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Investing in a offshore bank account | when investing in index funds Index fund as the name suggests invests in the same proportion of the stocks that make up the index. You can choose a Index Fund that tracks NYSE or S&P etc. You cannot select individual companies. Generally these are passively managed, i.e. just follow the index composition via automated ... |
Can you buy out a pink sheet listed company by purchasing all of the oustanding shares? | I suggest you contact head of the company your are interested in, ask if he or she owns a controlling interest. If so offer to buy him out. |
Health insurance deduction on schedule C if also full time employee with w2? | Do you satisfy the necessary criteria listed there? Then why not?... It sounds like you do. |
Why does gold have value? | It has semantic value (because we culturally believe gold is valuable). There is a very important point here. Gold and many other coin metals. This "semantic value" is enshrined in law through the special tax status of coin metals. You can buy a kilo of gold and not pay sales tax. You can't buy a kilo of iron or ti... |
Could capital gains from a stock sale impact my IRA eligibility? | Yes, eligibility for contributing to a Roth IRA is determined by your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) which is based on your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Now, AGI includes the net capital gains from your transactions and MAGI adds back in things that were subtracted off (e.g. tuition deductions, foreign earned in... |
If banks offer a fixed rate lower than the variable rate, is that an indication interest rates may head down? | This is known as an inverted yield curve. It is rare, and can be caused by a few things, as discussed at the link. It can be because the view is that the economy will slow and therefore interest rates will go down. It is not caused by "secret" preparation. It could also be that there is generally in the world a move to... |
How Often Should I Chase a Credit Card Signup Bonus? | See the accepted answer for this question. What effect will credit card churning for frequent flyer miles have on my credit score? This does not directly answer 'how often...' that you asked, but it states that the answerer opens 5-15 accounts per year. So the answer to your question is, as often as you want, as long... |
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... |
Is there any chance for a layperson to gain from stock exchange? [duplicate] | Currencies are a zero-sum game. If you make money, someone else will lose it. Because bank notes sitting in a pile don't create anything useful. But shares in companies are different, because companies actually do useful things and make money, so it's possible for all investors to make money. The best way to benefit is... |
How does the purchase of shares on the secondary market benefit the issuing company? | First, the stock does represent a share of ownership and if you have a different interpretation I'd like to see proof of that. Secondly, when the IPO or secondary offering happened that put those shares into the market int he first place, the company did receive proceeds from selling those shares. While others may prof... |
How to gift money anonymously to an individual after collection thru a donation site? | You mention that "A great friend and couple's family" which makes me think this is a couple. For gift tax concerns, you can give a couple 2 x the gift tax exemption ($28,000 in 2015). Your example of $22k would fit in this amount. To give this money anonymously, I know that people have reached out to a pastor in the... |
Does investing more money into stocks increase chances of profit? | The investment return for a given strategy is directly proportional to the amount invested. Invest twice as much, profit (or lose) twice as much. It's a straight multiplier. However, there are some strategies which are less risky with a larger investment, and some investments which have a minimum unit of purchase that ... |
Is it a good strategy to +cash out refi every six months? | When you refinance, there is cost (guess: around $2000-$3000) to cover lawyers, paperwork, surveys, deed insurance, etc. etc. etc. Someone has to pay that cost, and in the end it will be you. Even if you get a "no points no cost" loan, the cost is going to be hidden in the interest rate. That's the way transactions wit... |
Should I prioritize retirement savings inside of my HSA? | You would want to prioritize Roth and retirement over HSA. As the HSA is only for health and dental expenses, which you will always have, overfunding it will put you in a bit of a pickle for all of the life involved. For example, even if you or a loved one develop a strange & expensive ailment, the HSA will only cover ... |
Home Renovations are expensive.. Should I only pay cash for them? | It depends on your situation. If your floor is broken, fix it. If you don't have $1,000 on hand, spend appropriately. It seems silly to be doing ROI calculations on the potential impact on resale value. It's sillier to blow money frivolously, whether you do so with cash or credit. I'm assuming that if you have a broke... |
