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How big of a mortgage can I realistically afford? | I bought a house 6 months ago for $240,000 on an $80k salary am getting by just fine and am able to save money (and I live on Long Island, an extremely expensive area to live). I would look at finding a few more interest rate quotes; for instance, Wells Fargo is offering 4.25% right now for FHA (first time home buyers)... |
Which practice to keep finances after getting married: joint, or separate? | This particular topic has probably been beaten to death already. But from the other comments, it seems that splitting finances them is a popular solution on this forum. I can see the individual benefit of this - makes it easy to go buy whatever you want. But it can hurt too. What if the situation changes, and you a... |
Physical Checks - Mailing | Lets say you owed me $123.00 an wanted to mail me a check. I would then take the check from my mailbox an either take it to my bank, or scan it and deposit it via their electronic interface. Prior to you mailing it you would have no idea which bank I would use, or what my account number is. In fact I could have multipl... |
How to get 0% financing for a car, with no credit score? | Yes, of course it is. Car dealers are motivated to write loans even more than selling cars at times. When I bought a new car for the first time in my life, in my 40's, it took longer to get the finance guy out of my face than to negotiate and buy the car. The car dealer selling you the used car would be happy to packa... |
First time home buyer: Can you withdraw funds from a Roth 401k for a first time home purchase? | The rules are quite different. There is no special home purchase penalty-free withdrawal. In the case that your account has been open for five years, you can withdraw the principal (but not the earnings) without penalty. You may want to talk to a professional for further details. The real question is: why do you wan... |
Pros/cons of borrowing money using a mortgage loan and investing it in a low-fee index fund? | Something very similar to this was extremely popular in the UK in the late 1980s. The practice has completely vanished since the early 2000s. Reading up on the UK endowment mortgage scandals will probably give you an excellent insight into whether you should attempt your plan. Endowment mortgages were provided by ban... |
Where to start with personal finance? | My reading list for someone just getting into personal finance would include the following I know it's a bunch but I'm trying to cover a few specific things. Yeah it's a bit of reading, but lets face it, nobody is going to care as much about your money as YOU do, and at the very least this kind of knowledge can help fe... |
What is the purpose of endorsing a check? | In my experience, you don't need to endorse a check with a signature to deposit it into your account. You do if you are exchanging the check for cash. Businesses usually have a stamp with their account number on them. Once stamped, those checks are only able to be deposited into that account. Individuals can do the... |
Withdrawing cash from investment: take money from underperforming fund? | I think that Bob has good reasons for his planned spending and should follow his plan, not the dubious advice from an account rep. |
Snowball debt or pay off a large amount? | You've already received good advice here, pay off the highest rate card first, in this case the Best Buy card. I completely agree. To answer your question about the minimum payment, I can't guarantee that this is how Citi does it on your particular card, but several online calculators seem to use the following formula.... |
Finding a good small business CPA? | Check your local better business bureau. They can tell you who is in business, who's bonded, and who has had a lot of complaints levied against them for shoddy practices. |
Canceling credit cards - insurance rate increase? | Your credit score can be part of the algorithm for setting your rates for auto insurance. It is one of many factors including sex, age, zip code, driving record, type of car... There are some states that are concerned about using credit scores, some sates have passed legislation regarding this issue |
Selling a car with a lien | You could have the buyer go to the bank with you so that he can get evidence that the loan will be paid in full and that the lien will be lifted. The bank won't sign over the title (and lift the lien) until the loan is paid back in full. DMV.org has a pretty good section about this. (Note: not affiliated with the actua... |
Should withheld income tax be included as income? | Does it make sense to report withheld tax income as an additional income? Is it required by the IRS? Is $T deductible? This is what is called imputed income. The ticket is an income for you, but the company doesn't want you to pay tax on it. But you have to. But they want to be nice to you and give you the ticket on ... |
How can I calculate the volatility(standard deviation) of a stock price? and/or ROI (return on investment) of a stock? | Use the Black-Scholes formula. If you know the current price, an options strike price, time until expiration, and risk-free interest rate, then knowing the market price of the option will tell you what the market's estimation of the volatility is. This does rely on a few assumptions, such as Gaussian random walk, but t... |
