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What are some good ways to control costs for groceries?
Check out the bulk stores like BJs, Sam's Club or whatever else is available to you. You can definitely save money shopping there but you also need to keep your wits about you as well. Example, if you're buying in bulk only to let food go to waste, obviously that's not good either...
In US, is it a good idea to hire a tax consultant for doing taxes?
Good tax people are expensive. If you are comfortable with numbers and computers, you can do it better yourself.
Relative Strength Index: Yahoo vs Google Finance
Look at the 'as of'. Google's as of is 11:27 whil Yahoo's is 11:19. Given the shape of the Google curve, it looks to me that Yahoo's may well drop that much in the next 8 minutes. In fact, looking at it now, Yahoo's algorithm showed it as about 30 at 11:24, before going back up again some. It may not have been ident...
Car dealer saying that they cannot see any credit information for my co-applicant. Could this be a scam?
By law, your wife can get her full Equifax credit report (sans-FICO score) instantly (once every 12 months) via https://www.annualcreditreport.com She can even get her FICO score with a 7-day free trial of Equifax Complete Premier.
Why do banks encourage me to use online bill payment?
The paper check method also allows the bank to use your money while the check is in the mail. My bank debits my account immediately, so while my $100 utility bill is traveling the U.S. Postal System for two days, they can make use of my $100 in whatever slush fund they like.
Use of free and clear houses as Collateral
Any sensible lender will require a lean lien against your formerly-free-and-clear property, and will likely require an appraisal of the property. The lender is free to reject the deal if the house is in any way not fitting their underwriting requirements; examples of such situations would be if the house is in a flood/...
How to choose a company for an IRA?
The fees for Vanguard and Fidelity IRA housing cannot be lower, because they are zero. Depending on the fund you invest in, one or the other will have pretty low fees and are often the lowest in the industry. I don't qualify for TIAA-CREF, but my mother does and she loves them. She can call up and get some advice for...
What is the ticker symbol for “Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Trust Plus”?
Use VTIVX. The "Target Retirement 2045" and "Target Retirement 2045 Trust Plus" are the same underlying fund, but the latter is offered through employers. The only differences I see are the expense ratio and the minimum investment dollars. But for the purposes of comparing funds, it should be pretty close. Here is th...
What percentage of my portfolio should be in individual stocks?
How much should a rational investor have in individual stocks? Probably none. An additional dollar invested in a ETF or low cost index fund comprised of many stocks will be far less risky than a specific stock. And you'd need a lot more capital to make buying, voting, and selling in individual stocks as if you were run...
Can I invest in the housing market via the stock exchange?
You could look into an index fund or ETF that invests primarily in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT's). An REIT is any corporation, trust or association that acts as an investment agent specializing in real estate and real estate mortgages Many investment firms offer an index fund or ETF like this. For example, Van...
Why invest for the long-term rather than buy and sell for quick, big gains?
The stock market's principal justification is matching investors with investment opportunities. That's only reasonably feasible with long-term investments. High frequency traders are not interested in investments, they are interested in buying cheap and selling expensive. Holding reasonably robust shares for longer ...
Should a high-school student invest their (relative meager) savings?
Is investing a good idea with a low amount of money? Yes. I'll take the angle that you CAN invest in penny stocks. There's nothing wrong with that. The (oversimplified) suggestion I would make is to answer the question about your risk aversion. This is the four quadrant (e.g., http://njaes.rutgers.edu:8080/money/riskq...
Can a put option and call option be exercised for the same stock with different strike prices?
What you did is called a "strangle." It's rather unlikely that both will be exercised on the same day. But yes, it can happen. That is if the market is very volatile on a given day, so that the stock hits 13 in the morning, the put gets exercised, and then hits 15 later in the day, so the call gets exercised. Or vice ...
Tutoring Business Payroll Management
This is going to depend on the tax jurisdiction and I have no knowledge of the rules in Illinois. But I'd like to give you some direction about how to think about this. The biggest problem that you might hit is that if you collect a single check and then distribute to the tutors, you may be considered their employer...