Options for dummies. Can you explain how puts & calls work, simply? | Put options are contracts to sell. You pay me a fee for the right to put the stock (or other underlying security) in my hands if you want to. That happens on a specific date (the strike date) and a specified price (the strike price). You can decide not to exercise that right, but I must follow through and let you sell ... |
See list of stock trades for day | You can see all the (millions) of trades per day for a US stock only if you purchase that data from the individual exchanges (NYSE, NASDAQ, ARCA, ...), from a commercial market data aggregator (Bloomberg, Axioma, ...), or from the Consolidated Tape Association. In none of that data will you ever find identifying infor... |
How should I interpret this industry research? | As BobbyScon said in the comments, invest in a company that is developing in that field. Or invest in a company which supplies that field. The people who got rich in the California gold rush were those selling shovels and other miners' supplies. Or bet against whatever you think this will displace. If automobiles are t... |
Automatic investments for cheap | Almost all major no-load mutual fund families allow you to do the kind of thing you are talking about, however you may need an initial investment of between $1000 to $3000 depending on the fund. Once you have it however, annual fee's are usually very little, and the fees to buy that companies funds are usually zero if... |
What is a normal amount of money to spend per week on food/entertainment/clothing? | I'll start with a question... Is the 63K before or after taxes? The short answer to your question on how much is reasonable is: "It depends." It depends on a lot more than where you live, it depends on what you want... do you want to pay down debt? Do you want to save? Are you trying to buy a house? Those will influen... |
Prepaying a loan: Shouldn't the interest be recalculated like a shorter loan? | For the mortgage, you're confusing cause and effect. Loans like mortgages generally have a very simple principle behind them: at any given time, the interest charged at that time is the product of the amount still owing and the interest rate. So for example on a mortgage of $100,000, at an interest rate of 5%, the inte... |
Can I register for VAT to claim back VAT without selling VAT applicable goods? (UK) | As far as I know any business can register for VAT regardless of the nature of the business. If all the goods you sell (or services you provide) are VAT-exempt or zero-rated then you will get refunds from HMRC on VAT your business pays. Any business whose non-VAT exempt turnover (which would include zero-rated goods a... |
Can someone recommend a book that discusses the differences between types of financial statements? | Why Stocks go up and Down by William H Pike is a great source if you are looking to interpret statements for stock analysis. This book really starts from the beginning and clearly explains with a running example of a fake company. |
Should I charge my children interest when they borrow money? | This is not really the focus of your question, but it's worth noting that if you live in the United States (which your profile says you do), there are tax implications for you (but not for your children), depending on whether or not you charge your children (enough) interest. If you charge less interest than the appro... |
Making enquiries about shares | Is anything possible, and if so, how? Because of the circumstances, there is nothing you can do. You do not have the ISIN, nor are you a part-owner of the account. The information you would need is: As always, good luck. |
Options profit calculation and cash settlement | Marketwatch reports that the 108 strike call option sells for 1.45, down 1.53 from yesterday. If we split the bid and ask you get 1.415. That is what that contract will, likely, trade at. The biggest problems with options are commissions and liquidity. I have seen a commission as high as $45 per trade. I have also se... |
Strategic countermeasures to overcome crisis in Russia | If you have significant assets, such as a large deposit, then diversification of risks such as currency risk is good practice - there are many good options, but keeping 100% of it in roubles is definitely not a good idea, nor is keeping 100% of it in a single foreign currency. Of course, it would be much more benefici... |
What special considerations need to be made for a US citizen who wishes to purchase a house in Canada? | About deducting mortgage interest: No, you can not deduct it unless it is qualified mortgage interest. "Qualified mortgage interest is interest and points you pay on a loan secured by your main home or a second home." (Tax Topic 505). According to the IRS, "if you rent out the residence, you must use it for more than ... |
Stock not available at home country nor at their local market - where should I buy it | Theoretically, it shouldn't matter which one you use. Your return should only depend on the stock returns in SGD and the ATS/SGD exchange rate (Austrian Schillings? is this an question from a textbook?). Whether you do the purchase "through" EUR or USD shouldn't matter as the fluctuations in either currency "cancel" ... |
