u/Bklynswim

Learning about how to keep my checking account secure and have a few questions about virtual cards and digital wallets.

1. Do I need a virtual card or is adding the debit card to my digital wallet fine?

2. Can I use the digital wallet to get money out of an ATM?

3. If I lock the physical card, will my recurring T-Mobile debit go through ((I don’t remember if I used my debit card or checking account routing number to pay)

4. If I lock the physical card, I can still use the digital wallet, right?

5. I have the Visa debit card. Should I switch to the atm card without the Visa logo?

6. Is there a way to lock down the virtual card? Does that make sense to do?

Thanks for the help!

My mom and dad just called me (they are in their 70’s) and asked if I sent her a picture of a cat. I did not. She said it came as a text message with her name, then a comma, and then my name.
I asked her if it opened anything and she said no it was just a picture.
I had her delete it. Then another message came (probably from the same number), with videos of cats.
My dad took a video of the message of cats (attaching here if possible).
I had her delete that too.
To me, the video looked like it came from FB (but not through messenger because she doesn’t have messenger). I changed my password and had her change hers and log out of all devices.
Does anyone know how or what this is? English is my mom’s second language so I explained to her how to check a text message is from me but I’m scared about what this could be.
Thanks for any help!

I did some looking around and saw that it’s possible on the Vanguard site. My question is: I’ll take a tax hit selling my mutual funds and then adding to my Roth. Is the thinking here that I’ll come out ahead in the long run? Is it because later on, when I’m retired, I’ll pay less in taxes if I have to sell? I’m 46 and I have $14,000 in a brokerage account that’s doing well. I hate to sell it, but I am not meeting the Roth limit so I feel like I should slowly sell it off and get it all in the Roth.
Thank you for helping me, I feel so unprepared for all this.

ETA details:
I have about $330,000 in a 403(b) making a fixed 7% interest (I’m a NYC teacher with an income of $130,000 and save 15% right now but that will go up in September with a raise. I have about $17,000 in an index fund in my 403(b) (Diversified Fund) with a fee of about .3%
My Roth is only $73,000. It’s in mostly VTIVX and VTSAX. I don’t really contribute a lot to this - for example, so far, I’ve contributed only $1,630 so far this year.
When I retire, my salary should be close to $170,000 and I will get about 60% of that for my pension (I have another 10-11 years to go).
Emergency fund: I have almost 3 months saved. I budget with YNAB and probably have closer to having the 3 months but I like to have a cushion in my categories.

Thank you for insight! I feel like I’m behind my peers and not sure what to do to maximize my money.
Years ago, when I first joined the Boglehead community in 2011/2012 (on the old website), people were telling me to put it all in fixed and I’m glad I did because I’m not very good with fluctuations in the market. But now, almost 15 years later, I feel like I could have had a lot more if I stuck it out. Water under the bridge at this point so trying to catch up.

I have had my Miele Quartz for close to 15 years. Four months ago, I got a cat. My apartment is about 500 square feet and is a mix of hardwood and very low pile carpet. Today I noticed that there’s still quite a bit of hair on the rugs after vacuuming. Is there a different attachment that would be better for my situation? TIA!

Hi All,
I’m a NYC resident and my mom (from upstate NY) and niece (age 13) from New Hampshire are visiting and we want to go the AMNH.
I browsed the website and I need to put in a zip code to get the resident pricing. My question is: my mom is a resident but has a different zip code than me. Do I need to go through the process twice to input her zip code or can I just put in mine and she can just prove she’s a NYS resident when we get there? Also same question for my niece since she’s from out of state. Can she just tag onto my ticket and pretend she’s from NY? She’s too young to have an id anyway. I don’t mind paying full price but seems like such a hassle versus going through the process once.
Thanks y’all!

Anyone else in South Slope hear loud thunder like sounds this morning? Anyone know what that was?

Hi All. I’m the trustee for my parents’ irrevocable trust. Recently, my parents want to add me to have access to their bank accounts in case of an emergency and for the seamless ability to make sure their bills are paid in case something happens to them/they’re incapacitated.
I just wanted to know if there are any tax implications I should be concerned about.
This seems pretty harmless but I’m also new to being a trustee and being in this role.
Thanks!