u/loves_grapefruit

I wanted to set up automatic deposits from my USAA checking to my Fidelity SPAXX mutual fund account. But when I went through the whole process to do this, USAA gave me the message “Account not verified - you can only add checking or savings accounts to move money”.

I want to initiate the transfer with USAA instead of using Fidelity because sending money from an account is apparently faster, with less hold time, than requesting money using the other account. Is there any way to accomplish that, or will USAA just not do it at all for a mutual fund?

I’m looking for a place to keep my emergency fund ($20k+). I bank with USAA but their Performance First Savings kind of sucks compared to real HYSAs. So I’ve been looking at Ally, Sofi, etc. for the sole purpose of opening a HYSA.

But I also just opened a Fidelity brokerage account, and I’m wondering if there is any practical difference between using SPAXX and a HYSA as a place to keep a cash emergency fund. Any real disadvantages to that or potential accessibility issues? I only know that is it’s not FDIC insured, but some people say that is practically inconsequential.

I went to Veteran’s United for pre-approval (anong others) and the loan officer said that if they were locking in the rate right now they could do 5.99% for a 30 year loan, and lower if I pay it down. Is this realistic? Would I be likely hearing the same thing in two weeks if I were to put in an offer?

I had hoped to be in a longterm partnership when it came time to buy my first home, but I’m 37 and single, and tired of seeing a good portion of my income disappear into rent. I’m not rich, but probably in a better financial position than most single people in my area to purchase a home.

Home prices are fairly expensive where I live. I know I could definitely afford a modest condo, but that also comes with HOA fees. And from the listings I’ve looked at I’m not sure it’s where I would want to be in 5 or 10 years from now.

A small single family home, 3 bed/2 bath between 1000-1500 square feet would be my ideal. It’s probably the upper range of what I can afford, but appealing options in that range are also highly sought-after and some need some real work. But it would be nice to be able to have family over to visit and enough room for future lifestyle changes instead of just enough for myself. And I do still hope to share a home with a partner.

So, I’m interested to hear about what other single people chose and how it worked out in the long run. Buy for the lifestyle you have currently, or pay more to future-proof a little bit? Can HOAs be worth it? Or, has a single family home ended up being too much for one person?

I realize all banks are probably doing it. And customer service isn’t perfect with calls being taken by humans, especially with hold times. But using half-brained LLM agents to process phone calls isn’t a good solution, and it only distances members from USAA’s services. The automated agent constantly asks you to repeat yourself and has difficulty with even the simplest things.

And the end of the day it feels disrespectful when a bank or corporation says “You aren’t worth the money or effort that it takes to have a real human being interact with you until you run through the automated rat maze of talking to the fucking computer that doesn’t know jack shit”. Simply one more way the world is becoming increasingly inhuman and hostile to humans. I really hope no USAA employees were laid off for the sake of this terrible system. Please do better USAA.

Obviously this doesn’t apply to isometric games. But I’m always slightly disappointed by a 3D city builder or RTS that doesn’t allow you to see the sky and horizon. I realize it takes a little bit of extra work to create that but the extra immersion is totally worth it. Warhammer Total War is an example of an RTS that did it right.

Lately I’ve been playing Farthest Frontier and as much as I love it I always wish I could see my villages from a human ground-level view. It would be great to feel the broader landscape, the clouds, or distant mountains that surround the playable map. Some background scenery or even a skybox would go a long way.