How to change stock quantity in KMyMoney investment editor? | I can't give you a detailed answer because I'm away from the computer where I use kMyMoney, but IIRC to add investments you have to create new transactions on the 'brokerage account' linked to your investment account. |
When should I walk away from my mortgage? | It's a decision that only you can make. What are the chances that you'll want to take another loan (any loan - car, credit card, installment plan for new fridge, whatever else)? What are the chances that with the bad credit you'll find it hard to rent a place (and in Cali it's hard to rent a place right now, believe me... |
How to choose a good 401(k) investment option? | Great question and good for you for starting investments. Are you young, like in your 20s? I would do all that you can in the ROTH. You will not get a tax break now, but you will get one later. Keep in mind that any company match does not go into ROTH but the IRA. I try to look at two things when judging a mutual fu... |
Moving my online only business to the USA? | You don't need a Visa to create or own US property. Your registered agent will be able to take care of most of this, and your new entity will use the registered agent's address where applicable, but you may need your own separate address which can be your office in the UK. If you want privacy then you'll want a separat... |
Could capital gains from a stock sale impact my IRA eligibility? | Yes. Look at form 1040 AGI is line 37, and it comes well after you report your schedule D cap gains. I read this question as meaning you wish to contribute to a traditional IRA pretax. There is no income limit to contribute to an IRA and not take the deduction. |
Who performs the blocking on a Visa card? | The request to block the money is made by the Party who sells the product. Based on this request the Bank blocks the funds. Subsequently the Party who sold the product makes a charge against this block. Just to give an easy example; So in the online train booking there are multiple messages sent between the Bank and SN... |
What does quantitative easing 2 mean for my bank account? | IMO, QE2 will likely have no perceptible impact in the near term. Keeping all of your savings in a bank guarantees that you will lose money to inflation & taxes. I'd suggest consulting a financial advisor -- preferably someone who understands issues facing someone with assets in the US and Canada. In terms of what port... |
Does it make sense to trade my GOOGL shares for GOOG and pocket the difference? | To keep it simple, let's say that A shares trade at 500 on average between April 2nd 2014 and April 1st 2015 (one year anniversary), then if C shares trade on average: The payment will be made either in cash or in shares within 90 days. The difficulties come from the fact that the formula is based on an average price o... |
Can I donate short-stock to charity? | With a short position you make your money (profit) when you buy the stocks back to close the position at a lower price than what you bought them at. As short selling is classed as speculation and not investing and you at no time own any actual assets, you cannot donate any short possition to charity. If you did want to... |
Take advantage of rock bottom oil prices | Probably the easiest way for individual investors is oil ETFs. In particular, USO seems to be fairly liquid and available. You should check carefully the bid/ask spreads in this volatile time. There are other oil ETFs and leveraged and inverse oil ETFs exist as well, but one should heed the warnings about leveraged ... |
Filing Form 7004 if an LLC's only members are husband and wife | Since you both are members of the LLC - it is not a single-member LLC, thus you have to file the tax return on behalf of the LLC (I'm guessing you didn't elect corporate treatment, so you would be filing 1065, which is the default). You need to file form 4868 on behalf of yourselves as individuals, and form 7004 on beh... |
Can I trade more than 4 stocks per week equally split between two brokers without “pattern day trading” problems? | No, if your brokers find out about this, even though it is unlikely, you will be identified as a pattern day trader. The regulations do not specify a per broker limit. Also, it's like a credit history. Brokers are loosely obligated to inform other brokers that a client is a pattern day trader when transferring account... |
How to calculate the price of a bond based with a yield to Maturity, term and annual interest? | The answer to almost all questions of this type is to draw a diagram. This will show you in graphical fashion the timing of all payments out and payments received. Then, if all these payments are brought to the same date and set equal to each other (using the desired rate of return), the equation to be solved is gene... |
Pensions, annuities, and “retirement” | With an annuity, you invest directly into an annuity with money you have earned as wages/salary/etc. You pay for it, and trade your payments into the annuity for guaranteed payments from the annuity issuer in the future. The more you pay in before the annuity payments begin, the more you will receive for your annuity p... |
