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Freelancing and getting taxes taken out up front instead of end of year?
It seems that you think you are freelancing, and they think you are an employee. What's bad for you, the tax office will also think you are an employee if they withhold tax for you. Alternatively, they think you are stupid, and they keep the money, but are actually not paying it to the tax office at all, in which case ...
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...
Is there any drawback in putting all my 401K into a money market fund?
What you're describing is called timing the market. That is, if you correctly predict when the market will drop, you can sell before the drop, wait for the drop, then buy after the drop has occurred. Sell high, buy low. The fundamental problem with that, though, is: What ends up happening, on average, is you end up s...
What forms of payment am I compelled to accept?
When you're selling something through a provider, like Craig's List or newspapers, the only thing that may limit your choices is the provider. They may refuse your post if it's against their rules or the law. But luckily they usually don't limit or enforce certain payment choices. These private business providers have...
What assets would be valuable in a post-apocalyptic scenario?
Gold and silver are for after the crisis, not during. Gold and silver are far more likely to be able to be exchanged for things you need, since they are rare, easily divided, etc. Getting land away from where the crap is happening is also good, but it's more than that. Say you have land somewhere. How will the local...
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
Assessed value of my house
You said the tax assessor gave you an appraised value, but I think you mean assessed value. This article YOUR HOME; Market vs. Appraisal: What's the Real Value? explains the differences pretty well.
Is there a benefit, long term, to life insurance for a youngish, debt, and dependent free person?
For most situations the "no need" answers are 100% correct. The corner case to think about depends on your health and your family history. Not to be morose, but if folks in your family who died young from heart issues, clusters of cancer or other terminal illnesses, you may want to consider getting medically qualified...
Effective returns on investment in housing vs other financial instruments
The assumption that house value appreciates 5% per year is unrealistic. Over the very long term, real house prices has stayed approximately constant. A house that is 10 years old today is 11 years old a year after, so this phenomenon of real house prices staying constant applies only to the market as a whole and not to...
What is an “Options Account”?
Options are a derivative product, and in this case, derive their value from an underlying security, a traded stock. An option gives you the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock at a given price (the strike price) by a given time (the expiration date.) What I just described is a call option. The opposite instru...
Why is OkPay not allowed in the United States?
If you read the link that MD-Tech provided, it actually indicates that the foreign companies (mostly banks) are choosing not to work with the United States in their latest answer, so it looks like it's not OkPay, but the financial companies that they use. On further research, the reason that this is banned is to preven...
Who buys variable annuities?
I wrote a detailed answer about variable annuities on another question, but I want to include one specific situation where a variable annuity may be the right course of action. (For the sake of simplicity, I'm quoting directly from that answer): Three-quarters of US states protect variable annuity assets from creditors...
A guy scammed me, but he gave me a bank account number & routing number. Can I use that to take out what he owes me?
A routing number and account number are on the bottom of every check. If anybody who ever handled your checks or even saw your checks could just withdraw as much money as they wanted, the whole banking system would need to be reworked. In short, just having that info is not enough. Not legally.
Why are typical 401(k) plan fund choices so awful?
I would point this out to the committee or other entity in charge of handling this at work. They do have a fiduciary responsibility for the participant's money and should take anything reasonable seriously. The flip side to this is 95% of participants -- especially participants under 35 or so -- really pay next to no a...
Are spot market ,regular market and ready market same in stock trading if not then what is the difference?
So, the term "ready market" simply means that a market exists in which there are legitimate buy/sell offers, meaning there are investors willing to own or trade in the security. A "spot market" means that the security/commodity is being delivered immediately, rather at some predetermined date in the future (hence the t...
What is my next step with investing, given a signing bonus of restricted stock units?
Coincidentally just read a nice post on this topic: http://thefinancebuff.com/no-tax-advantage-in-rsu.html In short, sell the stock as soon as it vests and treat it as a cash bonus. Assuming you're in the US and the stock is possible to sell (public company, no trading window restrictions, you have no material nonpubli...