What can I replace Microsoft Money with, now that MS has abandoned it?
I use MoneyStrands.com to manage my spending. It's a lot like Mint, but provides support for more banks, and works with most Canadian financial institutions. I can't really compare them fairly though, since I didn't bother with Mint after learning that they don't care about Canadians. If your bank isn't supported by Mo...
Source of income: from dividends vs sale of principal or security
All that it is saying is that if you withdraw money from your account it doesn't matter whether it has come from dividends or capital gains, it is still a withdrawal. Of course you can only withdraw a capital gain if you sell part of the assets. You would only do this if it was the right time for you to sell the asset.
Any experience with maxing out 401(k)?
Yes, I have done this and did not feel a change in cash flow - but I didn't do it a the age of 23. I did it at a time when it was comfortable to do so. I should have done it sooner and I strongly encourage you to do so. Another consideration: Is your companies program a good one? if it is not among the best at pr...
Where to park money low-risk on interactivebrokers account?
The standard low-risk/gain very-short-term parking spot these days tends to be a money market account. However, you have only mentioned stock. For good balance, your portfolio should consider the bond market too. Consider adding a bond index fund to diversify the basic mix, taking up much of that 40%. This will also h...
What to bear in mind when considering a rental home as an investment?
Real estate is not an investment but pure speculation. Rental income may make it look like an investment but if you ask some experienced investor you would be told to stay away from real estate unless it is for your own use. If you believe otherwise then please read on : Another strong reason not to buy real estate rig...
Should you always max out contributions to your 401k?
The compound interest argument is a good one. While you are young, it is important to save, since time is on your side for compounding of interest. I think the 401K is a good idea, but not for all of your savings. Think about saving a percentage of your income, but put it in a couple places. Your Roth is also a grea...
Selling RSUs that vested at different values
No, you're not missing anything. RSUs are pretty simple when it comes to taxes. They are taxed as compensation at fair market value when they vest, basically equivalent to the company giving you a cash bonus and then using it to buy company stock. The fair market value at vesting then becomes your cost basis. Assuming ...
How can I figure out how much to bid on a parking space?
If the cash flow information is complete, the valuation can be determined with relative accuracy and precision. Assuming the monthly rent is correct, the annual revenue is $1,600 per year, $250/mo * 12 months - $1,400/year in taxes. Real estate is best valued as a perpetuity where P is the price, i is the income, and r...
Asking price went through the roof
As folks have explained in the comments:
How to correctly track a covered call write (sell to open) in double-entry accounting?
I skimmed the answer from mirage007, and it looked correct if you're going to set this up from scratch. Since you said you already have a system for tracking stocks, however, maybe you'd prefer to use that. It should handle almost everything you need: Note that only the last of these actually ties the option and the ...
Where do large corporations store their massive amounts of cash?
For tax optimization, cash is stored mostly overseas, according to the New York Times. For Apple, everytime a song or an app is bought in Europe, Africa or Middle East, money flows to iTunes Sàrl, in Luxemburg. Royalties on patents flow internally from Apple in California to Apple in Ireland. Then profits flow to the C...
Options revisited: Gold fever
You'll still lose a little bit if you buy a put option at the current price. No such thing as free hedging. Let's say you have 100 shares of IAU that you bought for exactly $12.50 per share. This is $1,250. Now let's say you bought a put option with a strike price of $13 that expires in April 2011. The current pric...
File bankruptcy, consolidate, or other options?
If your parents can afford to shell out $1,250 a month for 5 years, they would pretty much have the debt paid off, provided the credit card companies don't start playing games with rates. If that payment is too high, maybe you could kick in $5k every few months to knock the principal down. If they think the business c...
Why do so many people trade a bankrupt company's stock?
It may have some value! Investopedia has a well-written quick article on how stock holders may still get some portion of the liquidated assets. While there is generally little left for common shareholders if the price of those shares is tiny and some money does come back to shareholders there can still be significant...
How do I adjust to a new social class?
