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Owned house for less than 2 years - 1031 exchange? | Yes, your realtor is a moron. (I am a realtor, and sorry you have such a bad one) Every industry has its good and bad. You really should find a new realtor, a good one. You know the 1031 exchange is for rental property only. And that saving $2000 isn't worth staying in the house to complete the two years required occu... |
Why invest for the long-term rather than buy and sell for quick, big gains? | The price of a shares reflects the expected future returns of that company. If it does not someone will notice and buy until it does. Look at this chart http://www.finanzen.net/chart/Arcandor (click on max), that's a former DAX company, so one of the largest german companys. Now it's bankrupt. Why do you think you are ... |
Can I invest in the housing market via the stock exchange? | Have you considered a self-directed IRA to invest, rather than the stock market or publicly traded assets? Your IRA can actually own direct title to real estate, loan money via secured or unsecured promissory notes much like a hard money loan or invest into shares of an entity that invests in real estate. The only nuan... |
Why not just invest in the market? | Most of it is probably due to ignorance and disbelief. A few years ago, I started doing week-long trades with my IRA. For a while I would make money each time, and over the first year I had about a 20% rate of return. If you asked me if I thought I was smarter than other people in the market, I would've told you no - I... |
Margin Call Question | The initial position is worth 40000. You post 50% margin, so you deposited 20000 and borrowed 20000. 6% of 20000 is 1200. |
Is the stock market a zero-sum game? | Would you mind adding where that additional value comes from, if not from the losses of other investors? You asked this in a comment, but it seems to be the key to the confusion. Corporations generate money (profits, paid as dividends) from sales. Sales trade products for money. The creation of the product creates... |
Is a website/domain name an asset or a liability? | This depends on your definitions of assets and liabilities. The word "asset" has a fairly straight forward definition. Generally speaking, an asset in finance is something that you own/control that has economic value. The asset has value because it is generating income for you or because you expect that it will be wo... |
How might trading volume affect future share price? | There is no direct relationship between volume and stock price. High volume indicates how much stock is changing hands. That can be because people are enthusiastically buying OR enthusiastically selling... and their reasons for doing so may not agree with your own sense of the future value of the stock. Higher volume m... |
Comparing keeping old car vs. a new car lease | Look at the basic cost of the lease. Option 1: keep the car for three years. Pay for repairs during that time then sell it for $7,000. Option 2: Sell the current car for $10,000. Lease a new car for three years. Assume no need for repairs during those three years. At the end of the three years return the car in return... |
Finding a good small business CPA? | Check your local better business bureau. They can tell you who is in business, who's bonded, and who has had a lot of complaints levied against them for shoddy practices. |
Why would a company care about the price of its own shares in the stock market? | The most significant reason is that if the board of directors of a company neglects the stock value, the stockholders will vote them out of their jobs. |
How to Transition From Employee to Employer? | Having been both I see the pros and cons Employers: I personally hated all the paperwork. Government forms, legal protection, insurance, taxes, payroll, accounting, year ends, bank accounts, inventory tracking, expenses. The best bosses don't worry about the product, they worry about maintaining an environment that is... |
How will Hello Wallet benefit me? Is it worth the cost? | CreditKarma review I don't personally use HelloWallet, but I have also heard very good things about it. Independence from financial products is a HUGE thing in the field because so many investment advisers place the firm before the customer (c.f. Too Big To Fail), so having an independent resource is a huge benefit. |
If a mutual fund did really well last year, then statistically speaking, is it likely going to do bad this year? | Nearly all long-lived active funds underperform the market over the long run. The best they can hope for in almost all cases is to approximate the market return. Considering that the market return is ~9%, this fund should be expected to do less well. In terms of predicting future performance, if its average return is g... |
What extra information might be obtained from the next highest bids in an order book? | My broker collates the order book by price and marketplace, displaying the number of shares available at each level, sorted as in Victor's screencap. You can glean information from not just a snapshot of the order book but also by watching how it changes over time. Although it's not always a complete picture -- many br... |
