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What are the primary investment strategies people use and why do they use them?
There are two umbrellas in investing: active management and passive management. Passive management is based on the idea "you can't beat the market." Passive investors believe in the efficient markets hypothesis: "the market interprets all information about an asset, so price is equal to underlying value". Another idea ...
How do I figure out if I will owe taxes
Do you have a regular job, where you work for somebody else and they pay you a salary? If so, they should be deducting estimated taxes from your paychecks and sending them in to the government. How much they deduct depends on your salary and what you put down on your W-4. Assuming you filled that out accurately, they w...
Can saving/investing 15% of your income starting age 25, likely make you a millionaire?
The really simple answer is that compound interest is compound not linear. Money invested for longer earns more interest, and the sooner you start investing, the longer it has to earn interest. These ideas come out of pension investment where 65 is the usual retirement age and what you invest in the 1st ten years of ...
Buying a home with down payment from family as a “loan”
I would recommend against loans from family members. But if you decide to go down that path take care of the basics: This is a business decision so treat it like one. I would add that the situation you describe sounds extremely generous to your family member. I'd look at standard loan agreements (ie. in the marketplace...
Why would a car company lend me money at a very low interest rate?
The car company loans you money at 1 or 2% because it is part of the incentive to get you to buy the car. Car company transactions are complex involving the manufacturer, the dealership, and the financing part of the car company. Not to mention Rebates, the used car transaction, and the leasing department. If they don...
Trying to understand Return on Capital (Joel Greenblatt's Magic Formula version)
Just to clarify things: The Net Working Capital is the funds, the capital that will finance the everyday, the short term, operations of a company like buying raw materials, paying wages erc. So, Net Working Capital doesn't have a negative impact. And you should not see the liabilities as beneficial per se. It's rather ...
Which is the better strategy for buying stocks monthly?
You will invest 1000£ each month and the transaction fee is 10£ per trade, so buying a bunch of stocks each month would not be wise. If you buy 5 stocks, then transaction costs will eat up 5% of your investment. So if you insist on taking this approach, you should probably only buy one or two stocks a month. It sound...
Accidentally opened a year term CD account, then realized I need the money sooner. What to do?
I did find this information from the US Department of the Treasury: What are the penalties for withdrawing money early from a Time Certificate of Deposit (CD)? Federal law stipulates that all time certificates of deposit (CD) that are cashed out early are subject to a minimum penalty. If you withdraw an amount within t...
What is the purpose of the wash sale rule?
Overall the question is one of a political nature. However, this component can have objective answers: "What behavior is trying to be prevented?" There are mechanisms by which capital gains can be deferred (1031 like-kind exchange, or simply holding a long position for years) or eliminated by the estate step up in ba...
I'm only spending roughly half of what I earn; should I spend more?
Goodness, I wish I could put away half my paycheck. Not to rain on your parade, but a 6-month emergency fund is not quite "very good." It is the typical starting time frame. Personally, I would feel more comfortable with a 2+ year fund. That is a bit extreme, but only because many of us can barely seem to make it ar...
When a stock price goes down, does the money just disappears into thin air?
You buy a $100k sport car, but don't buy any insurance. You take a curve too fast and jump out just in time to see your car go off a cliff, like a chase movie. The value went from $100k to zero in seconds. Where did the $100k go?
Can I get a discount on merchandise by paying with cash instead of credit?
There are two fundamentally different reasons merchants will give cash discounts. One is that they will not have to pay interchange fees on cash (or pay much lower fees on no-reward debit cards). Gas stations in my home state of NJ already universally offer different cash and credit prices. Costco will not even take ...
I'm only spending roughly half of what I earn; should I spend more?
The suggestions towards retirement and emergency savings outlined by the other posters are absolute must-dos. The donations towards charitable causes are also extremely valuable considerations. If you are concerned about your savings, consider making some goals. If you plan on staying in an area long term (at least f...
