrrl]

Noted. I have no idea how to do that either.

[pseudotheist]

Ah! So, all you really need to do is find someone who has an account manager they like, and and get their number. Any account manager worth having will walk you through exactly what you need to do to roll your monies over without paying taxes, and should have no problem walking you through any necessary paperwork. I believe there will be some forms to fill out to create the new account, then you'll have to give the 401K company that account info, so they can transfer the funds to it.

[pseudotheist]

The important bit being, if the account manager doesn't make the process painless and simple to understand, he's not an account manager worth having; call another one.