Acquiring first office clothes | Like the other answers, I'm not entirely sure the equivalent exists in your country. But in the US there are thrift stores run by charities like GoodWill or the Salvation Army that sell clothes for very little money. When my wife was in a similar situation very early in her career she learned the trick of driving to t... |
Saving for a down payment on a new house, a few years out. Where do we put our money next? | If you're absolutely certain that you won't buy a house within a year or so, I'd still be tempted to put some of the money into short-term CDs (ie, a max of 12 months). I think that at the moment CDs are a bit of a mug's game though because you'd hardly find one that offers better interest rates than some of the few sa... |
Shares; are they really only for the rich/investors? | As a matter of fact, I invest small sums in stable stocks every month (in fact, much lesser than the $50 you are talking about). More than the return on investment, I gained a lot of knowledge keeping track of my stocks and this now helps me pick my stocks better. And the portfolio is doing great too. So, it is a good ... |
Can I buy a new house before selling my current house? | You can make a contingent offer: "I will buy this house if I sell my own." In a highly competitive environment, contingent offers tend to be ignored. (Another commentator described such a contingency clause as synonymous with "Please Reject Me".) You can get a bridge loan: you borrow money for a short term, at punishi... |
File bankruptcy, consolidate, or other options? | Tough spot. I'm guessing the credit cards are a personal line of credit in their name and not the company's (the fact that the business can be liquidated separately from your parents means they did at least set up an LLC or similar business entity). Using personal debt to save a company that could have just been dissol... |
Why does a company's stock price affect its ability to raise debt? | As JB hints, it is likely due to superior or improving, fundamentals. If the fundamentals of a company improve then its ability to repay loans improves. If its ability to repay improves then more sources of cash become willing to lend to the company. Also if fundamentals are improving then more sources are willing to b... |
Getting correlation from regression slope (Completely stumped) | Using the following equations from the book a stab at the correlation can be made. Calculating the residual volatilities from equation 2.4 The correlation of stock A with stock B is 0.378 and stock B has the higher residual volatility. However, the correlation is given as a "simple model", which may suggest that it i... |
For very high-net worth individuals, does it make sense to not have insurance? | I think the key to this question is your last sentence, because it's applicable to everyone, high net-worth or not: How would one determine whether they are better off without insurance? In general, insurance is a net good when the coverage would prevent a 'catastrophic' event. If a catastrophic event doesn't happen, o... |
Are there statistics showing percentage of online brokerage customers that are actually making a profit trading forex/futures/options? | Interactive Brokers advertises the percent of profitable forex accounts for its own customers and for competitors. They say they have 46.9% profitable accounts which is higher than the other brokers listed. It's hard to say exactly how this data was compiled- but I think the main takeaway is that if a broker actually a... |
Will Short Sale Prevent Me From Getting VA Home Loan Later? | From MyFICO: A foreclosure remains on your credit report for 7 years, but its impact to your FICO® score will lessen over time. While a foreclosure is considered a very negative event by your FICO score, it's a common misconception that it will ruin your score for a very long time. In fact, if you keep all of your othe... |
What argument(s) support the claim that long-term housing prices trend upward? | Several people have mentioned the obvious: inflation. But let's assume we are talking about real (inflation adjusted) prices. One argument is that populations keep rising while the land does not change. So the price of homes in desirable places gets pushed up and people move to second-best locations, pushing those pr... |
Hired with W-9, will I owe estimated tax quarterly? | You must pay your taxes at the quarterly intervals. For most people the withholding done by their employer satisfies this requirement. However, if your income does not have any withholding (or sufficient), then you must file quarterly estimated tax payments. Note that if you have a second job that does withhold, then ... |
Why is retirement planning so commonly recommended? | I like many of the answers, but here is a summary of reasons: Almost everyone will retire, and it is almost certain that government or company pensions schemes will not alone give you a lifestyle you would like in retirement. Money invested early is worth much more in retirement than money invested late, thanks to the ... |
