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Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | 401k Rollover - on my own or through my financial advisor? | I thought the Finance Buff made a pretty solid argument for a financial advisor the other day: http://thefinancebuff.com/the-average-investor-should-use-an-investment-advisor-how-to-find-one.html But 1.5% is too expensive. The blog post at Finance Buff suggests several alternatives. He also has the great suggestion to ... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | What factors of a stock help determine its potential | Knowing the answer to this question is generally not as useful as it may seem. The stock's current price is the consensus of thousands of people who are looking at the many relevant factors (dividend rate, growth prospects, volatility, risk, industry, etc.) that determine its value. A stock's price is the market's va... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | How often do typical investors really lose money? | So how often do investors really lose money? The short answer is, every day. Let's first examine your assumptions: If the price of the share gets lower, the investor can just wait until it gets higher. What are the chances that it won't forever, or for years? There are many stocks whose price goes down and then dow... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | How often do typical investors really lose money? | How often do investors really lose money? All the time. And it's almost always reason number 1. Let's start with the beginner investor, the person most likely to make some real losses and feel they've "learned" that investing is no better than Vegas. This person typically gets into it because they've been given a hot s... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | How often do typical investors really lose money? | The earlier answers answered the question on how a more practical trader can lose money. Here I'd like to mention some obtuse ways Using debt to buy stocks. If one is borrowing at a higher rate than they are getting back, from an economics prospective their stocks are losing money even if the value of those stocks are... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | How often do typical investors really lose money? | I'll just add this: In the best hedge funds and proprietary trading funds, stock selection is approached very scientifically in order to minimize losses/maximize gains. Researchers think of a trading idea and carefully test it to see which methods of stock selection work and how well, and finally they combine them. Eve... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | How often do typical investors really lose money? | Trading is NOT zero-sum game, it is negative sum actually. In fact all people's money is getting swept by commissions and fees. If you don't have The Plan (which includes minimizing commission losses), you win some (not a lot), then you get big positions, then market crashes, then all your money is gone. You will star... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | How are mortgage payments decided? [duplicate] | It's easiest to get your payment from the PMT function in Excel or Google Sheets. So a $100,000 30 year mortgage at 3% looks like this: The basic calculation is pretty simple. You take the annual interest rate, say 3%, divided by 12, times the existing principal balance: The idea is that borrowers would like to have ... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | How are mortgage payments decided? [duplicate] | It's so that your total mortgage payment stays the same every month. Obviously, the interest due each month decreases over time, as part of the principal is paid off each month, and so if the proportion of interest and principal repayments were to stay the same then your first payment would be very large and your last ... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | How are mortgage payments decided? [duplicate] | It has nothing to do with forcing people to pay off their debt; in that case it would make better sense to have people pay off debt rather than interest. It is because you want to have your actual payment stay the same each month, which is easier for the vast majority of people to comprehend and put into their budget. ... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Impact on Credit Worthiness (Getting A Loan with a Co-signer vs without) | It doesn't matter to the credit agencies if there is a co-signer or not. However, your family member will need to take into consideration if they are willing to be responsible for the loan in the event you are unable to make payments. Being a co-signer means they are agreeing to pay the loan amount. It will also impact... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Can Warren Buffet's method be distilled into basic steps? | Warren Buffet isn't using any special sauce. He looks for value and ignores hype, greed, and fear. He buys what he knows and looks for companies that generate cash and/or are available for a discount of their true value. He explains what he looks for in a company and his reasons for buying it. He has said on numerous o... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | What is the true value, i.e. advantages or benefits, of building up equity in your home? | Taking out your equity when refinancing means that you take out a new loan for the full value of your house (perhaps less 20% as a down payment on the new mortgage, otherwise you'll be paying insurance), pay off your old lender, and keep the rest for yourself. The result is much the same as using as a HELOC or home equ... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | What is the true value, i.e. advantages or benefits, of building up equity in your home? | A person can finance housing expenses in one of two ways. You can pay rent to a landlord. Or you can buy a house with a mortgage. In essence, you become your own landlord. That is, insta the "renter" pays an amount equal to the mortgage to insta the "landlord," who pays it to the bank to reduce the mortgage. Ideally, y... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | What is the true value, i.e. advantages or benefits, of building up equity in your home? | The equity you have is an asset. Locked away until you sell, and sometimes pledged as a loan if you wish. The idea that it's dead money is nonsense, it's a pretty illiquid asset that has the potential for growth (at the rate of inflation or slightly higher, long term) and provides you an annual dividend in the form of ... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Interactive Brokers Margin Accounts | Scenario 1 - When you sell the shares in a margin account, you will see your buying power go up, but your "amount available to withdraw" stays the same until settlement. Yes, you can reallocate the same day, no need to wait until settlement. There is no margin interest for this scenario. Scenario 2 - If that stock is... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Interactive Brokers Margin Accounts | You have to call Interactive Brokers for this. This is what you should do, they might even have a web chat. These are very broker specific idiosyncrasies, because although margin rules are standardized to an extent, when they start charging you for interest and giving you margin until settlement may not be standardized... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | What is the best way to get a “rough” home appraisal prior to starting the refinance process? | It's extremely easy to get a rough valuation of your home. Just phone a real estate agent. Virtually any real estate agent will come and value your home free. Even if you say outright "I'm not considering selling, I just want a valuation" they will probably do it, because for them getting contacts of people who might o... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | What is the best way to get a “rough” home appraisal prior to starting the refinance process? | I see your remarks regarding Zillow, but would add a question. Why not look only for recent sales? If you find homes similar to yours with recent sales, that's similar to how the appraisers do it. I've refinanced many times and each time, I looked at sales within three miles of my house. I hit the appraised price very ... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | What is the best way to get a “rough” home appraisal prior to starting the refinance process? | If you're willing to pay a fee, you can probably just get a commercial appraiser to give you a valuation. In Australia I think it's around $100-200. |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | When does it make sense for the money paid for equity to go to the corporation? | BigCo is selling new shares and receives the money from Venturo. If Venturo is offering $250k for 25% of the company, then the valuation that they are agreeing on is a value of $1m for the company after the new investment is made. If Jack is the sole owner of one million shares before the new investment, then BigCo se... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | When does it make sense for the money paid for equity to go to the corporation? | The check is written to BigCo. Jack is being diluted, corporation issues more shares. There's no gain, no change in Jack's equity value. Jack didn't lose or win anything. BigCo was worth $1M before the additional money, it is worth $1.25M after the additional money, with Jack owning the same $1M, but the cake is now bi... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | When does it make sense for the money paid for equity to go to the corporation? | If Jack owns all of the one million founding shares (which I assume you meant), and wants to transfer 250,000 shares to Venturo, then he is just personally selling shares to Venturo and the corporation gains nothing. If Jack does not own all of the founding shares, and the corporation had retained some, then the corpor... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | When does it make sense for the money paid for equity to go to the corporation? | If the check is written as a check to BigCo, it is less clear how Jack can compensate himself for the equity sale. It is as if the equity was owned by the corporation, not by Jack. This is correct. If the check is written to BigCo, then it is BigCo issuing new shares. Jack doesn't compensate himself for the equity sa... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | 4 months into a 30 month car loan, need new engine, can't sell any body parts | Without knowing the details of your financial situation, I can only offer general advice. It might be worth having a financial counselor look at your finances and offer some custom advice. You might be able to find someone that will do this for free by asking at your local church. I would advise you not to try to get... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Any difference between buying a few shares of expensive stock or a bunch of cheap stock | There is no difference between more shares of a relatively cheaper stock and less shares of a relatively more expensive stock. When you invest in a stock, the percentage increase (or decrease) in the share price results in gains (or losses). This is a fundamental concept of investing. Your question suggests that you wo... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Any difference between buying a few shares of expensive stock or a bunch of cheap stock | Unless your brokerage will sell you fractional shares, the most obvious difference (without us knowing the actual identify of the companies) is that with the $260 one, you will have 3 shares plus you will have $220 minus commission left over that you wanted to invest but weren't able to simply because of the mechanics ... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Any difference between buying a few shares of expensive stock or a bunch of cheap stock | You are correct in thinking actual number of shares do not matter, the value is the value. However there are cases where share price does play a role. Berkshire Hathaway for example has not split because Warren Buffet believes it has cut down on the liquidity of the stock, as well as attracting investors with an eye... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Any difference between buying a few shares of expensive stock or a bunch of cheap stock | Open Google finance and divide the Market Capitalization by the total price. That will give you the total number of shares outstanding. Now see the number of shares you could buy for $1000(40 shares of $25 each or 10 shares of 100 shares each). Now divide the number of shares you own, by the number of shares outstandin... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Any difference between buying a few shares of expensive stock or a bunch of cheap stock | I was thinking that the value of the stock is the value of the stock...the actual number of shares really doesn't matter, but I'm not sure. You're correct. Share price is meaningless. Google is $700 per share, Apple is $100 per share, that doesn't say anything about either company and/or whether or not one is a bett... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Can I invest in the USA or EU from an Asian 3rd-world country, over the Internet? | Absolutely. It does highly depend on your country, as US brokerages are stricter with or even closed to residents of countries that produce drugs, launder money, finance terror, have traditional difficulty with the US, etc. It also depends on your country's laws. Some countries have currency controls, restrictions on... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Would every FX currency pair or public stock that is under the 30 level using Relative Strength Index (RSI) be an undervalued pair? | No, and using a 37 year old formula in finance that is as simple as: should make it obvious technical analysis is more of a game for retail traders than investment advice. When it comes to currencies, there are a myriad of macroeconomic occurrences that do not follow a predictable timescale. Using indicators like RSI o... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Would every FX currency pair or public stock that is under the 30 level using Relative Strength Index (RSI) be an undervalued pair? | No. The long-term valuation of currencies has to do with Purchasing Power Parity. The long-term valuation of stocks has to do with revenues, expenses, market sizes, growth rates, and interest rates. In the short term, currency and stock prices change for many reasons, including interest rate changes, demand for goods ... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Does a budget comprise expenses, and/or revenue? | Budget means both expenses and revenue. In quite a few cases, say personal finance, typically one refers to budget more from expenses point of view as the revenue is typically fixed/known [mostly salary]. The Operating budget and capital budget are laid out separately as Operating budget gives out day to day expenses... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Personal Loan: How to define loan purpose | Does that justify the purpose? That is for individual Banks to decide. No bank would pay for daily expenditure if you are saying primary salary you are spending on eduction. So your declaration is right. You are looking at funding your eduction via loan and you are earning enough for living and paying of the loan. I no... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Personal Loan: How to define loan purpose | I would imagine that it goes beyond purpose and also addresses the demographic as a poor credit risk. Those seeking a post secondary education are a poor credit risk. They are at the beginning of their careers so tend to have low income, a short credit history, and a very short time of managing money on their own. Al... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Is there a debit card that earns miles (1 mile per $1 spent) and doesn't have an annual fee? | I don't know of any that are comparable to credit cards. There's a reason for that. Debit cards, being newer, have a much lower interchange rate. Since collecting on debt is risky and less predictable, rewards / miles are paid from those interchange fees. This means with a debit card there's less money to pay you with.... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Is there a debit card that earns miles (1 mile per $1 spent) and doesn't have an annual fee? | I have an American Airlines VISA with miles that has no annual fee, but only because I request that they waive the fee each year. Word to the wise - they've never refused. |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | When shorting a stock, do you pay current market price or the best (lowest) available ask price? | When you want to short a stock, you are trying to sell shares (that you are borrowing from your broker), therefore you need buyers for the shares you are selling. The ask prices represent people who are trying to sell shares, and the bid prices represent people who are trying to buy shares. Using your example, you cou... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | When shorting a stock, do you pay current market price or the best (lowest) available ask price? | In terms of pricing the asset, this functions in exactly the same way as a regular sell, so bids will have to be hit to fill the trade. When shorting an equity, currency is not borrowed; the equity is, so the value of per share liability is equal to it's last traded price or the ask if the equity is illiquid. Thus when... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | When shorting a stock, do you pay current market price or the best (lowest) available ask price? | I would never use a market order. Some brokerages have an approval process your short-sale goes through before going to market. This can take some time. So the market prices may well be quite different later. Some brokerages use a separate account for short sales, so you must get their approval for the account befor... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Does settlement of second mortgage count as short sale? | No that will not count as a short sale although it may still affect your chances of getting a loan because some lenders wont want to see it on your credit if you are pursuing a new FHA loan. In the best case scenario you will need an explanation letter of why you did this. In the worst case scenario the lender will wan... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Pay off credit cards in one lump sum, or spread over a few months? | Should I allow the credit cards to be paid out of escrow in one lump sum? Or should I take the cash and pay the cards down over a few months. I have heard that it is better for your credit score to pay them down over time. Will it make much of a difference? Will the money you save by increasing your credit score ... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Pay off credit cards in one lump sum, or spread over a few months? | Pay them off immediately. But, as I note in my article Too Little Debt?, a zero utilization is actually a negative hit. So you want to just use the cards to get over 1%. i.e. if the lines add to $38K, just charge say, gas and some groceries, $100/wk. Pay in full every month. It's the amount on the statement that counts... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Pay off credit cards in one lump sum, or spread over a few months? | I have heard that it is better for your credit score to pay them down over time. Will it make much of a difference? I have never heard that, however, the financial institutions (who are charging you an amount of interest which was at one time in the not so distant past classified and punishable in state criminal codes)... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Pay off credit cards in one lump sum, or spread over a few months? | it is better for your credit score to pay them down over time. This is a myth. Will it make much of a difference? You are paying additional interest even though you have the means to pay off the cards completely. Credit score is a dynamic number and it really only matters if you are looking to make a big purchase (vehi... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Pay off credit cards in one lump sum, or spread over a few months? | I know you say you are aware of secured and unsecured debt and you've made your decision. Did you do the numbers? You will pay 44k over the life of the mortgage for that 24k (Based on 4.5% APR mortgage). Once you refinance your mortgage, do you plan on using credit for a while? Lots of Americans are hyperfocused on ... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Empirical performance data of ETFs and Mutual Funds tracking identical Indexes? | Why don't you look at the actual funds and etfs in question rather than seeking a general conclusion about all pairs of funds and etfs? For example, Vanguard's total stock market index fund (VTSAX) and ETF (VTI). Comparing the two on yahoo finance I find no difference over the last 5 years visually. For a different ... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | How can I save on closing costs when buying a home? | For example: do I need a realtor, or can I do their job myself? In general in the United States the real estate agent fee is paid by the seller of the property. Their agent will be more than happy keep the entire fee if they don't have to split it with your agent. If you don't have an agent you will be missing somebod... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | How can I save on closing costs when buying a home? | According to Realtor.com, there are a variety of options to save on closing costs: A general Google search on "how to reduce closing costs" will return a lot of results on other people's experiences, as well as tips and tricks. |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | How can I save on closing costs when buying a home? | As a buyer, one of the easiest ways to save on closing costs is to avoid title insurance. This will only apply if you are a cash buyer, as a mortgage writer will typically require title insurance. It is also one of the most ill-advised ways to save money. You need title insurance. For the most part, there is real... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | How can I save on closing costs when buying a home? | Good answers here. I would like to add one more (less obvious) way to save - look for houses that are For Sale By Owner (FSBO). Owner's who are selling without an agent do not have to pay a seller's agent fee. The closing cost savings here are actually on the seller's side of the transaction. However, since you know th... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | How can I save on closing costs when buying a home? | Do I need to pay for an inspection, or am I likely to save enough money from skipping it to cover potential problems that they would have caught? A home inspection costs hundreds of dollars. The average is $315. Inspections regularly catch things that cost tens of thousands of dollars to fix, e.g. a new roof or a cr... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | How can I save on closing costs when buying a home? | Mostly ditto Pete B's answer. There's little you can do about closing costs. Some closing costs are government fees. There's nothing you can do about this. Sad and unfair as it is, taxes are not optional and not generally negotiable. Title insurance and fire insurance are required by the lender. Even if you're paying c... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | How can a person with really bad credit history rent decent housing? | This tale makes me sad the more I learn of it. I am impressed with your dedication and caring for your ex-wife and particularly your kids; you seem like a good person from your questions. But you are tired and exasperated too. You have every right to be. The problem isn't how this woman can rent a new apartment (whi... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | How can a person with really bad credit history rent decent housing? | She can find a landlord that doesn't do credit checks. Maybe on Craigslist? She may end up paying more, have a bigger security deposit, etc. She can get someone else (not you) to sit her down and explain to her frankly that she's messing things up for herself and her children by being a poor manager of her finances. ... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | How can a person with really bad credit history rent decent housing? | Having been recently evicted she is unlikely to find any one willing to rent to her at anything close to reasonable terms. Any landlord that would consider it is likely to require a huge deposit. Her best solution may be a hotel/motel with weekly/monthly rates. It is generally much easier to get someone out of a hote... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | How can a person with really bad credit history rent decent housing? | I saw where you said "I thought of co-signing is if a portion of child/spousal support goes directly to the landlord. I asked the Child Support Services (who deduct money from my paycheck monthly to pay support to my ex) and they told me that they are not authorized to do this." I know going back to court isn't a plea... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | How can a person with really bad credit history rent decent housing? | I don't think you've mentioned which State you're in. Here in Ontario, a person who is financially incapable can have their financial responsibility and authority removed, and assigned to a trustee. The trustee might be a responsible next of kin (as her ex, you would appear unsuitable: that being a potential conflict o... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | How can a person with really bad credit history rent decent housing? | Explain the situation to a landlord and offer to prepay a few months of rent in advance as a guarantee. This may or may not work, but being honest and committed may just be the answer. |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | How can a person with really bad credit history rent decent housing? | Here's some ideas: Hope that helps. |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | What would happen if I were to lose all equity in my condo when it's time to renew the mortgage? | It doesn't matter. You will just renew your mortgage at the prevailing rates. That's part of the mortgage contract. The problem that happens is if you want to move your mortgage to another bank for a better rate, they may not accept you. Your re-negotiating position is limited. Most mortgages have a portability op... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Quantiative Easing fuels stock markets, but why? | There's a premium or discount for various stocks subject to influence by the alternatives available to investors, meaning investments are susceptible to the principle of supply and demand. This is easily seen when industries or business models get hot, and everybody wants a tech company, a social media company, or a so... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | FX losses on non-UK mortgage for UK property - tax deductable? | I spoke to HMRC and they said #1 is not allowable but #2 is. They suggested using either their published exchange rates or I could use another source. I suggested the Bank of England spot rates and that was deemed reasonable and allowable. |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Paid off oldest CC keep it open or close it? | Close the account. The age doesn't outweigh the fact that you have to pay for the card. It would be one thing if the credit line was a couple thousand but showing the credit bureaus that you are staying away from the $425.00 doesn't really make them think you are any more trustworthy with your available credit. Util... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Paid off oldest CC keep it open or close it? | First off, congratulations on taking care of your finances and paying off your cards! Takes a lot of discipline. If your next oldest card is just a year apart, you can safely close this card. |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Should I take out a loan vs pay off with mother's help? | Is it a gift or a loan? Either way, ask the same lawyer who will do the closing to record a mortgage on the property, your mother holds it. You are required to pay her market interest, 4% or so should pass IRS scrutiny. If it's truly a loan, decide on the payoff time and calculate the payments, she'll have a bit of i... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Pay down the student loan, or buy the car with cash? | Here's another way to look at this that might make the decision easier: Looking at it this way you can turn this into a financial arbitrage opportunity, returning 2.5% compared to paying cash for the vehicle and carrying the student loan. Of course you need to take other factors into account as well, such as your need... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Pay down the student loan, or buy the car with cash? | To directly answer your question, the best choice is to pay cash and place the rest on your student loan. This is saving you from paying more interest. To offer some advise, consider purchasing a cheaper car to place more money towards your student loan debt. This will be the best financial decision in the long-term. ... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | F-1 Visa expired - Unable to repay private student loan. What to do? | I would contact your loan servicing company explain the situation and see if you can renegotiate terms. They may be able to drop the interest rate or lengthen the schedule to reduce the payment amount. I wouldn't default on the loan as that would likely hinder coming to/working in the US in the future. Not knowing your... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | F-1 Visa expired - Unable to repay private student loan. What to do? | As an international student, the tuition is sky high. Typically, most students take loans for Education and start paying it back once they get a job. If you have exhausted your OPT period and have not got H1B, your options are either to go for further education(Hint: Phd), you can hope to cover living expense by part-t... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | How to measure systematic risk of a stock? | Beta is the correct answer. It is THE measure of the risk relationship of a stock with the broad market. R squared is incorrect unless you mean something very odd by "co-efficiency." A stock that goes up each time the market goes down has very low co-efficiency (negative risk as you have defined it) but very high R s... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Do Americans still need extra health care / medical insurance after reform to health care? [U.S.] | I think it is too early to tell. They changed so many variables in an incredibly complex system, and a lot of it will depend on how the requirements in the legislation look once the bureaucrats and insurance companies get a chance to interpret them and implement them as policy. My gut feeling is that for most people, y... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Paying off student loan or using that money for a downpayment on a house | Two years ago, I wrote an article titled Student Loans and Your First Mortgage in response to this exact question posed by a fellow blogger. The bottom line is that the loan payment doesn't lower your borrowing power as it fits in the slice between 28% (total housing cost) and 38% (total monthly debt burden) when appl... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Paying off student loan or using that money for a downpayment on a house | I think there are two questions here: (a) Is it better to continue living with your parents while you save up for a bigger down payment on a house, or to move out as soon as possible? (b) Is it better to pay off a student loan and make a smaller down payment on the house, or to keep paying on the student loan and use t... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Paying off student loan or using that money for a downpayment on a house | Yes, one is certainly better than the other. Which one depends on your priorities and the interest and tax rates on your student loan, your savings, and your (future) mortgage plus how much you can afford to save and still enjoy the lifestyle you want as well as how soon you want to move out. Basically, you havn't give... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Deceived by car salesman | The only thing that is important here is the documentation you and your daughter signed. If that documentation states that you were a co-signer and that your daughter was the primary on the loan, and then if the loan is not being reported in your daughter's name, you have a cause for action. If, however, the documentat... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Deceived by car salesman | At this point there is not much you can do. The documentation probably points to you being the sole owner and signer on the loan. Then, any civil suit will degenerate into a "he said, she said" scenario. Luckily, no one was truly harmed in the scenario. Obtaining financing through a car dealer is almost always not... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Home loan: loss payable clause in favor of lender for home insurance? | Why doesn't it seem right to you? The lender financed the house and has the first right claim (mortgage) on it, so if you have any insurance proceeds they're first offsetting your debt to the lender. Same as if you were selling the house - first the loan is paid off, whatever is left goes to you. If the property is not... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Home loan: loss payable clause in favor of lender for home insurance? | Here's a good rule of thumb. In any situation where you are required to purchase insurance (Auto Liability, Property Mortgage Insurance, etc.) you can safely assume that you aren't the primary beneficiary. You are being required to buy that insurance to protect someone else's investment. |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Where do I find the exercise price and date for warrants? | I agree that a random page on the internet is not always a good source, but at the same time I will use Google or Yahoo Finance to look up US/EU equities, even though those sites are not authoritative and offer zero guarantees as to the accuracy of their data. In the same vein you could try a website devoted to warrant... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | How do you calculate return on investment for a share of stock? | To figure this out, you need to know the price per share then vs the price per share now. Google Finance will show you historical prices. For GOOG, the closing price on January 5, 2015 was $513.87. The price on December 31, 2015 was $758.88. Return on Investment (ROI) is calculated with this formula: ROI = (Proceed... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Capital gains loss, can IRS waive the loss? | The cap loss can be used to offset future gains or $3000/yr of ordinary income. (I just used up the last of mine from the dot com bubble.) I hope you have future gains that let you use this up quickly. The IRS debt is separate, and I don't imagine they'll let you use any of the loss to offset it. As always, it can't h... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Why would you use an IFA for choosing a pension fund | Why would anyone listen to someone else's advice? Because they believe that the person advising them knows better than they do. It's as simple as that. The fact that you're doing any research at all - indeed, the fact that you know about a site on the internet where personal finance questions get asked and answered - ... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Can a US bank prevent you from making early payments to the principal on a home mortgage? | Are there any known laws explicitly allowing or preventing this behavior? It's not the laws, it's what's in the note - the mortgage contract. I read my mortgage contracts very carefully to ensure that there's no prepayment penalty and that extra funds are applied to the principal. However, it doesn't have to be like ... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Can a US bank prevent you from making early payments to the principal on a home mortgage? | littleadv's first comment - check the note - is really the answer. But your issue is twofold - Every mortgage I've had (over 10 in my lifetime) allows early principal payments. The extra principal can only be applied at the same time as the regular payment. Think of it this way - only at that moment is there no intere... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Can a US bank prevent you from making early payments to the principal on a home mortgage? | Some lenders want to discourage the borrower from making these additional payments because they want to sell this as a service. They might set this up for you, or they have a contract with a 3rd party to set it up. These services generally charge you to initiate the process, and may have a recurring fee. They take 1/2 ... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Can a US bank prevent you from making early payments to the principal on a home mortgage? | Many mortgages penalize early payment, and I assume it's possible to disallow it altogether. It makes sense why they don't want early payment. If you pay off the loan early, it is usually because you re-financed it to a loan with a lower rate. You would do this when the interest rate is low (lower than when you got you... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Why do they call them “financial products”? | They are called "financial products" because they are contracts that are "produced" by the financial industry. For example, you could also say that a car manufacturer does not sell you a car, but a contract that will gives you ownership of a car. And, if a contract is a service and not product, in that case a car manuf... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Cost basis allocation question: GM bonds conversion to stock & warrants | This is a bit complicated because of all the moving parts, but is a little simpler because the two warrants are now publicly traded. The main rule appears to be that your cost should be apportioned into the bases for the pieces you received by the proportions of the prices established in the market on the first day of... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | Cost basis allocation question: GM bonds conversion to stock & warrants | I found additional evidence on TDAmeritrade's website that helps confirm that the 3/17/11 prices Jason found are the ones to use since all three were traded on that day. Although GM+A had prices and trading as early as 2/28/11, GM+B's price and trading shows up no earlier than 3/14/11, but there was no trading indicat... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Cost basis allocation question: GM bonds conversion to stock & warrants | Because the distribution date was APR 21, 2011, THAT should be the correct date for ascertainng the stock prices of the GM stock and warrants. The subsequent distributions after April should also be allocated in accordance with their distribution dates, with tax basis being reduced from the original APR 21st date's al... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Cost basis allocation question: GM bonds conversion to stock & warrants | Your final tax basis could not be determined until June 14, 2012, the first day of separate trading of all four securities that you received from the GM bankruptcy reorganization. |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | How to calculate money needed for bills, by day | I think you might benefit from adopting a zero-sum budget, in which you plan where each dollar will be spent ahead of time, rather than simply track spending or worry about the next expense. Here's a pretty good article on the subject: How and Why to Use a Zero-Sum Budget. This is the philosophy behind a popular budget... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | How to calculate money needed for bills, by day | If I understand you right, what you need is the minimum amount in the account until your next deposit. So for example, if today is the 10th and you get paid on the 15th, how much do I need to have in the account, so I know how much I can spend? That amount should be all of the bills that will be paid between today an... |
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited. | How to calculate money needed for bills, by day | Trying to figure out how much money you have available each day sounds like you're making this more complicated than it needs to be. Unless you're extremely tight and you're trying to squeeze by day by day, asking "do I have enough cash to buy food for today?" and so on, you're doing too much work. Here's what I do. I ... |
Offer your insights or judgment on the input financial query or topic using your financial expertise. Reply as normal question answering | Should an IRA be disclaimed to allow it to be distributed according to a will? | There are two different possible taxes based on various scenarios proposed by the OP or the lawyer who drew up the OP's father's will or the OP's mother. First, there is the estate tax which is paid by the estate of the deceased, and the heirs get what is left. Most estates in the US pay no estate tax whatsoever beca... |
Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open. | Should an IRA be disclaimed to allow it to be distributed according to a will? | She is very wrong. If the IRA is a traditional, i.e. A pretax IRA (not a Roth), all withdrawals are subject to tax at one's marginal rate. Read that to mean that a large sum can easily push her into higher brackets than normal. If it stayed with her, she'd take smaller withdrawals and be able to throttle her tax impac... |
Share your insights or perspective on the financial matter presented in the input. | Lowest Interest Options for Short-Term Loan | Also talk to your bank(s) or credit union(s); first one of mine I looked at offers an unsecured loan at 7% variable, and a signature loan at 7.5% fixed, no hidden costs on either. You might do better. Also check store credit. Sears used to offer 1-year-0% financing on appliances if you signed up for the store's card at... |
Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background. | Will I be liable for taxes if I work for my co. in India for 3 months while I am with my husband in UK | The key factors here are You will need to pay tax in the UK only if you live more than 183 days - that too in a tax year. Indian tax system will also classify you as a NR (Non-resident) if you live outside for more than 182 days in a tax year. In your case, your income will be in India and will stay in India. So ther... |
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