If NYSE has market makers, what is the role of NYSE ARCA which is an ECN | I would say it's a bit more complicated than that. Do you understand what a market maker does? An ECN (electronic communication network) is a virtual exchange that works with market makers. Using a rebate structure that works by paying for orders adding liquidity and charges a fee for removing liquidity. So liquidity ... |
When following a buy and hold investment strategy, on what conditions should one sell? | Here's an easy test... Look at the investments in your portfolio and ask yourself whether if you had the cash value, would you buy those same investments today, because effectively that is what you are doing when you continue to hold. If the answer is no, sell and pick something else. Above all else, don't react to m... |
Scam or Real: A woman from Facebook apparently needs my bank account to send money | The other answers describe why this is highly likely to be a scam. This answer describes why you don't want to get involved, even in the unlikely case that it isn't a scam. I'm describing this using US law (which I'm not particularly familiar with, so if I go astray I'd suggest others fix any flaws in this answer), bu... |
How to keep control of shared expenses inside marriage? | Being new does not allow me yet to vote on your question, but what a good question it is. We share our opinion in separating finances in our very well going mariage. Currently I have found a sort of okay solution in two websites. These are http://www.yunoo.nl and http://www.moneytrackin.com/. You can actually tag spend... |
Why would you ever turn down a raise in salary? | In the UK, the government has recently announced that Child Benefit will no longer be paid to those who earn over £44k. This means that if you currently earn £43,999, and your employer offers you a raise of £10 per annum to £44,009, then you could be over £1k worse off as a result. |
Can I use same stock broker to buy stocks from different stock markets? | Most stock brokers are "full service" brokers. That is to say that you can so the same broker to buy different types of stocks, bonds, options, etc. in different markets. Some brokers are very specialized and won't allow you to do that. But those are probably brokers you don't want to use. |
What kind news or information would make the price of a stock go up? | There is a highly related question which is much easier to answer: what normally value-increasing news about a company would cause that company to fall in value in the public stock market? By answering that, we can answer your question by proxy. The answer to that question being: anything that makes investors believe t... |
Moving savings to Canada? | Yes, you can put assets in Canadian banks. Will it protect your wealth to a greater extent than the FDIC protection provided by the US Government? Probably not. If you do business or spend significant time in Canada, then having at least some money in Canada makes sense. Otherwise, you're trying to protect yourself ag... |
Are option contracts subject to mark to market rules | If I sell a covered call, on stock I own 100%, there is no risk of a margin call. The stock goes to zero, I'm still not ask to send in more money. But, if bought on margin, margin rules apply. A naked put would require you to be able to buy the stock if put to you. As the price of the stock drops, you still need to be... |
Interactive Brokers: IOPTS and list of structured products | I think an IOPT is a Dutch warrant. Someone else might understand what this is. |
Can a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) and share purchase plan (SPP) be used with a TFSA? | You can hold a wide variety of investments in your TFSA account, including stocks such as SLF. But if the stocks are being purchased via a company stock purchase plan, they are typically deposited in a regular margin account with a brokerage firm (a few companies may issue physical stock certificates but that is very r... |
Direct Registration System vs Brokerage Firm | You'll need to talk to your broker about registering positions you already hold. I would personally expect this will cost you a not-insignificant fee. And I don't think you'll be able to do this on any shares held in a tax-advantaged account. That said, I'd recommend you go to the Investors sections of the company's ... |
Help Understanding Market/Limit Orders and Bid/Ask Price | At any point of time, buyer wants to purchase a stock at lesser price and seller wants to sell the stock at a higher price. Let's consider this scenario Company XYZ is trading at 100$, as stated above buyer wants to purchase at lower price and seller at higher price, this information will be available in Market depth... |
Borrowing share with a covered call for short? | No, if your stock is called away, the stock is sold at the agreed upon price. You cannot get it back at your original price. If you don't want your stock to be called, make sure you have the short call position closed by expiration if it is ITM. Also you could be at risk for early assignment if the option has little t... |