Learning stock trading financing etc for someone from mathematical background [duplicate]
Security Analysis(very difficult for beginners )& Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. All about(book series by McGraw) on Stocks,Derivatives,Options,Futures,Market Timings. Reminiscence of a Stock Operator (Life of jesse Livermore). Memoirs , Popular Delusions and Madness of the Crowds by Charles Mackay. Basics of...
I've got $100K to invest over the next 2 to 7 years. What are some good options?
Well, a proper answer needs a few more details: 1) What's your marginal tax bracket? (A CD is just plain silly for someone in a high tax bracket and in a high tax state) 2) What's your state of residence? 3) Do you have a 401k to draw on for a house loan in case of badly timed volatility? 4) What does will the rest of ...
Should I use regular or adjusted close for backtesting?
A one year period of study - Stock A trades at $100, and doesn't increase in value, but has $10 in dividends over the period. Stock B starts at $100, no dividend, and ends at $105. However you account for this, it would be incorrect to ignore stock A's 10% return over the period. To flip to a real example, MoneyChimp...
When investing, is the risk/reward tradeoff linear?
The relationship is not linear, and depends on a lot of factors. The term you're looking for is efficient frontier, the optimal rate of return for a given level of risk. The goal is to be on the efficient frontier, meaning that for the given level of risk, you're receiving the greatest possible rate of return (reward)....
Do companies that get taken-over have to honour the old gift card/certificate?
I know this is old, but Joe Taxpayer is wrong. When you dissolve a corporation in selling it, all liabilities go with the old owners and the new owners, smartly starting with a new corporation and taxpayer ID, start with a clean slate. The only way this is not true is if the new owners did not change a thing legally ...
I'm in the U.S. What are vehicles to invest in international stocks?
Interactive Brokers offers many foreign markets (19 countries) for US based investors. You can trade all these local markets within one universal account which is very convenient in my view. IB offering
The board of directors in companies
Boards of Directors are required for corporations by nearly all jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions have almost self-defeating requirements however, such as in tax havens. Boards of Directors are compensated by the company for which they sit. Historically, they have set their own compensation almost always with tight q...
What risks are there acting as a broker between PayPal and electronic bank transfers?
The sting here is definitely in the tail, the PS that says We are starting to call you from the same day when we get your details. The initial email doesn't ask for details, it asks for commitment. Once committed, you will be more relaxed about providing details. This makes me think that this is more serious than a sim...
How can I find out who the major short sellers are in a stock?
There is no way to know anything about who has shorted stuff or how concentrated the positions are in a few investors. Short positions are not even reported in 13(F) institutional filings. I'll take the bonus points, though, and point you to the US Equity Short Interest data source at quandl.
Is it sensible to redirect retirement contributions from 401(k) towards becoming a landlord?
As a general rule, diversification means carrying sufficient amounts in cash equivalents, stocks, bonds, and real estate. An emergency fund should have six months income (conservative) or expenses (less conservative) in some kind of cash equivalent (like a savings account). As you approach retirement, that number sh...
Ordering from Canada, charged in CAD or USD?
Typically, businesses always charge their 'home' currency, so if the shop is in Canada, you will pay Canadian Dollars. Normally you don't have any choices either. Your credit card company will convert it to your currency, using the current international currency exchange rate (pretty good), plus a potential fee between...
Does the expense ratio of a fund-of-funds include the expense ratios of its holdings?
From The Prospectus for VTIVX; as compared to the Total Stock Market Fund; You can see how the Target date fund is a 'pass through' type of expense. It's not an adder. That's how I read this.
Are lottery tickets ever a wise investment provided the jackpot is large enough?
Question: Does a billion dollars make you 1,000 times more happy than a million dollars? Answer: It doesn't. What counts is not the amount of money, but the subjective improvement that it makes to your life. And that improvement isn't linear, which is way the expected value of the inrease in your happiness / welfare /...
What happened to buyers of ABT right before the split?
