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What should I look at before investing in a start-up? | Previous answers have done a great job with the "Should I invest?" question. One thing you may be overlooking is the question "Am I allowed to invest?" For most offerings of stock in a startup, investors are required to be accredited by the SEC's definition. See this helpful quora post for more information on requir... |
Can anybody explain the terms “levered beta riders”, “equity long-short” and “the quant process driven discipline” for me, please? | Translation : Funds managers that use traditionnal methods to select stocks will have less success than those who use artificial intelligence and computer programs to select stocks. Meaning : The use of computer programs and artificial intelligence is THE way to go for hedge fund managers in the future because they gi... |
Sell your home and invest in growth stock mutual fund | The 20%+ returns you have observed in the mutual funds are not free money. They are compensation for the risk associated with owning those funds. Given the extraordinarily high returns you are seeing I would expect extremely high risk. This means there is a good possibility of extreme losses at some point. By putti... |
Why can't I open multiple sell orders? | From the message you report, it sounds like you are trying to sell the same shares twice, you have two open sell orders for the same shares. Either you have accidentally entered two sell orders, or the web site is having a technical problem. I'm not a customer of Fidelity so I can't say what their web site looks like, ... |
What is a good way to keep track of your credit card transactions, to reduce likelihood of fraud? | The best way is to retain the charge slips. After you are done for the month you can discard them. Alternatively if you are using any of the personal finance tool or a simple XLS to track exepnses, it would be easy to figure out what you actually spent and what was not yours. |
In the event of a corporate spin-off, how can I calculate the correct cost basis for each company's shares? | I was doing my taxes in the US (called Form 1040) and wanted to find out how to figure out the cost basis for the $3.006 that I received for each Siemens ADR that I hold in July 2013. I found that the cost-basis allocation ratio is as follows: Thus for the original poster the cost-basis is: Hope this helps someone. |
Can I participate in trading Facebook shares on their IPO day from any brokerage? | Any retail equity brokerage will give you access to the NYSE, and thus Facebook shares as they become available. However, it is important to note that you nor any retail investor will be able to purchase FB at the IPO prices ($33-38 IIRC). The only people who will be able to buy in at that price are the underwriting ... |
What are the common income tax deductions used by “rich” salaried households? | The $250K and up are not one homogeneous group. The lower end of this group benefits from normal Schedule A itemized deductions, e.g. mortgage interest, property tax, state income tax, and charitable donations. As you mention, 401(k) ($17k employee contribution limit this year), but also things like the dependent care ... |
What else besides fees should I consider in rebalancing my fund portfolio's asset allocation? | Taxes Based on the numbers you quoted (-$360) it doesn't appear that you would have a taxable event if you sell all the shares in the account. If you only sell some of the shares, to fund the new account, you should specify which shares you want to sell. If you sell only the shares that you bought when share prices w... |
Definitions of leverage and of leverage factor | Your original example is a little confusing because just shorting for 1k and buying for 1k is 100% leveraged or an infinitive leverage ratio. (and not allowed) Brokerage houses would require you to invest some capital in the trade. One example might be requiring you to hold $100 in the brokerage. This is where the 10... |
Do people tend to spend less when using cash than credit cards? | First, let me answer the question the best way I can: I don't know if there are any studies other than those that have already been mentioned. Now, let's talk about something more interesting: You don't need to base your behavior on any study, even if it is scientific. Let's pretend, for example, that we could find a s... |
If I buy a share from myself at a higher price, will that drive the price up so I can sell all my shares the higher price? | The market maker will always compare the highest bid and the lowest ask. A trade will happen if the highest bid is at least as high as the lowest ask. Adding one share (or a million shares) at a higher asking price, here: $210 instead of $200, will not have any effect at all. Nobody will buy the share. Adding a bid fo... |
How to get an ITIN if I don't have passport? | On the IRS site you can find a list of "acceptance agents" in your country. Talk to one of them, they'll deal with the IRS on your behalf. If you don't have any in your country, you can contact the big-4 accounting firms or any other agent elsewhere to provide you service. I'd suggest doing this through an agent. |