What is a Student Loan and does it allow you to cover a wide range of expenses relating to school? | Is a student loan a type of loan or just a generic name used to refer to a loan for someone who is going back to school? A student loan from the federal government is a specific type of loan used for education purposes (i.e. attending college). They have guidelines associated with them that are very flexible as compare... |
As a 22-year-old, how risky should I be with my 401(k) investments? | Current evidence is that, after you subtract their commission and the additional trading costs, actively managed funds average no better than index funds, maybe not as well. You can afford to take more risks at your age, assuming that it will be a long time before you need these funds -- but I would suggest that means ... |
Pay down on second mortage when underwater? | Well, I suppose it depends on your idea of a "lost cause". Are you planning to lose the house to foreclosure? If so, then yes, it's a lost cause. Don't waste your money paying down the principal. In any other scenario* you should absolutely pay down the principal to the extent that you'd pay down any loan with nearly... |
Whether to prepay mortgage or invest in stocks | The short answer is to invest it since the rate of return is higher than your mortgage. (Assuming that you can withstand interest rate hikes, meet short term liquidity needs and don't need your $10K in the short or near term). The long answer is if you're comfortable leveraging your house and can put that $10K away for... |
What is title insurance, and should I get title insurance for my home? | Here is a pretty exhaustive article on that question. Long story short, it is an insurance policy against the possibility that the person selling the property to you doesn't legally own it. If there was some mistake or fraud along the way the proper owner could theoretically repossess the property without you getting y... |
What is the best use of “spare” money? | Congratulations! You're making enough money to invest. There are two easy places to start: I recommend against savings accounts because they will quite safely lose your money: the inflation rate is usually higher than the interest rate on a savings account. You may have twice as much money after 50 years, but if everyt... |
Is it ever a good idea to close credit cards? | Yes, it can be a good idea to close unused credit cards. I am going to give some reasons why it can be a good idea to close unused accounts, and then I will talk about why it is NOT necessarily a bad idea. Why it can be a good idea to close unused accounts "I'd like to close the cards." That is reason enough. Simpl... |
Why are American-style options worth more than European-style options? | Think of it this way, if you traveled back through time one month - with perfect knowledge of AAPL's stock price over that period - which happens to peak viciously then return to its old price at the end of the period - wouldn't you pay more for an American option? Another way to think about options is as an insurance ... |
Meaning of capital market | 1) Are the definitions for capital market from the two sources the same? Yes. They are from two different perspectives. Investopedia is looking at it primarily from the perspective of a trader and they lead-off with the secondary market. This refers to the secondary market: A market in which individuals and instituti... |
Personal finance in EFU and NAFA | I want to know why my investment is having loss in 4 to 5 months. As the funds invest in stock markets, the Pakistan stock market is going down in last 4-5 months from all time high. Should I liquidate my investment or wait in hope that it will grow again? This is opinion based and one cannot predict what will happen i... |
Is there a good tool to view a stock portfolio's value as a graph? | Google Finance will do all the bullet points in your list and a few more. The only drawback is that you have to enter ALL buy and sell manually. It has an import feature, but it does not work with all trading software. http://www.google.com/finance Let me know if it works. Also, yahoo.com/finance has a good tool, bu... |
How are mortgage interest rates determined? | One will find that the fixed 30 year mortgage rate is tightly correlated to the 10 year treasury. An adder of 2-2.5% or so, changing slightly with the rest of the economy, as money can get tight or loose independent of the rate itself. In 2011 we are witnessing low rates yet tough loan standards, this is the phenomenon... |
What is the best credit card for someone with no credit history | Capital One's normal master card is known to approve people with limited or bad credit history. If not that look into a secured credit card. You put down a deposit of $200 or more and you get that much in credit, sometimes more. |
Prepaying a loan: Shouldn't the interest be recalculated like a shorter loan? | If you take a loan, you make a contract with your lender, let's call them "bank" (even if it might not be a real bank). This loan contract contains an agreed-upon way of paying back the loan. Both sides agreed upon these conditions. Any change of it (like paying back early) needs the consent of both sides. So, in g... |