Tax planning for Indian TDS on international payments
Tax Deducted at source is applicable to Employee / Employer [contract employee] relations ... it was also made applicable for cases where an Indian company pays for software products [like MS Word etc] as the product is not sold, but is licensed and is treated as Royalty [unlike sale of a consumer product, that you hav...
what is the best way of investment which gives returns forever?
What is the best way that I can invest money so that I can always get returns? Would it be to set up an FD in a bank, to buy land, to buy a rental house, to buy a field, or maybe to purchase gold? Forever is a long time. Of the options you listed, the only one guaranteed to generate returns is a bank account. The r...
What do the terms par value, purchase price, call price, call date, and coupon rate mean in the context of bonds?
Unless stated otherwise, these terms apply to all bonds. The par value or face value of a bond refers to the value of the bond when it's redeemed at maturity. A bond with a par value of $10,000 simply means that if you purchase the bond and hold it until the maturity date specified in the contract, you receive $10,000....
How to calculate/reconcile conflicting P/E ratios?
The user who wrote the Zerohedge item: The CBS article: The Quora estimate is similar to the Zerohedge one (estimated a round value of 1000 PE and a price of 70-80). Note that it was 30 days after the first 2 items you quoted. You used the CBS numbers except you used the zerohedge price. It depends on which earnings w...
If I'm going to start doing my own taxes soon, do I need to start keeping receipts for everything?
The other reason you might want to keep receipts is if you do any freelancing or contract work, for your business expenses. You can take a picture of the receipts with your phone, or scan them - you don't have to keep the paper copies.
Should you co-sign a personal loan for a friend/family member? Why/why not?
My thoughts on loaning money to friends or family are outlined pretty extensively here, but cosigning on a loan is a different matter. It is almost never a good idea to do this (I say "almost" only because I dislike absolutes). Here are the reasons why: Now, all that said, if my sister or parents were dying of cancer...
Do there exist any wikipedia type sites for evaluating financial service providers?
Excellent question. I'm not aware of one. I was going to say "go visit some personal finance blogs" but then I remembered that I write on one, and that I often get a commission if I talk about online accounts, so unless something is really bad I'm not going to post on it because I want to make money, not chase it away...
How do I interpret this analysis from Second Opinion?
This is analyst speak for "the stock isn't going anywhere anytime soon". Remember these guys are offering advice to the entire universe in a few lines, so the advice gets fortune cookie-like. When I look at these things, I care more about when the analyst changes their opinion more than what the opinion is. If you real...
Calculating the value of an investors inventory
Is it just -34*4.58= -$155.72 for CCC and -11*0.41= -$4.51 for DDD? Yes it needs to be recorded as negative because at some point in time, the investor will have to spend money to buy these shares [cover the short sell and return the borrowed shares]. Whether the investor made profit or loss will not be reflected as yo...
How to find out the amount of preferred stock of Coca Cola Company?
You can find this in the annual report. Preferred value is not the same as common value.
Do retailers ever stock goods just to make other goods sell better?
They may stock items that frame the various price points. Of course they risk having the items go stale before they are sold. You also have situations where the store will advertise an item, but end up taking a loss on that sale because it will bring people in, and they will make other purchases. Determining what to st...
Good book-keeping software?
I'm not directly affiliated with the company (I work for one of the add-on partners) but I can wholeheartedly recommend Xero for both personal and business finances. Their basis is to make accounting simple and clean, without sacrificing any of the power behind having the figures there in the first place.
Will depositing $10k+ checks each month raise red flags with the IRS?
Your main concern seems to be to be accused of something called 'smurfing' or structuring. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structuring Depositing money amounts (cash or checks) under the 10k limit to circumvent the reporting requirement. People have been investigated for depositing under the limit, e.g. small business own...
Should I “hedge” my IRA portfolio with a life cycle / target date mutual fund?
First of all, it's great you're now taking full advantage of your employer match – i.e. free money. Next, on the question of the use of a life cycle / target date fund as a "hedge": Life cycle funds were introduced for hands-off, one-stop-shopping investors who don't like a hassle or don't understand. Such funds are g...