The trades after that date were Ex-DIV, meaning after 5 pm Dec 12, new trades did not include the shares that were to be spun out. The process is very orderly, no one pays $60 without getting the spinoff, and no one pays $30 but still gets it. The real question is why there's that long delay nearly three weeks to make...
How to determine contractor hourly rate and employee salary equivalents?
Take $100,000 base salary, x 1.5 = $150,000 contractor salary, divide by 1,872 hours = $80/hr
Do I have to pay a capital gains tax if I rebuy different stocks?
Yes. As long as the stock is in a taxable account (i.e. not a tax deferred retirement account) you'll pay gain on the profit regardless of subsequent purchases. If the sale is a loss, however, you'll risk delaying the claim for the loss if you repurchase identical shares within 30 days of that sale. This is called a w...
How to calculate the rate of return on selling a stock?
If annualized rate of return is what you are looking for, using a tool would make it a lot easier. In the post I've also explained how to use the spreadsheet. Hope this helps.
How to sell a worthless option
Sounds like an illiquid option, if there are actually some bidders, market makers, then sell the option at market price (market sell order). If there are not market makers then place a really low limit sell order so that you can sit at the ask in the order book. A lot of time there is off-book liquidity, so there may b...
How much is university projected to cost in Canada in 18 years?
For a Canadian university education, an October 2009 article at Canada.com says: [...] The study estimates the total price tag of an undergraduate degree at a whopping $137,013 for students living away from home and $101,426 for those staying at home. [...]
What is the cheapest way to move money from the United States to Canada? [duplicate]
No fees: Write a check. Deposit it into the other bank.
Why do 10 year-old luxury cars lose so much value?
The answer is very simple. Part of the luxury is having the cutting edge technology with the very latest features. The price premium is not just from increased build quality; it's simply a perception. Additionally, 10 years takes its toll on a car. The smooth suspension gets rougher over time, and all the little featur...
Unmarried couple buying home, what are the options in our case?
You've laid out several workable options. You might try going to mortgage broker and looking at what offers you get each way. I can say that it sounds like your partner will have a difficult time qualifying for a mortgage. That puts you on the first and third options. Forget about "building equity." You cannot rely...
My investment account is increasingly and significantly underperforming vs. the S&P 500. What should I do?
The majority (about 80%) of mutual funds are underperforming their underlying indexes. This is why ETFs have seen massive capital inflows compared to equity funds, which have seen significant withdrawals in the last years. I would definitively recommend going with an ETF. In addition to pure index based ETFs that (al...
What are the common income tax deductions used by “rich” salaried households?
From Rich Dad, Poor Dad. 3 Major Things: With rental real estate, in addition to mortgage interest, you also deduct property taxes, and must claim depreciation (cost of house / 27.5 years) Business Expenses. For example, buy a yacht and put it in a charter fleet. Deduct interest on the loan, depreciation of the asset, ...
Do people tend to spend less when using cash than credit cards?
Unless a study accounts for whether the users are following a budget or not, it is irrelevant to those who are trying to take their personal finances seriously. I can certainly believe that those who have no budget will spend more on a credit card than they will on a debit card or with cash. Under the right circumstanc...
Understanding the symbols next to the Ticker
I don't understand what the D, to the right of APPLE INC, means. This means the graph below is for the "D". There is selection at top and you can change this to Minutes [5,20,60,etc], Day, Week [W], Month [M] I'm not understanding how it can say BATS when in actuality AAPL is listed on the NASDAQ. Do all exchanges have...
Fundamentals of creating a diversified portfolio based on numbers?
Your question is a complex one because knowledge of the investor's beliefs about the market is required. For almost any quantitative portfolio, one must have a good estimate of the expected return vector and covariance matrix of the assets in question. The expected return vector, in particular, is far from estimable....
What does it mean when Share price and volume sales aren't negatively correlated?
When stocks have a change in price it is because of a TRADE. To have a trade you have to have both a buyer and a seller. When the price of a security is going up there are an equal amount of shares being sold as being bought. When the price of a security is going down there are an equal amount of shares being bought a...