Is there any drawback in putting all my 401K into a money market fund? | (After seeing your most recent comment on the original question, it looks like others have answered the question you intended, and described the extreme difficulty of getting the timing right the way you're trying to. Since I've already typed it up, what follows answers what I originally thought your question was, whic... |
Comprehensive tutorial on double-entry personal finance? | The GnuCash tutorial has some basics on double entry accounting: http://www.gnucash.org/docs/v1.8/C/gnucash-guide/basics_accounting1.html#basics_accountingdouble2 |
Personal Banking using accrual method | You would add your daily earnings every day. For example, you work full time job (8 hours a day) at $20/hour. At the end of the 1st day of the month, you'd add $160 to your salary account. You've earned it, even though its still almost a month till you actually get paid. So its accrued. What if you don't get paid? You'... |
How can I compare the risk of different investing opportunities? | First of all, setting some basics: What is a sound way to measure the risk of each investment in order to compare them with each other ? There is no single way that can be used across all asset classes / risks. Generally speaking, you want to perform both a quantitative and qualitative assessment of risks that you iden... |
Should I invest in my house, when it's in my wife's name? | Have you talked with her about this? On the one hand you have a point. Given the prenuptial agreements why should you invest in something that you can never have interest in. However, you also live in the property. You did not go into the arrangements but presumably you should be contributing to the upkeep of the ho... |
What forces cause a company to write down goodwill? | To understand the answer we first have to understand what Goodwill is. Goodwill in a companies balance sheet is an intangible asset that represents the extra value because of a strong brand name, good customer relations, good employee relations and any patents or proprietary technology. An article from The Economist ex... |
Why are interest rates on saving accounts so low in USA and Europe? | The 8% rate offered by Russian banks on US Dollar accounts reflects the financial problems they have. They would prefer to lend US Dollars on the international financial markets at the same rate as US banks, but loans to Russian banks are considered to be more risky. In fact, the estimated "default" risk is ~6%. Your ... |
ISA trading account options for US citizens living in the UK | This sounds like a FATCA issue. I will attempt to explain, but please confirm with your own research, as I am not a FATCA expert. If a foreign institution has made a policy decision not to accept US customers because of the Foreign Financial Institution (FFI) obligations under FATCA, then that will of course exclude y... |
I have an extra 1000€ per month, what should I do with it? | As many before me said but will say again for the sake of completeness of an answer: First off provision to have an emergency fund of 6 months living expenses to cover loss of employment, unforeseen medical issues etc. When that is done you re free to start investing. Do remember that putting all your eggs in one bas... |
How can one get their FICO/credit scores for free? (really free) | I've seen credit cards that provide you your credit score for free, updated once a month and even charted over the last year. Unfortunately the bank I used to have this card with was bought and the purchasing bank discontinued the feature. Perhaps someone out there knows of some cards that still offer a feature like t... |
Relation between inflation rates and interest rates | Possibly but not necessarily, though that can happen if one looks at the US interest rates in the late 1970s which did end with really high rates in the early 1980s. Generally interest rates are raised when inflation picks up as a way to bring down inflation. |
As a total beginner, how do I begin to understand finance & stocks? | Your questions seek answers to specifics, but I feel that you may need more general help. There are two things, I feel, that you need to learn about in the general category of personal finance. Your asking questions about investing, but it is not as important, IMHO, as how you manage your day-to-day operations. For ... |
Relocating for first real job out of college? | If the job looks good, I wouldn't let having to relocate stop you. Some companies will help you with relocation expenses, like paying travel expenses, the movers, the security deposit on an apartment, etc. It doesn't hurt to ask if they "help with moving expenses". If they say no, fine. I wouldn't expect a company to d... |
Can I rely on my home equity to finance large home repairs? | Yes, a HELOC is great for that. I just had my roof done last month (~$15K, "ugh") and pretty much every major contractor in my area had a 0% same-as-cash for at least 12 months. So that helps - any balance that I don't bank by 11/15/2015 will be on the HELOC. |
How do I get into investing in stocks? | The best way I know of is to join an investment club. They club will act like a mutual fund, investing in stocks researched and selected by the group. Taking part in research and presenting results to the group for peer review is an excellent way to learn. You'll learn what is a good reason to invest and what isn't.... |