College student lacking investment experience: How to begin investing money? | If you have wage income that is reported on a W2 form, you can contribute the maximum of your wages, what you can afford, or $5500 in a Roth IRA. One advantage of this is that the nominal amounts you contribute can always be removed without tax consequences, so a Roth IRA can be a deep emergency fund (i.e., if the ch... |
Paying off loans early, or is there some way to reduce extortionate interest charges? | My husband made a similar car loan decision when he was younger and didn't have an established credit history / favourable credit rating. As a result, he ended up paying triple what the car was worth, because of the interest. When we consolidated our finances, this ugly loan was first on our list of priorities to chan... |
Mortgage or not? | Better in terms of what? less taxes paid? or more money to save for retirement? In terms of retirement, it would be better for you to keep the condo you currently have for at least two reasons: You wouldn't incur the penalties and fees from buying and selling a home. Selling and buying a home comes with a multitude of ... |
How can I verify that a broker I found online is legitimate? | How you check if a broker is legitimate: 1) Are they a registered broker dealer? Broker dealers have to be registered with FINRA and the SEC , which have their own databases for you to look up individuals and companies. here is FINRA's http://www.finra.org/Investors/ToolsCalculators/BrokerCheck/ FINRA is a self-regulat... |
What expenses do most people not prepare for that turn into “emergencies” but are not covered by an Emergency Fund? | The way you ask this is interesting, it implies (quite correctly) that for many, an annual bill for house insurance, property tax, etc, can turn into an emergency. My answer to the true emergency is a breakage that can't be foreseen (although you have to know the furnace isn't going to last forever) or a medical bill t... |
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. |
Bank of the Sierra: Are they legit? How can the checking interest APY be so high? | The FDIC is pretty confident about them being legit. http://www2.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asp (type in Bank Of The Sierra in the name field and search on that) You got to realize how much money they will make if you use them per the agreement. Every credit card / debit transaction gets them some cash. Businesses... |
Treatment of donations of appreciated stock to a IRC §501(c)(7) Social Club? | If cash donations are not deductable, stock contributions aren't either and I believe the same rules apply as for a private party. |
Canceling credit cards - insurance rate increase? | You can't ask insurers to use a particular score -- they have a state-approved underwriting model that they must follow consistently. Insurance companies make money by not paying claims, and poor credit score (including limit access to credit) increases the probability that you will file a small claim. Why? If you get ... |
Are warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam's Club worth it? | Also don't just assume that everything that Costco or Sams (we use Costco) sells is cheaper. Still shop around and look for the best price. For us it is definitely worth it. |
In what state should I register my web-based LLC? | I have researched this question extensively in previous years as we have notoriously high taxes in California, while neighboring a state that has zero corporate income tax and personal income tax. Many have attempted pull a fast one on the California taxation authorities, the Franchise Tax Board, by incorporating in Ne... |
My previous and current employers both use Fidelity for 401(k). Does it make sense to rollover? | I would always suggest rolling over 401(k) plans to traditional IRAs when possible. Particularly, assuming there is enough money in them that you can get a fee-free account at somewhere like Fidelity or Vanguard. This is for a couple of reasons. First off, it opens up your investment choices significantly and can all... |
Someone asks you to co-sign a loan. How to reject & say “no” nicely or politely? | Simple and straight-forward. "I'm sorry but I don't co-sign loans. I've heard horror stories (or had bad experiences if you actually have) about these things going bad and ruining friendships. Your friendship is more important to me than you getting this car/stereo/whatever." You could go on to explain that it's n... |
How does a online only bank protect itself against fraud? | I don't see why an online-only bank would need to do anything more against fraud than a bank that also has brick-and-mortars. In the contrary, they would need less (physical) security, as they don't have to protect cash, lock boxes, and other physical assets. All banks nowadays have an online business, so they all have... |
what is difference between stock and dividend? | stocks represent ownership in a company. their price can go up or down depending on how much profit the company makes (or is expected to make). stocks owners are sometimes paid money by the company if the company has extra cash. these payments are called dividends. bonds represent a debt that a company owes. when yo... |
