Question
stringlengths
14
166
Answer
stringlengths
3
17k
How to find a good third-party, 401k management/advice service?
The vanilla advice is investing your age in bonds and the rest in stocks (index funds, of course). So if you're 25, have 75% in stock index fund and 25% in bond index. Of course, your 401k is tax sheltered, so you want keep bonds there, assuming you have taxable investments. When comparing specific funds, you need to p...
How do you determine “excess cash” for Enterprise Value calculations from a balance sheet?
Excess Cash = Cash & Equivalents + Long-Term Investments - Current Liabilities The problem this calculation of excess cash is that "long-term investments" can be illiquid things like real estate. Another flaw is that it gives no credit for Current Assets, like receivables, which can be used to offset Current Liabilitie...
Is it possible for US retail forex traders to trade exotic currencies?
The vast majority of retail Forex brokers are market makers, rather than ECNs. With that said, the one that fits your description mostly closely is Interactive Brokers, is US-based, and well-respected. They have a good amount of exoitcs available. Many ECNs don't carry these because of the mere fact that they make mon...
How long can a company keep the money raised from IPO of its stocks?
Is it correct that there is no limit on the length of the time that the company can keep the money raised from IPO of its stocks, unlike for the debt of the company where there is a limit? Yes that is correct, there is no limit. But a company can buy back its shares any time it wants. Anyone else can also buy shares on...
Military Separation
Welcome to Money.SE, and thank you for your service. In general, buying a house is wise if (a) the overall cost of ownership is less than the ongoing cost to rent in the area, and (b) you plan to stay in that area for some time, usually 7+ years. The VA loan is a unique opportunity and I'd recommend you make the most...
How to explain an income discrepancy to the IRS?
The IRS doesn't tax "increased wealth" They tax Revenue -- income. If this money or property came to you as a gift, you would owe no tax on it but the giver probably would owe gift tax. If it came to you as a loan, you would owe no tax on it but the lender would owe tax on any interest you pay (and must charge at lea...
(Almost) no credit unions in New York City, why?
I would have been tempted to dismiss your claim, but the data I found shows that you're correct. On the plus side, the growth rate in credit union market share is higher in New York than it is in California. While there is no question that bankers hate credit unions, I can't tell you why credit unions have a smaller ma...
Best way to start investing, for a young person just starting their career?
I would personally suggest owning Mutual Funds or ETF's in a tax sheltered account, such as a 401k or an IRA, especially Roth options if available. This lets you participate in the stock market while ensuring that you have diversified portfolio, and the money is managed by an expert. The tax sheltered accounts (or ta...
Finding Debt/Equity Ratio with Market Value of Equity
In order to calculate the ratio you are looking for, just divide total debt by the market capitalization of the stock. Both values can be found on the link you provided. The market capitalization is the market value of equity.
How to quickly track daily cash expenses that don't come with a receipt?
A pencil and a small notepad really work here, but if you have a smartphone then some way of using it makes sense as well. Try: Transcribe all of these onto a better record at the end of each day. Also record the amount of money in your wallet/purse/pocket every day, and check to see if the amounts you've recorded add ...
Building a Taxable Portfolio Properly
Not a bad strategy. However: If you REALLY want tax efficiency you can buy stocks that don't pay a dividend, usually growth stocks like FB, GOOGL, and others. This way you will never have to pay any dividend tax - all your tax will be paid when you retire at a theoretically lower tax rate (<--- really a grey tax area h...
Tracking the Madrid Interbank Offered Rate (MIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR)
You can find both here: http://www.bde.es/tipos/tipose.htm
Who can truly afford luxury cars?
Approximately 25% of all cars sold last year were leased, which is the highest on record. When you are leasing you don't own the car, instead you are basically renting it for a fixed term, and turning it back to the dealership. It is very cost effective, because the manufacturers have a keen interest in making lots of...
Does implied volatility always rise as earnings announcements approach?
Changes in implied volatility are caused by many things, of course, and it is tough to isolate the effect you are describing, but let's try to generalize for a moment. Implied volatility is generally a measure of how much expect uncertainty there is about the future price of the stock. Uncertainty generally is higher ...
How does Value Averaging work in practice?
