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Definition of gross income (Arizona state tax filing requirements)
Disclaimer: I am not a tax professional. Please don't rely on this answer in lieu of professional advice. If your sole source of Arizona income is your commercial property, use the number on line 17 of your federal form 1040. This number is derived from your federal Schedule E. If you have multiple properties (or other...
Do I need a business credit card?
I finally got one to separate my business and personal expenses. It will make accounting at the end of the year a lot easier.
Weekly budgets based on (a variable) monthly budget
I think the real problem here is dealing with the variable income. The envelope solution suggests the problem is that your brother doesn't have the discipline to avoid spending all his money immediately, but maybe that's not it. Maybe he could regulate his expenses just fine, but with such a variable income, he can't s...
moving family deposits away from Greece (possibly in UK)
I can't comment about your tax liability in Greece. You will have to pay tax on interest in the UK. If you are earning massive amounts of interest, unlikely with the current interest policies from Merv, then you might be bumped up a tier. The receiving bank may ask for proof of the source of the funds, particularly if ...
What are the differences between an investment mortgage and a personal mortgage?
According to my wife who used to work in the industry, since an investment mortgage is more likely to fail (they are just riskier) there are higher loan to value requirements and higher interest rates. They are just different products for different situations.
How to share income after marriage and kids?
You remind me a lot of myself as I was thinking about marriage. Luckily for me, my wife was much smarter about all this than I was. Hopefully, I can pass along some of her wisdom. Both of us feel very strongly about being financially independent and if possible we both don't want to take money from each other. In marri...
Is there lesser or no tax on assets?
Tax Shield would be known as: A tax shield is a reduction in taxable income for an individual or corporation achieved through claiming allowable deductions such as mortgage interest, medical expenses, charitable donations, amortization and depreciation. These deductions reduce a taxpayer's taxable income for a ...
Reconciling transactions reimbursing myself for expenses as self-employed (UK)
For anyone that's curious, I had a number of chats with Quickbooks who recommended I import only the relevant business transactions from my personal account & personal credit card in order to lower the tax liability. This way money "paid" from the business account to myself rightly shows up as a transfer and not as inc...
Which practice to keep finances after getting married: joint, or separate?
I feel there are two types of answer: One: the financial. Suck all the emotion out of the situation, and treat the two individuals as individuals. If that works for the two of you, fantastic. Two: the philosophical. You're married, it's a union, so unify the funds. If that works for you, fantastic. Personally, my partn...
Beginning investment
I am a huge fan of jim Cramer and while you may not get CNBC in Australia you can prolly catch jim cramers podcasts If you have an iPod or iPhone which really will help your financial literacy a bit. Here's my advice . Set up a IRA or tax advantaged accounts if they exist in Australia (sorry I only know usa markets re...
Do Americans really use checks that often?
From a Canadian point of view, I think we are generally very similar to how you describe Austria. The only thing I use cash for, is to pay for my coffee at a local micro-roaster who only accepts cash. Cheques, I only use to pay friends. Everything else is debit or credit card. Very few businesses around here will e...
What causes US Treasury I bond fixed interest to increase?
The Fed is trying to keep the money supply growing at a rate just slightly faster than the increase in the total production in the economy. If this year we produced, say, 3% more goods and services than last year, than they try to make the money supply grow by maybe 4% or 5%. That way there should be a small rate of in...
Advantages/Disadvantages to refinancing online?
For what its worth, I recently closed on a 30 year refinance mortage with an agent I found through Zillow. The lender has a perfect 5/5 reputation score, whose office was located within 5 miles of my house, and as suggested by justkt on MrChrister's response, I checked out the business on the better business bureau an...
Hobby vs. Business
You can list it as other income reported on line 21 of form 1040. In TurboTax, enter at: - Federal Taxes tab (Personal in Home & Business) - Wages & Income -“I’ll choose what I work on” Button Scroll down to: -Less Common Income -Misc Income, 1099-A, 1099-C. -The next screen will give you several choices. Choose "Oth...
Responsible investing - just a marketing trick?