Buying a home - brokerage fee | Every situation is possible, it depends on what the contract states. According to Nolo: Your ability to withdraw from a home purchase depends on two things: 1) the exact point at which you are "in contract" to buy the house, and 2) after you're in contract, what the contract says about terminating the transaction... |
What happens when they run out of letters? | NYSE started allowing four letter tickers around 2009. NASDAQ allows 4-5 letter tickers. I guess they'll keep increasing when / if needed. Companies are allowed to change tickers, although there are costs. Tickers in the US are assigned through a single entity. Companies that are new need to take something that's ... |
MasterCard won't disclose who leaked my credit card details | Others have already commented on the impact of anything which dissuades merchants from raising possible breaches, so I won't dwell on that. Maybe we need stronger legislation, maybe we don't, but it doesn't change today's answer. Often it works the other way around to what you might expect - rather than the merchant no... |
Pension or Property: Should I invest in more properties, or in a pension? | I think the real answer to your question here is diversification. You have some fear of having your money in the market, and rightfully so, having all your money in one stock, or even one type of mutual fund is risky as all get out, and you could lose a lot of your money in such a stock-market based undiversified inve... |
How to determine how much to charge your business for rent (in your house)? | If you are talking about a home office, you don't "charge" the business anything. If the area is used exclusively as an office you pro-rate by square footage just the actual expenses. TurboTax recent published an article "Can I Take the Home Office Deduction?" which is a must read if you don't understand the process. ... |
Why do people buy new cars they can not afford? | If you don't know how to fix your own car or have time to take car parts off of a car at a junk yard, the average amount of money per month you spend on repairing an old car will be greater than the amount of money you spend per month on a new car payment. This is because car repair shops are charging $85 per hour for ... |
What is a good asset allocation for a 25 year old? | Those are all predictions. To the core. With anything, I'd consider the source carefully before taking any kind of advice. If it's from a financial magazine, who advertises with them? What are they selling? How well do they recognize which side of the bread is buttered? That, and I'd get a lot of advice, see how it... |
Making a big purchase over $2500. I have the money to cover it. Should I get a loan or just place it on credit? | It is going to save you more money in the long run to pay at once with cash. If you take out a loan, you will pay interest on the balance, costing you money. If you pay off the balance immediately, there is no difference between the options and your question becomes irrelevant. There is no credit rating benefit to pla... |
Lifetime ISA: What are the chances of a reputable Bank offering it? | The Skipton Building Society has recently announced that it is offering a cash LISA. According to the papers it is the first to offer a cash LISA. Skipton is the UK's 4th largest UK Building Society and has been in existence since 1853. There are other providers of LISAs such as Hargreaves Landsdown. Hargreaves Lansdow... |
Net Cash Flows from Selling the Bond and Investing | Investopedia has a good explanation of the term shorting which is what this is. In the simplest of terms, someone is borrowing the bond and selling it with the intent to replace the security and any dividends or coupons in the end. The idea is that if a bond is overvalued, one may be able to buy it back later for a che... |
How to measure how the Australian dollar is faring independent of the US dollar | To make it simple, just use gold as the main benchmark. Gold price never moves, FIAT currencies move around the price of gold. So, when comparing US$ and Australian dollars to the gold, you know which currency is moving up and which down. |
Can a bunch of wealthy people force Facebook to go public? | @Alex B's answer hits most of it, but leaves out one thing: most companies control who can own their non-public shares, and prohibit transfers, sales, or in some cases, even ongoing ownership by ex-employees. So it's not that hard to ensure you stay under 500 investors. Remember that Sharespost isn't an exchange or c... |
What should one look for when opening a business bank account? | From my experience, I opened a business account to handle my LLC which owns a rental property. The account process and features were similar to shopping for a personal checking account. There would be fees for falling below a minimum balance, and for wanting a paper statement. In my case, keeping $2000 avoids the fee,... |
What does it mean if a company pays a quarterly dividend? How much would I get quarterly? | Google is a poor example since it doesn't pay a dividend (and doesn't expect to), so let's use another example with easy numbers. Company X has a stock price of $100, and it pays a quarterly dividend (many companies do). Let's assume X pays a dividend of $4. Dividends are always quoted in annual terms, as is dividend y... |