The idea is you would also have a cash allowance in the portfolio originally - say 25%. So in this scenario, 375K in stock and 125k in cash. and assuming the goal is 1K increase in stock value you would buy 38.5K of stock at the now lower price.
Should I sell my stocks to reduce my debt?
Simply put, the interest you're paying on your loans is eating into any gains you have in the stock market. So, figure out how much you're paying in interest and consider the feasibility of paying off some of the loan. Also figure in if you would be selling the stock at a profit or a loss. Generally speaking, a hom...
Contract job (hourly rate) as a 1099: How much would I be making after taxes?
If it's just you working, I'd use a ballpark figure of 35% owed - it may be a little high or low, but it's a safe margin to keep set aside for paying your liabilities at the end of the year.
To pay off a student loan, should I save up a lump sum payoff payment or pay extra each month?
The interest accrues daily based on the amount you owe. The less you owe the less the daily interest accrual. The faster you pay it off the less you pay in the lifetime of the loan. You are losing money if you bank money rather than applying it to the loan immediately. Since student loans cannot be declared in bank...
Meaning of capital market
Just to clarify, In wikipedia when it says It is defined as a market in which money is provided for periods longer than a year They are referring to the company which is asking for money. So for example the stock market provides money to the issuing company of an IPO, indefinitely. Meaning the company that just went p...
Why does FlagStar Bank harass you about payments within grace period?
One option is to try to get a month ahead on your mortgage payments. Rather than using the current month's rent to pay the current month's mortgage payments, try to use the previous month's rent to pay the current month's mortgage payments. This should allow you to pay on time rather than late but not unacceptably la...
Work on the side for my wife's company
My understanding (I am not a lawyer or tax expert) is that you are not allowed to work for free, but you can pay yourself minimum wage for the hours worked. There are probably National Insurance implications as well but I don't know. The main thing is, though, that if HMRC think that you've set up this system as a tax ...
What are institutional investors?
FINRA defines institutional investors as: Institutional investors include banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies, registered investment companies, registered investment advisors, a person or entity with assets of at least $50 million, government entities, employee benefit plans and qualified plans ...
Is there legal reason for restricting someone under 59-1/2 from an in-service rollover from a 401K to an IRA?
Yes, this is restricted by law. In plain language, you can find it on the IRS website (under the heading "When Can a Retirement Plan Distribute Benefits?"): 401(k), profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans Employee elective deferrals (and earnings, except in a hardship distribution) -- the plan may permit a distribution ...
Is Stock Trading legal for a student on F-1 Visa in USA? [duplicate]
You can buy and sell stocks, if you like. You'll have to pay taxes on any profits. And short-term is speculating, not investing, and has high risk
Do I pay a zero % loan before another to clear both loans faster?
This is a case where human nature and arithmetic lead to different results. Depending on the your income, the effective interest rate on the mortgage is probably right around 2.5%. So purely by arithmetic, the absolute cheapest way to go is to put the $11k to the bigger car loan, then pay off the mortgage, then the sm...
Setting a trailing stop loss at $39.70 bid price, stock sold at $41
There could be a number of reasons: The price hit your number ($39.70) but by the time your order hit the market, the price had gone up. Perhaps the stock went up between when you placed the stop loss and when the order was executed. A trailing stop loss will ratchet up: Very simply, the trailing stop maintains a stop-...
Can a trade happen “in between” the bid and ask price?
Re: A trader when buying needs to buy at the ask price and when selling needs to sell at the bid price. So how can a trade happen 'in between' the bid and ask? Saying the trade can happen "in between" the bid & ask is simplistic. There is a time dimension to the market. It's more accurate to say that an order can b...
Any Loop Holes for Owner Occupancy?
There are 2 and 3 family houses that have an "owner occupied" clause for certain financing. Of course, one would rent out the extra apartments without question. The key thing is that owner-occupied means just that, occupancy for tax purposes. Just using a small area like an office won't satisfy the requirement, so no,...
What is the next step to collect money after a judgment has been ignored?
On the off chance that your indebted person is unwilling to pay and you know they have the methods, it's a great opportunity to utilize your neighborhood sheriff. You have three alternatives to gather: a bank exact, wage garnishment, or a land lien. It sounds like you'll have to contact your nearby police/sheriff's sp...