A share is just a part ownership of a company. If you buy a share of a green stock in the open market, you now just own part of a green company. Just like if you buy a house, the money you paid moves to the former owner, but what you are getting is a clear asset in return that you now own. Via mutual funds/indexes thi...
In a competitive market, why is movie theater popcorn expensive?
One explanation is that movie patrons are considering their total willingness to pay for the movie experience so that if the ticket price plus the market price of popcorn is less than their willingness to pay (WTP), the theater has an opportunity to extract more consumer surplus by charging higher than market prices fo...
Why does Yahoo Finance and Google Finance not match historical prices?
I work on a buy-side firm, so I know how these small data issues can drive us crazy. Hope my answer below can help you: Reason for price difference: 1. Vendor and data source Basically, data providers such as Google and Yahoo redistribute EOD data by aggregating data from their vendors. Although the raw data is taken ...
What increases your chance of being audited?
Here is an article that claims to know something about it. Here are a selection of quotes: The IRS says there are several ways a return can be selected for audit and the first is via the agency's computer-scoring system known as Discriminant Information Function, or DIF. The IRS evaluates tax returns based on IRS formu...
How does Robinhood stock broker make money?
Robinhood seems interesting. Some say it's a gimmicky site with a nice UI not an investing or trading platform. From investopedia: 1. For now, the app stays afloat for mainly two reasons. First, the business itself is extremely lean: no physical locations, a small staff, no massive public relations campaigns and only...
Why do most banks in Canada charge monthly fee?
You have to check your contract to be sure what is it you're paying for. Typically, you get some of the following features which can be unavailable to you in banks which don't charge a monthly fee: Arguably, these expenses could be paid by the interest rates your money earn to the bank. Notice how banks which don't cha...
How important is disability insurance, e.g. long-term, LTD? Employer offers none
(My wife works for an insurance broker in the US, so take that grain of salt with my answer) Disability insurance covers your income should you be unable to work. Some disability will be paid before social security (so you get both incomes) and some will be paid after (so your insurance will fill whatever gap SS leave...
Am I legally allowed to offset the tax I pay on freelance work? (UK)
Yes, you can deduct from your taxable profits (almost) any expenses incurred in the course of your business. See here for HMRC's detailed advice on the subject. The fact that you have salaried PAYE employment as well makes no difference.
Are money market instrument and short-term debt same?
The Money Market is a place where one trades Instruments. The market is similar to that of the Stock Market. The instruments traded in Money Markets include Short Term Debt Instruments as well as FX Swap Instruments and Mortgage & Asset Backed Securities. The FX & Mortgage Securities are not Debt instruments per se. Th...
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 ...
How do I determine ownership split on a franchise model?
There is no one solution to every project finance problem. Two models might make sense in this situation, however. In this case, you would count all the money that you give to your friend as a loan which he will pay back with interest. The interest rate and loan amounts will have to be agreed on by both of you. One one...
Got charged ridiculous amount for doctor's walk in visit. What are my options?
You should start by calling the clinic and asking them to tell you how the visit was coded. Some clinics have different billing codes based on the complexity of the visit. If you have one thing you are seeing the doctor about, that could be coded differently than if you have 4 things you are seeing the doctor about. In...
What does “balance sheet banks” mean in this context?
The balance sheet for a bank is the list of assets and liabilities that the bank directly is responsible for. This would be things like loans the bank issues and accounts with the bank. Banks can make both "balance sheet" loans, meaning a loan that says on the balance sheet - one the bank gains the profits from but ho...
How can I diversify investments across currencies in ISA?
You have to check if the investment vehicle you are planning to buy is acceptable for ISA on a case by case. Then if it is allowed by HMRC you have to check that your ISA provider offers those products (the mainstream providers might offer a more limited range of products and you might have to go to change your provide...
When I google a ticker like XLE or something, I see a price which updates frequently (about every second or so), where can I find this for options?
You probably will not find to many places if any that give you live quotes on options because for the general public there is not that high of a demand. Most people do not even know what stock options are. You can get update on some sites like CNBC, but you will have refresh constantly to get the latest option prices....
If I have all this stock just sitting there, how can I lend it out to people for short selling?
