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Canceling credit cards - insurance rate increase?
The comments section to Dilip's reply is overflowing. First - the OP (Graphth) is correct in that credit scoring has become a game. A series of data points that predicts default probability, but of course, offers little chance to explain why you applied for 3 loans (all refinancing to save money on home or rentals) go...
Where do traders take their prices data from? How can it be different from their brokers'?
This is a complicated subject, because professional traders don't rely on brokers for stock quotes. They have access to market data using Level II terminals, which show them all of the prices (buy and sell) for a given stock. Every publicly traded stock (at least in the U.S.) relies on firms called "market makers". ...
Calculating a stock's price target
The price-earnings ratio is calculated as the market value per share divided by the earnings per share over the past 12 months. In your example, you state that the company earned $0.35 over the past quarter. That is insufficient to calculate the price-earnings ratio, and probably why the PE is just given as 20. So, if ...
Are REIT worth it and is it a good option to generate passive income for a while?
In financial markets, the gains you can expect to make (whether in the form of dividends or capital gains) correspond to the risks you are bearing. There are a variety of REITs but you can expect to make only as much money in them as you bear risk (meaning you can also lose a lot of money in the ones that earn a lot)....
Which r in perpetuity formula to pricing a business?
In the equity markets, the P/E is usually somewhere around 15. The P/E can be viewed as the inverse of the rate of a perpetuity. Since the average is 15, and the E/P of that would be 6.7%, r should be 6.7% on average. If your business is growing, the growth rate can be incorporated like so: As you can see, a high g wo...
Market Cap lower than Shares Outstanding x Share Price?
You are comparing "market caps" and "enterprise value". If the company has four billion dollars cash in the bank, then the value would be four billion plus whatever the business itself is worth as a business. If the business itself is only worth 400 million, then you would have 4.4bn market caps and 400 million enterp...
Should we prepay our private student loans, given our particular profile?
Based on your numbers, it sounds like you've got 12 years left in the private student loan, which just seems to be an annoyance to me. You have the cash to pay it off, but that may not be the optimal solution. You've got $85k in cash! That's way too much. So your options are: -Invest 40k -Pay 2.25% loan off -Prepay ...
Are there alternatives to double currency account to manage payments in different currencies?
Yes, there is indeed a great alternative for all European residents: getting a Revolut account. Revolut is a fully-online bank who's main benefits include the lack of fees (with some limits) and a great exchange rate for all currency operations (better than what you would get at any brick and mortar bank in Europe). In...
What is a subsidy?
subsidy - financial support. For example subsidized housing - when the government pays a part of your rent (usually for low income families). or subsidized student loan - when somebody else is paying interest on the money you borrowed while you are in school.
What's a good option for passive income for a college student?
There's no such thing as true "passive income." You are being paid the risk free rate to delay consumption (i.e., the super low rate you are getting on savings accounts and CDs) and a higher rate to bear risk. You will not find truly risk-free investments that earn more than the types of investments you have been looki...
Cost basis allocation question: GM bonds conversion to stock & warrants
Your final tax basis could not be determined until June 14, 2012, the first day of separate trading of all four securities that you received from the GM bankruptcy reorganization.
What are my options for paying off the large balance of my federal, high interest student loans?
As someone with a lot of student loan debt, I can relate - the first thing you should do is read the promissory note on your current loans - there might be information there you can use. For govt loans (stafford, etc) made after July 1, 2006 the interest rate is going to be fixed and even a federal direct consolidatio...
How to calculate ownership for property with a partner
I can't quite follow your question, so I'm proceeding under the following assumptions: - You paid £31,000 - Your partner paid £4,242 - You have at least one mortgage, which you both pay equally. If the relationship terminates, sell the property. You are reimbursed £31,000 and your partner is reimbursed £4,242. Any rema...
How much should I be contributing to my 401k given my employer's contribution?
For your first question, the general guidelines I've seen recommended are as follows: As to your second question, portfolio management is something you should familiarize yourself with. If you trust it to other people, don't be surprised when they make "mistakes". Remember, they get paid regardless of whether you mak...