Should I get a car loan before shopping for a car? | You have a good start (estimated max amount you will pay, estimated max down payment, and term) Now go to your bank/credit union and apply for the loan. Get a commitment. They will give you a letter, you may have to ask for it. The letter will say the maximum amount you can pay for the car. This max includes their mone... |
How to know which companies enter the stock market? | Market Watch has an IPO calender with details of upcoming IPOs that should provide most of the information you need. |
How to manage 20 residential apartments | There are many property management companies are available in India. You can easily find trusted companies just searching on the google. They manage all these things legally. You just try this |
No transaction fee ETF trades - what's the catch? | what is the mechanism by which they make money on the funds that I have in my account? Risk drives TD Ameritrade to look for profits, Turukawa's storytelling about 100,000$ and 500$ is trivial. The risk consists of credit risk, asset-liability risk and profit risk. The third, based on Pareto Principle, explains the... |
Debt collector has wrong person and is contacting my employer | Use with moderation. Powerful stuff. Your caller could be an offshore scammer too. Summarizing from http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/debt-validation.shtml: You can dispute the debt, and demand that the collector give you the name and address of the original creditor and show that it isn't past the statute of lim... |
Can I rely on my home equity to finance large home repairs? | Personally, I'd use my emergency fund first. It is unlikely (though possible, of course) that I will entirely lose my income at the same time I need to replace my roof or my furnace. I'd rather pay my emergency fund back with installment payments than pay off a HELOC to my bank. The lost interest on my emergency fund, ... |
For net worth, should I value physical property at my cost to replace it, or the amount I could get for selling it? | My opinion: including the value of depreciating property one owns in a net worth calculation is silly - but could be interesting You don't expect your TV or laptop to gain value. Instead, you expect them to decrease in value every year until you replace them. Anything you expect to hold or increase in value (art, a h... |
In the USA, does the income tax rate on my wages increase with the amount of money in my bank account? | I know that if you make more, you pay more, but do those who have more, not make more, pay higher income tax? In general, no. In most locales, income tax is based on income, not on wealth. I am retired. I have little income but a fair amount of wealth. I play very little income tax. (But I do pay other kinds of taxes... |
Passive vs. active investing past performance comparison/data? | The Telegraph had an interesting article recently going back 30 years for Mutual's in the UK that had beaten the market and trackers for both IT and UT http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/11489789/The-funds-that-have-returned-more-than-12pc-per-year-for-THIRTY-years.html |
Can I use a different HSA than PayFlex that came with aetna? | There are some cases I'm aware of where a large employer will offer alternative HSA vendors, but this is not the norm as far as I'm aware, and would only be an option if your employer has already negotiated for this with your insurer. It's likely that this specific vendor is built in for the particular HSA product your... |
Why would you ever turn down a raise in salary? | There is currently a bill in Washington that will change the limit for salaried employees receiving overtime pay. It will be raised to $50400. I work 4 hours of overtime each week, which if the bill is passed, equates to an additional $7800 annually. If my company raises my salary to just above the limit then they woul... |
Why YTM is higher than current yield in discount bond | Say you buy a bond that currently costs $950, and matures in one year, at $1000 face value. It has one coupon ($50 interest payment) left. The coupon, $50, is 50/950 or 5.26%, but you get the face value, $1000, for an additional $50 return. This is why the yield to maturity is higher than current yield. If the maturity... |
Multi-year profit/tax question | This is called "Net Operating Loss", and it is in fact applicable for individuals as well. You can, under certain circumstances, have NOL even as an individual. But it is far more common in the corporate world. What happens is that you can carry it back or forward, and get refund on taxes paid or adjust income for taxe... |
Does a larger down payment make an offer stronger? | First, let me say that you have to take everything your agent says with a grain of salt. Freakonomics had a great article that discussed the math behind the motivation of the real estate agent. It described the home seller, trying to get, say $400K. On a 6% commission, the $24K is destined to be split between seller r... |