Why is it not a requirement for companies to pay dividends?
The shareholders have a claim on the profits, but they may prefer that claim to be exercised in ways other than dividend payments. For example, they may want the company to invest all of its profits in growth, or they may want it to buy back shares to increase the value of the remaining shares, especially since dividen...
Why is company provided health insurance tax free, but individual health insurance is not?
During World War II, the United States (US) instituted wage and price controls. To attract better employees, companies would offer benefits to get around salary limits. Health insurance was one of the more successful benefits. At that time, income taxes were newer and there were many ways to evade them. Companies ...
What does this statement regarding put options mean?
fennec has a very good answer but i feel it provides too much information. So i'll just try to explain what that sentence says. Put option is the right to sell a stock. "16 puts on Cisco at 71 cents", means John comes to Jim and says, i'll give you 71 cent now, if you allow me to sell one share of Cisco to you at $16 a...
What are some tips for getting the upper hand in car price negotiations?
I read a really good tract that my credit union gave me years ago written by a former car salesman about negotiation tactics with car dealers. Wish I could find it again, but I remember a few of the main points. 1) Never negotiate based on the monthly payment amount. Car salesmen love to get you into thinking about th...
Do I even need credit cards?
Eventually you are going to need some sort of real credit history. It is possible that you will be able to evade this if you never buy a house, or if you pay cash for any house/condo/car/boat/etc that you buy. Even employers check credit history these days. I wouldn't be surprised if some medical professionals such ...
What does PMI mean?
Private Mortgage Insurance. It's money that you pay to an insurance company to make the lender whole in the event that you go into default. It's a real waste of money for you. If you are trying to finance more than 80% of the value of a home, a standard mortage is likely to require that you get PMI. Nowadays there are ...
Does a stay at home mom need term life insurance?
Another source of insurance can be through the working spouses employment. Some companies do provide free or low cost coverage for spouses without a need for a physical exam. The risk is that it might not be available at the amount you want, and that if the main spouse switches companies it might not be available with ...
What happens to your ability to borrow money based on our joint finances?
Several factors are considered in loans as significant as a home mortgage. I believe the most major factors are 1) Credit report, 2) Income, and 3) Employment status If you borrow jointly, all joint factors are included, not just the favorable ones. Some wrinkles this can cause may include: Credit Report - The second...
Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
yes and no its definitely not charitable as they are making money of off you but depending on the outside conditions if you had to pay a mortgage on that condo with only 35k in payments to start off it would more than likely exceed 500 dollars a month however there would always be a point were the mortgage would end an...
Can I deduct equipment expenses for a job I began overseas?
A computer is a special case because the IRS thinks that you might be using it for personal applications. You may need to keep a log, or be able to state that you also have another computer for non-business use. That said, if your schedule C shows a small profit then you don't need to itemize expenses, just state th...
Why can Robin Hood offer trading without commissions?
Robinhood does offer premium products that they charge for-I suspect we will see more of that in the future. They do not change the bid/ask spread as some have said because they have to give you the NBBO.
Is there such a thing as “stock insurance”?
Yes, you can insure against the fall in price of stock by purchasing a put option. You pay for a put and if the price of the share falls below the "strike price" of the put, then you can exercise the put. On exercise, the person who sold you the put contract agrees to buy the stock for the strike price, even though t...
Could someone please provide an example of a portfolio similiar to the GFP or Couch potato, but for Australia?
The portfolio described in that post has a blend of small slices of Vanguard sector funds, such as Vanguard Pacific Stock Index (VPACX). And the theory is that rebalancing across them will give you a good risk-return tradeoff. (Caveat: I haven't read the book, only the post you link to.) Similar ETFs are available fr...
More money towards down payment versus long-term investments
I'd put the 20% down, close on the house, live in it for a year, and save the difference. If you find your cash flow is fine, run a calculation and start on a program of prepaying a bit of principal each month as an extra payment. If you study how amortization works, you'll understand that an extra payment of about 1/...