Can I use FOREX markets to exchange cash?
As far as I understand, OP seems to be literally asking: "why, regarding the various contracts on various exchanges (CBE, etc), is it that in some cases they are 'cash settled' and in some 'physically settled' -?" The answer is only that "the exchange in question happens to offer it that way." Note that it's utterly co...
Income At the Sell or Reception?
It looks like fair-market value when you receive your virtual currency is counted as income. And you're also subject to self-employment tax on that income. Here's an FAQ from the IRS: Q-8: Does a taxpayer who “mines” virtual currency (for example, uses computer resources to validate Bitcoin transactions and maintain ...
Why would anyone want to pay off their debts in a way other than “highest interest” first?
It may be the case that some of your debts have a flat regular fee in addition to the interest, which will go away when the debt is completely paid. For example, my mortgage has an approximately $400/year "package fee" as well as its (quite low) interest. When I finish paying the mortgage, I won't have to pay that fee ...
does interest payment on loan stay the same if I pay early
It depends on the type of loan. Fully amortized loans have a schedule of payments don't recalculate as you pay. If you want to make an additional payment you need to contact the lender to apply your payment toward principle and reamortize the loan. Otherwise all your additional payment will do is change the amount d...
How can one protect oneself from a dividend stock with decreasing price?
An alternative options strategy to minimize loss of investment capital is to buy a put, near the money around your original buy price, with a premium less than the total dividend. The value of the put will increase if the stock price falls quickly. Likely, a large portion of your dividend will go towards paying the opt...
What is the compound annual growth rate of the major markets?
Under construction, but here's what I have so far: Schwab Data from 1970-2012: About.com data from 1980-2012:
Adding a 180 day expiration to checks
While you can print that on the check, it isn't considered legally binding. If you are concerned about a check not being deposited in a timely manner, consider purchasing a cashier's check instead. This doesn't solve the problem per se, but it transfers responsibility of tracking that check from you to the bank.
Anticipating being offered stock options in a privately held company upon employment. What questions should I ask?
Good questions. I can only add that it may be valuable if the company is bought, they may buy the options. Happened to me in previous company.
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...
Some U.S. Tax Questions (CPA Concerns)
He has included this on Schedule D line 1a, but I don't see any details on the actual transaction. It is reported on form 8949. However, if it is fully reported in 1099-B (with cost basis), then you don't have to actually detail every position. Turbotax asked me to fill in individual stock sales with proceeds and cos...
Finding a good small business CPA?
Ask your colleagues! I know that sounds obvious, but just go to where people who do your sort of business hang out (or better, find some venture capital firms and ask their portfolio companies). It's not something people would keep secret from you...
What is an effective way to convert large sums of US based investments to foreign currencies?
A stock, bond or ETF is basically a commodity. Where you bought it does not really matter, and it has a value in USD only inasmuch as there is a current market price quoted at an American exchange. But nothing prevents you from turning around and selling it on a European exchange where it is also listed for an equivale...
Does the stock market create any sort of value?
When you own stock in a company, you do literally own part of the business, even if it's a small portion. Anyone amassing over 50% of shares really does have a controlling interest. No, you can't trade a handful of AAPL shares back to Apple for an iPod, but you can sell the shares and then go buy an iPod with the proce...
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...
Price graphs: why not percent change?
I am in complete agreement with you. The place i have found with the sort of charts you are looking for is stockcharts.com. To compare the percentage increase of several stocks over a period of 2 market-open days or more, which is quite useful to follow the changes in various stocks… etc., an example: Here the tick...
Is it worth it to buy TurboTax Premier over Deluxe if I sold investments in a taxable account?
I have used turbo tax for years. Apart from the snafu in 2014, I have had no problem using deluxe, and I have lots of asset sales to report. I prefer form mode anyway. I can import the data from my broker, and I can e-file with no problem. So the only thing I'm missing is the support. I can usually find answers to ...