One alternative strategy you may want to consider is writing covered calls on the stock you have "just sitting there". This will allow you to earn a return (the premium from the calls) without necessarily having to give up your holding. As a brief overview, "options" are derivatives that give the holder the right (or ...
Debt collector has wrong person and is contacting my employer
Step one: Contact the collection agency. Tell them that they have the wrong person, and the same name is just a coincidence. I would NOT give them my correct social security number, birth date, or other identifying information. This could be a total scam for the purpose of getting you to give them such personal identif...
Can one use Google Finance to backtest (i.e. simulate trades in the past)?
If you use Google Finance, you will get incorrect results because Google Finance does not show the dividend history. Since your requirement is that dividends are re-invested, you should use Yahoo Finance instead, downloading the historical 'adjusted' price.
Sale of jointly owned stock
It depends on when she became the shareholder of record. When your wife received the stock, was ownership clearly transferred to her? If it was, then she should have the right to sell it if she wants. The gross amount of the sale will be reported to the IRS, and then it will be up to you (and/or your tax advisers) to...
Transfering funds from India to the US
Can I transfer funds from India to USA which I have borrowed in India. Funds borrowed in India may not be transferred outside of India as per Foreign Exchange Management Act. Loans in rupees to non-residents against security of shares or immovable property in India:- Subject to the directions issued by the Reserv...
Should I pay more than 20% down on a home?
One big factor that no one has mentioned yet is whether you believe in a deflationary or inflationary future. Right now, we are leaning towards a deflationary environment so it makes sense to pay off more of the debt. (If you make just one extra payment a year, you will have paid off your house 7 years early). However,...
Beginner dividend investor - first steps
This has been answered countless times before: One example you may want to look at is DGRO. It is an iShares ETF that many discount brokers trade for free. This ETF: offers "exposure to U.S. stocks focused on dividend growth".
Do you know of any online monetary systems?
I'm the equivalent of the FED at ROBLOX. I run a virtual economy there worth millions of dollars. Even though we are in the business of printing our own money, we've seen much more stability in our currency than in the USD. It actually appreciates over time. I don't think it would make a good investment though, nor wou...
Advice on replacing my savings account
Liquid cash (emergency, rainy day fund) should be safe from a loss in value. Mutual funds don't give you this, especially stock funds. You can find "high yield" savings accounts that are now at around .8% to .9% APY which is much better than .05% and will hopefully go up. Barclays US and American Express are two big...
What is a trust? What are the different types of trusts?
From a more technical point of view, a trust is a legal relationship between 3 parties: Trusts can take many forms. People setup trusts to ensure that property is used in a specific way. Owning a home with a spouse is a form of a trust. A pension plan is a trust. Protecting land from development often involves placing ...
How do day-traders or frequent traders handle their taxes?
There are two ways to handle this. The first is that the better brokers, such as Charles Schwab, will produce summaries of your gains and losses (using historical cost information), as well as your trades, on a monthly and annual basis. These summaries are "ready made" for the IRS. More brokers will provide these summa...
Is this reply promising a money order and cashier check a scam?
I was a involved in this same scam from my Craigslist item. The buyer texted me & said his assistant put the wrong check in my envelope & please let him know when I got it,cash the cashiers check, keep my part for money of my item & send him back the difference. Well, the check came to me for $1,350.00 for a $100 item...
Switch from DINK to SIWK: How do people afford kids?
I see three areas of concern for your budget: This is way high. I am not sure how much of a house you live in, but the total of these two numbers should be around 25% not 41%. I am a person that considers giving an important part of wealth building, and gives to my local church. But as one other person has rightly sa...
Why can't you just have someone invest for you and split the profits (and losses) with him?
because the market price for good investment advice isn't that low. investment advice is subject to market pricing just like any other good or service. if you are good enough at investing that you seek increased volatility opportunities, you will have no trouble finding investors willing to give you a share of the ups...
Why are stocks having less institutional investors a “good thing”?
Let’s turn this round. Now what if the only people willing to own part of company are doing it due to the expectation that they will make money in the short term form the company….
What is a good investment vehicle for introducing kids to investing?