Basic questions about investing in stocks
Now a days, your stocks can be seen virtually through a brokerage account. Back in the days, a stock certificate was the only way to authenticate stock ownership. You can still request them though from the corporation you have shares in or your brokerage. It will have your name, corporation name and number of shares yo...
Is selling only shares you bought with margin on a margin/unsettled cash purchase free ride?
There is no free ride at most brokers. You will likely be charged a margin fee for that trade even though you only held the margin shares for part of one day. The margin fee would be the annual margin interest rate calculated down to a one day holding period,so it would be smaller. Check your broker's policies but most...
Under what circumstance will the IRS charge you a late-payment penalty for taxes?
Years ago I mailed my personal tax return one day after the due date, and my check was deposited as normal, and I never heard anything about it. As an employer, I once sent in my employee's withheld federal taxes one day after the due date, and I later received a letter stating my penalty for being late worked out to b...
Would it make sense to buy a rental property as an LLC and not in my own name?
Don't worry about the spam mail. If you get a loan, it will be based on your personal credit. I don't know if you can get a real estate loan for your LLC, even if it owns many properties. Typically you get the loan in your own name, then transfer title to the LLC. The LLC does offer good liability protection. The downs...
Why does short selling require borrowing?
This can be best explained with an example. Bob thinks the price of a stock that Alice has is going to go down by the end of the week, so he borrows a share at $25 from Alice. The current price of the shares are $25 per share. Bob immediately sells the shares to Charlie for $25, it is fair, it is the current market pri...
Someone asks you to co-sign a loan. How to reject & say “no” nicely or politely?
'If i co-sign that makes me 100% liable if for any reason you can't or won't pay. Also this shows up on a credit report just like it's my debt. This limits the amount i can borrow for any reason. I don't want to take on your debt, that's your business and i don't want to make it mine'.
How to find out if a company is legit?
It depends greatly from place to place, but nothing beats the Internet reviews' research. If you can't find anything digging slightly deeper than the impressive home page, then you probably should be worried. As it seems that you are. Specifically, I do these: @JohnFX mentions a valid point: check for physical presence...
Comparing IRA vs 401K's rate-of-return with dollar cost averaging
The number you are trying to calculate is called the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Google Spreadsheets (and excel) both have an XIRR function that can do this for you fairly simply. Setup a spreadsheet with 1 column for dates, 1 column for investment. Mark your investments as negative numbers (payment to invest). Al...
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...
When should I walk away from my mortgage?
Many good answers here, especially that you have to consider that renting may be more expensive than you'd think. Also, keep in mind that rent is money that is completely lost. Even if the property has dropped in value, if you keep paying, you will be able to recuperate part of your mortgage payments when you sell the ...
Are investor's preference for dividends justified?
Stocks aren't just paper -- they're ownership of a company. Getting cash from a stock that doesn't pay dividends basically means reducing your stake in the company. If the stock pays dividends, on the other hand, you still have the same shares, but now you have cash too. You can choose to buy more of the company...or...
renter's insurance for causing property damage
You need to get some thing called landlord insurance, tenants only covers his belongings. Any property damage caused deliberately or unknowingly is not covered in this, its upon the owner to get landlord insurance.
How Should I Start my Finance Life and Invest?
nan
What types of receipts do I need to keep for itemized tax deductions?
I err on the side of saving all of mine for a while. Just toss them in a box at least. A years' worth is about the size of a shoebox. I started doing this because one year, about a week after I tossed my receipts for the year, I realized that I had a fair bit of allotment left on my flexible savings account to use up...
Line of credit for investment
What you are describing is called a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). While the strategy you are describing is not impossible it would raise the amount of debt in your name and reduce your borrowing potential. A recent HELOC used to finance the down payment on a second property risks sending a signal of bad financial...
Should I make more conservative investments in my company 401(K) if I'm going to leave the job in a couple of years?