Early Exercise and 83(b) Election
I assume I can/will need to file an 83(b) election, in order to avoid tax repercussions? What exactly will this save me from? 83(b) election is for restricted stock grants, not for stock purchases. For restricted stocks, you generally pay income tax when they vest. For startups the price difference between the time o...
Paid off oldest CC keep it open or close it?
Close the account. The age doesn't outweigh the fact that you have to pay for the card. It would be one thing if the credit line was a couple thousand but showing the credit bureaus that you are staying away from the $425.00 doesn't really make them think you are any more trustworthy with your available credit. Util...
Is engaging in stocks without researching unwise?
If you don't want to do the deep research on each individual company, you might want to look at index funds and similar "whole market" investments.
What are the pros and cons of buying an item on installments with zero percent interest?
If (and only if) there is a zero interest installment plan available, technically the only uncontrollable risk is that there will likely be a hard inquiry on your credit report which may or may not also have a corresponding debt obligation attached to it. (Personally, I recently signed up for one such plan with Google ...
Recommendation on Options Back Testing tool please
Based on my experience with OpenQuant, which is a development platform for automated trading strategies (and therefore can be easily be used for backtesting your personal strategy), I can give a little insight into what you might look for in such a platform. OpenQuant is a coding environment, which reads data feeds fr...
Is U.S estate tax applicable to joint brokerage account of non-US citizens if one party dies?
If the brokerage account holds US assets, such as the stock of US companies, then it may be taxable under some conditions. The rules are complex and depend on the nationality of the individuals, because the results may be affected by tax treaties between the United States and whatever country the person is from.
Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Technically, the difference between dividends and growth ought to be that dividends can be reinvested in stocks other than the one that paid them, which is a definite advantage if you actually have a strategy. Dividend -paying stocks used to be preferred for exactly that reason, back in the days when fewer people were...
Withdraw funds with penalty or bear high management fees for 10 years?
I think the main question is whether the 1.5% quarterly fee is so bad that it warrants losing $60,000 immediately. Suppose they pull it out now, so they have 220000 - 60000 = $160,000. They then invest this in a low-cost index fund, earning say 6% per year on average over 10 years. The result: Alternatively, they lea...
Money market account for emergency savings
Depends on how urgent your need for the emergency savings might be. If the money market account allows you to get your money in the same amount of time as the savings account then there is no real downside, but if the account takes a few days for you to access and you need your money sooner then you probably shouldn't....
What does “interest rates”, without any further context, generically refer to?
When "people say", each person is referring to whatever he/she is looking at. Interest rates tend to move roughly the same, but often there is a bias regarding long vs. short term. In the US right now, short term interest rates are very low but there is a lot of chatter saying they will rise in the future. The diffe...
Is a fixed-price natural gas or electricity contract likely to save money?
In my area, the fixed prices are based on an average. My gas company will look at my previous months (six months if I remember correctly) payments and give me an average based on that amount. Then I am contracted for a year based on that average. If I lower my costs, I'm under contract and will not see the savings but ...
Why does a company's stock price affect its ability to raise debt?
As JB hints, it is likely due to superior or improving, fundamentals. If the fundamentals of a company improve then its ability to repay loans improves. If its ability to repay improves then more sources of cash become willing to lend to the company. Also if fundamentals are improving then more sources are willing to b...
How to protect myself against unauthorized recurring CC charges?
There is no way to stop any merchant from setting a recurring charge flag on a purchase. According to the following article, Mastercard and Visa encourages merchants to use this feature and even give them a better rate. I have found it impossible to stop these unauthorized transactions. The article sites that the merc...
What's the appeal of dividends in investing? [duplicate]
A dividend is one method of returning value to shareholders, some companies pay richer dividends than others; some companies don't typically pay a dividend. Understand that shareholders are owners of a company. When you buy a stock you now own a portion (albeit an extremely small portion) of that company. It is up to...
Will a credit card company close my account if I stop using it?
