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Trouble sticking to a budget when using credit cards for day to day transactions?
Discipline. If you have to have a hard limit on your account that prevents you from spending - credit cards are not for you. If you can discipline yourself not to make purchases in excess of your budget even if the plastic technically allows it - then you can go on using the credit card. Make sure to stay on top of you...
23 and on my own, what should I be doing?
Assuming the numbers in your comments are accurate, you have $2400/month "extra" after paying your expenses. I assume this includes loan payments. You said you have $3k in savings and a $2900 "monthly nut", so only one month of living expenses in savings. In my opinion, your first goal should be to put 100% of your ex...
Withdrawing cash from investment: take money from underperforming fund?
Bob should treat both positions as incomplete, and explore a viewpoint which does a better job of separating value from volatility. So we should start by recognizing that what Bob is really doing is trading pieces of paper (say Stocks from Fund #1 or Bonds from Fund #2, to pick historically volatile and non-volatile in...
Is this Employee Stock Purchase Plan worth it when adding my student loan into the equation?
The closer the contribution is to the December 31st date, the more profitable that specific contribution is, only taking into consideration the 5% discount. On your case, the first contribution that beats your student loans interest rate is the August one, where you get about 9% annual return, the remaining contributio...
Is it possible for an individual to refuse a cheque in France?
In any country, individuals (and shops) can reject any form of payment that is not Legal Tender - defined by law as a payment form that must be accepted. Shops are typically more generous, because they want to do business with you, but individuals are in a different position. In France, only official coins and bills ar...
Will the stock market continue to grow forever?
The answer to your question depends on what you mean when you say "growth". If you mean a literal increase in the aggregate market capitalization of companies, across the entire market, then, no, this sort of growth is not possible without concomitant economic growth. The reason why is that the market capitalization ...
Home Renovations are expensive.. Should I only pay cash for them?
I have a different take on this. If it would only take 3 months to save up to pay for it, line up the work now. Shop with your spouse to find the exact floor you want. By the time you hire the store to do the install, a month will have gone by, by the time the charge bill comes in, you'll be able to pay 2/3 off, and pa...
Books, Videos, Tutorials to learn about different investment options in the financial domain
Just by chance I recently encountered this link - Do It Yourself MFE, which describes an attempt to self-educate to the level of Master of Financial Engineering. It lists books, online courses, etc. which I think may be interesting for you too.
Account that is debited and account that is credited
The terms debit and credit come from double-entry book-keeping. In this system, every transaction is applied against two accounts: it debits one and credits the other by equal amounts. (Or more technically, it affects two or more accounts, and the total of the credits equals the total of the debits.) Whether a debit or...
How credible is Stansberry's video “End of America”?
I know nothing about the guy, but I think the "premium" products (Penny stock recommendations, a newsletter devoted to earning 12% per year, every year, etc) sold by his firm speak for themselves.
question about short selling stocks
My take on this is that with any short-selling contract you are engaging in, at a specified time in the future you will need to transfer ownership of the item(s) you sold to the buyer. Whether you own the item(s) or in your case you will buy your friend's used car in the meantime (or dig enough gold out of the ground ...
Can paying down a mortgage be considered an “investment”?
It very much comes down to question of semantics and your particular situation. Some people do not view a house (and most upgrades) as an investment, but rather an expense. I certainly agree that this is probably the case if you pay someone else to make the repairs and upgrades. However, if you are a serious DIYer, t...
How exactly does dealing in stock make me money?
This is a very good question! The biggest difference is that when you put money in a savings bank you are a lender that is protected by the government, and when you buy stocks you become an owner. As a lender, whether the bank makes or loses money on the loans it makes, they still maintain your balance and pay you inte...
Schwab wants to charge me interest on the money I received for selling TSLA short
I agree with Mark. I was quite confuse about the short position at first but then I did a lot of learning and found out that as long as you have enough cash to cover your margin requirement you do not pay any interest since you do not have a debit on your margin balance. This is not true for a long position though, s...