Pros/cons of borrowing money using a mortgage loan and investing it in a low-fee index fund? | Well for a start funds don't pay interest. If you pick an income-paying fund (as opposed to one that automatically reinvests any income for you) you will receive periodic income based on the dividends paid by the underlying stocks, but it won't be the steady predictable interest payment you might get from a savings ac... |
Where can I find closed dates for the New York Stock Exchange for the coming year? | The NYSE holidays are listed online here: https://www.nyse.com/markets/hours-calendars |
Should I buy a house with a friend? | A real life experience. A friend of mine did that with his housemates. They bought a house together as students and it worked for them. The tricky bit is to have a very good contract with your housemates as to how the venture should work. What if? Somebody can't pay, somebody can't enjoy the house (on an extended trip... |
How do I know if refinance is beneficial enough to me? | It would help if we had numbers to walk you through the analysis. Current balance, rate, remaining term, and the new mortgage details. To echo and elaborate on part of Ben's response, the most important thing is to not confuse cash flow with savings. If you have 15 years to go, and refinance to 30 years, at the rate r... |
Explain the details and benefits of rebalancing a retirement portfolio? | Rebalancing a portfolio helps you reduce risk, sell high, and buy low. I'll use international stocks and large cap US stocks. They both have ups and downs, and they don't always track with each other (international might be up while large cap US stocks are down and vice-versa) If you started with 50% international and... |
In US, is it a good idea to hire a tax consultant for doing taxes? | I've been highly compensated for a while now, and I have never used a tax professional. My past complications include the year that my company was bought by a VC firm and my stock options and stock held were bought out to the tune of 5x my salary. And now I have two kids in college, with scholarships, and paying the ... |
What should I do with my $10K windfall, given these options? | If you need a new roof because your house is full of buckets that fill up every rain :) then that's most likely the item at the top of the list. If you need a new roof because you don't like the color, I'd do something else with it. If you are in the US and the 'education loan' has the same caveats attached as your ave... |
How come the government can value a home more than was paid for the house? | From my perspective I suspect that if the government use the paid price, people will start to buy at very low nominal prices in order to pay less taxes, and will repay the seller by other means. |
Preferred vs Common Shares in Private Corporation | To follow up on Quid's comment, the share classes themselves will define what level of dividends are expected. Note that the terms 'common shares' and 'preferred shares' are generally understood terms, but are not as precise as you might believe. There are dozens/hundreds of different characteristics that could be wri... |
Error in my car loan papers, what do I do? | The absolute first thing you need to do is contact the bank. Also, do you have a copy of the loan papers you signed? You should look over those as soon as possible as well. I'm sure you want these payments going toward your FICO score and not your mothers. |
Cons of withdrawing money from an Roth IRA account? | One "con" I have not yet seen mentioned: retirement accounts are generally protected from creditors in a bankruptcy. There are limits and exceptions, Roth has a 1.2 million dollar limit and can be split by a divorce QDRO for instance. Link Since it seems you have no income this year, you may may be raiding your IRA f... |
Is Bitcoin a commodity or a currency [duplicate] | Its neither. Its a scam. there's no value underlying it, and it has proven to be the most speculative and untrustworthy investment there is. The scam works like a pyramid scam, so the more people come later on the more people who came in earlier on gain, so that is why you see so much hype around it encouraged and fuel... |
Short term parking of a large inheritance? | Safe short term and "pay almost nothing" go hand in hand. Anything that is safe for the short term will not pay much in interest/appreciation. If you don't know what to do, putting it in a savings account is the safest thing. The purpose of that isn't to earn money, it's just to store the money while you figure out w... |
23 and on my own, what should I be doing? | Congratulations on earning a great income. However, you have a lot of debt and very high living expenses. This will eat all of your income if you don't get a hold of it now. I have a few recommendations for you. At the beginning of each month, write down your income, and write down all your expenses for the month. Inc... |
Was this a good deal on a mortgage? | The price of the loan may be justified if you're considered a high-risk applicant for some reason (e.g. you're putting very little money in initial payment), and if it includes all the associated expenses. What is more relevant to your situation is that you're probably better off renting. Think about it: your $300'000 ... |