The answer is maybe. I had a Chase card without a purchase in over 4 years get canceled out of the blue, without so much as a notification telling me it was at risk for cancelation. They told me they typically close accounts after 24 months of inactivity (not including card fees) but let mine go for longer because I ha...
Is there any benefit to investing in an index fund?
Why not figure out the % composition of the index and invest in the participating securities directly? This isn't really practical. Two indices I use follow the Russell 2000 and the S&P 500 Those two indices represent 2500 stocks. A $4 brokerage commission per trade would mean that it would cost me $10,000 in tra...
Why diversify stocks/investments?
Basically, diversifying narrows the spread of possible results, raising the center of the returns bell-curve by reducing the likelihood of extreme results at either the high or low end. It's largely a matter of basic statistics. Bet double-or-nothing on a single coin flip, and those are the only possible results, and...
Should I sell a 2nd home, or rent it out?
If you can generate a higher ROI by renting than by cashing out and investing, then you should rent it out. Please consider your risk tolerance as well. It's always a personal decision whether to assume higher risk for a higher return.
One of my stocks dropped 40% in 2 days, how should I mentally approach this?
You shouldn't be picking stocks in the first place. From New York Magazine, tweeted by Ezra Klein: New evidence for that reality comes from Goldman Sachs, via Bloomberg News. The investment bank analyzed the holdings of 854 funds with $2.1 trillion in equity positions. It found, first of all, that all those “sophistica...
Is selling only shares you bought with margin on a margin/unsettled cash purchase free ride?
I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think it would be considered a free ride. The idea of a free ride is that you are engaging in a transaction when you do not actually have the money available to cover it, since the broker is technically giving you a 3 day loan whenever you purchase your stock (3 day rule to settle.) Howev...
Multiple mortgage pre-approvals and effects on credit score
The problem is not the credit score; it is the "competing" inquiries. Multiple inquiries will be considered as one if done withing a short time period (2 month, IIRC) and for the same kind of credit, because people do shop for rates, you're not the first one to do that. So don't worry about that. What you should be wor...
Buying shares in a company after you quit
US law dictates that you cannot buy / sell shares in a company you work for except during open trading windows. I understand lockout periods when you're in a company but what about after you quit? There's no such law. Trading lockouts are imposed by companies themselves to avoid the complexities of identifying "ins...
What is the relationship between the earnings of a company and its stock price?
You would think that share prices is just a reflection of how well the company is doing but that is not always the case. Sometimes it reflects the investor confidence in the company more than the mere performance. So for instance if some oil company causes some natural disaster by letting one of there oil tankers crash...
How do I use investments to lower my taxes [US]?
Not exactly. There are a few ways to manage your taxes with investments. 1) For most investments you get taxed on any gain in value in the investment or dividends paid by that investment. Most investments (with some exceptions for mutual funds) you don't take the tax hit until you sell the investment and realize the ga...
Are mutual funds a good choice for a medium to low risk investment with a two year horizon?
I assume you mean Stock Mutual funds. 2008 wasn't that long ago. Down 37%. 07/08 combined were down 34%, or 07/09 down 20%. The point of the long term is that over time, a decade will almost ensure a positive return. 2 years is too short, in my opinion.
How to pay with cash when car shopping?
Ask the dealer to drive to the bank with you, if they really want cash.
What's the purpose of having separate checking and savings accounts?
Additionally, it used to be the case that savings accounts would have a noticeably higher interest than checking accounts (if the checking account paid any at all). So you would attempt to maximize your cash working for you by putting as much as you could into the savings account and then only transferring out what yo...
Car expense deductions with multiple work locations
Suppose that I work from home, but do not qualify for a business use of home deduction. As I understand it, this means I cannot deduct trips from home to another work location (e.g., going to a client's home or office to do work there). I do not think this is true. You cannot deduct trips to your main business lo...
What are the easier to qualify home loans in Canada?