How can online trading platforms be trustworthly?
Most investors vote with their wallets. I expect ZERO glitches from a trading platform. If someone was actually causing trades to fail maliciously, their reputation would immediately suffer and their business would dry up over night. You can't just play dumb and not respond to a button click. I can watch and replay th...
How do I figure out if I will owe taxes
If you want to predict the, the easiest solution is to get hold of a copy of last year's tax forms and fill them in with estimated numbers. Odds are that none of the more complicated deductions will apply to you this first time around, so I'd suggest just using the federal 1040EZ, and your state's equivalent, for this...
If earning as freelancer, is it better to be a Sole Trader or Limited Company?
As I understand it (please correct me if i'm wrong, i've looked at this before and i've been a sole trader briefly but I've never formed a LTD company) there are pros and cons to forming a limited company. Pros Cons
Hedging against Exchange Rate Risk
You can calculate your exposure intuitively, by calculating your 'fx sensitivity'. Take your total USD assets, let's assume $50k. Convert to EUR at the current rate, let's assume 1 EUR : 1.1 USD, resulting in 45.5k EUR . If the USD strengthens by 1%, this moves to a rate of ~1.09, resulting in 46k EUR value for the sam...
If a stock has only buyers and no sellers how does its price go up?
Depending on what currency the price is quoted in and is originally sold, currency fluctuation can also carry over onto the price in your currency. An example for that would be bitcoin prices which sometimes show heavy ups and downs in one currency, but seem totally stable in another and can be tracked back to changed ...
What exactly is the interest rate that the Fed is going to adjust?
The Fed rate is so important because it sets a cost on lending institutions (banks, credit unions). It is the rate of interest that a bank gets by loaning its cash overnight to the Fed. Presumably, the Fed then loans the cash to other institutions around the world. The banks loan money to individuals at a higher rate....
What is the opposite of a hedge?
I'd say the opposite of hedging is speculating. If you are convinced an asset will appreciate in value, or rather the probability of gains is enough to induce you to hold the asset, you are a speculator. There are lots of ways of speculating, including holding risky assets without hedging that risk and possibly magni...
Using pivot points to trade in the short term
What are Pivot Points? Pivot Points indicate price levels that are of significance in technical analysis of securities. Pivot Points are used to provide clarity for a trader as they are a predictive indicator of where a security might go. There are at least 6 different types of Pivot Points (Woodie Pivot Point, Fibonac...
Does inflation equal more loans?
In terms of operations, banks are indifferent to inflation. Short rates except right before a recession or near-recession are always lower than long rates, regardless of inflation level, assuming no quotas or price controls. Banks produce credit by borrowing short to lend long, so as long as short rates are lower than ...
Retirement & asset allocation of $30K for 30 year old single guy
IMHO bonds are not a good investment at this present time, nor generally. Appreciate for a moment that the yield of an investment is DIRECTLY related to the face/trading value. If a thing (bond/stock) trades for $100 and yields 3%, it pays $3. In the case of a bond, the bond doesn't pay a % amount, it pays a $ amount....
Should I re-allocate my portfolio now or let it balance out over time?
Personally I'm not a huge fan of rebalancing within an asset class. I would vote for leaving the HD shares alone and buying other assets until you get to the portfolio you want. Frequent buying and selling incurs costs and possible tax consequences that can really hurt your returns.
Is it a good practice to keep salary account and savings account separate?
My wife and I do this. We have one account for income and one for expenditures (and around 7 others for dedicated savings.) Doing this we are forcing ourselves to keep track of all expenditures as we have to manually transfer funds from one to the other, we try to do this periodically (every Wednesday) and then keep th...
Debit cards as bad as credit cards?
If your goal is to make it harder for you to use to make impulse purchases then YES. Having to always have cash for purchases will make you less likely to make impulse purchases you don't really need.
What is a Discount Called in the Context of a Negative Interest Rate?
Even though the article doesn't actually use the word "discount", I think the corresponding word you are looking for is "premium". The words are used quite frequently even outside of the context of negative rates. In general, bonds are issued with coupons close to the prevailing level of interest rates, i.e. their pric...
