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Following an investment guru a good idea?
I think following the professional money managers is a strategy worth considering. The buys from your favorite investors can be taken as strong signals. But you should never buy any stock blindly just because someone else bought it. Be sure do your due diligence before the purchase. The most important question is not w...
gnucash share fractions
As BrenBarn stated, tracking fractional transactions beyond 8 decimal places makes no sense in the context of standard stock and mutual fund transactions. This is because even for the most expensive equities, those fractional shares would still not be worth whole cent amounts, even for account balances in the hundreds...
How do I factor dividends and yield into the performance of a security?
Instead of a price chart can use a performance chart, which is usually expressed as a percentage increase from the original purchase price. To factor in the dividends, you can either add in all of your dividends to the final price, or subtract the accumulated dividends from your cost basis (the initial price).
Unmarried Couple Splitting up with Joint Ownership of Home
Because you're not married, its a partnership agreement, and unless there's a written contract, either the two of you agree on how to handle the home, or it's off to court you go. If you were both supposed to pay for the home, and he failed to for a a while, that would put him in breach of contract which I would think ...
How to calculate P/E ratio for S&P500 sectors
To calculate a sector (or index) P/E ratio you need to sum the market caps of the constituent stocks and divide it by the sum of the total earnings of the constituent stocks (including stocks that have negative earnings). There are no "per share" figures used in the calculation. Beware when you include an individual s...
Choosing the limit when making a limit order?
Wouldn't this be part of your investing strategy to know what price is considered a "good" price for the stock? If you are going to invest in company ABC, shouldn't you have some idea of whether the stock price of $30, $60, or $100 is the bargain price you want? I'd consider this part of the due diligence if you are ...
What are investment options for young married couple with no debt that have maxed out retirement savings?
You can't max out your retirement savings. There are vehicles that aren't tax-advantaged that you can fund after you've exhausted the tax-advantaged ones. Consider how much you want to put into these vehicles. There are disadvantages as well as advantages. The rules on these can change at any time and can make it ha...
Is Cash Value Life Insurance (“whole life” insurance) a good idea for my future?
Almost everyone needs an insurance, you should also probably buy it. If you are good at planning [which it seems from your question], you should stick to Pure "Term" insurance and avoid any other types / variants of CVLI. CVLI is only advisable if one cannot commit to investing or is not good at saving money, or one f...
How to calculate the standard deviation of stock returns?
For implied volatility it is okey to use Black and scholes but what to do with the historical volatility which carry the effect of past prices as a predictor of future prices.And then precisely the conditional historical volatility.i suggest that you must go with the process like, for stock returns 1) first download s...
What options do I have at 26 years old, with 1.2 million USD?
I'm surprised nobody else has suggested this yet: before you start investing in stocks or bonds, buy a house. Not just any house, but the house you want to live in 20 years from now, in a place where you want to live 20 years from now - but you also have to be savvy about which part of the country or world you buy in. ...
Is insurance worth it if you can afford to replace the item? If not, when is it?
The key point to answer the question is to consider risk aversion. Assume I suggest a game to you: Throw a coin and if you win, you get $5, if you lose nothing happens. Will you play the game? Of course, you will - you have nothing to lose! What if I suggest this: If you win, you get $10,000,005 and if you lose you mus...
Is selling put options an advisable strategy for a retiree to generate stable income?
There is only one way to create "stable" income using options: write COVERED calls. This means you must own some stocks which offer an active and liquid option market (FB would be good; T would be useless.) In other words, you need to own some "unstable" stocks, tickers that have sometimes scary volatility, and of co...
My university has tranfered me money by mistake, and wants me to transfer it back
If you are convinced/sure its legit. Is doing a bank transfer to correct their mistake, actually the right way to do it in the first place? Best is to write to University and ask if this extra can be adjusted towards future payments. Not sure how much that is and would one or two future payments cover it off. The sec...
How can we determine how much income our savings could generate if we purchase an annuity?
Note that it isn't always clear that "turning it all into an annuity" is the right answer. Annuities are essentially insurance policies -- you're paying them a share of your income to guarantee a specific payout. If you outlive the actuarial tables, that may be a win. If the market crashes, that may be a win. But I'm i...