Can saving/investing 15% of your income starting age 25, likely make you a millionaire?
Yes, quite easily, in fact. You left a lot of numbers out, so lets start with some assumptions. If you are at the median of middle income families in the US that might mean $70,000/year. 15% of that is an investment of $875 per month. If you invest that amount monthly and assume a 6% return, then you will have a milli...
Should I buy a house or am I making silly assumptions that I can afford it?
A common rule of thumb is the 28/36 ratio. It's described here. In your case, with a gross (?) salary of £50,000, that means that you should spend no more than 28% of it, or £1,167 per month on housing. You may be able to swing a bit more because you have no debts and a modest amount in your savings. The 36% part comes...
How To Report Cryptocurrency Earnings?
While this does fall under the "All-inclusive income" segment of GI (gross income), there are two questions that come up. I invested in a decentralized bitcoin business and earned about $230 this year in interest from it Your wording is confusing here only due to how bitcoin works.
Paying taxes on dividends even though your capital gains were $0?
In the US, and in most other countries, dividends are considered income when paid, and capital gains/losses are considered income/loss when realized. This is called, in accounting, "recognition". We recognize income when cash reaches our pocket, for tax purposes. So for dividends - it is when they're paid, and for gain...
Can zero-coupon bonds go down in price?
Let's say today you buy the bond issued by StateX at 18$. Let's say tommorow morning the TV says that StateX is going towards default (if it happens it won't give you back not even the 18$ you invested). You (and others that bought the same bond like you) will get scared and try to sell the bond, but a potential buyer ...
mortgage vs car loan vs invest extra cash?
Without knowing actual numbers it's tough to say. Personally, I would pay off the car then, going forward, use the money that would have been paid on your car note toward your mortgage. I always think of things in the worst possible scenario. It's easier, and faster, to repossess a car than to foreclose on real esta...
Capital Gains Tax with Multiple 'buy' Transactions per Stock (U.S.)
According to the following article the answer is "first-in, first-out": http://smallbusiness.chron.com/calculate-cost-basis-stock-multiple-purchases-21588.html According to the following article the last answer was just one option an investor can choose: https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/advice-investing-costbasis?akredi...
Paying off student loan or using that money for a downpayment on a house
Yes, one is certainly better than the other. Which one depends on your priorities and the interest and tax rates on your student loan, your savings, and your (future) mortgage plus how much you can afford to save and still enjoy the lifestyle you want as well as how soon you want to move out. Basically, you havn't give...
Question about MBS and how it pays
A security is a class of financial instrument you can trade on the market. A share of stock is a kind of security, for example, as is a bond. In the case of your mortgage, what happens: You take out a loan for $180k. The loan has two components. a. The payment stream (meaning the principal and the interest) from the...
Do I pay a zero % loan before another to clear both loans faster?
This is more of an interesting question then it looks on first sight. In the USA there are some tax reliefs for mortgage payments, which we don’t have in the UK unless you are renting out the property with the mortgage. So firstly work out the interest rate on each loan taking into account any tax reliefs, etc. Then y...
looking for research tool to plug in and evaluate theoretical historical returns
The professional financial advisors do have tools which will take a general description of a portfolio and run monte-carlo simulations based on the stock market's historical behavior. After about 100 simulation passes they can give a statistical statement about the probable returns, the risk involved in that strategy, ...
Why don't some places require a credit card receipt signature, and some do?
My understanding it that the signature requirement is at the retailer's discretion. If the merchant decides to require a signature it protects them against fraudulent charge-back claims, but increases their administrative costs. In some situations it just isn't practical for a retailer to require a signature. Consider ...
Filing taxes on stocks
Generally stock trades will require an additional Capital Gains and Losses form included with a 1040, known as Schedule D (summary) and Schedule D-1 (itemized). That year I believe the maximum declarable Capital loss was $3000--the rest could carry over to future years. The purchase date/year only matters insofar as t...