In the stock market, why is the “open” price value never the same as previous day's “close”?
Prices reflect all available information. (Efficient markets hypothesis) A lot can happen between the time a stock closes on one day and opens on another. Particularly in a heavily traded stock such as IBM. Basically, you have a different "information set" the following day, which implies a different price. The instanc...
Capital gains tax: Retirement vehicle (IRA, 401k) vs. anything else?
First of all, there are some differences between the retirement accounts that you mentioned regarding taxes. Traditional IRA and 401(k) accounts allow you to make pre-tax contributions, giving you an immediate tax deduction when you contribute. Roth IRA, Roth 401(k) are funded with after tax money, and a non-retireme...
Money transfer to the U.K
I'd recommend an online FX broker like XE Trade at xe.com. There are no fees charged by XE other than the spread on the FX conversion itself (which you'll pay anywhere). They have payment clearing facilities in several countries (including UK BACS) so provided you're dealing with a major currency it should be possible...
What is the lifespan of a series of currency?
US currency doesn't expire, it is always legal tender. I can see some trouble if you tried to spend a $10,000 bill (you'd be foolish to do so, since they are worth considerably more). Maybe some stores raise eyebrows at old-style $100's (many stores don't take $100 bills at all), but you could swap them for new style ...
Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Dividends indicate that a business is making more profit than it can effectively invest into expansion or needs to regulate cash-flow. This generally indicates that the business is well established and has stabilized in a dominant market position. This can be contrasted against businesses that: Dividends are also given...
What options do I have at 26 years old, with 1.2 million USD?
Windfalls can disappear in a heartbeat if you're not used to managing large amounts of money. That said, if you can read a bank statement and can exercise a modicum of self control over spending, you do not need a money manager. (See: Leonard Cohen) First, spend $15 on J.L. Collins' book The Simple Path to Wealth. ht...
What is the smartest thing to do in case of a stock market crash
If you know the market will crash, you could opt for going short. However, if you think this is too risky, not investing at all is probably your best move. In case of crises, correlation go up and almost all assets go down.
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...
Should I sell my stocks when the stock hits a 52-week high in order to “Buy Low, Sell High”?
As per the chart pattern when ever a stock breaks its 52 week high. This information may differ for penny stocks,small caps and mid cap stocks
Might it make sense not to look into debt that is in collections?
It's your business to pay what you owe but it's not your business to determine what you owe. The "Fair Debt Collections Practices act" FDCPA proscribes certain steps creditors must go through to contact you. You appear to not have received any active contact or demand, but you can still cite the FDCPA to make it thei...
How can I compare the risk of different investing opportunities?
Let us consider the risks in the investment opportunities: Now, what are the returns in each of the investment: What are the alternatives to these investments, then?
Pros/Cons of Buying Discounted Company Stock
The major pros tend to be: The major cons tend to be: Being in California, you've got state income tax to worry about as well. It might be worth using some of that extra cash to hire someone who knows what they're doing to handle your taxes the first year, at least. I've always maxed mine out, because it's always see...
I am turning 18 and I am a Student, I need strategies on building great credit soon. Where should I start?
The details of credit score calculation tend to change periodically, but the fundamentals are mostly consistent. Pay your bills, keep your average account age high, overpay your credit card minimums, and keep your overall debt low. And do soft pulls on your credit report to see what's happening. First, the simplest r...
May 6, 2010 stock market decline/plunge: Why did it drop 9% in a few minutes?
Part of it was an Oops, but not all of it. There were reports that the sudden drop was caused by a trader who mistyped an order to sell a large block of stock. The drop in that stock's price was enough to trigger "sell" orders across the market. Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36983596/ns/business-stocks_...
What happens if someone destroy money?
Depending on the country, nothing. For example, the US has about $1.3 trillion dollars of cash in circulation. Which means that if you were to burn a million dollars of it, that would be 0.000077% of the circulating cash. But cash is a small portion of the actual money in the US. Only about 8% of all money is in c...