Housing, eh? Housing costs are driven by salaries and land availability. Over in the Bay Area, $1500/mo for a nice 1-bedroom apartment is a good deal... but a decent software engineer with ~4 years' experience can get $120k, easily. The standard benchmark of affordability of housing is spending a third of your income o...
What kinds of information do financial workers typically check on a daily basis?
Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance would be a couple of sites you could use to look at rather broad market information. This would include the major US stock markets like the Dow, Nasdaq, S & P 500 though also bond yields, gold and oil can also be useful as depending on which area one works the specifics of what are im...
Canceling credit cards - insurance rate increase?
You can't ask insurers to use a particular score -- they have a state-approved underwriting model that they must follow consistently. Insurance companies make money by not paying claims, and poor credit score (including limit access to credit) increases the probability that you will file a small claim. Why? If you get ...
Where should my money go next: savings, investments, retirement, or my mortgage?
First, i think you're doing awesomely for your age. Here's what i'd do in your situation (disclaimer: These are just my personal opinions from experience with my own finances.): I'd do all those things and partition the money so that i ensure i do them all. That may mean not dollar cost averaging monthly but rather qua...
How to share income after marriage and kids?
I won't answer in a detailed manner because most people at this site like answers with certain bias' on these questions, like pool resources always relative to which partner is asking. If you follow the above advice, you are hoping things work out. Great! What if they don't? It will be very messy. Unlike most of m...
Why can't the government simply payoff everyone's mortgage to resolve the housing crisis?
TARP was ~$475 billion of loans to institutions. Loans that are to be paid back, with interest (albeit very low interest). A significant percentage of the TARP loans have been (or will be) paid back. So, the final price tag of the TARP was only a few $billion (pretty low considering the scale of the program). There ...
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.
Is it smarter to buy a small amount of an ETF every 2 or 3 months, instead of monthly?
By not timing the market and being a passive investor, the best time to invest is the moment you have extra money (usually when wages are received). The market trends up. $10 fee on $2000 represents 0.5% transaction cost, which is borderline prohibitive. I would suggest running simulations, but I suspect that 1 month...
When people say 'Interest rates are at all time low!" … Which interest rate are they actually referring to?
As Sean pointed out they usually mean LIBOR or the FFR (or for other countries the equivalent risk free rate of interest). I will just like to add on to what everyone has said here and will like to explain how various interest rates you mentioned work out when the risk free rate moves: For brevity, let's denote the ris...
Why are US target retirement funds weighted so heavily towards US stocks?
A target date fund is NOT a world market index. There is no requirement that it be weighted based on the weights of the various world stock markets. If anything, historically (since the invention of target date funds), a 2:1 ratio is actually pretty low. 6:1 is, or was, probably more common. Just a token amount to non-...
Are prepayment penalties for mortgages normal?
Mortgages with a prepayment penalty usually do not charge points as a condition of issue. The points, usually in the range 1%-3% of the amount borrowed, are paid from the buyer's funds at the settlement, and are effectively the prepayment penalty. Once upon a time (e.g. 30 years ago), in some areas, buyers had a choi...
Does the stock market create any sort of value?
With regards to "the stock market," there are actually two markets involved here: PRIMARY MARKET Value is created in the primary market where capital is exchanged for a residual interest in an opportunity. As a theoretical example, if a person operating solo (or with a small team) were to discover or create a breakthr...
Frustrated Landlord
You are not a landlord. You have choices: The current situation is charity. And that's ok, so long as you acknowledge it. In the big picture, anything less than market rent is a gift that you are giving the person living in your house. A good tenant might keep the place in better shape, and deserve a lower rent, but t...
How fast does the available amount of gold in the world increase due to mining?
For the last few years around 2,500 metric tonnes of gold have been produced each year. This is on top of existing supply of 160,000 metric tonnes. Existing yearly production is around 1.5% of the existing supply. Charts from here.
what is a mortgage gift exchange?
I'm guessing since I don't know the term, but it sounds like you're asking about the technique whereby a loan is used to gather multiple years' gift allowance into a single up-front transfer. For the subsequent N years, the giver pays the installments on the loan for the recipient, at a yearly amount small enough to av...