Your retirement PLAN is a lifelong plan and shouldn't be tied to your employer status. Max out your 401(k) contribution to the maximum that your employer matches (that's a 100% ROI!) and as much as you can afford. When you leave the work force rollover your 401(k) to an IRA account (e.g.: you can create an IRA account ...
Why do car rental companies prefer/require credit over debit cards?
A hotel can accept the debit card because each night they can withdraw the money. If you don't have sufficient funds they can instantly lock you out of your room. They an also limit your ability to access room service, and other extra expensive options. The rental car can't do that once you have the car. Plus they neve...
Should I get a auto loan to diversify my credit lines if I have the cash to pay upfront
There is no need to get an auto loan just to try and affect your credit score. It is possible to have a score over 800 without any sort of auto loan. If you can afford to pay for the vehicle up front that is the better option. Even with special financing incentives it is better to pay up front if you can. Yes it is pos...
Didn't apply for credit card but got an application denied letter?
The use of an old address would make me suspect that your data was stolen from some database you had registered to long ago with the old address. I would think that contacting your credit rating firm and the credit card company is urgent.
Ways to save for child's college education where one need not commit to set contributions? [duplicate]
529 is good. Though, I would avoid other kinds of investments in kids names and or setting up accounts that are too complex or difficult to use as college costs will come in may aspects starting application fees and travel expenses when looking for college as well as housing and allowance spending.
What are some good ways to control costs for groceries?
Check out the bulk stores like BJs, Sam's Club or whatever else is available to you. You can definitely save money shopping there but you also need to keep your wits about you as well. Example, if you're buying in bulk only to let food go to waste, obviously that's not good either...
How do dividends of the underlying security in a security futures contract affect the security futures price?
The owner of a long futures contract does not receive dividends, hence this is a disadvantage compared to owning the underlying stock. If the dividend is increased, and the future price would not change, there is an arbitrage possibility. For the sake of simplicity, assume that the stock suddenly starts paying a divide...
What should I do with the change in my change-jar?
I don't know if those machines work this way in the UK too, but here in the US you can often avoid the coin-counting fee if you opt to convert the money into a gift certificate instead of cash. I routinely convert my coins to Amazon gift certificate money with no charge. Individual machines differ in which particular...
In a competitive market, why is movie theater popcorn expensive?
A better question would be to ask "Why don't movie theaters charge to use the bathroom?", or "Why don't movie theaters charge for parking?". In America, either government regulation or the mall itself forbids charging for parking, or limits the amount that can be charged for parking. This tends to be more true in subur...
Risk tolerance as I age
You say you have 90% in stocks. I'll assume that you have the other 10% in bonds. For the sake of simplicity, I'll assume that your investments in stocks are in nice, passive indexed mutual funds and ETFs, rather than in individual stocks. A 90% allocation in stocks is considered aggressive. The problem is that if the ...
Home Valuation in a Dodgy neighborhood
I wouldn't personally spend any money on an appraisal. Spend some time yourself looking at Zillow.com and maybe Realtor.com and other sites to review recent sales in your specific area. Not the houses a mile away. Try to find comparables to yours. The key factor is dollars per square foot. See if the trend over th...
When I pay off my mortgage loan, what would really happen?
The underlying investment is usually somewhat independent of your mortgage, since it encompasses a bundle of mortgages, and not only yours. It works similarly to a fund. When, you pay off the old mortgage while re-financing, the fund receives the outstanding debt in from of cash, which can be used to buy new mortgages.
Is it worth having a pension?
Paying someone to look after your money always costs something - it doesn't matter whether you're inside a pension or not. Fees are highest for "actively managed" funds and lowest for passively managed funds or things where you choose the investments directly - but in the latter case you might pay out a lot in dealing ...
Can signing up at optoutprescreen.com improve my credit score?
If I had a business and was able to claim a feature, I would. It's simple marketing. If in fact, opting out helped your score, the site would promote that feature. Soft pulls for prescreened offers are not counted. No more than my constant peek at my score through Credit Karma. Opt out, if you wish. The benefit of co...
Can stock market gains be better protected under an LLC arrangement?