Do rental car agencies sell their cars at a time when it is risky for the purchaser?
Every car model/type has a know interval when things need maintenance or replacement. This info comes mainly from the manufacturer and the rental companies use these info to determine how long and at what rate a car should be rented (I mean in total, not rented to an individual) This is easiest calculated with a long t...
Confirming that stocks are listed under my name
Street name is not what you think it is in the question. The broker is the owner in street name. There is no external secondary owner information. I don't know if there is available independent verification, but if the broker is in the US and they go out of business suddenly, you can make a claim to the SIPC.
What is a typical investment portfolio made up of?
Paying off the high-interest debt is a good first start. Paying interest, or compound interest on debt is like paying somebody to make you poor. As for your 401k, you want to contribute enough to get the full match from your employer. You might also consider checking out the fees associated with your 401k with an onlin...
Why would you ever turn down a raise in salary?
My answer has nothing to do with tax brackets or mathematics (I'm taking advantage of the leeway your question allowed), but rather it has to do with career goals and promotion. Large companies often have large "Policies & Procedures" booklets to go with them. One policy that sometimes exists which would make it a ba...
Tenant wants to pay rent with EFT
It's safe. You give people those numbers every time you write a check. If a check is forged, and doesn't have your signature on it, the bank has to return the money to you; they get it back from the other bank, who takes whatever action it deems necessary against the forger. They've been doing this for a few hundred y...
Do companies only pay dividends if they are in profit?
Yes the company can still pay dividends even if they aren't making a profit. 1) If the firm has been around, it might have made profits in the past years, which it might be still carrying (check for retained earnings in the financial statements). 2) Some firms in the past have had taken up debt to return the money to s...
How to properly collect money from corporate sponsors?
http://www.legalzoom.com/business-management/starting-your-business/turn-your-calling Answering this, but I expect an expert to give an answer with some insight too There are many more steps, but not having done them personally I suggest you read the legalzoom.com site.
Should you keep your stocks if you are too late to sell?
If the stock starts to go down DO NOT SELL!! My reasoning for this is because, when you talk about the stock market, you haven't actually lost any money until you sell the stock. So if you sell it lower than you bought it, you loose money. BUT if you wait for the stock to go back up again, you will have made money.
Do I pay a zero % loan before another to clear both loans faster?
Wow, you guys get really cheap finance. here a mortage is 5.5 - 9% and car loans about 15 - 20%. Anyway back to the question. The rule is reduce the largest interest rate first ("the most expensive money"). For 0% loans, you should try to never pay it off, it's literally "free money" so just pay only the absolute minim...
Tools for comparing costs between different healthcare providers?
There really isn't any good ways that I'm aware of. (The exception is in New York or California, where hospitals must post prices.) The law sets price floors on many procedures by setting Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. As a result, the "list price" for a given procedure is dramatically inflated, and various...
Pay team mates out of revenues on my name
Note: This is not professional tax advice. If you think you need professional tax advice, find a licensed professional in your local area. What are the expected earnings/year? US$100? US$1,000? US$100,000? I would say if this is for US$1,000 or less that registering an EIN, and consulting a CPA to file a Partnershi...
Investing tax (savings)
You'd want the money to be "liquid" and ready for you to use when tax time comes around. You also don't want to lose "principal", i.e. if you put it into stocks and have the value of what you put in be less than what you invested—which is possible—when you need the money, again, at tax time. That doesn't leave you with...
What would a stock be worth if dividends did not exist? [duplicate]
Unrealistic assumption, but I'll play along. Ultimately, dividends would exist because some innovative shareholder of some company, at some time, would desire income from their investment and could propose the idea of sharing the profit. Like-minded investors also desiring income could vote for dividends to come into e...
How can I profit on the Chinese Real-Estate Bubble?
Perhaps buying some internationally exchanged stock of China real-estate companies? It's never too late to enter a bubble or profit from a bubble after it bursts. As a native Chinese, my observations suggest that the bubble may exist in a few of the most populated cities of China such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen,...