What are my options to deal with Student Loan debt collectors?
I had about $16k in student loans. I defaulted on the loans, and they got > passed to a collection type agency (OSCEOLA). These guys are as legitimate as a collection agency can be. One thing that I feel is very sketchy is when they were verifying my identity they said "Does your Social Security Number end in ####. I...
When to buy and sell bonds
Why does the yield go up if the country is economically unstable? The yield will rise when instability increases because the risk of default increases. If the case of Greece, the instability of government finances resulted in a 50% "haircut" for bond holders in 2011. In other words, bond holders suffered a 50% write ...
Should I stockpile nickels?
Probably a big fat NO. Update re this edit: NOTE: I'm not suggesting that I melt the coins. I'm just suggesting that I hold onto the nickels and sell them later when they are worth more than 5 cents. For example, you can sell coins with silver in them for far above their face value. This is silly as an investment. Rig...
When is it worth it to buy dividend-bearing stocks?
Yes, they are, and you've experienced why. Generally speaking, stocks that pay dividends will be better investments than stocks that don't. Here's why: 1) They're actually making money. They can finagle balance sheets and news releases, but cash is cash, it tells no lies. They can't fake it. 2) There's less good the...
What gives non-dividend stocks value to purchasers? [duplicate]
Instead of giving part of their profits back as dividends, management puts it back into the company so the company can grow and produce higher profits. When these companies do well, there is high demand for them as in the long term higher profits equates to a higher share price. So if a company invests in itself to gro...
Should you diversify your bond investments across many foreign countries?
The Vanguard Emerging Market Bond Index has a SEC yield of 4.62%, an expense ratio of 0.34%, a purchase fee of 0.75%, and an average duration of 6.7 years. The Vanguard Emerging Market Bond Index only invests in US Dollar denominated securities, so it is not exposed to currency risk. The US Intermediate Term Bond Ind...
How can I find out what category a merchant falls into for my credit card's cashback program? [duplicate]
Not clear what you're asking. Are you trying to figure out their SIC/NAISC classification? That tells you the business category they fall into, but there's no simple, instant way to find that out. Much also depends on how the credit card issuer has classified them and how they arrived at that information. They may h...
Money limit to pay tax for Patreon
If you are in the US, you legally must file taxes on any income whatsoever. How much you will pay in taxes, if any, will depend on your total taxable income. Now, for small transactions, the payments are often not reported to the IRS so some people do not file or pay. The threshold at which they payer is required to ...
Negatives to increased credit card spending limit? [duplicate]
The one big drawback I know is when you take the mortgage credit, your credit ability is calculated, and from that sum all of your credits are subtracted, and credit limit on credit card counts as credit... I don't know if it is worldwide praxis, but at least it is the case in Poland.
Contributing to a Roth IRA while income tax filing status is “Married Filing Separately”?
You must file as married for 2013 if you were married as of December 31, 2013. It is true that the Roth IRA contribution phaseout for Married Filing Separately is 0 - $10K. But you can still do backdoor Roth IRA contribution (contribute to a Traditional IRA, then convert it to a Roth IRA; assuming you do not have any p...
Short an option - random assignment?
You've described the process fairly well. It's tough to answer a question that ultimately is 'how is this fair?' It's fair in that it's part of the known risk. And for the fact that it applies to all, pretty equally. In general, this is not very common. (No, I don't have percents handy, I'm just suggesting from decade...
Can this check still be honored? [duplicate]
You could talk to them, but (assuming you're in the U.S.), it's highly doubtful any bank would honor a check from 26 years ago. Most checks in the U.S. are only valid for 180 days, mainly to help companies and banks keep accounting simple. I would suggest talking to your late husband's former employer. Explain the si...
How much more than my mortgage should I charge for rent?
first, let me reiterate what everyone else is saying about rental rates having nothing to do with your expenses. you should charge market rates. slightly higher if you want better tenants and slightly lower if you want to avoid prolonged vacancy. you can determine market rates by finding similar properties in your area...
Is there a government-mandated resource that lists the shareholders of a public company?
