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Gigantic point amount on rewards card - what are potential consequences? | Most likely scenario (A): You spend tons of time and effort talking to them, with the end result that they take away the extra points. You feel screwed having to do their job for them - they've given you no benefit for looking out for them, and you're left with the points you've earned but maybe less desire to go back... |
Why can we cancel cheques, but not Western Union transfers? | When you send money with Western Union, it is essentially a cash transaction. You supply Western Union with the name of the recipient and a location. Your recipient then shows up at a Western Union office, shows some identification, and receives cash. At this point, the transaction is over. It is impossible to retr... |
Can LLC legally lend money to a friend? | The answer to your question is...it depends. Depending on the state you, your friend, and the LLC are located in, it can be very easy to run afoul of state banking laws, or to somehow violate some other statute pertaining to the legal activities an LLC may undertake by doing something like a loan. It is not unusual (o... |
What tax-free retirement accounts are available for self-employed individuals? | You can open a self-employed 401k, here's an example. You can deposit up to 50K (including the personal cap and the profit sharing/matching portion). |
Buying my first car out of college | I support the strategy to buy a less expensive car at the outset and then save for that more expensive car. You mentioned that you would be able to save $9000 by the time you had to start making payments. That sounds like a great budget for car shopping. For $9k you can get a dependable used car. If you find the right... |
Do people tend to spend less when using cash than credit cards? | One study found that, while people using gift certificates bought no more items than those who used cash, they tended to spend more per item. In "Study 3" the paper "Monopoly money: The effect of payment coupling and form on spending behavior", sets up a case where shoppers are given $50 in cash and $50 in gift certifi... |
What does it mean to a life insurance policy holder to convert from a stock to mutual insurance company? | A stock insurance company is structured like a “normal” company. It has shareholders (that are the company's investors), who elect a board of directors, who select the senior executive(s), who manage the people who run the actual company. The directors (and thus the executives and employees) have a legal responsibility... |
If one owns 75% of company shares, does that mean that he would have to take upon himself 75% of the company's expenses? | From your question, it seems your problem is that you have a company that wants to make a deal, but does not currently have enough money to go through with it. Therefore it needs to raise capital. Assuming that you cannot get a loan from a bank and you do not want to seek funding from other sources, the two owners must... |
How is it possible that a preauth sticks to a credit card for 30 days, even though the goods have already been delivered? | Open a dispute for the preauth. It is effectively a double charge, since you have already paid for the item. You can provide evidence of the other transaction. This forces them to go through some hassle and waste some time on the issue. |
After Market Price change, how can I get it at that price? | The price of the last trade... Is the price of the last trade. It indicates what one particular buyer and seller agreed upon. There is absolutely no requirement that one of them didn't offer too much or demand too little, so this is nearly meaningless as an indication of what anyone else will be willing to offer or dem... |
Why would a long-term investor ever chose a Mutual Fund over an ETF? | First, it's not always the case that ETFs have lower expenses than the equivalent mutual funds. For example, in the Vanguard family of funds the expense ratio for the ETF version is the same as it is for the Admiral share class in the mutual fund version. With that in mind, the main advantages of a mutual fund over a... |
Gap in domestic Health Insurance coverage, expect higher premiums? | I bought Health Insurance for myself after a period without it, and my premiums were not terrible. I was a 27 year old man, living in California, no preexisting conditions, and I paid approximately 90$ a month. This was for a standard Health Insurance plan. However, when I moved back to NY a little while later, insura... |
How will a 1099 work with an existing W-2? | You can have multiple W2 forms on the same tax return. If you are using software, it will have the ability for you to enter additional W2 forms. If you are doing it by paper, just follow the instructions and combine the numbers at the correct place and attach both. Similarly you can also have a 1099 with and without a... |
What are some signs that the stock market might crash? | There are some economic signs as there are in all economic and business cycles, such as interest rates rising. However, a more effective way is to actually look at price action itself. The definition of an uptrend is higher highs followed by higher lows. The definition of a downtrend is lower lows followed by lower hig... |