For "real" investing I would usually recommend mutual funds. But if you are trying to teach a kid about investing, I would recommend they choose individual stocks. That will give them a great opportunity to follow the companies they bought in the news. It also gives you an opportunity to sit down with them periodic...
One of my stocks dropped 40% in 2 days, how should I mentally approach this?
There are 2 approaches. One of them is already mentioned by @Afforess. If the approach by @Afforess is not feasible, and you can not see yourself making an unbiased decision, close the position. By closing the position you will not get the best price. But by removing a distraction you will reduce amount of mistakes yo...
For very high-net worth individuals, does it make sense to not have insurance?
It depends. "High net worth individuals" is very subjective. Lets say a person is worth 1.5 million. High, but not super high. For one, they should have an umbrella policy. Until your net worth is above 300K, you really don't need an umbrella policy. They should insure their home and cars, but should probably ha...
Do I need to file taxes when selling on eBay or Amazon?
In simple terms, it is a business operation when it becomes a profit-making enterprise. It is a grey area, but there is a difference between selling occasional personal items on eBay and selling for profit. I would imagine the sort of considerations HM Revenue & Customs would take into account are the size of you...
If I have AD&D through my employer, should I STILL purchase term life insurance?
I think that mbhunter hit the nail on the head regarding your question. I just want to add that having a policy that isn't sponsored by your employer is a good idea... employer policies are regulated by the federal government via ERISA. Independent policies are state regulated, and usually have better protections. Also...
Why do card processing companies discourage “cash advance” activities
Square does not care if you run a $10 transaction to test the system. They are concerned with its use to move meaningful amounts of money. The only people who do this will be the Dunning-Kruger gang, who only think they are clever. Because of course Square will hunt them down, sue, garnish and/or prosecute them! B...
I have more than $250,000 in a US Bank account… mistake?
First, what's the reason? Why do you have that much in cash at all - are you concerned about market volatility, are you planning to buy a house, do you have tens of millions of dollars and this is your slush fund? Are you a house flipper and this is part of business for you? If you need the money for short term use - ...
How smart is it to really be 100% debt free?
Around 3 months back, I paid back my last loan from my father which he gave for the car. Now I am totally debt free from 2 months. I have paid back following loans, 1. Education loan. 2. Car loan. I don't have my own property yet. I have a 3 months emergency fund saved which helps me overcome if there is a sudden expen...
Home owners association for houses, pro/cons
I think it depends a lot on your idea of how you should relate to your neighbors. Personally, I think that I should be allowed to do just about whatever I want with my property, and I grant my neighbor the same right. If my neighbor wants to paint his house purple with orange stripes and fill his front lawn with pink f...
On what time scales are stock support and resistance levels meaningful?
Support and resistance only works as a self-fulfilling prophecy. If everyone trading that stock agrees there's a resistance at so-and-so level, and it is on such-and-such scale, then they will trade accordingly and there will really be a support or resistance. So while you can identify them at any time scale (although ...
Freelance trading of products in India
For most goods there is no license required, unless you are trading in restricted goods. Remittance need to be routed via banks and they should comply with FMEA. Your Bank or a qualified CA can guide you.
Ghana scam and direct deposit scam?
The reason this sort of question gets asked over and over again is because it's initially difficult to comprehend how you can possibly be scammed if you have no money in your bank account. Perhaps this would make it easier to understand: Someone approaches you in the parking lot of a mall and says, Excuse me, complete ...
I have a 2008 HHR under finance it needs a new engine
I know, this isn't a direct answer to your question about unloading a used car-- I've always donated it to charity and written off the price it got at auction on my taxes -- but I think the following might be useful to anyone facing a big repair bill: You know your car's condition. (If in doubt, pay your mechanic to ev...
What should I invest in to hedge against a serious crash or calamity?
Different risks require different hedges. You won't find a single hedge that will protect you against any risk. The best way to think about this is who would benefit if those events occurred? Those are the people you want to invest in. So if a war broke out, who would benefit? Defense contractors. Security compan...
What are the reasons to get more than one credit card?