You can obtain a stocklist if you file a lawsuit as a shareholder against the company demanding that you receive the list. It's called an inspection case. The company then has to go to Cede and/or the Depository Trust Company who then compiles the NOBO COBO list of beneficiary stockholders. SEC.gov gives you a very lim...
Are buyouts always for higher than the market value of a stock?
Buyouts are usually for more than the ORIGINAL value of a stock. That's because the price "premium" represents an incentive for holders to "tender" their shares to the would-be buyer. Sometimes in these situations, the stock price rises above the proposed buyout price, in anticipation of a higher takeover bid from a SE...
Is it smart to only invest in mid- and small-cap stock equity funds in my 401(k)?
Can you easily stomach the risk of higher volatility that could come with smaller stocks? How certain are you that the funds wouldn't have any asset bloat that could cause them to become large-cap funds for holding to their winners? If having your 401(k) balance get chopped in half over a year doesn't give you any paus...
Which Benjamin Graham book should I read first: Security Analysis or Intelligent Investor?
I would recommend reading Intelligent Investor first. It was written slightly more recently (1949) than Security Analysis (1934). More important is that a recently revised edition* of Intelligent Investor was published. The preface and appendix were written by Warren Buffett. Intelligent Investor is more practical as a...
Investing in hemp producers in advance of possible legalization in Canada?
The legalization of Cannabis will drastically alter supply and demand of cannabis and hemp. The distribution channels that work well for hemp may or may not work well for cannabis and may or may not continue to work well once cannabis is widely available. Companies may have avoided sponsoring hemp products because of i...
How high should I set my KickStarter funding goal in order to have $35,000 left over?
There's two big problems here and they are both related to the same thing: The last line says it all: you live in California. CA is a terrible state to do business in. the taxes on this money alone are crushing. Also, while I think you need to re-visit your budget and lifestyle, the cost of living is very, very high in...
Formula for recalculation of a bad loan, i.e. where payments were missed?
There's not quite enough to answer the question in full. For the two years of non-payment, were there any penalties, or just accrued interest? If no penalties, this is a 3 step time-value-of-money calculation. First, take the terms of the loan and figure out the balance after 5 years. Second, for two years, increase t...
With respect to insider trading, what is considered “material information”?
Material Information means that any information that can reasonable affect the share price of the company [upward or downward] as looked by the investors. The idea is to provide a level playing field to all investors. Hence it forces people having material information not to trade when they have this information that i...
Started new job. Rollover previous employer 401k to new 401k, IRA or Roth IRA?
I agree with harmanjd – best to roll it over to an IRA. Not only does that afford you better control of your money as pointed out already, but: If you choose your IRA provider wisely, you can get an account that provides you with a much wider array of investing choices, including funds and ETFs that charge much lower ...
Is Volvo a public company?
There are two different companies named "Volvo." The publicly-traded company with ticker symbol VOLV-B is called Volvo Group, or AB Volvo. They primarily build trucks, buses, and construction equipment. The company that makes the Volvo branded cars is called Volvo Cars. It is a privately-held company currently owned ...
What is the incentive for a bank to refinance a mortgage at a lower rate?
1- Wells Fargo does not own our current mortgage. They have bundled it and sold it as an investment. 2- They make their money from 'servicing' the loan. Even if they only get $50 per month to service it (3% of our monthly payment), that adds up to $50,000,000 per month if they have a million homes under management. ...
How splits and dividends affect option prices
Investopedia explains how a stock split impacts the stock's options: Each option contract is typically in control of 100 shares of an underlying security at a predetermined strike price. To find the new coverage of the option, take the split ratio and multiply by the old coverage (normally 100 shares). To find the new ...
Is buying a lottery ticket considered an investment?
I am reminded of a dozen year old dialog. I asked my 6 year old, "If we call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?" She replied, "Four, you can call it anything you want, but the dog still has four legs." Early on in my marriage, my wife was heading out to the mall, and remarked that she was "going to invest in...
How can I detect potential fraud in a company before investing in them?
Most of the information we get about how a company is running its business, in any market, comes from the company. If the information is related to financial statements, it is checked by an external audit, and then provided to the public through official channels. All of these controls are meant to make it very unlikel...