How Does A Special Memorandum Account Work
Here is another explanation of an SMA. SMA refers to the Special Memorandum Account which represents neither equity nor cash but rather a line of credit created when the market value of securities in a Reg. T margin account increase in value. For example, assume the market value of securities purchased at a cost of $...
Is this the right formula to use implied volatility to gauge probability of a stock being within a certain range?
To get the probability of hitting a target price you need a little more math and an assumption about the expected return of your stock. First let's examine the parts of this expression. IV is the implied volatility of the option. That means it's the volatility of the underlying that is associated with the observed op...
File bankruptcy, consolidate, or other options?
A couple of thoughts from someone who's kind of been there... Is the business viable at all? A lot of people do miss the jumping-off point where the should stop throwing good money after bad and just pull the plug on the business. If the business is not that viable, then selling it might not be an option. If the busine...
Covered Call Writing - What affects the price of the options?
Matthew - what was the stock price and strike price of the option when you did this? I've never seen an at-the-money strike with only a month to run have a price 25% of the underlying stock. Jaydles covers the variables really well in his answer.
What does investment bank risk during IPO?
There are two kinds of engagements in an IPO. The traditional kind where the Banks assume the risks of unsold shares. Money coming out of their pockets to hold shares no one wants. That is the main risk. No one buying the stock that the bank is holding. Secondly, there is a "best efforts" engagement. This means that b...
Why do stock prices of retailers not surge during the holidays?
While there are lots of really plausible explanations for why the market moves a certain way on a certain day, no one really knows for sure. In order to do that, you would need to understand the 'minds' of all the market players. These days many of these players are secret proprietary algorithms. I'm not quibbling w...
Saving for retirement without employer sponsored plan
Variable Annuities would be one option though there are SEC warnings about them, for an option that is tax-deferred and intended to be used for long-term investing such as retirement. There is a bit of a cost to gain the tax-deferral which may not always make them worthwhile.
I'm 23 and was given $50k. What should I do?
Here are some possibilities: avoid buying a car for as long as you can; if forced to own one, buy a used dependable car like a Toyota Corolla- 4 cyl and don't abuse it. open a Roth IRA, depositing max possible, the plan on doing so until you've investing the remaining balance. A Roth IRA, while not tax deductible now...
What is a good 5-year plan for a college student with $15k in the bank?
I disagree with the IRA suggestion. Why IRA? You're a student, so probably won't get much tax benefits, so why locking the money for 40 years? You can do the same investments through any broker account as in IRA, but be able to cash out in need. 5 years is long enough term to put in a mutual fund or ETF and expect reas...
Best Time to buy a stock in a day
The best thing to do is not worry about what time is best to buy but put in a conditional order before the market opens. If your conditions are met during the trading day your order will go through and you will buy the shares. This keeps your emotions out of your trading and will stop you from either chasing the market...
Looking to buy a house in 1-2 years. Does starting a Roth IRA now make sense?
Lets do the math (assuming a lot of stuff, like your interest rates and that you make the contribution at the beginning of the year, also your tax bracket at the withdrawal time frame.) 1.) Beginning of year 1 Roth Option $5k contribution Non Roth Option $5k contribution 2.) Beginning of year 2 Roth Option $5000 + $150...
I don't live in America. How can I buy IPO stock of newly listed companies in the United States?
First thing to consider is that getting your hands on an IPO is very difficult unless you have some serious clout. This might help a bit in that department (http://www.sec.gov/answers/ipoelig.htm) However, assuming you accept all that risk and requirements, YES - you can buy stocks of any kind in the US even if you are...
Is foreign stock considered more risky than local stock and why?
If you intend to be responsive to news and intraday price moves, for foreign stocks these will often happen while you're asleep (e.g. the Tokyo Stock Exchange opens at roughly midnight UK time).
What should I look at before investing in a start-up?
In addition to evaluating the business (great answer), consider the potential payoff. If bonds pay off in the 5-10% range, the S&P500 has averged 10.5%. You should be expecting a payoff of 15-20% to invest in something riskier than the stock market. That means that if you invest $10k, then in 5 years you'll need to ge...