Why should we expect stocks to go up in the long term? | The total value of the stock market more or less tracks the total value of the companies listed in the stock market, which is more or less the total value of the US economy (since very few industries are nationalized or dominated by privately held companies). The US economy has consistently grown over time, thanks to t... |
Do altcoin trades count as like-kind exchanges? (Deferred capital gains tax) | Just a thought because this is a really good question: Would the buying and selling of blockchain based digital currency, using other blockchain based digital currencies, be subject to like kind treatment and exempt from capital gains until exchanged for a non-blockchain based good or service (or national currenc... |
How do I explain why debt on debt is bad to my brother? | This is not the case with your brother only. There are many business which run on this premise. It goes till the time all the conditions are in control and get busted when things goes out of way. You have mentioned the loan amount and not the monthly repayment amount. Even if you say, a new loan will not solve his pro... |
Any tips for asset allocation across multiple retirement accounts? | I have a similar plan and a similar number of accounts. I think seeking a target asset allocation mix across all investment accounts is an excellent idea. I use excel to track where I am and then use it to adjust to get closer (but not exactly) to my target percentages. Until you have some larger balances, it may be ... |
Townhouse or stand-alone house for a first home? | First, some general advice that I think you should consider A good rule of thumb on home buying is to wait to buy until you expect to live in the same place for at least 5 years. This period of time is meant to reduce the impact of closing costs, which can be 1-5% of your total buying & selling price. If you bought and... |
A check I received was lost. My options? | Lost checks happen occasionally, and there are procedures in place (banking & business) to handle the situation. First and foremost you need to: Note: The money is legally yours, so the company is obligated to work with you here. If they refuse to cancel or reissue the check, at a minimum you'll want to contact the s... |
What's the best online tool that can track my entire portfolio including gains/losses? | Google Portfolio does the job: https://www.google.com/finance/portfolio You can add transaction data, view fundamentals and much more. |
Is it legal to not get a 1099-b until March 15? | If one looks at the "Guide to Information Returns" in the Form 1099 General Instructions (the instructions that the IRS provides to companies on how to fill out 1099 and other forms), it says that the 1099-B is due to recipient by February 15, with a footnote that says "The due date is March 15 for reporting by trustee... |
What is meant by “priced in”? | I think the first misconception to clear up is that you are implying the price of a stock is set by a specific person. It is not. The price of a stock is equal to the value that someone most recently traded at. If Apple last traded at $100/share, then Apple shares are worth $100. If good news about Apple hits the marke... |
Is 0% credit card utilization worse than 1-20% credit card utilization for any reason other than pure statistics? | I too was very confused when I tried to be tricky and paid down my balance BEFORE the bill date. I thought this would be a great thing because it would show my utilization near zero percent. The opposite happen, it dropped my credit score from 762 to 708. Here is the best example I can come up with when it comes to uti... |
How much money do I need to have saved up for retirement? | I wrote a spreadsheet (<< it may not be obvious - this is a link to pull down the spreadsheet) a while back that might help you. You can start by putting your current salary next to your age, adjust the percent of income saved (14% for you) and put in the current total. The sheet basically shows that if one saves 15% ... |
Need to change cash to cashier's check without bank account (Just arrived to the US) | A cashier's check costs money to get and is not connected to an account. You have cash. You should be able to get a bank to sell you one, even without an account. Find a bank where you would like to open an account and explain the situation. I can't guarantee that that will work, but I would expect it to do so. If... |
What makes a Company's Stock prices go up or down? | Here are some significant factors affect the company stock price performance: Usually, profitability is known to the public through the financial statements; it won't be 100% accurate and people would also trade the stock with the price not matching to the true value of the firm. Still there are dozens of other various... |
How should residents of smaller economies allocate their portfolio between domestic and foreign assets? | We face the same issue here in Switzerland. My background: Institutional investment management, currency risk management. My thoughs are: Home Bias is the core concept of your quesiton. You will find many research papers on this topic. The main problems with a high home bias is that the investment universe in your smal... |