Your credit score is really bad, and it's highly unlikely anyone will be willing to give you a mortgage, especially if you still have bad debt showing up on your credit report. What would help? Well, clearing off any bad debt would be a good place to start. Ideally, you want to get your credit rating up above 680, thou...
Using cash back rewards from business credit card
A C-Corp is not a pass-through entity, any applicable taxes would be paid by the Corporation, which is a separate legal entity from yourself. If you use the points to purchase something for yourself, that would constitute "income" to you, and would be taxable on your personal income tax.
Are those “auto-pilot” programs a scam or waste of time?
Genuine (nearly) passive income can be had from some kinds of investing. Index funds are an example of a mostly self-managing investment. Of course investment involves some risk (the income is essentially paying you for taking that risk) and returns are reasonable but proportional to the risk -- IE, not spectacular unl...
Digital envelope system: a modern take
If psychologically there is no difference to you between cash and debit (you should test this over a couple of months on yourself and spouse to make sure), then I suggest two debit cards (one for you and spouse) on your main or separate checking account. If you use Mint you can set budgets for each category (envelope) ...
The best credit card for people who pay their balance off every month
The answer today is the Fidelity Rewards Amex. This card pays the highest cash back (2%) on ALL purchases. The answer gets more complicated if you like miles, or you want to use one card for groceries and gas and another for restaurants, etc. But the Fidelity Amex gives you 2% on everything you purchase, automaticall...
What happens to my position if I hold some stocks of a company that gets acquired?
The stockholders of company A vote to approve or disapprove the buy out. That is the only control you have on the price: Vote to approve or disapprove. If the deal is approved then you get the money, or stock in B, or both, in accordance with the terms of the deal. It will arrive into your account automatically.
At what age should I start or stop saving money?
Are you working? Does your employer offer a 401(k) and if so, is there any match? Saving should be taught to kids at the same time they are old enough to get an allowance. There are many numbers tossed around, but 10% is a start for any new saver. If a college graduate can start by saving even 15%, better still. If yo...
Why are capital gains taxed at a lower rate than normal income?
There are many reasons, which other answers have already discussed. I want to emphasize and elaborate on just one of the reasons, which is that it avoids double taxation, especially on corporate earnings. Generally, for corporations, its earnings are already taxed at around 40% (for the US - including State income tax...
Should I worry too much about saving my 20% down before buying my first house?
The only problem that I see is that by not giving the 20% right away, you might need to pay PMI for a few months. In addition, in the case of conventional loans, I heard that banks will not remove the PMI after reaching 80% LTV without doing an appraisal. In order to be removed automatically, you need to reach 78% LTV....
Is there any kind of unsecured stock loan?
buy an option, they cost less and let you buy shares in the future at the price you see now. only if you plan to buy more than 100 shares of the stock at that future date though. better learn how to use options strategically first, which I won't go into. but this is indeed their purpose.
Is it worth it to buy TurboTax Premier over Deluxe if I sold investments in a taxable account?
I have found that using the online version can help determine the correct product. Try Deluxe online, you can upload the data from last year. When you get to the key forms see what happens if you don't switch. Then switch to Premiere. Compare the results.
How is it possible that a preauth sticks to a credit card for 30 days, even though the goods have already been delivered?
The answer to your question is very simple: The preauth and the shipment of the goods have no connection within the credit card system. It is possible to process a payment that does not cancel a preauthorization. This is needed for the case where you place two orders and the one you placed second ships first. A preauth...
Is there a government-mandated resource that lists the shareholders of a public company?
No, there is no such list, as the other answers mention it is practically impossible to compile one. However you can see the institutional investors of a public company. MSN Money has this information available in a fair amount of details. For example see the Institutional Investors of GOOG
Do mutual fund companies deliberately “censor” their portfolios/funds?
If I invest in individual stocks I will, from time to time, sell stocks that aren't performing well. If the value of my portfolio has gone up by 10%, then the value of my portfolio has gone up by 10%, regardless of whether selling those stocks is labeled as "delete[ing] failures". Same thing for mutual funds: selling u...