How do you measure the value of gold? | You acquire something because you expect to use it, or because you expect to exchange it for something that you want to use. Gold is a good candidate for storing value because it's rare, it's not easily counterfeited, it's divisible, it's portable, etc. Contrast this with your favorite currency: more can be printed u... |
How does high frequency trading work if money isn't available for 2-3 days after selling? | Purchases and sales from the same trade date will both settle on the same settlement date. They don't have to pay for their purchases until later either. Because HFT typically make many offsetting trades -- buying, selling, buying, selling, buying, selling, etc -- when the purchases and sales settle, the amount they pa... |
where to get stock price forecast | First, stock prices forecasts are usually pretty subjective so in the following resources you will find differing opinions. The important thing is to read both positive and negative views and do some of your additional research and form your own opinion. To answer your question, some analysts don't provide price target... |
5/1 ARM: Lifetime cap, First Adjustment Cap, Margin, and Annual Cap? | You quote a rate (2.75%) and then quote a margin (1.75%). The margin is usually an addition to some base rate. How is the margin expressed in the figures you have? Is it included in the rate, or in addition to it? As for the other stuff, it looks like the rate can go up at most 1% per year, up to a maximum of 5% inc... |
Could someone explain this scenario about Google's involvement in the wireless spectrum auction? | At the time of the auction android was just vaporware but many companies were restricting the phones that they allowed on their networks so that they could control what the phones were being used for. The big guys (AT&T, Verison, and Sprint) feared that being forced to allow phones that could do things they did not ha... |
How do taxes work with donations made to an individual, e.g. for free software I wrote? | Do I report it as income? Is it subject to just the same amount of taxes (~30%) as regular income? Are there any restrictions on how it can be used? It is income. You can deduct the costs of maintaining the web page and producing the software from it (have an accountant do that for you, there are strict rules on ho... |
Book capital losses in gnucash | It depends on whether or not you are referring to realized or unrealized gains. If the asset appreciation is realized, meaning you've sold the asset and actually collected liquidity from it, then Derek_6424246 has provided a good route to follow. However, if the gains are unrealized, meaning only that the current va... |
Correct Ways of Importing Personal Finance Transaction Data | You'll need to find out in what format MoneyStrands expects the data. A .qif or an .ofx file may not be the answer. |
Having a separate bank account for business/investing, but not a “business account?” | When I was younger I had a problem with Washington Mutual. Someone had deposited a check in to my account then ran my account negative with a "dupe" of my debit card. WaMu tied up my account for three months while they investigated because it wasn't simply a debit card fraud issue, this was check fraud (so they claim... |
Why does it take 3 days to do electronic transfers between banks? [duplicate] | When Laurence Olivier took the role of Douglas Macarthur in the Unification Church's filming of Inchon, he told the press, "People ask me why I'm playing in this picture. The answer is simple: Money, dear boy." Banking systems are typically decades old and subject to innumerable legal and technical restrictions. Moving... |
Malaysian real estate: How to know if the market is overheated or in a bubble? | FYI...during the housing boom here in the US many people spoke about ever increasing home prices. Many thought home prices could never go down. Until they did. If it seems like it is impossible for home prices to continue to go up then they probably will stop going up at some point, although the rising prices can con... |
Should I pay off a 0% car loan? | Ultimately the question is more about your personality and level of discipline than about money. The rational thing to do is hang on to your cash, invest it somewhere else, and pay off the 0% loan as late as possible without incurring penalties or interest. Logically it's a no-brainer. Problem is, we're humans, so ... |
Foolish to place orders before the market opens? | This would otherwise be a comment, but I wish to share an image. A stock I happened to own, gapped up on the open to $9.20 and slowly worked its way down to $8.19 where it closed up 6% but near its low for the day. This is an addendum to my comment above, warning about buying a stock on the open when news is coming ou... |
How do I calculate ownership percentage for shared home ownership? | Accounting for this properly is not a trivial matter, and you would be wise to pay a little extra to talk with a lawyer and/or CPA to ensure the precise wording. How best to structure such an arrangement will depend upon your particular jurisdiction, as this is not a federal matter - you need someone licensed to advise... |