On paper I have 1 share in my company. How can I sell a smaller percentage of my company to another party? | There are 2 basic ways to have someone buy partial ownership of your company: OR If they buy shares that you already own, then their shares will have the same rights as yours (same voting rights, same dividend rights, etc.). If they buy shares newly created from the company, they could be either identical shares to wha... |
Why would analysts recommend buying companies with negative net income? | The biotechnology sector as a whole is a popular buy recommendation among some analysts these days for a few reasons. Some analysts feel that the high costs in R&D, even without much profit, are a positive sign for growth because it means a company is working towards finding the next "blockbuster drug" or the next cla... |
Do Banks Cause Inflation? What are other possible causes? | Some people believe that inflation is caused by an increase in the money supply when the banks engage in fractional reserve lending. Is this correct? You are referring to the Austrian school of thought. The Austrians define inflation in terms of money supply. In other words, inflation is defined as an increase in the a... |
New or Used Car Advice for Recent College Grad | Never buy a new car if cost is an issue. A big chunk of the price will disappear to depreciation as you drive it off the lot. If you want a shiny new car with the latest equipment (and if you can afford it!), buy a lightly-used car. Normally I would recommend a 1-3 year old car. 95% of the value, with a big cost saving... |
Why would this FHA refinance cause my mortgage insurance payment to increase so much? | The PMI premium you pay is dependent on a very large number of variables in the finance market. Mortgage insurance, at the higher inter-bank levels, is handled with credit default swaps (the ones you've been hearing about on the news for the past 4 years), where the lender bundles a block of mortgages, takes them to a ... |
How do I calculate ownership percentage for shared home ownership? | Accounting for this properly is not a trivial matter, and you would be wise to pay a little extra to talk with a lawyer and/or CPA to ensure the precise wording. How best to structure such an arrangement will depend upon your particular jurisdiction, as this is not a federal matter - you need someone licensed to advise... |
Is threatening to close the account a good way to negotiate with the bank? | To avoid going on and on in the comments I'm going to add this point that seems to be missing from the other answers. "Banks often offer me deals while negotiating to open an account (since they are under high pressure to open an account)" Would these happen to be the regionally advertised account opening deals like ... |
When following a buy and hold investment strategy, on what conditions should one sell? | Buy and hold doesn't have an exact definition, as far as I know. In my opinion, it's offered as a contrast to those who trade too frequently, or panic every time the market drops 2%. For the general market, e.g. your S&P index holdings. You sell to rebalance to your desired asset allocation. As a personal example, at... |
Why an inner suburbs small apartment considered a risky investment | The banks see small apartments as a higher risk because usually very small apartments are harder to sell, especially during a falling market when there is an oversupply of these apartments. The price of small apartments will also fall a lot quicker in a falling market. Regarding yield vs capital growth - the emphasis h... |
Due Diligence - Dilution? | Your best bet is to just look at comparative balance sheets or contact the company itself. Otherwise, you will need access to a service like PrivCo to get data. |
How should I decide whether to buy more shares of a stock when its price drops? | A key principle of economics is: Sunk costs are irrelevant. You bought the stock at 147 and it has now fallen to 144. That's too bad. This has nothing to do with whether it is wise or foolish to buy shares at 144. The only relevant thing to consider is: Do I expect the stock to go up or down from 144? You have lost $3 ... |
Is insurance worth it if you can afford to replace the item? If not, when is it? | Generically, like farnsy noted in the other answer, you will only come ahead in dollar terms when you are significantly riskier than the average insuree. Otherwise the insurance company would have higher rates to make a profit. In the case of Apple Care there can arguably be other factors involved. If you did not insur... |
How feasible would it be to retire just maxing out a Roth IRA? | Assuming you max-out your Roth IRA with $5000 in inflation-adjusted contributions every year from 25-65, your balance at age 65 will depend on the post-inflation return you get in the account. Assuming you withdraw 4% per year after that, here is what your income will be: (All numbers are in inflation-adjusted 2011 do... |
Digital envelope system: a modern take | I definitely get where you're coming from. The envelope system sounds good, but doesn't appeal to most people under 50 for many of these reasons (physical cash in my hand is just a hassle - it has no appeal or reduced spending affect on me). There are various options for prepaid debit cards such as https://www.netspen... |