Do I have to pay the internet installation charges for my home's company internet? | Of course you don't have to pay them - you just might not like the result. As a matter of law - given that I am not a lawyer - I am not aware of any requirement for a company to pay employees business-related expenses. An example might be having a cell phone, and according to this article companies aren't required to p... |
Taking Losses To Save On Tax | Tax questions require that you specify a jurisdiction. Assuming that this is the US, you owe Federal income tax (at the special long-term capital gains tax rate) on the net long-term capital gains (total long-term capital gains minus total long-term capital losses) and so, yes, if these two were your only transactions... |
Vanguard Mutual Funds — Diversification vs Share Class | If I were in your shoes I'd probably take the Vanguard Total Market fund with Admiral shares, then worry about further diversification when there is more in the account. Many times when you "diversify" in to multiple funds you end up with a lot of specific security overlap. A lot of the big S&P 500 constituents will b... |
Can I pay off my credit card balance to free up available credit? | Banks only send your balance to credit bureaus once a month; usually a few days after your statement date. Thus, as long as your usage is below 10% in that date range, you're ok. Regarding paying it off early: sure. Every Sunday night, I pay our cards' charges from the previous week. (The internet makes this too eas... |
I can make a budget, but how can I get myself to consistently follow my budget? | Give all your money as well as your budget requirements to someone you really trust. Tell them to give you ONLY what your budget allows. As long as both of you take this seriously, this method will be very effective. |
Can an S-Corp write off work and merchandise expenses donated to a non-profit organization? | An S-corp doesn't pay income tax -- taxation is pass-through. This being the case, there are no tax deductions it could take for charitable giving. The solution would be for you to make the contribution out of your own pocket and then personally claim the deduction on your own taxes. |
What is a “Junk Bond”? | A "junk bond" is one that pays a high yield UP FRONT because there is a good chance that it could default. So the higher interest rate is necessary to try to compensate for the default Junk bonds are used in leveraged buyouts (LBOs) because such deals are INHERENTLY risky. "Normal" companies may have 20%-30% debt and t... |
Will a credit card company close my account if I stop using it? | Please realize that your issuer can close the account for any number of reasons. Inactivity is one, as having a credit line open costs them money and if you never charge anything, the company doesn't get any transaction fees from vendors nor does the company get to charge you any interest. An occasional charge is like... |
Do I even need credit cards? | A credit card can be a long running line of credit that will help to boost your FICO score. However if you have student loans, a mortgage, or car payments those will work just as well. If you ever get to the point where you don't have any recent lines of credit, this may eventually end up hurting your score, but until... |
Risks associated with investing in dividend paying stocks for short term income. Alternatives? | I wouldn't focus too much on dividends itself; at the end of the day what matters is total gain, because you can convert capital gain into income by selling your assets (they have different tax implications, but generally capital gains tend to be more tax efficient). I think the more important question is how much v... |
Collecting Dividends while insulating volatility through options? | The strategy is right. As pointed out by you, will the " volatility cause the premium on the price of the options to be too high to make this worthwhile" ... this is subjective and depends on how the markets feels about the volatility and the trend ... ie if the market believes that the stock will go up, the option at ... |
Where should I park my money if I'm pessimistic about the economy and I think there will be high inflation? | Given those assumptions (which I happen to think are reasonable) it seems to me the obvious place is to buy non-Australian assets, such as the Vanguard VTS (total US share market) and VEU (world ex-US) ETFs, and perhaps also some international fixed-interest ETFs. I think keeping a certain amount of cash would be pru... |
If I put a large down payment (over 50%) towards a car loan, can I reduce my interest rate and is it smart to even put that much down? | The real answer is to talk to the bank. In the case of the last car loan I got, the answer is "no". When I asked them about rates, they gave me a printed sheet that listed the loan rates they offered based on how old the car was, period. I forget the exact numbers but it was like: New car: 4%, 1 year old: 4.5%, 2-3 yea... |
How do amortization schedules work and when are they used? | Both Credit Card and Mortgage work on same principle. The interest is calculated on the remaining balance. As the balance reduces the interest reduces. The Mortgage schedule is calculated with the assumption that you would be paying a certain amount over a period of years. However if you pay more, then the balance bec... |