Estimated Taxes Fall Short of tax liability — how do I pay extra online (Federal and NYS)
If you qualify for the safe harbor, you are not required to pay additional quarterly taxes. Of course, you're still welcome to do so if you're sure you'll owe them; however, you will not be penalized. If your income is over $150k (joint) or $75k (single), your safe harbor is: Estimated tax safe harbor for higher incom...
Where can I find accurate historical distribution data for mutual funds?
If you want to go far upstream, you can get mutual fund NAV and dividend data from the Nasdaq Mutual Fund Quotation Service (MFQS). This isn't for end-users but rather is offered as a part of the regulatory framework. Not surprisingly, there is a fee for data access. From Nasdaq's MFQS specifications page: To promote m...
I spend too much money. How can I get on the path to a frugal lifestyle?
My father imparted this advice to me when I was a teenager, and it hasn't failed me yet. > Pay yourself first What this means is that the first "bill" you pay should always be your savings. Preferably in a way that automatically comes out of your paycheck or account without requiring you to take an active step to make ...
How to prevent myself from buying things I don't want
To me, your question emphasizes something I've heard many times before: personal finance is as much or more about behavior than it is about mathematics or "head knowledge". Sure, you know you shouldn't be wasting a lot of money on something you will use very infrequently, but how do you make this behavior stick? Here...
What are the economic benefits of owning a home in the United States?
It is almost a sure thing that the housing market will crash again hugely.For this reason I prefer to own several houses that way when it does no one can ask for their money back and leave me homeless. Current economics suggest a fall of between 40-60% from 2011 prices meaning that if you have bought a house in the las...
Can a car company refuse to give me a copy of my contract or balance details?
No, they cannot refuse to provide you with the current balance or a balance history. The other answers point you to resources that are available to help you put pressure on the dealership. The bottom line is that you now know that you have the right to the details and to audit their recording of the transactions. You s...
Is it safe to take a new mortgage loan in Greece?
No it is not safe to take out a new mortgage - loan or anything credit related or any investment - in greece. Growing political risk, bonds have junk credit rating. You will be underwater on your mortgage the day you apply for it. And you better believe that the buyers will be dry once you realize that it doesn't make...
What assets would be valuable in a post-apocalyptic scenario?
This is going to be a list of some things that will likely be of value immediately after some apocalyptic event. However, note that I am not answering your question of what you should invest in now to take advantage of such an event. That is a pretty ridiculous notion. Preparing oneself for such a possibility is cer...
Prepaying a loan: Shouldn't the interest be recalculated like a shorter loan?
You are expecting, that if you pay off a 30 mortgage after 16 years, you should be charged the same amount of interest as someone who had a 16 year mortgage for the same amount and with the same interest rate. This isn't correct, and here's why: the person with the 16 year mortgage paid it off faster than you. They pai...
Contribute to both a SEP IRA and solo Roth 401(k)?
In addition to the normal limits, A Solo 401(k) allows you to contribute up to 20% of net profits (sole proprietor) or 50% of salary (if a corporation), up to $49,000. Note that the fees for 401(k) accounts are higher than with the IRA. See 401(k)s for small business.
Which banks have cash-deposit machines in Germany?
This may not answer your question but it may be an alternative. My credit union credits my account for deposits immediately (ones I make in an envelope). They view it as a service to their members. They take the risk that the member could deposit an empty envelope, say they deposited $400, and then withdraw the money...
How to bet against IPOs?
There are 2 primary ways to bet against a stock if you think it will decline. The first is to short sell shares of that stock the second is to buy put options (I would also add that selling naked call options would also be a bet against but I don't believe that is as common as the other 2 mentioned methods). The proble...
What are the contents of fixed annuities?
This is really two questions about yield and contents. Content As others have noted, an annuity is a contractual obligation, not a portfolio contained within an investment product per se. The primary difference between whether an annuity is fixed or variable is what the issuer is guaranteeing and how much risk/reward y...
In the stock market, why is the “open” price value never the same as previous day's “close”?