If the former owner of my home is still using the address, can it harm me? | Give it to your mailman to return to sender. For this kind of material, return service is always requested, and it will let the bank know that they have incorrect address information. If the owner needs the cards, he'll contact the bank, or the bank will contact him to verify the address. Either way, as long as its not... |
Nanny taxes and payroll service | Whether to employ a payroll service to handle the taxes (and possibly the payroll itself) is a matter that depends on how savvy you are with respect to your own taxes and with using computers in general. If you are comfortable using programs such as Excel, or Quicken, or TurboTax, or TaxAct etc, then taking care of pay... |
When the market crashes, should I sell bonds and buy equities for the inevitable recovery? | The problem with the proposed plan is the word "inevitable". There is no such thing as a recovery that is guaranteed (though we may wish it to be so), and even if there was there is no telling how long it will take for a recovery to occur to a sufficient degree. There are also no foolproof ways to determine when you ha... |
Am I considered in debt if I pay a mortgage? | Mortgage is a (secured) debt, a combination of a promissory note, and a security interest providing the mortage holder a secured interest in the property. Yes, you are "in debt". But that depends upon whether you define the term "in debt" as a debt appearing on the balance sheet, or the net of assets - liabilities is l... |
Options on the E-mini S&P 500 Futures at the CME: when were EW3, the weekly Monday options and the weekly Wednesday options introduced? | The traditional E-mini S&P500 options (introduced on 09/09/97) already expire on the 3rd Friday, so there's no need for another "weekly" option that expires at the same time. |
Debt collector has wrong person and is contacting my employer | Don't waste your time threatening legal action or screwing around with certified mail. If they're contacting your employer to garnish your wages they probably already have a summary judgment against you for failing to appear at a court date you didn't know about. Your employer might have had your back but these guys w... |
Should I finance a new home theater at 0% even though I have the cash for it? | I bought a Thinkpad in Dec 2007 using BillMeLater, which was working with IBM/Lenovo at that time. I was getting the notebook at the lowest price available, from the manufacturer. I had the money to pay for it -- around $1400. But I went ahead and took the offer from BillMeLater. It was essentially a 12-month zero-... |
For net worth, should I value physical property at my cost to replace it, or the amount I could get for selling it? | There is no objective "should". You need to be clear why you're tracking these numbers, and the right answer will come out of that. I think the main reason an individual would add up their assets and net worth is to get a sense of whether they are "making progress" or whether they are saving enough money, or perhaps w... |
Are there Cashflow Positive Investment Properties in the USA? | I'm an Aussie and I purchased 5 of these properties from 2008 to 2010. I was looking for positive cash flow on properties for not too much upfront investment. The USA property market made sense because of the high Aussie $$ at the time, the depressed property market in the US and the expensive market here. I used an i... |
How do I cash in physical stock certificates? (GM 1989) | I'm afraid you're not going to get any good news here. The US government infused billions of dollars in capital as part of the bankruptcy deal. The old shares have all been cancelled and the only value they might have to you are as losses to offset other gains. I would definitely contact a tax professional to look at y... |
Is Weiss Research, Inc. a legitimate financial research company? | It is a scam organization praying on fear of the simple minded. The facts Edelson presents are not accurate - http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2006/ia-2525.pdf |
Is there any reason not to put a 35% down payment on a car? | Do you guys think it's a good idea to put that much down on the car ? In my opinion, it depends on a lot of factors. If you have nothing to pay, and are not planning to invest in something that cost a lot soon (I.E an house, etc). Then I see no problem in put "that much down on the car". Remember that the more you pay... |
Why buy insurance? | It's not a betting game, insurance policy is not akin to a casino bet. While the odds are probably low, the damage of an event may be devastating. Insurance allows mitigating that potential devastating damage, if it occurs. |
Why does it look like my 401k loan default was not paid by my 401k account balance? | There are multiple reasons why this may have happened: 1.) I couldn't tell in your question whether or not you had already paid off the loan before requesting the rollover. But if the loan was defaulted - then the $9k left in your account is not distributable, but is there to pay back the remaining balance on your loan... |
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: |