Why do 10 year Treasury bond yields affect mortgage interest rates?
You’ve really got three or four questions going here… and it’s clear that a gap in understanding one component of how bonds work (pricing) is having a ripple effect across the other facets of your question. The reality is that everybody’s answers so far touch on various pieces of your general question, but maybe I can ...
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...
Is my employee stock purchase plan a risk free investment?
It's a risk free investment only if you have 100% warranty that you will be able to sell these stocks for a better price than what you've paid. And that's virtually impossible. I don't think there is any "risk free investment" when stocks are involved. You can try to minimize the risks and consider them low, but IMO it...
Can stock market gains be better protected under an LLC arrangement?
All corporate gains are taxed at the same rate as corporate income, for the corporate entity, so this actually can be WORSE than the individual capital gains tax rates. There are a lot of things you can do with trading certain asset classes, like opening you up to like-kind re-investment tax perks, but I can't think of...
Is there any instance where less leverage will get you a better return on a rental property?
I would say that you should keep in mind one simple idea. Leverage was the principal reason for the 2008 financial meltdown. For a great explanation on this, I would HIGHLY recommend Michael Lewis' book, "The Big Short," which does an excellent job in spelling out the case against being highly leveraged. As Dale M. p...
Finding Uncorrelated Assets
Have a look at: Diversify Portfolio. The site provides various tools all focused on correlation, diversification and portfolio construction. You can scan through every stock and ETF listed on the NASDAQ and NYSE to find any kind of correlation you're looking for. You can also create a portfolio and then analyze all the...
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 ...
Why could the serious financial woes of some EU member states lead to the end of the Euro?
The Euro is a common currency between various countries in Europe. This means that individual countries give up their traditional sovereign control of their own currency, and cede that control to the EU. Such a system has many advantages, but it also means that individual countries cannot deal with their unique situat...
What is the options industry changing about option symbols in February, 2010?
Here is what I could find on the net: http://education.wallstreetsurvivor.com/options-symbol-changes-coming-february-12th-2010 So it sounds like it does not affect how you invest in options but only how you look them up. I remember using a Bloomberg terminal and it wasn't clear what the expiry date of the option you w...
Prices go up and salary doesn't: where goes delta?
I expected a word or two on the price elasticity of demand here :) Andrey, Your question needs slight revision in its current form. Rising prices actually do not mean increased profitability for a company. The quantity they sell also pays a huge part and actually is correlated to the price at which they sell the goods ...
Multi-Account Budgeting Tools/Accounts/Services
I know of websites that do this, but I don't know of banks that do. Is there any reason you want to do this at a bank rather than use a service? My main concern with using a bank for this would be the risk of overdraft fees
Learning investment--books to read? Fundamental/Value/Motley Fool
You are smart to read books to better inform yourself of the investment process. I recommend reading some of the passive investment classics before focusing on active investment books: If you still feel like you can generate after-tax / after-expenses alpha (returns in excess of the market returns), take a shot at som...
How to check the paypal's current exchange rate?
fx-rate.net offers a AUDUSD exchange rate comparison, which includes paypal: Currencyfair $1.14 Transferwise $ 2.29 Worldremit $ 3.50 Xendpay $ 3.71 Tranzfers $ 5.52 Ukforex $ 7.35 Skrill $ 15.13 Paypal $ 25.77 Kantox $ 27.76 http://fx-rate.net/currency-transfer/?c_input=AUD&cp_input=USD
why do I need an emergency fund if I already have investments?
Emergency funds have a very specific and obvious benefit; you'll have money sitting around in case you need it. A lot of people think a big car repair or some unexpected home repair is an emergency, and that's fine. Emergency also expands up to "I lost my job four months ago and we're a year in to a recession, the st...
Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
The answer, for me, has to do with compounding. That drop in price post-ex-div is not compounded. But if you reinvest your dividends back into the stock then you buy on those post-ex-div dips in price and your money is compounded because those shares you just bought will, themselves, yeald dividends next quarter. Also...