Why is the number of issued shares less than the number of outstanding shares
I have been asking myself a similar question about the financial statements of Weyerhaeuser. In response to Dheer's comment, whilst treasury shares are treated as a negative, it is issued shares less treasury shares (the negative) which gives the outstanding shares. So the original query remains unanswered. I've search...
How should I report my RSUs in my tax return
Your employer should send you a statement with this information. If they didn't, you should still be able to find it through E*Trade. Navigate to: Trading & Portfolios>Portfolios. Select the stock plan account. Under "Restricted Stock", you should see a list of your grants. If you click on the grant in question, you sh...
60% Downpayment on house?
If you decide you need the extra money, you can always go refinance and get more cash out. At the end of the day, though, if you pay off your house sooner you can invest more of your income sooner; that's just a matter of discipline.
Personal credit card for business expenses
Early on, one might not be able to get credit for their business. For convenience, and the card perks, it makes sense to use the personal card. But for sake of a clean paper trail, I'd choose 1 card and use it exclusively, 100% for the business. Not one card here, one card there.
Should withheld income tax be included as income?
This very topic was the subject of a question on workplace SE https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/8996/what-can-relocation-assistance-entail TL/DR; From tax publication 521 - Moving expenses table regarding how to report IF your Form W-2 shows... your entire reimbursement reported as wages in box 1 ...
Selecting between investment vehicles for income
You have a comparatively small sum to invest, and since you're presumably expecting to go to college.university soon, where you may well need the money, you also have a short timescale for your investment. I don't think anything stock-related would be good for you -- you need a longer timescale for stock market investm...
What's a good free checking account?
The best bank with least amount of gotchas is Alliant Credit Union. I did a lot of research and finally decided on this bank. I did a comparative study between ING, Ally and Alliant and found Alliant to be superior than the the other two. More about my study: http://www.moneycone.com/a-bank-thats-better-than-ally-...
Are non-residents or foreigners permitted to buy or own shares of UK companies?
It's easy to own many of the larger UK stocks. Companies like British Petroleum, Glaxo, and Royal Dutch Shell, list what they call ADRs (American Depositary Receipts) on the U.S. stock exchanges. That is, they will deposit local shares with Bank of NY Mellon, JP Morgan Chase, or Citicorp (the three banks that do this t...
Does keeping 'long-term' safety net in bonds make sense?
The answer to your question depends very much on your definition of "long-term". Because let's make something clear: an investment horizon of three to six months is not long term. And you need to consider the length of time from when an "emergency" develops until you will need to tap into the money. Emergencies almost ...
Why are credit cards preferred in the US?
Personally, I use my credit cards for everything because I get reward points (or, cash back, depending on the card), and I build credit history. I've had credit cards since I was 18 (now 22), and my credit score is in the higher end 700s which I'm told is pretty good for my age. Additionally, since I put my rent and la...
Quantiative Easing fuels stock markets, but why?
There's a premium or discount for various stocks subject to influence by the alternatives available to investors, meaning investments are susceptible to the principle of supply and demand. This is easily seen when industries or business models get hot, and everybody wants a tech company, a social media company, or a so...
Best way to pay off debt?
The key phrase in your post is that the options are "in a good position now". They may be worthless in three months or a year. If I was you I would cash in the options and pay off the debt. Cash in enough to also cover taxes. You may want to cash them all in.
Calculate how much interest I will pay given a creditcard balance and a monthly payment?
At the end of each period, add the interest, in this case an easy 1%, and then subtract the payment. With less than 4 months to payoff, the interest here is about $21. Instead of trying to find credit card calculators, just use the more common mortgage calculator. The math is the same until the final month, when the c...
How can this be enough to fund a scholarship in perpetuity?
The Trinity study looked at 'safe' withdrawal rates from retirement portfolios. They found it was safe to withdraw 4% of a portfolio consisting of stocks and bonds. I cannot immediately find exactly what specific investment allocations they used, but note that they found a portfolio consisting largely of stocks would a...