Explanation on Warren Buffett's famous quote
I think he was trying to say that in the long term the company's fundamental intrinsic value will drive the price of a company's stock, but in the short term stocks move on emotion and publicity that are not necessarily a reflection of their true underlying value.
How to explain quick price changes early in the morning
You may simply be asking why stocks 'gap up' or 'gap down' when the stock market opens. This is because the price adjusts to news that occurred while the exchanges were closed overnight. Perhaps Asian stocks crashed, or perhaps a news story was released in the New York Times about some major company. There are thousand...
Can a business refuse to take credit cards?
Businesses are free to decide what payment methods they accept for their goods and services. Businesses sometimes advertise what credit cards they accept by posting some stickers at their door. When your credit card isn't among them and you don't have enough cash with you, ask about your card before you order. If a bus...
where to get stock price forecast
There's only one real list that states what people think stock prices should be, and that's the stocks order book. That lists the prices at which stock owners are willing to buy stocks now, and the price that buyers are willing to pay. A secondary measure is the corresponding options price. Anything else is just an op...
Ongoing things to do and read to improve knowledge of finance?
Before you can truly learn, you must unlearn first. I recommend the book "Fooled by Randomness" by Nassim Taleb.
Why do put option prices go higher when the underlying stock tanks (drops)?
When you buy a put on a stock, you buy the right to sell the stock at fixed price, F, that his usually different from the market price, M. You paid a price, P, for the put. Your potential profit, going forward, is represented by the DIFFERENCE you get to collect between your fixed price F, and that market price M, plu...
UK university student finance - should I use my sponsorship money to pay the debt?
Borrow the lot (as your family recommended)! The extra money will come in useful when you want to buy a house and move back to the area where your employer is. The government loan in the UK is a fantastic system, just a shame they are charging you so much in tuition fees...
I'm upside down on my car loan and need a different car, what can I do?
I am new to the site and hope I can help! We just purchased a used car a few weeks ago and used dealer's finance again so that's not the issue here. I want to focus on what you can do to resolve your issue and not focus on the mistakes that were made. 1 - DO NOT PURCHASE A NEW CAR! Toyota Camrys are great cars that wi...
Should I Use an Investment Professional?
Even if we accept these claims as being true, neither the fact that their clients are more confident, nor the fact that people who use an investment professional have a higher net worth tells you anything about the value of the service that such professionals provide. Judging a service provider is a complex matter whe...
What is the most effective saving money method?
Envelope budgeting is pretty simple. It's easy enough that you can teach it to children, and flexible enough you can use it as an adult. The general idea is that you take your cash money (no bank accounts involved in the simple version), and stick it in envelopes marked for what it's supposed to be for. So for exampl...
What are the best software tools for personal finance?
Intuit Quicken. Pros: Cons:
Finding a good small business CPA?
Ask for at least 10 references. Ask for 10 because it will be harder for them to refer you to ringer references like their family or friends.
Fund or ETF that simulates the investment goals of an options “straddle” strategy?
I am not aware of a single instrument that encapsulates what you are after; but the components do exist. At least in Canada, there are many Options traded on the Montreal Exchange that are based on Toronto ETFs. All the standard TSX ETFs are represented, as well as some of the more exotic. With a regular investment a...
Snowball debt or pay off a large amount?
My advice: IMO, all things being somewhat equal, you should always try to retire debts as quickly as possible in most cases, so start with the small cases. The method of calculating credit card interest is written on the statement. Usually it is "average daily balance method". Don't sweat the details. Just pay the thin...
What kind of value do retail investors look for in managed futures and fx?
I'm not downvoting you because I can relate, in a way, to your post and I think this is a good topic to have on this site. We had a question a couple weeks ago where someone, like you, took some friend's money to trade with but didn't know how to give the money back or calculate the net-return. It is not smart to tak...
If a company's assets are worth more than its market cap, can one say the shares must be undervalued?