Is there such thing as a Checking account requiring pre-approval / white-list?
The account you are looking for is called a "Positive Pay" account. It generally is only for business accounts, you provide a list of check numbers and amounts, and they are cross-referenced for clearing. It normally has a hefty monthly fee due to the extra labor involved.
What does it mean when my Money Market account lists both a dividend share and an APY?
The dividend is what represents your ownership in the CU. The APY is a calculated figure that will help you compare apples to apples the return of the investment from many vendors and many types. (I think you CU might have had two different people writing that portion of the website, because the comparisons pages don'...
Should I pay myself a dividend or a salary?
In cases like this you should be aware that tax treaties may exist and that countries are generally willing to enter into them. Their purpose is to help prevent double taxation. Tax treaties often times give you a better tax rate than even being a resident of the countries in question! (For instance, the Italy to US ta...
Is there any emprical research done on 'adding to a loser'
This is basically martingale, which there is a lot of research on. Basically in bets that have positive expected value such as inflation hedged assets this works better over the long term, than bets that have negative expected value such as table games at casinos. But remember, whatever your analysis is: The market can...
Remit money to India from balance transfer of credit card
As Dheer has already told you in his answer, your plan is perfectly legal, and there are no US tax issues other than making sure that you report all the interest that you earn in all your NRE accounts (not just this one) as well as all your NRO accounts, stock and mutual fund dividends and capital gains, rental income,...
How risky is it to keep my emergency fund in stocks?
A major danger of keeping "emergency" funds in the form of stocks is that many of the scenarios where one would need quick access to the money will also momentarily depress the stock market. Someone whose emergency funds were in some other form could avoid selling stocks during a momentary downturn, but someone who ha...
How much of my home loan is coming from a bank, how much it goes back?
When you get a loan (car, home, student) the lending company (bank) give the (auto dealer, previous home owner, school) money. You as the borrow promise to pay this money back with interest. So in your case the 100,000 you borrow requires a payment for principal and interest of ~965 per month. After 240 payments you w...
How much is one “lot” of EUR/USD?
A lot (sometimes called a round lot) always refers to the quantity of physical good that you're getting, like a carton of eggs or a barrel of oil. The tricky thing in the case of forex is that the physical good also happens to be a currency. A spot currency product trades in the denomination on the right-hand side (RH...
How to record business income tax paid, in QuickBooks?
Federal income taxes are indeed expenses, they're just not DEDUCTIBLE expenses on your 1120. Federal Income Tax Expense is usually a subcategory under Taxes. This is one of the items that will be a book-to-tax difference on Schedule M-1. I am presuming you are talking about a C corporation, as an S corporation is not l...
Estimated Taxes after surge in income
You will not necessarily incur a penalty. You can potentially use the Annualized Income Installment method, which allows you to compute the tax due for each quarter based on income actually earned up to that point in the year. See Publication 505, in particular Worksheet 2-9. Form 2210 is also relevant as that is th...
What does the settlement date of short interest mean?
At the bottom of the page you linked to, NASDAQ provides a link to this page on nasdaqtrader.com, which states Each FINRA member firm is required to report its “total” short interest positions in all customer and proprietary accounts in NASDAQ-listed securities twice a month. These reports are used to calculate short i...
Is it better to buy this used car from Craigslist or from a dealership?
You seem to be on the right track. I feel, though, that it's worth addressing your maintenance budget. Even if both cars described in your question are from the same model year, one has been in service 2x more; one car has been on the road, in weather, twice as much as the other. I'm not sure what's being represente...
Why is the fractional-reserve banking not a Ponzi scheme?
They're not at all the same. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment method that pays off early investors with deposits from later ones. Fractional reserve banking is the practice of keeping only a fraction of a bank's demand deposits on reserve, while lending out the rest. The reserve requirement is how central ban...