Are you preparing for a possible dollar (USD) collapse? (How?) | Buying gold, silver, palladium, copper and platinum. The first two I am thinking about new currencies. The last three for the perpetual need for the metals in industry. I also have invested in Numismatic coins. They are small portable and easy to hide around the house. I only collect silver coins, so even if the world ... |
Why is it good to borrow money to buy a house? | First, as others have commented, the idea that getting a mortgage to buy a house is always a good idea is false. It depends on a number of factors including the current interest rate, what you think the future interest rate will do over the life of your mortgage, the relative cost of renting vs. buying, and how long y... |
Break Even On Options Contracts | Simple answer: Breakeven is when the security being traded reaches a price equal to the cost of the option plus the option's strike price, assuming you choose to exercise it. So for example, if you paid $1.00 for,say, a call option with a strike price of $19.00, breakeven would be when the security itself reaches $20.0... |
How long should I keep my bills? | In general, you don't need to keep bills around for more than a few months. The exceptions are: anything that was itemized on your federal or state income taxes. You want to keep these around for seven years in case of an audit by the IRS brokerage statements buying/selling stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. You need ... |
Filing Taxes for Two Separate Jobs Being Worked at the Same Time? | You file taxes as usual. W2 is a form given to you, you don't need to fill it. Similarly, 1099. Both report moneys paid to you by your employers. W2 is for actual employer (the one where you're on the payroll), 1099 is for contractors (where you invoice the entity you provide services to and get paid per contract). You... |
Working out if I should be registered as self-employed in the UK | Being self employed just means you fill out some more forms in your annual self assessment for your "profit" from being self employed. Profit = all the money you receive, minus any tax deductible cost that you spent for making that money (and all the cost must be documented, which means you have a folder with all the ... |
The doctor didn't charge the health insurance in time, am I liable? | If you read all that paperwork they made you fill out at the emergency room, there is probably something in there explicitly stating that you owe any bills you rack up regardless of what happens with the insurance company. They generally have a disclaimer that filing for you with your insurance company is a courtesy se... |
Is the need to issue bonds a telltale sign that the company would have a hard time paying coupons? | People borrow money all the time to buy a house. Banks will lend money on one (up to 80%, sometimes more), because they consider it an "investment." If you own a large company and want to expand, a bank or bond issuer will first look at what you plan to do with the money, like build new factories, or whatever. Based on... |
Why are currency forwards needed? | Can't I achieve the exact same effect and outcome by exchanging currency now and put that amount of USD in a bank account to gain some interest, then make the payment from one year from now? Sure, assuming that the company has the money now. More commonly they don't have that cash now, but will earn it over the time p... |
Why is stock dilution legal? | Stock dilution is legal because, in theory, the issuance of new shares shouldn't affect actual shareholder value. The other answers have explained fairly well why this is so. In practice, however, the issuance of new shares can destroy shareholder value. This normally happens when the issuing company: In these cases, ... |
Figuring out if I receive US income? | I believe the answer is no, since your income from royalties and app sales would fall under FDAP income. (another conformation of this would be the fact that Apple and Google requested a W8-BEN form from you and not a W8-ECI form) Generally, All income EXCEPT FDAP income (fixed or determinable annual or periodical inco... |
Foreign currency conversion for international visitors to ecommerce web site? | You probably can get away with only updating the exchange rates once a day and specify that any prices quoted in units other than your home currency are estimates only. If you're planning to accept more than one currency as payment, I'd (a) see about whatever regulations there are for doing so, and (b) build in a nice ... |
Trying to figure out my student loans | Is there anything here I should be deathly concerned about? I don't see anything you should be deathly concerned about unless your career outlook is very poor and you are making minimum wage. If that is the case you may struggle for the next 10 years. Are these rates considered super high or manageable? The rates for t... |
Get financial reports on Canadian companies | www.sedar.com is the official site that provides access to most public securities documents and information filed by public companies and investment funds with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in the SEDAR filing system. Now, I'm guessing - I think the doc is MDA - Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Fi... |