What is the preferred way to set up personal finances? | The absolute best advice I ever received was this: You will need three categories of savings in your life: 1) Retirement Savings This is money you put away (in 401-Ks and IRAs) for the time in your life when you can no longer earn enough income to support yourself. You do not borrow against it nor do you withdraw fro... |
Mortgage or not? | If you do as you propose you are going to get burned. You need to sell, then start to rent. amongst other things. Since 2008, the economy never "recovered," but was sort of stabilized temporarily like a fighter on the ropes. The economy is beginning to collapse again, and that collapse will accelerate around the Fall. ... |
Income Tax and Investments | The $50k is subject to the appropriate income taxes, which may include FICA taxes including the employer share if you are self employed. The after tax money can then be invested with the amount invested being the cost basis (I.e., if you invest $40k you will have a cost basis of $40k). In future years you will have ta... |
What is the correct answer for percent change when the start amount is zero dollars $0? | In computing, you'd generally return naa%, for 'not a number'. Could you not put '-%' to show there is no value at this point? Surely the people seeing this aren't idiots and understand the charge on 0 is 0? |
How do I go about finding an honest & ethical financial advisor? | The other answers are good, but not UK-specific. You need to look for an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA). These are regulated by the FCA and you pay them a time-based fee for their services, they do not take commission on the products they recommend to you. The Government Money Advice Service page (hat tip to @And... |
If you buy something and sell it later on the same day, how do you calculate 'investment'? | Not sure if your question is on topic, but the investment is only $9 because that is maximum amount of money the merchant ever needed to start up the business. He put in $9, started turning a profit, and never looked back. |
Why do investors buy stock that had appreciated? | I understand you make money by buying low and selling high. You can also make money by buying high and selling higher, short selling high and buying back low, short selling low and buying back even lower. An important technique followed by many technical traders and investors is to alway trade with the trend - so if th... |
Can I change my loan term from 60 to 36 months? | Some places banks/Credit Unions will allow you to refinance a auto loan. My credit Union only does this if the original loan was with another lender. They will send the money to the old lender, then give you a loan under the new terms. They are trying to get your business, not necessarily looking for a way make less mo... |
Comparing IRA vs 401K's rate-of-return with dollar cost averaging | Google Docs spreadsheets have a function for filling in stock and fund prices. You can use that data to graph (fund1 / fund2) over some time period. Syntax: =GoogleFinance("symbol", "attribute", "start_date", "num_days|end_date", "interval") where: This analysis won’t include dividends or distributions. Yahoo provides... |
Why do car rental companies prefer/require credit over debit cards? | Deposit on a Debit Card have a different effect, and many people don't understand it (and make a big stink), or cannot afford it (or both). Either of it results in lots of trouble for the business: In addition, having a credit card showes that some bank trusts the customer with an unsecured credit of this height, which... |
How to help a financially self destructive person? | I'm afraid your best recourse may be legal. I don't know that internet is a necessity, but the court would frown upon anyone paying $4K for rent but not being able to afford to heat the water or turn the lights on. $48K a year net should be enough for her to at least keep the kids with these things. I don't know that ... |
Understanding differences between S&P500 index-tracking ETFs | Regarding SPY: "One SPDR unit is valued at approximately 1/10 of the value of the S&P 500. Dividends are distributed quarterly, and are based on the accumulated stock dividends held in trust, less any expenses of the trust." (source) These are depository receipts, not the actual stocks. Regarding IVV: "The component ... |
I cosigned for a friend who is not paying the payment | The point of co-signing for a friend is that they're your friend. You signed for them in the belief that your friendship would ensure they didn't burn you. If your friend has hung you out to dry, basically they aren't your friend any more. Before you lawyer up, how's about talking to your friend as a friend? Sure he... |
Borrowing money to buy shares for cashflow? | This depends on: Here in the US where I am, interest rates were around 3.9% when I fixed my mortgage. This underperforms the market, e.g., a total market ETF like $VTI or an SP500 ETF like $VOO have expected returns of ~7+%, the current market growth rate. So, in theory I am better off paying into the market, and makin... |