I keep one card just for monthly bills (power company,car loan, etc.). This one is unlikely to get hacked so I won't have to go change the credit card information on my monthly bills. I pay the credit card from my bank account. I just don't want a lot of businesses with direct access to my bank account.
I'm 23 and was given $50k. What should I do?
If your employer is matching 50 cents on the dollar then your 401(k) is a better place to put your money than paying off credit cards This. Assuming you can also get the credit cards paid off reasonably soon too (say, by next year). Otherwise, you have to look at how long before you can withdraw that money, to see if...
What are my risks of early assignment?
One reason this happens is due to dividends. If the dividend amount is greater than the time value left on a call, it can make sense to exercise early to collect the dividend. Deep in the money puts also may get exercised early. There's usually little premium on a deep in the money put and the spread on the bid-ask mi...
How do 401k handle rate of return
A 401(k) is an investment just like any other investment. You generally get two types of return lumped into that number, but there can be more and you should read your funds prospectus carefully. If you aren't investing in direct companies, you're using mutual funds for instance, then you should read the funds prospect...
When to start investing in an index fund? Wait for a bear market, use dollar cost-averaging, or another approach?
First: what's your risk tolerance? How long is your investment going to last? If it's a short-term investment (a few years) and you expect to break even (or better) then your risk tolerance is low. You should not invest much money in stocks, even index funds and "defensive" stocks. If, however, you're looking for a lon...
US: Basics of taxation of stocks
E.g. I buy 1 stock unit for $100.00 and sell it later for $150.00 => income taxes arise. Correct. You pay tax on your gains, i.e.: the different between net proceeds and gross costs (proceeds sans fees, acquisition costs including fees). I buy 1 stock unit for $150.00 and sell it later for $100.00 => no income taxes he...
In US, is it a good idea to hire a tax consultant for doing taxes?
Whether you do decide to go with a tax advisor or not, be sure to do some research on your own. When we moved to the US about 5 years ago, I did find the taxes here pretty complicated and confusing. I went ahead and read up all different tax documents and did some calculations of my own before hiring a CPA (at that po...
Direct access to the currency exchange market
Is my observation that the currency exchange market is indirect correct? Is there a particular reason for this? Why isn't currency traded like stocks? I guess yes. In Stocks its pretty simple where the stock is held with a depository. Hence listing matching is simple and the exchange of money is via local clearing. Cur...
Taxation from variations in currency
According to the answers to this question, you generally aren't taxed on gains until you sell the asset in question. None of those answered specifically for the U.K., so perhaps someone else will be able to weigh in on that. To apply those ideas to your question, yes your gains and losses are taxable. If you originally...
Do I need to own all the funds my target-date funds owns to mimic it?
If you read Joel Greenblatt's The Little Book That Beats the Market, he says: Owning two stocks eliminates 46% of the non market risk of owning just one stock. This risk is reduced by 72% with 4 stocks, by 81% with 8 stocks, by 93% with 16 stocks, by 96% with 32 stocks, and by 99% with 500 stocks. Conclusion: After...
Is having a 'startup fund' a good idea?
I am asking because startups are super risky and 99% of the times you fail and lose the money. First of all, that 99% number is exaggerated. Only 96% of companies fail within ten years. But starting your own business is not a pure game of chance. It mostly depends on how good your business idea is and if you have the n...
If I have $1000 to invest in penny stocks online, should I diversify risk and invest in many of them or should I invest in just in one?
These stocks have no value to them, are just waiting for paper work to liquefy and vanish. The other gamblers are bots waiting for some sucker to buy so they can sell right away. So maybe a fresh new penny stock that hasn't been botted yet gives some higher chance of success, but you probably need to be a bot to sell i...
If I believe a stock is going to fall, what options do I have to invest on this?
Aganju has mentioned put options, which are one good possibility. I would suggest considering an even easier strategy: short selling. Technically you are borrowing the stock from someone and selling it. At some point you repurchase the stock to return to the lender ("covering your short"). If the stock price has fal...
Would it make sense to take a loan from a relative to pay off student loans?