Which is better when working as a contractor, 1099 or incorporating?
I'll just re-post my comment as an answer as i disagree with Michael Pryor. According to this article (and few others) you may save money by incorporating. These factors don’t change the general payroll tax advantage of an S corporation, however: A S corporation can often save business owners substantial amount...
Is there a way to buy raw oil today and sell it in 1 year time?
Unless you have the storage and transportation facilities for it, or can come up with the money needed to rent or build those, no -- or not in any significant quantity. Buying oil futures is essentially an on-paper version of the same bet. Futures prices are already taking into account both expectations about price ch...
Opportunity to buy Illinois bonds that can never default?
If Illinois cannot go bankruptcy This is missing a few, very important words, "...under current law." The United States changed the law so as to allow Puerto Rico to go into a form of bankruptcy. So you cannot rely on a lack of legal support for bankruptcy to protect any bond investments you might make in Illinois. ...
What is a formula for calculating equity accumulated while repaying car loan?
By the sounds of things, you're not asking for a single formula but how to do the analysis... And for the record you're focusing on the wrong thing. You should be focusing on how much it costs to own your car during that time period, not your total equity. Formulas: I'm not sure how well you understand the nuts and b...
What causes discontinuities with stock prices
During the 12 plus hours the market was closed news can change investors opinion of the stock. When the market reopens that first trade could be much different than the last trade the day before.
Is it possible to create a self-managed superannuation fund to act as a mortage offset? (Australia)
If you're under age 55 and in good health generally you cannot withdraw your funds from super and your super fund cannot provide you with any financial assistance eg lend you money. However, for a very small percentage of people with unrestricted non preserved superannuation components ( check your statement most peopl...
Should I pay off a 0% car loan?
I struggle with 0% interest things in my personal life. A responsible me that thinks logically says continue to pay it on time and take advantage of the benefit of the interest free loan you got. It will keep your funds liquid in the case of an emergency, build your credit and teach you self control. Paying it off no...
Why do I get a much better price for options with a limit order than the ask price?
Sounds to me like you're describing just how it should work. Ask is at 30, Bid is at 20; you offer a new bid at 25. Either: Depending on liquidity, one or the other may be more likely. This Investorplace article on the subject describes what you're seeing, and recommends the strategy you're describing precisely. Inst...
Is Amazon's offer of a $50 gift card a scam?
These kinds of credit card offers are incredibly common. More often you will get a certain reward if you spend $X within Y days of getting the card. In many cases you can take advantage of them with very little downside. However, are you responsible enough to have a credit card and be able to pay off the balance every ...
15 year mortgage vs 30 year paid off in 15
Besides the reason in @rhaskett's answer, it is important to consider that paying off a 30-year mortgage as if it was a 15-year is much more inconvenient than just paying the regular payments of a 15-year mortgage. When you pay extra on your mortgage, some lenders do not know what to do with the extra payment, and nee...
How do I get into investing in stocks?
That is a loaded question but I'll give it a shot. First things first you need to determine if you are ready to invest in stocks. If you have a lot of high interest debt you would be much better served paying that off before investing in stocks. Stocks return around 8%-10% in the long run, so you'd be better off pay...
Should I include my hard assets as part of my net worth?
If the value of these hard assets is significant you probably have them insured, and for significant art work you should have had them appraised as part of getting them insured. Therefore the process of adding them into the net worth calculation would be trivial. Your goals should be a mix of liquid assets, and assets...
Shares; are they really only for the rich/investors?
I think I have a better answer for this since I have been an investor in the stock markets since a decade and most of my money is either made through investing or trading the financial markets. Yes you can start investing with as low as 50 GBP or even less. If you are talking about stocks there is no restriction on the...
What factors make someone buy or sell a stock?
First, note that a share represents a % of ownership of a company. In addition to the right to vote in the management of the company [by voting on the board of directors, who hires the CEO, who hires the VPs, etc...], this gives you the right to all future value of the company after paying off expenses and debts. You w...
logistical details of interest and dividend payments on assets traded on the secondary market?