All corporate gains are taxed at the same rate as corporate income, for the corporate entity, so this actually can be WORSE than the individual capital gains tax rates. There are a lot of things you can do with trading certain asset classes, like opening you up to like-kind re-investment tax perks, but I can't think of...
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.
Recent college grad. Down payment on a house or car?
Given the state of the economy, and the potential of a rough near future for us recent grads (i.e. on/off work), I would recommend holding off on large purchases while your life is in flux. This includes both a NEW car and purchasing a house. My short answer is: you need a reliable vehicle, so purchase a used car, fro...
What price can *I* buy IPO shares for?
It depends a large part on your broker's relationship with the issuing bank how early you can participate in the IPO round. But the nature of the stock market means the hotter the stock and the closer to the market (away from the issuing bank) you have to buy the higher the price you'll pay. The stock market is a secon...
What numbers to look for investment returns
(Value of shares+Dividends received)/(Initial investment) would be the typical formula though this is more of a percentage where 1 would indicate that you broke even, assuming no inflation to be factored. No, you don't have to estimate the share price based on revenues as I would question how well did anyone estimate w...
When applying for a mortgage, can it also cover outstanding debts?
Yes, but should you be even trying to get a mortgage if you can't aford at least a 5% deposit? Prove you do want the house by doing without a new car for a few years...
Is it necessary to pay tax if someone lends me money to put into my mortgage?
This answer is specifically for the UK, but one building society has an account set up specifically for this. You actually refer your friend/family member to set up an account and then it can be linked to your mortgage. They don't get any interest for their account as it's all offset against your mortgage. If you then ...
I spend too much money. How can I get on the path to a frugal lifestyle?
As others have said getting on a written budget before each month starts is the most important part. Also, I'm a big fan of cash budgets as well. They aren't for everyone and they take a little getting used to, but once you get used to them you'll never want to go back. In a cash budget you take whatever you have budg...
What can I take from learning that a company's directors are buying or selling shares?
This could be another reason. "Companies buy their own stock in the market place to reduce the number of shares outstanding, and thus boosts the earnings per share. It also boosts the stock price, which benefits management that has stock options. " Taken from this article. http://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2014/01/...
Does anyone offer no interest loans?
Such loans are of course possible. They exist because the lender gains something other than interest from them: What would happen to the economy if these were common? These are common, common as anything. In fact where it's not banks lending the money, these are the default. So, nothing would happen to the economy, thi...
What investments work for these goals?
Assuming this will be a taxable account (since you want to pull income off of it, although this will lower wealth growth), you could open a brokerage account at some place like Vanguard (free on their ETFs) and look at tax efficient index fund ETFs (such as total stock market or their 500 fund), including some interna...
How would I use Google Finance to find financial data about LinkedIn & its stock?
The most likely answer to your question regarding what the 'market expects' is perhaps that the market expects that currently Linked-In like a lot of other startups has been plunging almost eveything it makes into building the business and brand. So right now the net profits are pretty low percentage of income (roughl...
Why is stock dilution legal?
Here's another way that I look at it: Say you and me were 50-50 partners in a small business. Suppose we wanted to expand our business but that needed money. Someone (let's call him Warren) has the money we need & hence in return for the money we offer Warren an equal stake in the business. i.e. All three of us own 3...
which types of investments should be choosen for 401k at early 20's?
The question you should be asking yourself is this: "Why am I putting money into a 401(k)?" For many people, the answer is to grow a (large) nest egg and save for future retirement expenses. Investors are balancing risk and potential reward, so the asset categories you're putting your 401(k) contribution towards will b...
What is the Blue Line in these stock Charts?
My guess is that both the blue and pinkish lines are hand drawn by someone. The blue line indicates 'higher lows' while the pinkish line represents 'higher highs'. Together they form a trading channel in which you can expect future prices to be (unless there is some unanticipated event that occurs). Edit: since the pr...