What should I do with the stock from my Employee Stock Purchase Plan? | Since you work there, you may have some home bias. You should treat that as any other stock. I sell my ESPP stocks periodically to reduce the over allocation of my portfolio while I keep my ESOP for longer periods. |
Why is auto insurance ridiculously overpriced for those who drive few miles? | Many services charge prices that do not scale linearly with usage. This is because the service provider has fixed costs that they must recoup by charging a rate with a fixed component. A 5-mile taxi ride is unlikely to cost half what a 10-mile taxi ride costs. Even a half sandwich at a sandwich place usually costs m... |
Are parking spaces and garage boxes a good investment? | 15 years ago I bought a beach condo in Miami for $400,000 and two extra parking spaces for $3000 each. Today the condo is worth 600,000 but the rent barely covers mortgage repairs and property taxes. Most of The old people in the building have since died and are now replaced with families with at least two cars and spo... |
Why would a bank need to accept deposits from private clients if it can just borrow from the Federal Reserve? | Borrowing money from the Federal Reserve (or other central banks) requires full collateral, generally in terms of treasury bonds. In that sense it is only a source of liquidity - getting short term money by pledging guaranteed future cash flows, not random commercial loans. To get a dollar from FR today requires freezi... |
How can I buy shares of oil? I'm told it's done through ETFs. How's that related to oil prices per barrel? | The papers you would need to buy are called 'futures', and they give you the right to buy (or sell) a certain amount of oil at a certain location (some large harbor typically), for a certain price, on a certain day. You can typically sell these futures anytime (if you find someone that buys them), and depending on the ... |
What does a stock's quoted value represent? | The quote price is simply the last price at which a trade completed. |
Does a budget comprise expenses, and/or revenue? | Budget means both expenses and revenue. In quite a few cases, say personal finance, typically one refers to budget more from expenses point of view as the revenue is typically fixed/known [mostly salary]. The Operating budget and capital budget are laid out separately as Operating budget gives out day to day expenses... |
Is Weiss Research, Inc. a legitimate financial research company? | This company was a reputable rating agency for many years. See Weiss Research website, ratings section for a very different perspective on Martin Weiss's work than the websites with which he is now associated. I checked both links provided, and agree with the questioner in every way: These appear to be highly questiona... |
California tells me I didn't file documents for an LLC that isn't mine. What do I do? | Did it show just your address, or was your name on it as well? You didn't share how long you've lived at the address either, so it makes me wonder whether a former tenant is the one who filed that paperwork. It's also possible that someone used your address when making a filing. Whether that was deliberate or accid... |
How to start buying shares with small amount of money? | Before anything else, read up on the basics of economics. After that, there a few things you need to ask yourself before you even think about investing in anything: If you have an answer to those questions: Once you answered those questions I could make a simple first suggestion: Confident in handling it yourself and l... |
Can written options be exercised against you prior to expiry when they become “in-the-money”? | Yes, if it's an American style option. American style options may be exercised at any time prior to expiration (even if they're not in-the-money). Generally, you are required to deliver or accept delivery of the underlying by the beginning of the next trading day. If you are short, you may be chosen by the clearinghous... |
Do credit checks affect credit scores? | I've seen my score dip a little bit after every hard pull. (Admittedly, a fako score.) You apply for credit or for a credit increase and your score is going to dip. Any check that is not intended to grant credit (either an existing creditor rechecking, or when you check your own credit) has no effect on your score. ... |
Dollar-cost averaging: How often should one use it? What criteria to use when choosing stocks to apply it to? | Dollar cost averaging is a great strategy to use for investment vehicles where you can't invest it in a lump sum. A 401K is perfect for this. You take a specific amount out of each paycheck and invest it either in a single fund, or multiple funds, or some programs let you invest it in a brokerage account so you can in... |
As a 22-year-old, how risky should I be with my 401(k) investments? | At 22 years old, you can afford to be invested 100% in the stock market. Like many others, I recommend that you consider low cost index funds if those are available in your 401(k) plan. Since your 401(k) contributions are usually made with each paycheck this gives you the added benefit of dollar cost averaging througho... |