What is the purpose of endorsing a check? | In my experience, you don't need to endorse a check with a signature to deposit it into your account. You do if you are exchanging the check for cash. Businesses usually have a stamp with their account number on them. Once stamped, those checks are only able to be deposited into that account. Individuals can do the... |
When does it make financial sense to take advantage of employer's tuition reimbursement program? | If you have decided to do the degree, and are simply deciding whether to accept employer funding for it or not, take the funding. I see no difference between "my employer doesn't pay my tuition" and "my employer paid my tuition but I had to pay it back because I moved on". Therefore there is no downside to letting them... |
Please explain: What exactly is a CDS or “Credit Default Swap”? | From my understanding, a CDS is a financial product to buy protection against an event of "default" (default of payment). Example: if General Motors owes me money $10,000,000 (because I own GM bonds for example) and I wish to protect myself against the event of GM not repaying the money they owe me (event called "credi... |
In debts now, help please | nan |
Why does short selling require borrowing? | It's actually quite simple. You're actually confusing two concept. Which are taking a short position and short selling itself. Basically when taking a short position is by believing that the stock is going to drop and you sell it. You can or not buy it back later depending on the believe it grows again or not. So basic... |
15 year mortgage vs 30 year paid off in 15 | Why won't anyone just answer the original question? The question was not about opportunity cost or flexibility or family expenses. There are no right answers to any of those things and they all depend on individual circumstances. I believe the answer to the question of whether paying off a 30-year mortgage in 15 years ... |
Is there any data that shows how diversifying results in better returns than just sticking to an all-stock portfolio? | This paper by a Columbia business school professor says: The standard 60%/40% strategy outperforms a 100% bond or 100% stock strategy over the 1926-1940 period (Figure 5) and over the 1990-2011 period (Figure 6). This is based on actual market data from those periods. You can see the figures in the PDF. These are per... |
How exactly does a country devalue its currency? | Does some official tell the Foreign Exchange the the new exchange rate for the yuan is 0.98 * the current exchange rate? For China (and other countries with fixed/controlled exchange rates) - that's exactly how it happens. Does it just print more? This is the way to go for fully convertible currencies (like the USD, EU... |
What are the common income tax deductions used by “rich” salaried households? | As was stated, households earning over $250k/yr don't all get their income one way. Below that threshold, even in the six figure range, most households are in one of two categories; salary/wage/commission workers, and those living off of nest eggs/entitlements (retired, disabled, welfare). Above $250k, though, are a lo... |
How can I lookup the business associated with a FEIN? | I think much of that info is hidden behind pay-walls. Here is one site I've found. http://www.feinsearch.com/ Another that is for non-profits only is guidestar. http://www.guidestar.org/rxg/products/nonprofit-data-solutions/product-information/guidestar-premium/advanced-nonprofit-search.aspx |
What can cause rent prices to fall? | In the US, the government effectively sets a price floor for rents with a concept called "prevailing rent" for government subsidy. Even the crappiest, minimally compliant hovel is ultimately worth whatever the government will issue housing vouchers for. Rent can and does fluctuate for the higher end of the market. Basi... |
Investment strategies for young adults with entrepreneurial leanings? | Diversity of risk is always a good idea. The cheapest equity-based investment (in terms of management costs) is some form of tracker or indexed fund. They're relatively low risk and worth putting in a fixed amount for long-term investment. I agree with Ngu Soon Hui, you're going to need a lot of cash if you decide to... |
Should I include retirement funds in calculating my asset allocation? | I'd imagine that it's a small portion of the population that can have much of both. If one is saving a decent amount for retirement, say 10-15%, they aren't likely to have much else, aside from the house if included. For example, when I look at my 'pie chart' I get Retirement 72%, House 22%, everything else 6%. Specif... |
Is it legal to receive/send “gifts” of Non-Trivial Amounts to a “friend”? | This is tax fraud, plain and simple. I recently wrote an article The Step Transaction Doctrine, in which I explain that a series of events may each be legal, but aggregate to one transaction and the individual steps are ignored. In this case, it goes beyond that, by accepting $5/mo you are already outside the tax code... |