Look at Price/book value and there are more than a few stocks that may have a P/B under 1 so this does happen. There are at least a couple of other factors you aren't considering here: Current liabilities - How much money is the company losing each quarter that may cause it to sell repeatedly. If the company is burning...
Got a “personal” bonus from my boss. Do I have to pay taxes and if so, how do I go about that?
Yes, it's taxable. If anyone suggests it's a gift, they are mistaken. There's a line on the 1040 for "other" and as long as you claim it, you're fine with the IRS. It's 2012 income as you already got it. Edit - mhoran makes two good points I'm not really able to address. (a) does a late bonus such as this effect one's...
Why don't banks print their own paper money / bank notes?
Are you talking about printing up more of the same kind of bill, or printing up a different kind of bill? You'll have different answers based on which one you mean. If it's a different kind of bill: Governments don't like competition in this matter. In US history there are examples of the government shutting alternati...
Can dividends be exploited?
In an ideal world Say on 24th July the share price of Apple was $600. Everyone knows that they will get the $ 2.65 on 16th August. There is not other news that is affecting the price. You want to go in and buy the shares on 16th Morning at $600 and then sell it on 17th August at $600. Now in this process you have earne...
Tracking the Madrid Interbank Offered Rate (MIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR)
You can find both here: http://www.bde.es/tipos/tipose.htm
“Business day” and “due date” for bills
I don't believe Saturday is a business day either. When I deposit a check at a bank's drive-in after 4pm Friday, the receipt tells me it will credit as if I deposited on Monday. If a business' computer doesn't adjust their billing to have a weekday due date, they are supposed to accept the payment on the next business...
Should I finance a new home theater at 0% even though I have the cash for it?
Zero percent interest may sound great, but those deals often have extra margin built into the price to make up for it. If you see 0%, find it cheaper somewhere else and avoid the cloud over your head.
Relationship between liquidity and an efficient market
Liquidity is highly correlated to efficiency primarily because if an asset's price is not sampled during the time of a trade, it's price is unknown therefore inefficient. Past prices can be referenced, but they are not the price of the present. Prices of substitutes are even worse. SPY is extremely efficient for an e...
What are the best software tools for personal finance?
http://www.Mvelopes.com Mvelopes is envelope-style budgeting in an online application. I've tried all of the other applications and I choose to pay for this one for the following reasons:
Is it possible to make money by getting a mortgage?
Imagine a married couple without a mortgage, but live in a house fully paid for. They pay state income taxes, and property tax, and make charitable deductions that together total $12,599. That is $1 below the standard deduction for 2015, therefore they don't itemize. Now they decide to get a mortgage: $100,000 for 30...
If a stock doesn't pay dividends, then why is the stock worth anything?
The company gets it worth from how well it performs. For example if you buy company A for $50 a share and it beats its expected earnings, its price will raise and lets say after a year or two it can be worth around $70 or maybe more.This is where you can sell it and make more money than dividends.
Is it accurate to say that if I was to trade something, my probability of success can't be worse than random?
It seems to be that your main point is this: No matter what, my chances cannot be worse than random and if my trading system has an edge that is greater than the percentage of the transaction that is transaction cost, then I am probabilistically likely to make a profit? In general, yes, that is true, but... Consider th...
Should I finance a new home theater at 0% even though I have the cash for it?
I have abused 0% interest programs time and time again, but only because my wife and I are assiduous about paying our bills on time. We've mostly taken advantage of it with bigger purchases that we've done through Lowe's or Home Depot (eg - washing machines, carpeting, stove, fridge), but its been well worth it. There...
IRA contributions in a bear (bad) market: Should I build up cash savings instead?
You should consider dollar cost averaging your investments. Retirement account is perfect for that - it's long term with periodic deposits. Overall, by investing in stocks now for a long term, you'll benefit more because the stocks are at their low(er) point.
How do amortization schedules work and when are they used?
An amortization schedule is often used to produce identical payments for the term (repayment period) of a loan, resulting in the principal being paid off and the debt retired at the end of the loan. This is in contrast to an interest only, or balloon loan. These loans require little or no payment against the balance of...