Intentions of Deductible Amount for Small Business
If your sole proprietorship losses exceed all other sources of taxable income, then you have what's called a Net Operating Loss (NOL). You will have the option to "carry back" and amend a return you filed in the last 2 years where you owed tax, or you can "carry forward" the losses and decrease your taxes in a future y...
What is a “retail revolving account,” and does it improve my credit score?
In the other question, the OP had posted a screenshot (circa 2010) from Transunion with suggestions on how to improve the OP's credit score. One of these suggestions was to obtain "retail revolving accounts." By this, they are referring to credit accounts from a particular retail store. Stores have been offering cre...
Is there any instrument with real-estate-like returns?
nan
Why can't the Fed lower interest rates below zero?
Why can't the Fed simply bid more than the bond's maturity value to lower interest rates below zero? The FED could do this but then it would have to buy all the bonds in the market since all other market participants would not be willing to lend money to the government only to receive less money back in the future. No...
How do you invest in real estate without using money?
They're probably talking about flipping houses. The conventional wisdom when flipping is to purchase the property with a mortgage or other loan on day-0. Do the work to rehabilitate it. Get it listed for re-sale promptly (this step has varying strategies) with a profitable price but one that will make it move. Have the...
What to do when paying for an empty office space?
This sounds obvious, but: If the landlord is easygoing, you could ask him if he's okay with you subletting the space, and then you could sublet it. Of course you may have to do some work yourself to find an appropriate tenant and make sure you're doing everything legally, but if it works, it's better than paying rent ...
What evidence or research suggests that mid- or small-capitalization stocks should perform better than large caps?
I think it's safe to say that Apple cannot grow in value in the next 20 years as fast as it did in the prior 20. It rose 100 fold to a current 730B valuation. 73 trillion dollars is nearly half the value of all wealth in the world. Unfortunately, for every Apple, there are dozens of small companies that don't survive....
Does the CRA reprieve those who have to commute for work?
The answer on the Canadian Government's website is pretty clear: Most employees cannot claim employment expenses. You cannot deduct the cost of travel to and from work, or other expenses, such as most tools and clothing. However, that is most likely related to a personal vehicle. There is a deduction related to Pu...
How can rebuilding a city/large area be considered an economic boost?
The problem here is that the metrics that are used to track the economy are looking for things like growth and change. In a perfect world, everyone would have exactly what they need and there would no need for economists because the economy would be static.
How to start investing for an immigrant?
I am in a similar situation (sw developer, immigrant waiting for green card, no debt, healthy, not sure if I will stay here forever, only son of aging parents). I am contributing to my 401k to max my employer contribution (which is 3.5%, you should find that out from your HR). I don't have any specific financial goal ...
When following a buy and hold investment strategy, on what conditions should one sell?
Buy and hold doesn't have an exact definition, as far as I know. In my opinion, it's offered as a contrast to those who trade too frequently, or panic every time the market drops 2%. For the general market, e.g. your S&P index holdings. You sell to rebalance to your desired asset allocation. As a personal example, at...
What is a trust? What are the different types of trusts?
Trusts are a way of holding assets with a specific goal in mind. At its simplest, a trust can be used to avoid probate, a sometimes lengthy process in which a will is made public along with the assets bequeathed. A trust allows for fast transfer and no public disclosure. Depending on the current estate tax laws (the de...
Co-signer deceased
People act like lawsuits are the end of the world, her suing shouldn't be considered a threat, it should be considered the accurate course of action to resolve contractual obligations. Of course, it would be convenient if she did nothing at all! If you believe her real goal is to "get it off her credit", then have her...
How credible is Stansberry's video “End of America”?
Others have covered this pretty well, but as someone who once worked for the company that allows Stansberry to publish, let me confirm that their business is about getting you to buy into the financial worldview they promote so that they can sell you more and more "newsletters" and "services". Nothing else. It's a mark...
How many days does Bank of America need to clear a bill pay check
I just had this happen to me with Chase and speaking with my executive support contact, they will not return the funds unless you request them back. Which I find appalling and just one more reason that I don't like working with Chase!