Is it beneficial to my credit score if I close my youngest credit lines while preserving my current credit utilization rate? | Credit Score is rather misleading, each provider of credit uses their own system to decide if they wish to lend to you. They will also not tell you how the combine all the factoring together. Closing unused account is good, as it reduced the risk of identity theft and you have less paperwork to deal with. It looks go... |
Who can truly afford luxury cars? | Keep in mind your household income is in the top 20%, which does not translate to wealth. Given a healthy income, and no debt, other then a small house payment, you probably have a decent amount of free cash flow. This could easily be used to buy a car on time… which a lot of people do. Congratulations on being diffe... |
What would a stock be worth if dividends did not exist? [duplicate] | This is how capital shares in split capital investment trusts work they never get any dividend they just get the capital when the company is wound up |
How much more than my mortgage should I charge for rent? | In order to arrive at a decision you need the numbers: I suggest a spreadsheet. List the monthly and annual costs (see other responses). Then determine what the market rate for rental. Once you have the numbers it will be clear from a numbers standpoint. One has consider the hassle of owning property from a distanc... |
I'm thinking of getting a new car … why shouldn't I LEASE one? | I never understood why people lease rather than buy or finance. I'm financing a new civic 09 @ 0.9%. At the end of the 5 year terms I will have paid less than $800 in interest. |
Best buying price on stock marketing based on market depth detail (CSE atrad tool) | When I first started working in finance I was given a rule of thumb to decide which price you will get in the market: "You will always get the worst price for your deal, so when buying you get the higher ask price and when selling you get the lower bid price." I like to think of it in terms of the market as a participa... |
Are companies like EquityZen legitimate and useful? | Full disclosure: I’m an intern for EquityZen, so I’m familiar with this space but can speak with the most accuracy about EquityZen. Observations about other players in the space are my own. The employee liquidity landscape is evolving. EquityZen and Equidate help shareholders (employees, ex-employees, etc.) in private ... |
Is CLM a stock or an ETF? | CLM is a Closed End Fund. It is a collection of other securities that trades as if it were stock issued by a single company. NASDAQ cares about how it trades, so that would be why they list it as you say they do. Here is a list of their top 25 holdings: http://portfolios.morningstar.com/fund/holdings?t=CLM®ion=usa&... |
Should I buy my house from my landlord? | Can he legally break your lease if he sells the place? If not I would just keep renting. It doesn't sound like you love the house and you plan on moving or would prefer a different type of place long term. Unless you yourself plan on getting involved in being a renting it out to others in the future - just rent and mo... |
US Bank placing a hold on funds from my paycheck deposit: Why does that make sense? | First, congratulations on the paycheck! :-) On the holds: Is it possible that by allowing your account balance to go negative (into overdraft) that you triggered such treatment of your account? Perhaps the bank is being more cautious with your account since that happened. Just how long did you have their $150 on hol... |
How to plan in a budget for those less frequent but mid-range expensive buys? | You would simply plan for misc. expenses in your budget, and allocate a small amount to this every time you do your budget, eventually building up a pool of money that you can then use whenever you have to make a purchase such as that. |
Where I can find the exact time when a certain company's stock will be available in the secondary market? | Very often, the word secondary market is used synonymously with the stock market as we all know it. In this case, the primary market would be the "closed" world of VCs, business angels, etc to which stock market investors do not have access, e.g. the securities are not trading on a public stock market. |
How fast does the available amount of gold in the world increase due to mining? | If that fraction is really small, then the amount of gold can be thought of as relatively constant. That fraction is very small. After all, people have been mining gold for thousands of years. So the cumulative results of gold mining have been building up the supply for quite some time. Meanwhile, owners of gold rarely... |
Should I participate in a 401k if there is no company match? | With a match, the 401(k) becomes the priority, up to that match, often ahead of other high interest debt. Without the match, the analysis is more about the cost within the 401(k). The 401(k) is a tax deferred account (let's not go on a tangent to Roth 401(k)) so ideally, you'd be skimming off money at 25% and saving i... |
Is there any way to know how much new money the US is printing? | The Federal Reserve is not the only way that money can be "printed." Every bank does fractional reserve banking, thereby increasing the money supply every time they make a new loan. There's a number called the reserve requirement which limits how much money each bank can create. Lowering the reserve requirement allows ... |