A stock is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If it trades different values on different days, that means someone was willing to pay a higher price OR someone was willing to sell at a lower price. There is no rule to prevent a stock from trading at $10 and then $100 the very next trade... or $1 the very...
How will a 1099 work with an existing W-2?
You can do either a 1099 or a W-2. There is no limitations to the number of W-2s one can have in reporting taxes. Problems occur, with the IRS, when one "forgets" to report income. Even if one holds only one job at a time, people typically have more than one W-2 if they change jobs within the year. The W-2 is the si...
What is a mutual fund?
Let's say that you want to invest in the stock market. Choosing and investing in only one stock is risky. You can lower your risk by diversifying, or investing in lots of different stocks. However, you have some problems with this: When you buy stocks directly, you have to buy whole shares, and you don't have enoug...
Equity As Part of Compensation
With LLCs, the operation agreement can define different shares for different kinds of income or equity, and different partners may be treated differently. In essence, you can end up with a different stock class for each partner/member. So you need to read the grant document and the OA really carefully to know what you'...
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...
Saving $1,000+ per month…what should I do with it?
If you can get a rate of savings that is higher than your debt, you save. If you can't then you pay off your debt. That makes the most of the money you have. Also to think about: what are you goals? Do you want to own a home, start a family, further your education, move to a new town? All of these you would need t...
I can make a budget, but how can I get myself to consistently follow my budget?
Switch to cash for a few months. No debit. No credit. This will help for two reasons: Once you've broken the bad habits, you should be able to go back to cards for the convenience factor.
When can we exercice an option?
American options (like those on ADBE) can be exercised by the holder anytime before expiration. They will be exercised automatically at expiration if they are in the money. However, if there is still time before expiration (as in this case), and they are not extremely in the money, there is probably extrinsic value to ...
Why do consultants or contractors make more money than employees?
All the existing answers are right and the general theme is: contracting is a different kind of relationship. It's a business-to-business relationship rather than a business-to-employee relationship. This has implications such as: Of course, some contractors are effectively just over-paid employees, and some of the abo...
In the UK, can authors split a single advance on a book over multiple tax returns?
HMRC calls it: Averaging for creators of literary or artistic works, and it is the averaging of your profits for 2 successive years. It's helpful in situations like you describe, where income can fluctuate wildly from year to year, the linked article has the full detail, but some of the requirements are: You can use av...
Reconciling transactions reimbursing myself for expenses as self-employed (UK)
For anyone that's curious, I had a number of chats with Quickbooks who recommended I import only the relevant business transactions from my personal account & personal credit card in order to lower the tax liability. This way money "paid" from the business account to myself rightly shows up as a transfer and not as inc...
If a stock doesn't pay dividends, then why is the stock worth anything?
It seems to me that your main question here is about why a stock is worth anything at all, why it has any intrinsic value, and that the only way you could imagine a stock having value is if it pays a dividend, as though that's what you're buying in that case. Others have answered why a company may or may not pay a div...
Investments other than CDs?
First off, you have done very well to be in your financial position at your age. Congratulations. I first started investing seriously about 10 years ago, and when I started, I had a similar attitude to you. Learning how to invest is a journey, and it will take you a while to learn both the intellectual and emotional s...
Valuation, pricing, and analysis of securities
Pricing would just be another way to describe valuation. I guess if you want to get technical, pricing - is the act of getting somethings valuation. While valuation - is the estimate of somethings worth. Security analysis - An examination and evaluation of the various factors affecting the value of a security. Side No...
How Does A Special Memorandum Account Work
The Margin Account holds the funds that are MUST for any margin trades. Any funds excess of the MUST for margin trades are kept in the SMA account. These funds can be used for further Margin trades in new securities [funds get transfered into the Margin Account]. They cannot be used to met the Shortfall due to margin c...
Why do gas stations charge different amounts in the same local area?
One factor I haven't seen mentioned is volume. Suppliers will charge a slightly lower price to the station if they buy in full tanker truck loads instead of smaller quantities. Where I am this is probably still the largest factor in price spread with all newer bigger stations being 20-30 cents cheaper than the old sm...