Sale of jointly owned stock
They may be confused. The combination of "my wife received stock when younger" and "her father just died" leaves questions. A completed gift, when she was a kid, means she has a basis (cost) same as the original owner of that stock. This may need to be researched. The other choice is that she gets a price based on the ...
How can I diversify $7k across ETFs and stocks?
You may want to look into robo-investors like Wealthfront and Betterment. There are many others, just search for "robo investor".
How do you calculate the rate of return (ROR) when buying and selling put options?
Rate of return is (Current value - initial value) divided by initial value. Buy $10,000 worth of put options and sell them for $15,000, and your rate of return is 0.5, or 50%.
Dealing with event driven market volatility
If you're worried about volatility, and you're in mostly long positions, you should be looking to diversify your portfolio (meaning, buying some stocks that will do better in a bear market) if it's not already diverse, but you shouldn't be looking to abandon your positions, unless you anticipate a short-term need for c...
Indie Software Developers - How do I handle taxes?
First of all, consult an accountant who is familiar with tax laws and online businesses. While most accountants know tax laws, fewer know how to handle online income like you describe although the number is growing. Right now, since you're a minor, this complicates things a bit. That's why you'll need a tax accountant ...
What is the tax levied against stock portion cashed out of 401k?
Withdrawals from a traditional 401(k) plan are always treated as cash income and the taxable portion is taxed at ordinary income tax rates, even if the money was held in stocks within the 401(k) plan and the amount withdrawn is equal to whatever capital gains you made by selling the stock within the 401(k) plan. If you...
Are there good investment options to pay off student loans?
What you're getting at is the same as investing with leverage. Usually this comes in the form in a margin account, which an investor uses to borrow money at a low interest rate, invest the money, and (hopefully!) beat the interest rate. is this approach unwise? That completely depends on how your investments perform a...
For a major expensive home renovation (e.g. addition, finished basement, or new kitchen) should one pay cash or finance with a loan? Would such a loan be “good” debt?
The reason for borrowing instead of paying cash for major renovations should be the same for the decision about whether to borrow or pay cash for the home itself. Over history, borrowing using low, tax-deductible interest while increasing your retirement contributions has always yielded higher returns than paying off ...
Is it ever a good idea to close credit cards?
I'm not sure if someone else answered already in the same manner I will. I can't guarantee for sure if it's the same in the U.S.A. (it might since major credit cards companies like Visa/MC/AMEX are American companies) but in Canada having/keeping unused CC is a disadvantage because of the following: Banks and financing...
Why is tax loss harvesting helpful for passive investing?
You also may want to consider how this interacts with the stepped up basis of estates. If you never sell the stock and it passes to your heirs with your estate, under current tax law the basis will increase from the purchase price to the market price at the time of transfer. In a comment, you proposed: Thinking mo...
What are the pros and cons of buying an item on installments with zero percent interest?
One small advantage to paying ahead is having an outstanding installment plan may preclude unlocking the phone for use on other carriers, for example during international travel. If unlocking is important, researching the particulars would be in order. I am more familiar with T-Mobile, and will use as a specific exampl...
Value of a collateralized asset
You're not missing any concepts! It sounds like you are contributing a piece of collateral to the business, and you want to know a fair way to value how much this contribution of collateral is worth. Technically the economic answer would be the difference in interest between a secured loan and an unsecured loan. So fo...
Are there any hedged international funds in India?
No there aren't any such funds.
What intrinsic, non-monetary value does gold have as a commodity?
Gold has no "intrinsic" value. None whatsoever. This is because "value" is a subjective term. "Intrinsic value" makes just as much sense as a "cat dog" animal. "Dog" and "cat" are referring to two mutually exclusive animals, therefore a "cat dog" is a nonsensical term. Intrinsic Value: "The actual value of a company ...
What type of investments should be in a TFSA, given its tax-free growth and withdrawal benefits?
A questoin that I deal with almost every day. Like most investments it comes down to.....What is the purpose for this money? If it is truly a rainy day savings account that you may need in the short term, then fixed income investments like savings accounts, GIC's, Bonds, Bond funds and Fixed Income ETF's are ideal as...
Do I owe taxes in the US for my LLC formed in the US but owned by an Indian citizen?