If I want to take cash from Portugal to the USA, should I exchange my money before leaving or after arriving? | I would just rely on the salary from my job in the US. If you don't have a job in the US, you're very unlikely to get a visa to move there and look for work, and so the question of how to take money there (except for a holiday) doesn't arise. (Unless you have dual Portuguese/American citizenship.) |
What does inflation mean to me? | short answer: any long term financial planning (~10yrs+). e.g. mortgage and retirement planning. long answer: inflation doesn't really matter in short time frames. on any given day, you might get a rent hike, or a raise, or the grocery store might have a sale. inflation is really only relevant over the long term. a... |
Do I have to explain the source of *all* income on my taxes? | Well, that's probably not even all of it. If that stranger did his taxes properly, then he already paid about a third of it to the government because wherever he got it from it was income for him and thus it must have been taxed. Now, the remainder is in your hands and yes, according to US law it is now your income and... |
How are people able to spend more than what they make, without going into debt? | I don't know about Jeff Bezos in particular but, in general, and with a a few other notorious exceptions like Warren Buffet, billionaires also have incomes (salary, dividends, fees to seat on various boards of directors, etc.) in the millions, not the tens of thousand. That's typically still much lower than their wealt... |
What happens if a company I have stock in is bought out? | A buy out is agreed by shareholders. Plus most countries have regulation protecting minority interest. Depending on the terms of buy out, you may get equivalent shares of buyer company or cash or both. |
If I make over 120k a year, what are my options for retirement plans? | First off, high five on the paycheck. There are a few retirement issues to deal with. 401k issues - At that income level, you will probably fall into the "Highly Compensated Employee" category, which means things get a little more complicated, both for you and your employer. (Wikipedia link) IRA issues - As you alrea... |
How does a brokerage firm work? | The brokerage executes the transactions you tell them to make on your behalf. Other than acting as your agent for those, and maintaining your account, and charging a fee for the service, they have no involvement -- they do not attempt to predict optimal anything, or hold any assets themselves. |
How can I build up my credit history when I have nearly none | What's the fastest way I can raise my credit score from nothing? I worked at a bank for almost 6 years and used their secured credit card. To give you an example of what that did as far as credit was concerned: on Transunion my score increased 200+ points, while on Experian and Equifax, it increased by less than 150. ... |
Which graduate student loans are preferable? | Of course, the situation for each student will vary widely so you'll have to dig deep on your own to know what is the best choice for your situation. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, the best choice would be to use the Unsubsidized Stafford loan to finance graduate school if you need to resort to loans. The m... |
Multiple people interested in an Apartment | I'm surprised by all these complicated answers. Yes @Victor, you can create a form that asks people to put down their financial information but you want to be careful and not put off potential tenants by asking for too many details. Depending on the OP's typical tenants, an extensive background and credit check may not... |
Foolish to place orders before the market opens? | Depending on your strategy, it could be though there is also something to be said for what kind of order are you placing: Market, limit or otherwise? Something else to consider is whether or not there is some major news that could cause the stock/ETF to gap at the open. For example, if a company announces strong earni... |
How smart is it to really be 100% debt free? | You might miss an opportunity or three by strictly avoiding debt, but I can't think of a problem you will create by being debt free. So maybe it isn't the absolutely smartest thing to avoid debt on principle*, but it certainly is pretty smart at the very least. |
Do developed country equities have a higher return than emerging market equities, when measured in the latter currency? | Do developing country equities have a higher return and/or lower risk than emerging market equities? Generally in finance you get payed more for taking risk. Riskier stocks over the long run return more than less risky bonds, for instance. Developing market equity is expected to give less return over the long run ... |
Why do governments borrow money instead of printing it? | The Government doesn't borrow money. It in fact simply prints it. The bond market is used for an advanced way of controlling the demand for this printed money. Think about it logically. Take 2011 for example. The Govt spent $1.7 trillion more than it took in. This is real money that get's credited in to people's bank a... |