Buying real estate with cash | I've been prompted to turn my comments into an answer - Disclosure - I am a Realtor. I work for an investor for whom an offer on a house he will buy describes him as a "cash buyer." This phrase most often means one of two things - The buyer has funds that are liquid enough to either wire the cash or produce a cashier... |
Why would a tender offer be less than the market price? | As an addition to Chris Rea's excellent answer, these tender offers are sometimes made specifically to cast doubt on the current market price. For instance, a large public company that contracts with a smaller supplier or service company, also public, might make a tender offer below market price. The market will look a... |
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 benefits of opening an IRA in an unstable/uncertain economy? | As I stated in my comment on @JCotton's answer, the only way you benefit by putting your money in an IRA or other tax-deferred vehicle is if you expect to have a lower tax rate when you withdraw than when you put the money in. If you look at @JCotton's numbers and remember to pay taxes when you withdraw the money in 3... |
W-4 and withholding taxes for self-employed spouse | When you enter your expected gross income into the worksheet - just enter $360000 and leave everything else as is. That should give you the right numbers. Same for State (form DE-4). |
Building financial independence | For a young person with good income, 50k sitting in a savings account earning nothing is really bad. You're losing money because of inflation, and losing on the growth potential of investing. Please rethink your aversion to retirement accounts. You will make more money in the long run through lower taxes by taking adva... |
Do any publically available documents from IR or SEC include all patents the company holds? | It appears as others have said that companies are not required to state this on as any sort of Asset. I remembered a friend of mine is a lawyer specializing in Intellectual Property Rights so asked him and confirmed that there's no document companies are required to file which states all patent holdings as assets. Ther... |
Tax benefits of recycling | If they charge a fee to accept an item, it's reasonable to assume the item has insignificant value, so the only tax-deductible bit would be the money you donated to their charity. What you describe sounds like a fee for service, not a charitable donation. The organization should provide a fee breakdown to show what per... |
How to choose a good 401(k) investment option? | The vanguard funds are all low fee your employer has done a good job selecting their provider for 401(k). I would do a roth if you can afford it as taxes are at a historical low. Just pick the year you want to get your money if you will need your money in 2040 pick Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Fund. Its that sim... |
Is it OK to use a credit card on zero-interest to pay some other credit cards with higher-interest? | good vs "bad" debt in the context of that post. At least in the UK this can be a good tactic to reduce the cost of credit card debt. Some things to consider |
ESPP taxes after relocating from Europe to the United States? | If you haven't been a US resident (not citizen, different rules apply) at the time you sold the stock in Europe but it was inside the same tax year that you moved to the US, you might want to have a look at the "Dual Status" part in IRS publication 519. |
What happened when the dot com bubble burst? | The dot.com companies were purveyors of the Internet, then a "new" technology around 2000. Everyone "knows" that such a new technology will change the economy and society. What people didn't know at the time was WHICH companies would be the leaders/beneficiaries of such change. So investors pushed up the stock prices o... |
Credit card issued against my express refusal; What action can I take? | I believe it is so. It doesn't sound like they did anything outright illegal, just a pushy upsell. You can complain to the bank manager. If you want you can mention the employee by name (if you know who they are). Ultimately, you can change banks. From what you say it sounds like you are dissatisfied with this ban... |
Question on buying selling and buying again | Firstly 795 is not even. Secondly - generally you would pay tax on the sale of the 122 shares, whether you buy them back or not, even one minute later, has nothing to do with it. The only reason this would not create a capital gains event is if your country (which you haven't specified) has some odd rules or laws about... |
Is Amazon's offer of a $50 gift card a scam? | a free $50 looks too good to be true. As others already pointed out, these offers are common to many cards that want you to build loyalty towards a particular company (e.g. airlines cards give lots of mileage for a decent initial spend). Should I get this card for the $50? Why and/or why not? How much do you spend on A... |
Do I need to file taxes jointly with my girlfriend if we live together? | If you pay her rent, how do you differ from a tenant in the eyes of the law? I ask this to show that you are in a business relationship first and foremost. If you don't want to file jointly, there is nothing compelling about your situation to force it. (Grant you, in most countries, there is a benefit to filing jointly... |