Newbie question - Brokerage and selling shares
Capital gains tax is an income tax upon your profit from selling investments. Long-term capital gains (investments you have held for more than a year) are taxed significantly less than short-term gains. It doesn't limit how many shares you can sell; it does discourage selling them too quickly after buying. You can bal...
What time period is used by yahoo finance to calculate beta
Citing the Yahoo Finance Help page, Beta: The Beta used is Beta of Equity. Beta is the monthly price change of a particular company relative to the monthly price change of the S&P500. The time period for Beta is 3 years (36 months) when available. Regarding customised time periods, I do not think so.
TD Webbroker.ca did not execute my limit sell order even though my stock went .02 over limit
TD will only sell the stock for you if there's a buyer. There was a buyer, for at least one transaction of at least one stock at 96.66. But who said there were more? Obviously, the stocks later fell, i.e.: there were not that many buyers as there were sellers. What I'm saying is that once the stock passed/reached the l...
What should I do with my stock options?
The main reason to exercise the shares sooner rather than later is that you have to hold the shares for 1 year to gain access to the long-term capital gains rate when you sell your shares. You do not want short-term capital gains rates to apply to these shares when you sell them. If the company is unable to go public a...
Where to park money while saving for a car
As you're saving up for an expenditure instead of investing for the long run, I would stay away from any sort of "parking facility" where you run the risk of not having the principal protected. The riskier investments that would potentially generate a bigger return also carry a bigger downside, ie you might not be able...
Price movement behaviour before earnings announcements
In principle, the stock price should see no change in the days leading up to an earnings announcement, and then at the moment of the announcement, the stock price should move in the direction of the earnings surprise (relative to the market's belief of what earnings were going to be). In practice, stock prices tend to ...
What kind of life insurance is cheaper? I'm not sure about term vs. whole vs. universal, etc
Whole life in most instances is a very bad plan. It's marketed as a life insurance policy wrapped in an investment but it does neither very well. The hidden caveat of whole life is that the investment goes away if you die. Say for example I have a $100,000 whole life insurance policy and over the years I have paid in ...
Is owning ADR share for a good idea for long term investor
Usually the ADR fee comes out of dividend payments and is modest. The ADR that I am most familiar with (Vodafone - VOD) pays dividends twice a year and deducts either $0.02 or $0.01 per share. IMO, the ADR fee is not really a material factor. ADRs do have some disadvantages though:
ISA trading account options for US citizens living in the UK
I am a US citizen by birth only. I left the US aged 6 weeks old and have never lived there. I am also a UK citizen but TD Waterhouse have just followed their policy and asked me to close my account under FATCA. It is a complete nightmare for dual nationals who have little or no US connection. IG.com seem to allow me to...
Supporting a Kickstarter project: Should a customer's pledge payment include sales tax, e.g. GST/HST in Canada?
You can only claim an input tax credit if tax was actually collected by the seller, irrespective of whether it should have been or not. You need to contact the seller to request an invoice that shows the GST/HST, if any, as well as the seller's GST/HST number, which is required to be printed on invoices. If the seller ...
401(k) Investment stategies
Ending up with nothing is an unlikely situation unless you invest 100% in a company stock and the company goes under. In order to give you a good answer we need to see what options your employer gives for 401k investments. The best advice would be to take a list of all options that your employer allows and talk with a ...
What are the benefits of opening an IRA in an unstable/uncertain economy?
You bring up a valid concern. IRAs are good retirement instruments as long as the rules don't change. History has shown that governments can change the rules regarding retirement accounts. As long as you have some of your retirement assets outside of an IRA I think IRAs are good ways to save for retirement. It's not ...
Why don't banks allow more control over credit/debit card charges?
Credit cards and debit cards make up the bulk of the transactions in the US. Visa and Mastercard take a percentage of each credit card transaction. For the most part, this fee it built into the price of what you buy. That is, you don't generally pay extra at the grocery store if you use a credit card (gasoline purch...