What economic, political and other factors influence mortgage rates (and how)? | Without commenting on whether or not it's needed I don't think we are going to see a QE3 and all the political pressure is for some reason to start raising rates. Regardless of how it plays out it's safe to say that the Fed Rate isn't going any lower. You should also watch closely what happens to Fannie and Freddie.... |
Is it worth buying real estate just to safely invest money? | There are two parts to this. Firstly, if you are also living in the property you have bought, then you should not consider it to be an investment. You need it to provide shelter, and the market value is irrelevant unless/until you decide to move. Of course, if your move is forced at a time not of your choosing then if ... |
Why do people take out life insurance on their children? Should I take out a policy on my child? | My parents and I were suckered into buying this kind of thing when I was in high school. The sales people literally told us that it could be used to pay off student loans - they left out the "in the event of your death" part. We knew it was a life insurance policy, but were told that it would "mature" 6 months after gr... |
Is there any online personal finance software without online banking? | Out Of The Dark OOTD is a budgeting and personal money management web app that does not require you to give out access to your bank accounts or even your personal identity. It's a great tool for people with no financial experience with features like Cash Put-Aside and the Credit Card Debt Terminator and it has tons of... |
Should I wait to save up 20% downpayment on a 500k condo? | As I've crunched numbers towards what my family could afford for a down payment (in an area with similar housing costs - don't you hate that high cost of living?), I've come up with the following numbers: We may be missing some area of expenses, but in general I think we are being fairly conservative. You should consi... |
Are stock index fund likely to keep being a reliable long-term investment option? | For index funds to be a poor investment, they would have to perform worse than your alternative investments. In this case, we'll assume the alternative to be the individual stocks. Obviously, it must be possible to pick just the winning stocks and avoid the losing stocks, raising your rate of return... however, sever... |
Prepaying a loan: Shouldn't the interest be recalculated like a shorter loan? | The key to understanding a mortgage is to look at an amortization schedule. Put in 100k, 4.5% interest, 30 years, 360 monthly payments and look at the results. You should get roughly 507 monthly P&I payment. Amortization is only the loan portion, escrow for taxes and insurance and additional payments for PMI are ext... |
How do I hedge stock options like market makers do? | Let's consider that transaction cost is 0(zero) for calculation. In the scenario you have stated, maximum profit that could be made is 55$, however risk is unlimited. Hedging can also be used to limit your losses, let's consider this scenario. Stock ABC trading @ 100$, I'll buy the stock ABC @ 100$ and buy a put option... |
What is the equivalent of the QQQ in the UK for the FTSE 100? | I searched for FTSE 100 fund on Yahoo Finance and found POW FTSE RAF UK 100 (PSRU.L), among many others. Google Finance is another possible source that immediately comes to mind. |
What is the median retirement savings in the United States today? | Social security and pensions make up a big part of it. You may want to look at the source of the data. If a person, has 5K at Vanguard, 5K at Fidelity and 100K at the bank; Fidelity will report on that person as having only 5K. Vanguard will do the same. The opening pitch of a life insurance salesman sometimes inclu... |
A University student wondering if investing in stocks is a good idea? | Contrary to most other advise given here, I'd recommend (in your situation) not to invest in stock (yet). There are some 'hidden' cost to investing that will eat your profit and in the end, that's why you are investing. Banks will charge for buying, selling and maintaining stock as well as for cashing dividends. Depend... |
Do I make money in the stock market from other people losing money? | The answer is partly and sometimes, but you cannot know when or how. Most clearly, you do not take somebody else's money if you buy shares in a start-up company. You are putting your money at risk in exchange for a share in the rewards. Later, if the company thrives, you can sell your shares for whatever somebody else ... |
If a company has already IPO'ed and sold its shares, what is the incentive to keep making money? | A company doesn't offer up 100% of its shares to the market. There's a float amount of varying significance, maybe 30% of the shares are put up for public offer. Generally some amount of current shareholders will pledge some or all of their shares for offer to the public. This may be how the venture capital, private... |
Are bonds really a recession proof investment? | No, they are not recession proof. Assume several companies, that issued bonds in the fund, go bankrupt. Those bonds could be worthless, they could miss principle payments, or they could be restructured. All would mean a decline in value. When the economy shrinks (which is what a recession is) how does the Fed respo... |