My biggest concern with this plan is that there's no going back should you decide that it is not going to work, either due to the strain on the relationship or for some other reason. If you were borrowing from a relative in place of a mortgage or a car loan, you can always refinance, and might just pay a little more ...
Is there any truth to the saying '99% of the world's millionaires have become rich by doing real estate'?
Most millionaires became millionaires by being very frugal and living well below their means, all the time.
How common are stock/scrip dividends (as opposed to cash dividends) in US equity markets?
Check out the NASDAQ and NYSE websites(the exchange in which the stock is listed) for detailed information. Most of the websites which collate dividend payments generally have cash payments history only e.g. Dividata. And because a company has given stock dividends in the past doesn't guarantee such in the future, I be...
Long(100%)-Short(-100%) investment explanation
If you mean the percentages of long/short positions within a mutual fund or ETF, then it's a percentage of the total value of the fund portfolio. In that case, positions of 50% in X, -50% in Y are not the same as 100% in X, -100% in Y. If the long and short positions are both for the same asset, then, as D Stanley ment...
How do I screen for stocks that are near to their 52 weeks low
There is a great 3rd party application out there that I use (I am a broker) along with my internal analysts and other 3rd party sources. VectorVest has a LOT of technical information, but is very easy to use. It will run any kind of screen you like, including low 52 week numbers. (No, I don't get anything for recomm...
What exactly can a financial advisor do for me, and is it worth the money?
Technically, anyone who advises how you should spend or proportion your money is a financial adviser. A person that does it for money is a Financial Advisor (difference in spelling). Financial Advisors are people that basically build, manage, or advise on your portfolio. They have a little more institutional knowledg...
How can I remove the movement of the stock market as a whole from the movement in price of an individual share?
I use StockCharts for spread charting. To take your question as an example, here is the chart of Apple against Nasdaq.
What does market cap (or market capitalization) mean?
Market cap is basically the amount of money that it would cost to buy all of the shares of public stock in a company. Or share cost * number of outstanding shares. It is a measure of how much a company is worth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_capitalization
Good book-keeping software?
You can try Wave Accounting. Its a free software for Small Business and web-based. http://waveaccounting.com/
I'm thinking of getting a new car … why shouldn't I LEASE one?
If you are looking to build wealth, leasing is a bad idea. But so is buying a new car. All cars lose value once you buy them. New cars lose anywhere between 30-60% of their value in the first 4 years of ownership. Buying a good quality, used car is the way to go if you are looking to build wealth. And keeping the c...
Non Resident Alien Spouse Treated As Resident - Self Employment Income
First, the SSN isn't an issue. She will need to apply for an ITIN together with tax filing, in order to file taxes as Married Filing Jointly anyway. I think you (or both of you in the joint case) probably qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, if you've been outside the US for almost the whole year, in which ...
“Infinite Banking” or “Be Your Own Bank” via Whole Life Insurance…where to start?
There are a lot of false claims around the internet about this concept - the fact of the matter is you are giving yourself the ability to have money in a tax favored environment with consistent, steady growth as well as the ability to access it whenever you want. Compare this to a 401k plan for example....money is com...
Can my employer limit my maximum 401k contribution amount (below the IRS limit)?
Highly Compensated Employee Rules Aim to Make 401k's Fair would be the piece that I suspect you are missing here. I remember hearing of this rule when I worked in the US and can understand why it exists. A key quote from the article: You wouldn't think the prospect of getting money from an employer would be nerve-w...
Value investing
One aspect of this - no matter which valuation method you choose - is that there are limited shares available to buy. Other people already know those valuation methods and have decided to buy those shares, paying higher than the previous person to notice this and take a risk. So this means that even after you have calc...
My wife and I are selling a house worth $230k-$260k. Its a rental. Should we use an agent, limited service listing agent, or FSBO?
The answers you'll receive are going to be largely subjective. I can't tell you which option would be best for you, but there are plenty of things to consider. Do you know how to sell a home? If your market is hot enough, FSBO may make sense as you won't need the marketing power and expertise of an agent. In very hot ...
Separate bank account for security deposit from tenant
In Massachusetts, we have a similar law. Each tenant fills out a W9 and the account is in their name. You need to find a bank willing to do this at no cost, else fees can be problematic. With today's rates, any fee at all will exceed interest earned.