Why would people sell a stock below the current price? | People in this case, are large institutional investors. The "bid ask" spread is for "small traders" like yourself. It is put out by the so-called specialists (or "market makers") and is typically good for hundreds or thousands of shares at a time. Normally, 2 points on a 50 stock is a wide spread, and the market maker ... |
How do we know the number of shorted shares of a stock? | For a company listed on NASDAQ, the numbers are published on NASDAQ's site. The most recent settlement date was 4/30/2013, and you can see that it lists 27.5 million shares as held short. NASDAQ gets these numbers from FINRA member firms, which are required to submit them to the exchange twice a month: Each FINRA memb... |
Comparing/reviewing personal health insurance plans for the self-employed | Health insurance is tough, as you know, because the offerings vary dramatically by State, and there is the added complication of the Affordable Care Act, which depending on where and who you are has had either a good or bad impact on the available options. If you are a sole proprietor or other business person, I'd advi... |
How safe is a checking account? | US checking accounts are not really secure, though many people use them. One form of check fraud has been highlighted by Prof. Donald Knuth and carried out by Frank Abagnale, as portrayed in the film Catch Me If You Can. Basically, anyone can write a check that would draw from your account merely by knowing your accoun... |
What are the advantages/disadvantages of a self-directed IRA? | There is nothing wrong with self directed IRA's the problem is that most of the assets they specialize in are better done in other ways. Real estate is already extremely tax advantaged in the US. Buying inside a Traditional IRA would turn longterm capital gains (currently 15%) into ordinary income taxed at your tax rat... |
How to help a financially self destructive person? | I am no expert by any means in divorce situations, but it seems like you probably have more than enough evidence (if you can back up everything you outlined here) that the living conditions an her place are not suitable for kids. This ought to be enough for you to gain sole custody of the kids. Maybe you didn't want ... |
How can I avoid international wire fees or currency transfer fees? | Several possibilities come to mind: Several online currency-exchange brokers (such as xe.com and HiFx) offer very good exchange rates and no wire transfer fees (beyond what your own bank might charge you). Get French and American accounts at banks that are part of the Global ATM alliance: BNP Paribas in France and Ban... |
Why I cannot find a “Pure Cash” option in 401k investments? | The short term bond fund, which you are pretty certain to have as an option, functions in this capacity. Its return will be low, but positive, in all but the most dramatic of rising rate scenarios. I recall a year in the 90's when rates rose enough that the bond fund return was zero or very slightly negative. It's not... |
Why is being “upside down” on a mortgage so bad? | And then there is the issue of people who actually don't intend to reduce the size of their loan. They only want to pay the interest, so their debt with the bank remains constant. If you are upside down, it means you will not have the financial means to remove the debt. If, for some reason, you are no longer able to pa... |
Should I open a credit card when I turn 18 just to start a credit score? | Yes, it is a very good idea to start your credit history early. It sounds like you have a good understanding of the appropriate use of credit, as a substitute for cash rather than a supplement to income. As long as you keep your expenses under control and pay off your card each month, I see no problems with the idea.... |
Calculating profits on a covered call. What method do you use? | yes, you are double counting. Your profit is between ($7.25 and $8) OR ($7.75 and $8.50). in other words, you bought the stock at $7.75 and sold at $8.00 and made $0.50 on top. Profit = $8.00-$7.75+$0.50 (of course all this assumes that the stock is at or above $8.00 when the option expires. If it's below, then your p... |
Buying a car - advice needed | If it costs more to fix the car than the car is worth, then those repairs are not worth it. Hit craigslist and look for another junker that runs, but is in your cash price range. Pay to get it looked at by a mechanic as a condition of sale. Use consumer reports to try and find a good model. Somebody in your position... |
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. |
Joint account that requires all signatures of all owners to withdraw money? | Savings accounts have lower fees. If you don't anticipate doing many transactions per month, e.g. three or fewer withdrawals, then I would suggest a savings account rather than a checking account. A joint account that requires both account holder signatures to make withdrawals will probably require both account holders... |
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