Question about car loan payment
This depends on what the alternative is. Your loan of .99% is very favorable rate. If you have the 15,000 right now but only hold it in your checking account or cash then you might as well just pay it all off(assuming you have an adequate emergency fund). Paying the debt off sooner will save you on interest. Currently ...
Are TD e-Series Funds worthwhile, or am I better off with ETFs? Why or why not?
M Attia, the advantages of the TD e-series are that they are a low cost way to index your portfolio as well it gives you to opportunity to invest small amounts at a time. With ETF's, purchasing small amounts at a time would simply get too expensive.
How to convert coins into paper money or deposit coins into bank account, without your bank in local?
Ask around your area. Some stores will exchange because it saves them having to go to the bank to stock up on change. Some stores have machines that will convert the coins for a small percentage fee. Some banks may do this exchange for folks who aren't customers, though that's uncommon. My solution was to open a smal...
Should I wait a few days to sell ESPP Stock?
Usually the amount of the ESPP stocks is very small compared to the overall volume of the trading, so it shouldn't matter. But check if for your company it not so (look at the stock history for the previous ESPP dates, and volumes).
How do I handle fund minimums as a beginning investor?
Buy the minimum of one fund now. (Eg total bond market) Buy the minimum of the next fund next time you have $2500. (Eg large-cap stocks.) Continue with those until you have enough to buy the next fund (eg small-cap stocks). Adjust as you go to balance these funds according to your planned ratios, or as close as you ca...
Deductible expenses paid with credit card: In which tax year would they fall?
Assuming that it's not inventory that is sold in the following year or a depreciable asset, you can deduct it when you make the purchase. The courts have ruled that credit cards balances are considered debt. It's treated the same way as if you went to the bank, got a loan, and used cash or a check to purchase the items...
Tax question about selling a car
I don't think there's much you can do. Losses from the sale of personal-use automobiles (used for pleasure, commuting, etc) are not deductible as capital losses. See IRS Tax Topic 409, end of the first paragraph. The expenses you incurred in owning and operating the car (insurance, fuel, maintenance, service plans, e...
Any experience with maxing out 401(k)?
Don't forget to also build up an emergency fund - retirement saving is important, but you don't want to be caught in a situation where you need money for an emergency (lose your job, get hit by a bus, etc.) and it's all locked away in your 401(k).
Buying a multi-family home to rent part and live in the rest
First, you can look up the property tax of the building you are in for an exact number. Go to you town's tax office or look at Zillow. You need to claim the rent as income, but will take all expenses as well as depreciation on half the building. The numbers may well work in your favor, especially as a resident landlord...
What does it mean for a company to have its market cap larger than the market size?
The difference between the two numbers is that the market size of a particular product is expressed as an annual number ($10 million per year, in your example). The market cap of a stock, on the other hand, is a long-term valuation of the company.
Are cashiers required to check a credit card for a signature in the U.S.?
I'm not sure if they're required to do so, but I have been neglecting to sign my cards for some time now. If they do check, that triggers an ID check, where they'll find my signature. I know of at least one person that writes "see ID" instead of signing their cards. He began that practice over 10 years ago.
The Benefits/Disadvantages of using a credit card
An advantage of using a major credit card is that they act as a buffer and source of recourse between you and the merchant. Cheated and the store won’t answer you letters? Call Visa (or more accuratly, call the number on the back of the card). (That is, #2 on this answer, which you can also reference for a whole list o...
Can I place a stock limit order to buy above the current price? Can I place a stock limit order to sell below the current price?
You can place the orders like you suggested. This would be useful in a market that is moving quickly where you want to be reasonably sure of execution but don't want the full exposure of a market order. This won't jump your spot in the queue though in the sense that you won't get ahead of other orders that are "ready...
How to convince someone they're too risk averse or conservative with investments?
(Leaving aside the question of why should you try and convince him...) I don't know about a very convincing "tl;dr" online resource, but two books in particular convinced me that active management is generally foolish, but staying out of the markets is also foolish. They are: The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Bu...
What are good games to play to teach young children about saving money?
I know this question is closed now, but I just found this site that people might be interested in... http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/games/