Looking for an ROI formula, brain is broken today
The monthly repayments of the initial $ 300,000 loan can be calculated using this formula: source: Finance Formulas The monthly payment is It is not readily apparent how the formula works, but it is derived by induction from this summation, in which the sum of the discounted future payments are set equal to the presen...
That “write your own mortgage” thing; how to learn about it
The other answers are talking about seller financing. There is another type of arrangement that might be described as "writing your own mortgage," where the buyer arranges his (or her) own financing. Instead of using a bank, a buyer might find his own investor to hold the mortgage for him. An example would be if I we...
How to understand adding or removing “liquidity” in stock markets with market/non-market orders?
Not all limit orders add liquidity, but all market orders remove liquidity presuming there is liquidity to remove. A liquidity providing order is one that is posted to the limit book. If an order, even a limit order, is filled before being posted to the limit book, it removes liquidity. Liquidity is measured by a balan...
How to keep control of shared expenses inside marriage?
Call me old fashioned, but that sounds less like a marriage and more like a business partnership. Maybe there are business tools that would be useful.
Capital Gains in an S Corp
These are all factually correct claims. S-Corporation is a pass-through entity, so whatever gain you have on the corporate level - is passed to the shareholders. If your S-Corp has capital gains - you'll get your pro-rata share of the capital gains. Interest? The same. Dividends? You get it on your K-1. Earned income? ...
Changed from job that had a 401K, and the new one doesn't. How do I answer when filing?
If you had a retirement plan at any time in 2013 you are considered covered by an plan. Are You Covered by an Employer's Retirement Plan? You’re covered by an employer retirement plan for a tax year if your employer (or your spouse’s employer) has a: Defined contribution plan (profit-sharing, 401(k), stock bonus and ...
Can I request to change 401k offerings from my employer, e.g. to invest in ETFs?
The presence of the 401K option means that your ability to contribute to an IRA will be limited, it doesn't matter if you contribute to the 401K or not. Unless your company allows you to roll over 401K money into an IRA while you are still an employee, your money in the 401K will remain there. Many 401K programs offer ...
ADR vs Ordinary shares
There are basically two different markets for ADRs and ordinary shares. 1) The American market, 2) the "local" market. The following is not true for most stocks in "developed" markets. But it is often true that the American market (for ADRs) is far more liquid than the local market for ordinary shares of a developing c...
Self Assessment UK - Goods and services for your own use
The problem with your profession is that it is hard to distinguish those activities as 'services rendered' or just a 'pastime hobby'. If you believe that both of those activities constitutes a 'service rendered in a professional capacity', then you should include it into the 'Goods and services for your own use' field....
Should I invest my money in an ISA or Government bonds? (Or any other suggestion)
So you are off to a really good start. Congratulations on being debt free and having a nice income. Being an IT contractor can be financially rewarding, but also have some risks to it much like investing. With your disposable income I would not shy away from investing in further training through sites like PluralSite...
When do I sell a stock that I hold as a long-term position?
For what it's worth -- and I realize this isn't directly an answer to the question -- one of the advantages of sticking with mutual funds, beyond their being inherently diversified, is that it removes a lot of the temptation to try to time the market. When you need money, you sell shares in such a way that it maintains...
How bad is it to have a lot of credit available but not used?
Ironically, the worst financial advice I read comes from "bankers." The top dozen members here can be trusted to give better advice than the average banker. Your score is not improved by maintaining a balance, only by using the card(s) regularly. No need to carry charges month to month and pay interest, rather, have t...
Splitting Hackathon Prize Money to minimize tax debt
I would just take $2000 and multiply by your marginal tax rate, weight that between the 5 other people according to their share of the prize money and ask them to give you that. From your question it seems like you all have a good working relationship, I'm sure the other partners would agree to that. I think it's the s...
Do I need to report to FInCEN if I had greater than $10,000 worth of bitcoin in a foreign bitcoin exchange?
Firstly you have to know exactly what you are asking here. What you have if you "own" bitcoins is a private key that allows you to make a change to the blockchain that can assign a piece of information from yourself to the next person. Nothing more nothing less. The fact that this small piece of information is consid...