Should I Use an Investment Professional? | Let me start with something you might dismiss as trite - Correlation does not mean Causation. A money manager charging say, 1%, isn't likely to take on clients below a minimum level. On the other hand, there's a long debate regarding how, on average, managed funds don't beat the averages. I think that you should loo... |
2008-2009 Stock Market Crash — what caused the second drop? | Ultimately no one really knows what causes the markets to rise and fall beyond supply and demand. If more people want to buy then sell, prices go up. And if more people want to sell, prices go down. The news channels will often try to attribute a specific reason to the price move, but that is largely just guess work to... |
Can I cash a cashier's check at any bank? | Cashiers check is as good as cash. I use them all the time as banks don't carry over 2-3k anymore. I can bring the cashiers check anywhere and thus cash it for u without an account. It's basically a piece of paper that says these funds are set aside from the issuers account just for and only for the check. That's why i... |
Why can't the Fed lower interest rates below zero? | Keep in mind that the Federal Reserve Chairman needs to be very careful with his use of words. Here's what he said: It is arguable that interest rates are too high, that they are being constrained by the fact that interest rates can't go below zero. We have an economy where demand falls far short of the capacity of th... |
What happens to people without any retirement savings? | Well, if you worked in the United States you have social security, and medicare and medicaid in most cases as well. So you have a small amount of income to spend every month to cover your most basic living expenses, as well as your basic medical expenses. At least, that's the idea. In reality, it probably isn't anywh... |
is the bankruptcy of exchange markets possible? | @MichaelBorgwardt gave an excellent answer. Let me add a little analogy here that might help. Suppose you bought a car from Joe's Auto Sales. You pay your money, do all the paperwork, and drive your car home. The next day Joe's goes bankrupt. What affect does that have on your ownership rights to your car? The answer i... |
What are some pre-tax programs similar to FSA that I can take advantage of? | There is a dependent care spending account for child care related expenses. Also Medical and Dental expenses over a certain % of your income maybe deductible on your tax return. |
What are my risks of early assignment? | The put vs call assignment risk, is actually the reverse: in-the-money calls are more likely to be exercised early than puts. Exercising a call locks in profit for the option holder because they can buy the shares at below market price, and immediately sell them at the higher market price. If there are dividends due, t... |
Advantages/Disadvantages to refinancing online? | If you've been in your house for a few years (and have built some equity up) and the market is active in your area, online is probably fine. The local banks will be better if it's not obvious to someone in Bangor, ME that your neighborhood in San Diego is worth substantially more than the crappy area 2 miles away. I've... |
Clarification on student expenses - To file the tax for the next year | Assuming here that you're talking about deducting your tuition as a below the line deduction as a business expense or similar, then it depends. Per 1.162-5, if the education: Then it qualifies as a legitimate business expense and is deductible. If not - if you're going to school for a different career, such as someone... |
Should I pay off my car loan within the year? | Generally, banks will report your loan to at least one (if not all three) credit bureaus - although that is not required by law. The interest you're paying, in addition to your insurance isn't justifiable for building credit. I would recommend paying the car off and then perhaps applying for a secure credit card if you... |
What are the economic benefits of owning a home in the United States? | Altough this may vary a lot depending on where you live and your actual finance, here what convinced me buying a home instead of renting : Other benefits : |
Why YTM is higher than current yield in discount bond | Say you buy a bond that currently costs $950, and matures in one year, at $1000 face value. It has one coupon ($50 interest payment) left. The coupon, $50, is 50/950 or 5.26%, but you get the face value, $1000, for an additional $50 return. This is why the yield to maturity is higher than current yield. If the maturity... |
What options do I have at 26 years old, with 1.2 million USD? | When I was in a similar situation (due to my stocks going up), I quit my job and decided that if I live somewhat frugally, I wouldn't have to work again (I haven't). But I fell victim to some scams, didn't invest wisely, and tried to play as a (minor) philantropist. Bad move. I still have enough money to live on, an... |