To Many question and they are all treated differently. I was wondering how the logistics of interest and dividend payments are handled on assets , such as mortgages, bonds, stocks, What if the owner is some high-frequency algorithm that buys and sells bonds and stocks in fractions of a second? When the company decide...
Paying off mortgage or invest in annuity
There is no formula to answer the question. You have to balance return on investment with risk. There's also the question of whether you have any children or other heirs that you would like to leave money to. The mortgage is presumably a guaranteed thing: you know exactly how much the payments will be for the rest of t...
How much lump sum investment in stocks would be needed to yield a target stable monthly income?
If your requirements are hard (must have $1000/month, must have the same or bigger in capital at the end), stocks are a poor choice of investment. However, in many cases, people are willing to tolerate some level of risk to achieve the expected returns. You also do not mention inflation, which can take quite a lot out ...
Investing small amounts at regular intervals while minimizing fees?
Keep it simple: mutual funds (preferably index, low fee or ETF linked funds) do make a nice start for your little princess college fund. You dont need a real fortune to offset the trading cost of an online broker but if your really going to take advantage of dollar cost averaging, you might want to invest into a trust...
If banksimple.com is not a bank, what is it?
I don't see how this concept takes off. First and foremost, BankSimple is NOT a bank but a tech company masquerading as one. BankSimple leaves industry regulation and treasury management -- the CORE of banking, to outside parties. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer to have as few stops between me and my money as poss...
What's the most conservative split of financial assets for my portfolio in today's market?
You don't say your level of consumer debt. You don't say how much of an emergency fund you have. If you have debt, pay it off before you invest. If you don't have an emergency fund (X months' expenses, pick your own X) get that before investing. If you have neither, get a small emergency fund, and then throw as much ...
How do dividends of the underlying security in a security futures contract affect the security futures price?
The price of a future with an underlying that pays dividends is As you can see, since the value of dividends is subtracted from the value of the underlying equity, the future's price is lowered if dividends rise. Compounding that effect with the dividend effect on equity prices, reducing their prices, the future shoul...
How can contractors recoup taxation-related expenses?
They are already indirectly paying these expenses. They should be built into your rates. The amount per job or per hour needs to cover what would have been your salary, plus the what would have been sick, vacation, holidays, health insurance, life insurance, disability, education, overhead for office expenses, cost of...
Personal Loan: How to define loan purpose
Does that justify the purpose? That is for individual Banks to decide. No bank would pay for daily expenditure if you are saying primary salary you are spending on eduction. So your declaration is right. You are looking at funding your eduction via loan and you are earning enough for living and paying of the loan. I no...
Due Diligence - Dilution?
Your best bet is to just look at comparative balance sheets or contact the company itself. Otherwise, you will need access to a service like PrivCo to get data.
Should I put more money down on one property and pay it off sooner or hold on to the cash?
I'd suggest taking all the money you have saved up and putting in a mutual fund and hold off on buying a rental property until you can buy it outright. I know it seems like this will take forever, but it has a HUGE advantage: I know it seems like it will take forever to save up the money to buy a property for cash, bu...
Which Benjamin Graham book should I read first: Security Analysis or Intelligent Investor?
First The Intelligent Investor and then the 1962 edition Security Analysis - which is out of print, you can get it on Amazon.com used or ebay. Then you can read the edition backward but the 1962 edition is the best - IMHO. And don't forget The Rediscovered Benjamin Graham and Benjamin Graham on Value Investing by Jane...
Does gold's value decrease over time due to the fact that it is being continuously mined?
does it mean uncontrolled severe deflation/inflation is more likely to occur compared to "normal" currencies such as USD, EUR etc? Look at the chart referenced in the link in your question. It took approximately 50 years for annual production of gold to double from 500 tons to 1000 tons. It took approximately 40 ye...
Should I buy a house with a friend?
A real life experience. A friend of mine did that with his housemates. They bought a house together as students and it worked for them. The tricky bit is to have a very good contract with your housemates as to how the venture should work. What if? Somebody can't pay, somebody can't enjoy the house (on an extended trip...