What prevents investors from buying high yield stocks and selling them as soon as their dividend is paid out? | Although the market discussion by other answers is correct, the tax structure of many developed nations (I am familiar with Canada in particular) offers a preferred tax rate for dividend income compared to taxable gains. Consequently, if your portfolio is large enough to make transaction fees a very small percentage ... |
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... |
Trading on forex news, Interactive Brokers / IDEALPRO, and slippage | Slippage is tied to volatility, so when volatility increases the spread will also increase. There is no perfect formula to figure out slippage but from observations, it might make sense to look at the bar size in relation to previous bars to determine slippage (assuming fixed periods). This is because when there is a s... |
How to dollar-cost-average with a large amount of money in a savings account? | I up voted JoeTaxpayer but i would like add a couple of things. Dollar Cost averaging over a 5 day period is in no way practical. If you get a 1% swing in that time that would be quite a lot. Personally I think 5 years is way to long. When markets go down they go down fast. I would suggest 1 to 2 years investing quar... |
How does start-up equity end up paying off? | Equity could mean stock options. If that's the case if the company makes it big, you'll have the option to buy stocks cheap (which can then be sold at a huge profit) How are you going to buy those without income? 5% equity is laughable. I'd be looking for 30-40% if not better without salary. Or even better, a salary.... |
Stocks: do Good Till Cancelled orders get executed during after hours? | When I place an order with Scottrade I also have to specify if I am wanting to trade outside of normal hours. |
Evidence for/against negative correlation between commodity futures, stocks | The correlation I heard most about in economics/finance was that stock prices and bond yields were negatively correlated; as the stock market does better, bond yields fall (company's doing well as evidenced by stocks, so it's a good credit risk, so YTM of its bonds on the market goes down). The correlation, if any, bet... |
Choosing the limit when making a limit order? | Never. Isn't that the whole idea of the limit order. You want a bargain, not the price the seller wants. And when the market opens it is volatile at the most, just an observation mayn't be correct. Let it stabilize a bit. The other thing is you might miss the opportunity. But as an investor you should stick to your gun... |
Does owning BP ADR from US stock market required to pay custody fees | Rules appear to be changing (21NOV2014) Aviva Plc. AV on NYSE pass thru fee is 0.02 cents per ADR but that equals 11% deduction from ADR dividend. For utility or insurance stock that is significant ongoing fee. Registrar in US is Citibank, could be specific to them. This is the first for me except some modest fees on i... |
One of my stocks dropped 40% in 2 days, how should I mentally approach this? | First: do you understand why it dropped? Was it overvalued before, or is this an overreaction to some piece of news about them, or about their industry, or...? Arguably, if you can't answer that, you aren't paying enough attention to have been betting on that individual stock. Assuming you do understand why this price ... |
Data source for historical intra-day bid/ask price data for stocks? | Check the answers to this Stackoverflow question https://stackoverflow.com/questions/754593/source-of-historical-stock-data a number of potential sources are listed |
Should I invest my money in an ISA or Government bonds? (Or any other suggestion) | I recommend investing in precious metals like gold, considering the economic cycle we're in now. Government bonds are subject to possible default and government money historically tends to crumble in value, whereas gold and the metals tend to rise in value with the commodies. Stocks tend to do well, but right now most ... |
Is there a law or regulation that governs the maximum allowable interest amount that can be charged on credit cards or in agreements where credit is extended? | In Canada section 347 of the Canadian Criminal Code makes it illegal to charge more than 60% annually. Since most Canadian credit card annual interest fee is below this they are within that legal limit. However this is limited only to the rate and not necessarily a cap on the absolute interest charges. |
Cash out 401k for house downpayment | As @AlexKuhl says, ever? yes, but generally? no. If your 401k is invested in stocks and bonds, the long term return is very likely higher than the interest on a mortgage. Long term return on the stock market is around 7%. Mortgage rates these days are around 4%. Add the tax penalty on top of that and you're almost sure... |
At what point does it become worth it to file an insurance claim? | An article linked from cnn.com has some great advice, which I think are good rules of thumb. Also, at least my insurance gives a premium price for those who haven't filed a claim in 5 or more years for homeowners or rental insurance. See if you have a similar discount, will loose it, and guess how much that will cost y... |