How often do stocks become worthless? | Randomly selected stocks would probably become worthless at a similar rate of all businesses going out of business do. I'm not sure why you'd randomly select a stock though. Stocks in the S&P500 (or other similar index), or large-cap stocks probably become worthless at a much lower rate. |
Finance options for a new furnace. | You walk into the finance company with a written quote from the supplier for the equipment you want to buy. You then fill out forms and sign a promissory note. The finance company then writes out a check to the supplier for the amount of the quoted equipment. Usually you need to provide at least 3 things: They will req... |
Is there a White-list of Trusted Online Vendors? | I'm going to go with "ridiculous notion." :) The vast majority of businesses are legitimate, run by honest people trying to earn a living for themselves and their employees. These days, almost all of them accept credit cards. Crooked businesses are a very small minority. When a bad business over charges you, you dis... |
How does a defined contribution plan work | The end result is basically the same, it's just a choice of whether you want to base the final amount you receive on your salary, or on the stock market. You pay in a set proportion of your salary, and receive a set proportion of your salary in return. The pension (both contributions and benefit) are based on your care... |
Is it beneficial to convert non-investment real estate to rental if I need to make major repairs? (USA/Missouri) | I don't have a direct answer for you, but here are some other things you might consider to help you decide on a course of action in addition to Joe's note about consulting a CPA... Get a couple contractors out to look the place over and give you some quotes on the work needed, most will do so for free, or a nominal fe... |
What is meant by the term “representative stock list” here? | The meaning is quite literal - a representative stock list is a list of stocks that would reasonably be expected to have about the same results as the whole market, i.e. be representative of an investment that invests in all those stocks. Of course, you don't want to invest in all stocks individually, that would be imp... |
When to hire an investment professional? | I don't know what you mean by 'major'. Do you mean the fund company is a Fidelity or Vanguard, or that the fund is broad, as in an s&P fund? The problem starts with a question of what your goals are. If you already know the recommended mix for your age/risk, as you stated, you should consider minimizing the expenses, ... |
How many warrants do I need to exercise to get a stock? | No, you trade the warrant and the warrant price of $11.50 for one stock. The warrant is a little like an option, but with a longer term. If you buy a IPOA.WS warrant then that warrant gives you the option to buy one share of class A stock at $11.50 at a future date. If in the future, the stock is worth $20, then you m... |
Why charge gross receipts taxes to the customer? | I'll address one part of your question: There are other taxes that companies pay as well, such as income tax, but don't charge to the customer as a fee. So, why are gross receipts taxes charged to the customer? Things like income tax can't be passed on to the consumer in a direct way, because there's no fixed relations... |
What do I do with a P11D Expenses & Benefits form? | The P11D is a record of the total benefits you've received in a tax year that haven't been taxed in another way, a bit like the P60 is a record of the total pay and tax you've paid in a tax year. Note that travel for business purposes shouldn't be taxable, and if that's what's being reported on the P11D you may need to... |
Retirement Funds: Betterment vs Vanguard Life strategy vs Target Retirement | Life Strategy funds are more appropriate if you want to maintain a specific allocation between stocks and bonds that doesn't automatically adjustment like the Target Retirement funds which have a specific date. Thus, it may make more sense to take whichever Life Strategy fund seems the most appropriate and ride with i... |
Refinance a land loan into a mortgage loan | The Answer is yes according to multiple online sources and my local bank. This approach is a common technique to building your own home. You finance the land, build the simplest possible dwelling (say a garage with 1 bathroom/bedroom), refi into a mortgage and get cash back and then build your "real house" or add on, e... |
Is it possible to quantify the probability of sudden big movements for a high-volume stock? | Certainly no one knows in advance how much a stock is going to swing around. However, there are measures of how much it has swung around in the past, and there are people who will estimate the probability. First of all, there's a measure of an individual stock's volatility, commonly referred to as "beta". A stock with ... |
Is trading stocks easier than trading commodities? | There are a number of ways trading stocks is easier than commodities: But the main and most important reason is that over long periods stocks in general will tend to outperform inflation as you are investing money in enterprises that generally try to become more productive over time. Whereas commodities in the long te... |
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