I want to invest in Gold. Where do I go and buy it? | Without getting into whether you should invest in Gold or Not ... 1.Where do I go and make this purchase. I would like to get the best possible price. If you are talking about Physical Gold then Banks, Leading Jewelry store in your city. Other options are buying Gold Mutual Fund or ETF from leading fund houses. 2.How d... |
Take advantage of rock bottom oil prices | I'm really surprised more people didn't recommend UGA or USO specifically. These have been mentioned in the past on a myriad of sites as ways to hedge against rising prices. I'm sure they would work quite well as an investment opportunity. They are ETF's that invest in nearby futures and constantly roll the position... |
Why are credit cards preferred in the US? | nan |
Priced out of London property market. What are my accommodation investment options? | Be radical! (I assume you are not working for a city bank getting paid “city wages” – e.g. you are one of the 99% of people in London or more “normal” income.) House prices and rents in London and anywhere within reasonable commuting distances are now so high that couples in reasonable jobs often have to rent rooms in ... |
If the U.S. defaults on its debt, what will happen to my bank money? | You must mean the current debt ceiling debacle. The meaning of it is: US government is constantly borrowing money (by issuing treasury bonds) and constantly repaying some of the bonds that come to maturity, and also has other obligations it has to meet by law all the time - such as Social Security checks, bonds interes... |
Gold futures' margin | The initial margin is $5940 and maintenance margin $5400. A simple search of Comex Gold Margin gives the CME group site. You then need to specify CMX metals to see the margins. Gold is currently about $1300. A gold future is 100 oz. So the full contract is worth $130K. You want to 'go long' so you enter into a contra... |
Can I buy only 4 shares of a company? | Open an account with a US discount online broker, or with a European broker with access to the US market. I think ETRADE allow non-resident accounts, for instance, amongst others. The brokerage will be about $10, and there is no annual fee. (So you're ~1% down out of the gate, but that's not so much.) Brokers may ... |
How to prevent myself from buying things I don't want | Nathan's answer was a +1 from me. The answer is not always simple. Having the money available is surely the first step. Using Pete's process aligns with this. Another thought is depending where you are in your finances, delay by a day for every $100 in cost. e.g. For a $1000 purchase, sleep on it for 10 days. Adjust t... |
How secure is my 403(b)? Can its assets be “raided”? | The simple answer is that with the defined contribution plan: 401k, 403b, 457 and the US government TSP; the employer doesn't hold on to the funds. When they take your money from your paycheck there is a period of a few days or at the most a few weeks before they must turn the money over to the trustee running the prog... |
Looking for a stock market simulation that's as close to the real thing as possible | There is a site that treats you like a fund manager in the real market, Marketoracy, http://marketocracy.com/. Each user is given 1 million in cash. You can have multiple "mutual funds", and the site allows use to choose between two types of strategies, buy/sell, short/cover. Currently, options are not supported. The r... |
Advice on preserving wealth in a volatile economic/political country | You might find some of the answers here helpful; the question is different, but has some similar concerns, such as a changing economic environment. What approach should I take to best protect my wealth against currency devaluation & poor growth prospects. I want to avoid selling off any more of my local index funds... |
First time consultant, doubts on Taxation | This is how a consulting engagement in India works. If you are registered for Service Tax and have a service tax number, no tax is deducted at source and you have to pay 12.36% to service tax department during filing (once a quarter). If you do not have Service tax number i.e. not registered for service tax, the compan... |
What is the best way to get a “rough” home appraisal prior to starting the refinance process? | I see your remarks regarding Zillow, but would add a question. Why not look only for recent sales? If you find homes similar to yours with recent sales, that's similar to how the appraisers do it. I've refinanced many times and each time, I looked at sales within three miles of my house. I hit the appraised price very ... |
Are variable rate loans ever a good idea? | It all has to do with risk and reward. The risk is that interest rates will rise. To entice you to go with the variable, they make it so it is cheaper if interest rates never rise. Your job is to guess whether interest rates are likely to go up or not. In a first approximation, you should go fixed. The bank employs ve... |
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