S-Corp partnership startup. How to pay owners with minimal profit?
We don't make enough to really consider it a salary, but I've heard using a draw without a salary is a bad idea. As any other illegal action, not paying yourself a reasonable salary when being a corporate officer is indeed a bad idea. I have no idea what I need to do to actually get some money in our pockets. The ...
Are cashiers required to check a credit card for a signature in the U.S.?
Working retail myself, I do not accept an unsigned card without verification. If I received one I would ask for ID and verify the photo with the Name. I would also let the buyer know it was unsigned and remind them that anyone finding it can sign it and use the card without issue. Putting on the back of the card "SEE ...
How does Yahoo finance adjust stock data for splits and dividends?
Should be noted that pacoverflow's answer is wrong. Yahoo back-adjusts all the previous (not current or future) values based on a cumulative adjustment factor. So if there's a dividend ex-date on December 19, Yahoo adjusts all the PREVIOUS (December 18 and prior) prices with a factor which is: 1 - dividend / Dec18Close
Why pay estimated taxes?
Same argument and answer for investing instead of paying off debt, or borrowing to invest. Risk. What happens if the stocks drop by 10%? Sure, you might come out ahead on average, but a drop in the market could be catastrophic from a cash flow point of view. In addition, federal tax debt is arguably the worst kind. Th...
Canada: New mortgage qualification rules, 2010: Why, what, & when in effect?
The new mortgage qualification rules were introduced to cool a hot Canadian housing real estate market. The rules are a pre-emptive measure intended to avoid a bubble (and later crash) in real estate. The government wants to make sure anybody buying a house can handle higher interest rates. Those rates, currently at re...
person on loan with cosigner
This will probably require asking the SO to sign a quitclaim and/or to "sell" him her share of the vehicle's ownership and getting it re-titled in his own name alone, which is the question you actually asked. To cancel the cosigner arrangement, he has to pay off the loan. If he can't or doesn't want to do that in cash,...
Why should a company go public?
You go public to raise money, to invest in the business and/or pay off the existing shareholders. It's really as simple as that. The advantage of being public is that your shares can easily be bought and sold, and so you can issue and sell new ones and your existing shareholders can sell out if they want to. The disadv...
How to account for Capital Gains (Losses) in double-entry accounting?
First, the balance sheet is where assets, liabilities, & equity live. Balance Sheet Identity: Assets = Liabilities (+ Equity) The income statement is where income and expenses live. General Income Statement Identity: Income = Revenue - Expenses If you want to model yourself correctly (like a business), change your "inc...
Understanding the phrase “afford to lose” better
Well.... If you have alllll your money invested, and then there's a financial crisis, and there's a personal crisis at the same time (e.g. you lose your job) then you're in big trouble. You might not have enough money to cover your bills while you find a new job. You could lose your house, ruin your credit, or somethin...
Bait-and-switch on new car lease
I strongly discourage leasing (or loans, but at least you own the car at the end of it) in any situation. it's just a bad deal, but that doesn't answer your question. Most new cars are "loss leaders" for dealerships. It's too easy to know what their costs are these days, so they make most of their money though financ...
When investing, is the risk/reward tradeoff linear?
Ditto Bill and I upvoted his answer. But let me add a bit. If everyone knew exactly what the risk was for every investment, then prices would be bid up or down until every stock (or bond or derivative or whatever) was valued at exactly risk times potential profit. (Or more precisely, integral of risk times potential pr...
What is meant by a market that is technically strong
A technically strong stock or market is simply a stock or market which is up-trending and has been up-trending for a while. Just as a fundamentally strong stock is one with good fundamentals (a stock that is healthy and making higher profits year after year and continually improving), a technically strong stock has a h...
Why charge gross receipts taxes to the customer?
the state of New Mexico provides guidance in this exact situation. On page 4: Gross receipts DOES NOT include: Example: When the seller passes tax to the buyer, the seller should separate, or “back out”, that tax from the total income to arrive at "Gross Receipts," the amount reported in Column D of the CRS-1 Form....