Stock market order execution
When you are placing an order with an online broker you should already know what exchange or exchanges that stock trades on. For example if you look up under Yahoo Finance: Notice how News Corp is traded both on the ASX and the Nasdaq. The difference is the shares traded on the ASX have the extension .AX, that is how y...
HSBC Hong Kong's “Deposit Plus” Product: What is it, and what strategies to employ?
HSBC, Hang Seng, and other HK banks had a series of special savings account offers when I lived in HK a few years ago. Some could be linked to the performance of your favorite stock or country's stock index. Interest rates were higher back then, around 6% one year. What they were effectively doing is taking the inter...
Can a shareholder be liable in case of bankruptcy of one of the companies he invested in?
No, assuming by "public company" you mean a corporation. The shareholder's individual liability is limited to their investment. Your shares can go to zero value, but that's the limit. EDIT In regard to the follow-up question in the comments: "Are all companies in the stock market corporations?" the answer is definite...
When to sell a stock?
My theory is that for every stock you buy, you should have an exit strategy and follow it. It is too hard to let emotions rule if you let your default strategy be "let's see what happens." and emotional investing will almost never serve you well. So before buying a stock, set a maximum loss and maximum gain that you ...
Multiple hard inquiry for a single loan from car dealer?
This is normal with the dealer's financing. To add more details to littleadv's answer, what happens is when you get the financing through the dealer, at first, they will try to do the loan on your behalf with local banks in your area. This is why you see several hard inquiries; one from each back. If none of these ban...
Mortgage or not?
Here is something that should help your decision: Currently you are 57, suppose that means that you will still work for 10 years, and then be retired for another 20 before you sell the house. Your retirement account is nearly flat, so you will have to support yourself with your own income. If there are no surprises, y...
What publicly available software do professional stock traders use for stock analysis?
Bloomberg is very popular, especially for researching individual companies. Market QA and Factset are popular for analyzing data. Microsoft Excel and Matlab are very common for analyzing the data. Lots of time traders will take data from Bloomberg, Market QA, Factset or where ever, and then actually preform their anal...
What economic, political and other factors influence mortgage rates (and how)?
If you owned a bank how would you invest the bank's money? Typically banks are involved in loaning out money to businesses, people, and government at a higher interest rate then what they are paying to depositors. This is the spread and how they make money. If the bank determines that the yields on government bonds i...
How do I calculate ownership percentage for shared home ownership?
It may clarify your thinking if you look at this as two transactions: I am an Australian so I cannot comment on US tax laws but this is how the Australian Tax Office would view the transaction. By thinking this way you can allocate the risks correctly, Partnership Tenancy Two things should be clear - you will need a go...
Buying an ETF vs. The explicit Index
To add to Dheer's point, the vast majority of retail investors will have to pay fees and use up a large amount of valuable time on the entrance and exit of each stock, and each and every time you rebalance as the index weightings change. These also add up extremely fast vs the few basis points the large and liquid ETFs...
Is it possible to influence a company's actions by buying stock?
Energy Transfer Partners, LP (stock symbol ETP) is the parent company of Dakota Access LLC, the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Since ETP is a publicly traded company, it is certainly possible to purchase the stock. To answer your questions: Would it not be possible to buy their stocks, bring down the price o...
What is the future of 401(k) in terms of stability and reliability?
My guess is that the point is that yields on bonds and cash equivalents is so low that inflation will cause the inflation-adjusted returns to be negative. There is something to be said for how much inflation can eat out of investment returns. At the same time, I would note the occupation of the person making that post ...
Do credit checks affect credit scores?
While one credit provider (or credit reference agency) might score you in one way, others may score you differently including treating different things that contribute to your score differently. Different credit providers may also not see all of your credit score as potentially some data may not be available to all cre...
Ways to establish credit history for international student
I think you should try to talk with the credit union at your campus first, they may have offer you a credit card even you don't have any credit history.
What is the difference between a 'trader' and a 'stockbroker'?