This is a complicated question that relies on the US-India Tax Treaty to determine whether the income is taxable to the US or to India. The relevant provision is likely Article 15 on Personal Services. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/india.pdf It seems plausible that your business is personal services, but that's a fa...
What expenses do most people not prepare for that turn into “emergencies” but are not covered by an Emergency Fund?
Here's a few. Is this what you're looking for? Also this should probably be a community wiki.
What to know before purchasing Individual Bonds?
A few points that I would note: Call options - Could the bond be called away by the issuer? This is something to note as some bonds may end up not being as good as one thought because of this option that gets used. Tax considerations - Are you going for corporate, Treasury, or municipals? Different ones may have differ...
If I have no exemptions or deductions, just a simple paycheck, do I HAVE to file taxes?
You are not required to file a tax return in Canada if you have no taxable income. If you do not file a return you may be requested to by Canada Revenue Agency, and then you'll need to file one. There are hundreds of thousands of Canadian residents who do not file tax returns. The Minister who overlooks the CRA may ass...
Just getting started and not sure where to go from here
There's a lot going on here. I'd be making the maximum ($5500 for a single person under 50) contribution to the Roth IRA each year. Not too late to put in for 2014 before Wednesday, 4/15. Not out of your income, but from the T Rowe Price account. As long as you have earned income, you can make an IRA deposit up to the...
How can I import customers and invoices from a previous year's Gnucash file?
There does not appear to be a way to export the customers and invoices nor a way to import them into another data file if you could export them. However, as said in the comments to your question, your question seems predicated upon the notion that it is 'best practice' to create a new data file each year. This is not c...
Do options always expire on third Friday of every month
Traditionally options expired on the 3rd Wednesday of the months of Mar, Jun, Sep, Dec as this day was never a holiday. See IMM dates. However as option use exploded there were monthly and weekly options created on different schedules. The exchange will specify when its options expire in the contract.
What is the best use of “spare” money?
Investing in mutual funds, ETF, etc. won't build a large pool of money. Be an active investor if your nature aligns. For e.g. Invest in buying out a commercial space (on bank finance) like a office space and then rent it out. That would give you better return than a savings account. In few years time, you may be able t...
Distribution rules LLC vs. S-Corp
It's actually the other way around. Distributions in an LLC are usually based on each member's equity share, although the operating agreement can specify how often such distributions are made. Shareholders in a corporation can receive dividends, but those are determined by the corporation's board and can vary depend...
What is meant by a market that is technically strong
A technically strong stock or market is simply a stock or market which is up-trending and has been up-trending for a while. Just as a fundamentally strong stock is one with good fundamentals (a stock that is healthy and making higher profits year after year and continually improving), a technically strong stock has a h...
Good yield vs. safer route (Checking vs. Savings)
In personal finance, most of your success is determined by personal habit rather than financial savvy. Getting in the habit of making regular deposits to your savings account will have a much larger effect on your situation than worrying about which account pays the highest interest rate (particularly as neither one o...
Using a Roth IRA instead of a college savings account
The problem with this plan is that in order for your children to put money in their own IRA, they need earned income of their own. If your child doesn't have $3000 in earned income for the year, you won't be able to put the $3000 into their Roth IRA.
Any sane way to invest in both funds and stocks with UK ISA?
You could use a stock-only ISA and invest in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). ETFs are managed mutual funds that trade on open exchanges in the same manner as stocks. This changes the specific fund options you have open to you, but there are so many ETFs at this point that any sector you want to invest in is almost certai...
File Taxes: US Expat, now married to foreign national
When I was in this situation, I always did Married Filing Separately. In the space for spouse you just write "non resident alien". I'm assuming you don't make more than the Foreign Earned Income exclusion (about $100k), so the fact that you don't qualify for certain exemptions is probably irrelevant for you. As a side...
5/1 ARM: Lifetime cap, First Adjustment Cap, Margin, and Annual Cap?
If the base rate is USD LIBOR, you can compute this data directly on my website, which uses futures contracts and historical data to create interest rates scenarios for the calculations: http://www.mortgagecalculator3.com/ If your rate index is different, you can still create your own scenarios and check what would hap...
In what cases can states tax non-residents?