Pros and cons of bond ETF versus traditional bond mutual fund? | Bond ETFs are just another way to buy a bond mutual fund. An ETF lets you trade mutual fund shares the way you trade stocks, in small share-size increments. The content of this answer applies equally to both stock and bond funds. If you are intending to buy and hold these securities, your main concerns should be purc... |
Any other options for cash-out/construction loans? | For alternative financing, pursue a line of credit or a Home Equity Line of Credit. (From the comments of @ChrisInEdmonton and @littleadv on the original question) |
How can I help my friend change his saving habits? | If he's not used to cooking, recipes might not be enough. Maybe he needs cooking lessons. I used to think if you could read, you could cook -- but I grew up "helping" my mom in the kitchen and in the process learning what all the instructions in cookbooks meant. But it also might just be force of habit, in which case a... |
Do large market players using HFT make it unsafe for individual investors to be in the stock market? | In some senses, any answer to this question is going to be opinion based - nobody outside of HFT firms really know what they do, as they tend to be highly secretive due to the competitive nature of the activity they're engaged in. What's more, people working at HFT firms are bound by confidentiality agreements, so even... |
Advantages of paying more of your mortgage while you know you won't continue to live there your whole life | The main factors you have to consider are: Could you get a better return on that money by investing it somewhere? The investment rate should basically be more than the mortgage rate. If you find yourself suddenly in need of money (eg, loss of job) do you have enough savings to ride that out? If not, investing the ext... |
Looking for good investment vehicle for seasonal work and savings | Most online "high yield" savings accounts are paying just above 1%. That would be 1.05% for American Express personal savings, or 1.15% for Synchrony Bank (currently). Depending on the length of the season, you might want to work in some CD's. Six months CDs can be had at 1.2%, and 9 month at 1.25%. So if you know ... |
Can I request to change 401k offerings from my employer, e.g. to invest in ETFs? | See if any of the funds they offer are index funds, which will generally have MUCH lower fees and which seem to perform as well as any of the actively managed funds in the same categories. |
What emergencies could justify a highly liquid emergency fund? | What sort of emergency requires payment up front for which 2-3 days processing of a stock sale would pose a problem? In my case, the sudden and unexpected death of my wife. Back in 2011, my wife was struck and killed in a traffic incident. I had to immediately (not in 2 - 3 days) cover 50% of the entire costs of the fu... |
In Canada, how bad must your credit be for a denial of a Secured Credit Card? | Although now there are "welcome" banking packages when I landed in 2008 I couldn't find any and Vancity gave me a secured visa nonetheless. Let me emphasize: I didn't have a credit history, score at all. I doubt this changed much. The bank has zero risk. |
Buying an investment property in Australia - what are the advantages and disadvantages of building a house vs buying an existing one? | When buying investment properties there are different levels of passive investment involved. At one end you have those that will buy an investment property and give it to a real estate agent to manage and don't want to think of it again (apart from watching the rent come in every week). At the other end there are thos... |
Retired, want to buy a mobile home; how to finance? | Do you think your 403b will earn more than the mortgage interest rate? If so, then mortgage seems the way to go. Conservative investment strategies might not earn much more than a 3-4% mortgage, and if you're paying 5-6% it's more likely you'll be earning less than the mortgage. From another point of view, though, I w... |
How can foreign investor (residing outside US) invest in US company stocks? | (Note: out of my depth here, but in case this helps...) While not a direct answer to your question, I'll point out that in the inverse situation - a U.S. investor who wants to buy individual stocks of companies headquartered outside US - you would buy ADRs, which are $-denominated "wrapper" stocks. They can be listed ... |
Tenant wants to pay rent with EFT | It's safe. You give people those numbers every time you write a check. If a check is forged, and doesn't have your signature on it, the bank has to return the money to you; they get it back from the other bank, who takes whatever action it deems necessary against the forger. They've been doing this for a few hundred y... |
Why are estimated taxes due “early” for the 2nd and 3rd quarters only? | nan |
Are prepayment penalties for mortgages normal? | Mortgages with a prepayment penalty usually do not charge points as a condition of issue. The points, usually in the range 1%-3% of the amount borrowed, are paid from the buyer's funds at the settlement, and are effectively the prepayment penalty. Once upon a time (e.g. 30 years ago), in some areas, buyers had a choi... |
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