The traditional role of a stockbroker is to arrange for the buying and selling of stock by finding buyers and sellers at an agreed upon price. The broker does not purchase the stock for himself but merely arranges for the stock to be traded. A trader is one who purchases stock with the hope of selling it for a gain. ...
What is the equivalent of the QQQ in the UK for the FTSE 100?
I'm not familiar with QQQ, but I'm guessing this is something like IShares Ftse 100 (see description here)
Capital Gains in an S Corp
A nondividend distribution is typically a return of capital; in other words, you're getting money back that you've contributed previously (and thus would have been taxed upon in previous years when those funds were first remunerated to you). Nondividend distributions are nontaxable, so they do not represent income from...
Am I responsible for an annual fee on a credit card I never picked up?
Have you signed anything? If not - then tell them you don't know who they are and have not agreed to pay. If you did sign that piece of paper at the airport, then you have probably agreed to pay. Either way, it won't go away. As you've already discovered, ignoring things doesn't make them go away. You should make an e...
Might I need a credit score to rent, or for any other non-borrowing finances?
Typically one wants to see a credit score, just because you may have money in the bank and decent income does not mean your going to pay, there are plenty of people who have the money but simply refuse to cough it up. Credit is simply a relative way of seeing where one fits against another in a larger group, it shows t...
What are the disadvantages of using a small leverage?
The major drawback to borrowing to invest (i.e. using leverage) is that your return on investment must be high enough to overcome the cost of finance. The average return on the S&P 500 is about 9.8% (from CNBC) a typical unsecured personal loan will have an interest rate of around 18-36% APR (from NerdWallet). This mea...
Does working in finance firms improve a person's finance knowledge?
Depends on what work you're doing. If you aren't doing a job which involves working with and understanding the data, probably not.
Are there any catches with interest from banks? Is this interest “too good to be true”?
Tax won't be an issue. You have a personal tax free allowance of £7475 this coming year, so your first £7475 will be tax free. 1.09% is pretty abysmal (sorry - but we've wrecked the economy for you young fullas), so you'll only earn about £84 a month. Not as awesome as you were expecting I think. Would recommend gettin...
How to spend more? (AKA, how to avoid being a miser)
I agree with JoeTaxpayer's answer. The question you should be asking is not "how do I spend more" but "how do I become happier". From what you say, it may be that you could increase your happiness simply by cutting back on these aggressive attempts to save a few bucks here and there. At the same time, if you do this,...
Over the long term, why invest in bonds?
I can think of a few reasons for this. First, bonds are not as correlated with the stock market so having some in your portfolio will reduce volatility by a bit. This is nice because it makes you panic less about the value changes in your portfolio when the stock market is acting up, and I'm sure that fund managers wou...
How much does the volatility change for a 1$ move in the underlying
The volatility measures how fast the stock moves, not how much. So you need to know the period during which that change occurred. Then the volatility naturally is higher the faster is the change.
Owning REIT vs owning real estate - which has a better hypothetical ROI?
REIT's usually invest in larger properties (apartment complexes), individuals usually invest in small properties (single units, duplexes, fourplexes, etc). REIT's also invest in a lot of commercial properties - malls, commercial and business office buildings, etc. These are very different markets. Not to mention the ri...
In the USA, why is the Free File software only available for people earning less than $62k?
Free File is not software by the IRS. Free File is actually a partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance, a group of tax software companies. The software companies have all agreed to provide a free version of their tax software for low-income taxpayers. According to the Free File Alliance FAQ, the Allianc...
What are the reasons to get more than one credit card?
I have a fair number of cards floating around some reasons I have opened multiple accounts. I am not saying that it is for everyone but there are valid scenarios where multiple credit cards can make sense.
Does it make sense to buy a house in my situation?
I think your best course of action depends on the likely outcome of the divorce proceedings. The alimony/child support payments are controlled externally. I don't like to plan around things that I have no control over. In your shoes, I would probably avoid buying until things are settled down.
Why charge gross receipts taxes to the customer?
the state of New Mexico provides guidance in this exact situation. On page 4: Gross receipts DOES NOT include: Example: When the seller passes tax to the buyer, the seller should separate, or “back out”, that tax from the total income to arrive at "Gross Receipts," the amount reported in Column D of the CRS-1 Form....