From the Massachusetts Department of Revenue: 1st - Massachusetts Source Income That is Excluded Massachusetts gross income excludes certain items of income derived from sources within Massachusetts: non-business related interest, dividends and gains from the sale or exchange of intangibles, and qualified pension i...
How can someone with a new job but no credit history get a loan to settle another debt?
I believe the best way to go about it is to approach a good friend or relative to borrow the money, interest free. Do discuss with them the repayment schedule. If you have any assets such as house / stocks, you can pledge them in exchange for $5000 cash. I believe the banks would be more than happy to lend to you. You ...
Wash Sales and Day Trading
Yes, an overall $500 loss on the stock can be claimed. Since the day trader sold both lots she acquired, the Wash Sale rule has no net impact on her taxes. The Wash Sale rule would come into play if within thirty days of second sale, she purchased the stock a third time. Then she would have to amend her taxes because c...
Is being a landlord a good idea? Is there a lot of risk?
Buying a property and renting it out can be a good investment if it matches your long term goals. Buying an investment property is a long term investment. A large chunk of your money will be tied up with the property and difficult to access. If you put your money into dividend producing stocks you can always sell th...
Are there any regulations regards end of loan payment procedures?
There are federal regulations that state that: As a result it can be assumed that when a loan is paid off, notification should be given to the borrower. There is not a penalty since schools are pretty good about recovering their money. It could be due to a simple human error or glitch in the system. I would email them ...
Do I even need credit cards?
Try to buy an airline ticket, rent a hotel room, or rent a car without a credit card. Doable? Perhaps. Easy? Nope. With a debit card, you run the risk of a hotel reserving more than your stay's cost for room service, parking, etc and potentially having a domino effect if other payments bounce. We just spent 3 nights i...
23 and on my own, what should I be doing?
You are doing Great! But you might want to read a couple of books and do some studying on budgeting and personal finance - education yourself now and you will avoid pain in the future. I learned a lot from reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, and I have found some great advice from the simple budgeting guideline...
Planning to invest in stock, age 16
Don't try individual stocks. If you have a job, any job, even one from mowing lawns, you can open a Roth IRA. If you are under 18 you will need your parents/guardian to setting up the account. You can put the an amount equal to your earned income into the Roth IRA, up to the annual maximum of $5500. There are advantage...
Options “Collar” strategy vs regular Profit/Loss stops
consider capital requirements and risk timeframes. With options, the capital requirements are far smaller than owning the underlying securities with stops. Options also allow one to constrain risk to a timeframe of ones own choosing (the expiration date of the contract). If you own or are short the underlying security,...
250k USD in savings. What's next?
Find a good financial advisor that is willing to teach you and not just interested in making a commission on your net worth. Talk to them and talk some more. Go slow and don't make impulsive buying decisions. If you don't understand it then don't buy it. Think long term - how do I turn this 250K into 2.5M? Congrats on ...
Will I have to pay taxes for Australia if I have an Australian bank account?
After reviewing the tax treaty between New Zealand and Australia, I think the issue is whether or not you have an interest in a "permanent establishment" in Australia where you do business. The bank is not relevant as it is merely the vehicle by which you collect payment and would only come into the picture if you had...
What to consider before buying (exercising) a family member's private company employee stock options, about to expire?
First, you mentioned your brother-in-law has "$100,000 in stock options (fully vested)". Do you mean his exercise cost would be $100,000, i.e. what he'd need to pay to buy the shares? If so, then what might be the estimated value of the shares acquired? Options having vested doesn't necessarily mean they possess value,...
How can I avoid international wire fees or currency transfer fees?
One way is to wire transfer large amounts. If you transfer $5,000 at one go, that $50 fee works out to 1%, same as the $5 on a $500 ATM withdrawal (and ATM fees, hidden and explicit, tend to be higher than $5). The downside is exchange rate risk (taking more money at one go exposes you to that day's rate, good or bad,...
US Banks offering Security Tokens in 2012
I'm looking for another one right now. Here's what I've found: Los Alamos National Bank (www.lanb.com) has tokens ($5?), but I think they only open accounts for New Mexico residents. I've had one for several years. USAA Savings Bank (usaa.com) has tokens ($5 or free, I don't remember). I'm pretty sure you do NOT need t...