Is it best to exercise options shares when they vest, or wait | To me it depends on things like your net worth, debt, and how other assets are invested. Currently you have 25K invested in the company you work for. If you have 100K in student loans, are a renter, and 12K in your 401K, then I would recommend exercising almost all of your options. In that case you have a much to ... |
Organizing Expenses/Income/Personal Finance Documents (Paperless Office) | I'm trying to organize my financial papers as well. I have a Fujitsu ScanSnap and it's tearing through my papers like a hot knife through butter (i.e. awesome). Here's how I'm addressing organizing the paper. I'm organizing mine a little bit organically. Here are the main parts: So anyway, all that to say that it's n... |
Pay down on second mortage when underwater? | If you're planning to walk away from the house - don't invest any more money in it. Just be aware of the consequences. It may be worth considering a short sale if both the lenders will agree to erase the debt. If you're going to keep the house, then the fact that you're underwater now is irrelevant, and you should do y... |
Investment for beginners in the United Kingdom | I'm in the US as well, but some basic things are still the same. You need to trade through a broker, but the need for a full service broker is no longer necessary. You may be able to get by with a web based brokerage that charges less fees. If you are nervous, look for a big name, and avoid a fly by night company. Stic... |
Ballpark salary equivalent today of “healthcare benefits” in the US? | As others have said, it depends entirely on what benefits are provided, and how much of the cost of those benefits is paid by the employer and how much is paid by the employee, and compare that to what it would cost to obtain the necessary/equivalent coverage without employer assistance. In my case, my employer pays mo... |
Does it make any sense to directly contribute to reducing the US national debt? | At its heart, I think the best spirit of "donation" is helping others less fortunate than yourself. But as long as the US remains solvent, the chief benefit of paying down the national debt is - like paying off a credit card - lowering the future interest payments the U.S. taxpayer has to make. Since the wealthy pay a ... |
Is it possible for the average person to profit on the stock market? | There's a huge difference between "can an anverage person make a profit on the stock market" and "can an average person get rich off the stock market". It is certainly possible for an average person to profit, but of course you are unlikely to profit as much as the big Wall Street guys. An S&P 500 index fund, for inst... |
Can I fully deduct capital losses against discounted capital gains? | The short answer is no - the CGT discount is only applied against your net capital gain. So your net capital gain would be: $25,000 - $5,000 = $20,000 Your CGT discount is $10,000 You will then pay CGT on $10,000 Of course you could sell ABC in this financial year and sell DEF next financial year. If you had no other ... |
Is real (physical) money traded during online trading? | With Forex trading - physical currency is not involved. You're playing with the live exchange rates, and it is not designed for purchasing/selling physical currency. Most Forex trading is based on leveraging, thus you're not only buying money that you're not going to physically receive - you're also paying with money t... |
Receive money from US Client to Myself in India by selling services | You can receive funds from US Client as an individual. There is no legal requirement for you to have a company. If the transactions are large say more than 20 lacs in a year, its advisable to open a Private Ltd. Although its simple opening & Registering a company [A CA or a Laywer would get one at a nominal price of Rs... |
How can a person protect his savings against a country default? | The default of the country will affect the country obligations and what's tied to it. If you have treasury bonds, for example - they'll get hit. If you have cash currency - it will get hit. If you're invested in the stock market, however, it may plunge, but will recover, and in the long run you won't get hit. If you're... |
Where to find LEAPS option quotes (full chain)? CBOE & Yahoo! Finance not working | I'm familiar with and have traded U.S.-listed LEAPS and I've always used the CBOE quotes page you linked to. So, I too was surprised I couldn't find 3M (MMM) LEAPS quotes at that page, even after checking the "List all options, LEAPS, Credit Options & Weeklys if avail." radio button. Used to work! Fortunately, I was ... |
Is it safe to take a new mortgage loan in Greece? | Please clarify your question. What do you mean by "..loan in Greece"? If you are referring to taking a mortgage loan to purchase residential property in Greece, there are two factors to consider: If the loan originates from a Greek bank, then odds are likely that the bank will be nationalized by the government if Greec... |
In what state should I register my web-based LLC? | Is it really necessary? If $800 / year registration fee is too much to you, an LLC is apparently not something you need right now. Many people conduct web-based business online on personal terms. My suggestion is that you focus on your business first and try to grow it as much as you can before you get down to a compan... |
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