How can a freelancer get a credit card? (India)
I don't know about India, but here in the US banks, and more friendly institutions such as credit unions, use to offer the option of a 'secured' credit card where the card was secured by placing a lock on money in a savings account equal to the credit limit on the card. So for example, if you had $1500 in savings, you ...
Recent college grad. Down payment on a house or car?
Buy a car. Unless you definitely know you are living in the area for a good long time, avoid buying a house and get a car instead.
Would I qualify for a USDA loan?
How realistic is it that I will be able to get a home within the 250,000 range in the next year or so? Very unlikely in the next year. The debt/income ratio isn't good enough, and your credit score needs to show at least a year of regular payments without late or default issues before you can start asking for mortgag...
Can I prove having savings without giving out the account number?
Giving out your bank account number is not generally a security problem. The first time you write your landlord a security deposit or rent check, he'll have your account number. (It's printed on the check.) That having been said, in my experience, banks do not generally give out balance information to just anyone who...
Do financial advisers in Canada who work at the bank, make investing decisions not in your best interest?
The way this works, as I understand it, is that financial advisers come in two kinds. Some are free to recommend you any financial products they think fit, but many are restricted in what they can recommend. Most advisers who work for finance companies are the second kind, and will only offer you products that their co...
Are there any banks with a command-line style user interface?
Some banks would allow you to export your transactions as CSV (they call it Excel export, but in many cases it's actually just CSV). However, I would not expect any bank to bother with creating anything like command-line access - return on such investment would be too low. There are other ways to get information out o...
What expenses do most people not prepare for that turn into “emergencies” but are not covered by an Emergency Fund?
Extended illness/disability that prevents you from being able to work. Edit: Leigh Riffel: So, why should this be expected, and how should it be planned for? Some of us may be fortunate enough that this never happens, but I've known enough unlucky people to have seen that it can and does happen. Prepare for it with:
Why Demat/Stock Market Brokers don't support Credit Card Payin
Most credit cards allow you to take "cash advances", but the fees and limits for cash advances are different than for regular purchases. You can buy stock after taking a cash advance from your credit card. When you make a cash advance, you normally pay the credit card company a fee. When you make a regular purchase, th...
Problems with Enterprise Value and better valuation techniques
This is an example from another field, real estate. Suppose you buy a $100,000 house with a 20 percent down payment, or $20,000, and borrow the other $80,000. In this example, your "equity" or "market cap" is $20,000. But the total value, or "enterprise value" of the house, is actually $100,000, counting the $80,000 mo...
Should I get a personal loan to pay on my mortgage to go “above water” to qualify for a refinance?
Let's say you owe $200K (since you didn't mention balance. If you do, I'd edit my response), and can get 4.5%. You'd save 1.5% or about $3K/yr the first few years. If a $12K paydown is all that's between you and and refi I'd figure out a way. There are banks that are offering refi's under the HARP program if your curr...
Balance sheet, Net Increase
The changes to Equity given are: Since the total change is 42,500, the difference would be change in Retained Earnings (net income), so net income is
Buying a building with two flats, can I rent one out and still get a residential mortgage?
It depends on the terms of the mortgage. Generally speaking, residential mortgages specifically prohibit letting out a property without the bank's express permission -- but as you say, that tends to assume that the whole property is being let, not just a part of it. Conversely, buy-to-let mortgages generally prohibit l...
How much lump sum investment in stocks would be needed to yield a target stable monthly income?
I will add another point to ChrisinEdmonton's answer... I recognize that this is perhaps appropriate as a comment--or maybe 1/2 of an answer, but the comment formatting is inadequate for what I want to say. The magic formula that you need to understand is this: (Capital Invested) * (Rate of Return) = (Income per Peri...
I bought a new car for a month and wanted to return it
Following up on @petebelford's answer: If you can find a less expensive loan, you can refinance the car and reduce the total interest you pay that way. Or, if your loan permits it (not all do; talk to the bank which holds the loan and,/or read the paperwork you didn't look at), you may be able to make additional paymen...