Low Fee Income Generating Investments for a Trust
If your primary goal is no / minimized fees, there are 3 general options, as I see it: Based on the fact that you want some risk, interest-only investments would not be great. Consider - 2% interest equals only $1,500 annually, and since the trust can only distribute income, that may be limited. Based on the fact that...
how does one start an investing club (as a company)?
+1 for noting that you are in it for the long haul. I also think this is a great project and activity to do with friends. Setting up and start-up investment company could be done as a simple LLC. The decision making process can be decided among the members -- if you want to defer to the others then so be it. Make it ...
Why do people take out life insurance on their children? Should I take out a policy on my child?
If the child can take over the life insurance when they wish to get a mortgage or have their own children, there may be a case for buying insurance for the child in the event that your child's health is not good enough for them to get cover at that time. However I don’t think this type of insurance is worth having.
What should my finances look like at 18?
Assume you will need to retire with a few million in the bank to maintain an average lifestyle. I had an analysis done for me (at 33) that shows my family, to keep it up lifestyle will need to have 3.4MM in the bank so in retirement I can draw down enough cash. This number reflects inflation. Now that you are 18, if y...
What is high trading volume in a stock indicative of? Is high liquidity a good thing or a bad thing?
High liquidity doesn't necessarily mean that "everybody is getting rid of the stock", since somebody is obviously buying whatever stock that is being sold. Also, as mentioned, low liquidity may mean that you would have trouble selling the stock in the future.
What are the downsides that prevent more people from working in high-income countries, and then retiring in low-income (and cost of living) ones?
At retirement age, your life priorities are somewhat different, and two key items come to mind. Your social circle, community and extended family contacts are highly related with your lifespan at retirement age. Loneliness kills, literally. Long distance relocation would weaken those ties exactly at the time when you ...
How does a TFSA work? Where does the interest come from?
As to where the interest comes from: The same place it comes from in other kinds of savings accounts. The bank takes the money you deposit and invests it elsewhere, traditionally by lending it out to others (hence the concept of a "savings and loan" bank). They make a profit as long as the interest they give for "borro...
Will a credit card issuer cancel an account if it never incurs interest?
While technically true, a card issuer can cancel your card for almost any reason they want, it's highly unlikely they'll cancel it because you pay your bills! There are many, many people out there that pay their bills in full every month without ever paying a cent in credit card interest. I wouldn't ever purposefully i...
I made an investment with a company that contacted me, was it safe?
You can contact the french agency for stock regulation and ask them : http://www.amf-france.org/
Are Forex traders forced to use leverage?
No one is FORCED to use leverage. But most people do. Trading companies like it because, the more leverage, the more "business" (and total commissions). If someone starts with $1 million and leverages it up ten times to ten million, companies would rather do ten million of business than one. That's a given. On the othe...
What software do you recommend for Creating a To-The-Penny, To-The-Day Budget?
I really don't know about will it help you, but here is what I do: It is not classic solution, but maybe it will work for you (works for me very well).
I'm about to be offered equity by my employer. What should I expect?
In my experience, any kind of equity you may be offered by the company is just a carrot. Your offer may be written in such a way that your potential ownership represents, say, 1% of the company today. But if the company goes for a round of financing your ownership percentage can get diluted. If this happens a couple of...
First Time Home Buyers - Down Payment, PMI and Points
1 - For FHA loans PMI is required for mortages where there is not at least 20% equity. Bank Financed Non-FHA loans may have other standards. If you are getting an FHA loan ,if possible put down 20% so that you do not have to pay PMI. That said your PMI costs should be reduced by the size of your down payment since t...
Is stock trading based more on luck than poker playing?
I assert not so. Even if we assume a zero sum game (which is highly in doubt); the general stock market curves indicate the average player is so bad that you don't have to be very good to have better that 50/50 averages. One example: UP stock nosedived right after some political mess in Russia two years ago. Buy! Profi...