What is the fastest way to retire, using passive income on real estate
Rule of thumb: To retire with a yearly income of $X, you need to save $(20*X) -- in other words, the safe assumption is that you'll average 4% returns on your stabilized savings/investments. In the case of retiring with a $50k passive pretax income, that means you need savings of $1M by the time you retire. If you want...
I'm halfway through a 5-year purchase financing deal on my car. It's expensive. Can I sell it and get a cheaper car?
You say "it's expensive". I'm going to interpret this as "the monthly payments are too high". Basically, you need to get your old loan paid off, presumably by selling the car you have now. This is the tough part. If you sold the car now, how much would you get for it? You can use Kelley Blue Book to figure out what...
S-Corp and distributions
Does the corporation need the money for its ongoing business? If so, don't transfer it. If not, feel free. This decision has nothing to do with whether the corporation made money in any particular year.
How to pay with cash when car shopping?
You could write a personal check after the final price has been set and you're ready to purchase. Another option would be to get the final price - then walk over to your bank and get a cashier's check.
Working on a tax free island to make money?
The Cayman Islands has an income tax enacted, it is just currently 0%. It raises revenues from its tourism, import duties, and business registration. It is part of the UK commonwealth and therefore enjoys the military protection of that federation, but doesn't have to spend on it. But unlike the US, the UK does not h...
How long do you have to live somewhere to be a resident for tax purposes?
It's not so much about time but about intent. If your intent is to move there permanently, it would be when you arrive in the state for the purposes of living there (i.e. not from a while before that when you went to check a place out or for an interview). I believe that most (if not all) states expect you to get a D...
Can future rental income be applied to present debt-to-income ratio when applying for second mortgage?
Having both purchased income properties and converted prior residences into rental properties I have found that it is difficult to get the banks to consider the potential rental income in qualifying you for a loan. It helps if you have prior rental experience but in many cases you will have to qualify outright (i.e. w...
What are “preferred” stocks? How are they different from normal (common) stocks?
It is just a different category of stock issued by a company that gives its owners different treatment when it comes to dividend payment and a few other financial transactions. Preferred stock holders get treated with some preference with regard to the company's profits and assets. For example, dividends are typically ...
If I pay taxes on my earnings, would someone also pay taxes on the same earnings if I subcontract them and pay a share?
If you want to subcontract some of your excess work to somebody else, you better be in business!  While some kinds of employees (e.g. commissioned salespeople) are permitted to deduct some expenses on their income tax, generally only a real business can deduct wages for additional employees, or the cost of services pro...
Can I force him to pay?
Its best to seek a lawyer, but it is unlikely you can force him to pay. You probably know couples, that are in some part of the divorce process, that have trouble obtaining court ordered payments. In your case you have less of a legal standing (exception: if you have children together). As far as the house goes, the...
Bonus issue - Increasing share capital
Fully paid up Shares issued in which no more money is required to be paid to the company by shareholders on the value of the shares. When a company issues shares upon incorporation or through an issuance, either initial or secondary, shareholders are required to pay a set amount for those shares. Once the company has r...
How Often Should I Chase a Credit Card Signup Bonus?
An inquiry to your credit report is a slight ding and lasts 2 years. I'd suggest that if you are playing the bonus game you watch your score closely, and if it drops below the level you'd like to maintain, hold off a while. Credit Karma offers a good simulation to show the impact of inquiries, utilization, new accounts...
What are the primary investment strategies people use and why do they use them?
Your question seems to be making assumptions around “investing”, that investing is only about stock market and bonds or similar things. I would suggest that you should look much broader than that in terms of your investments. Investment Types Your should consider (and include) some or all of the following for your inve...
Should I keep most of my banking, credit, and investment accounts at the same bank?
I've had all my account with the same bank for all my life. Generally, the disadvantage is that if I want some kind of product like a credit extension or a mortgage, I have the one bank to go to and if they don't want to help me I'm out of luck. However, occasionally there are also perks like the bank spontaneously off...