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Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited.
Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
Ripped off may be too strong as it implies intent - I'm hopeful it's just bad logic or terminology. I would say better agreements would be: Borrowing money from family/friends is always risky. If you and your parents are comfortable with the situation and can reliably keep records of how much is owed at any given ti...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
To expand on what @fishinear and some others are saying: The only way to look at it is that the parents have invested, because the parents get a % of the property in the end, rather than the original loan amount plus interest. It is investment; it is not a loan of any kind. One way to understand this is to imagine t...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
First, this was never an arrangement for you to build equity, this was an arrangement for them to speculate on another house under the guise of teaching you a life lesson like responsibility or something contrived. The only way you profit from this is if the value of the house goes up and you sell it. You get 25% of th...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
You are getting totally hosed mate. Assume you live in the house for ten years, can get a normal 30 year mortgage and house prices average at 3% annually You could get a mortgage at 3.8% so your monthly payment would be $560 a month. $60 a month difference over 10 year is $7200 Because you are paying down on a conven...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
If I understand you situation correctly, then the accepted answer is extremely misleading and incorrect. Your arrangement with your parents is definitely unreasonable. It is definitely not "similar to an interest-only loan". In an interest-only loan, like you can get from a bank, you will loan a sum of money, which you...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
Yes, you are getting shafted. In the end, you will have paid the full price of the condo, but still own only 25% of it. Your parents' stake in the home should decrease as you repay the loan. The way it is now, they're getting 75% of your condo for free!
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
Talk to your parents, and find out if you are reducing the debt or not. Find buyers, sell the place now and get out the deal. Of course you will have to wait to get a good price on it. Short term you haven't lost that much, but long term you will. Take your 25%, and use it as a down payment on a regular bank mortgag...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
First, I don't think your parents are ripping you off, but you should get your agreement in writing. The fact that you never own more than 25% doesn't matter. If the condo's value is increasing, you are in fact building equity. Your share of the equity just doesn't increase, but it doesn't decrease either. For example,...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
No It's not a loan. It's an equity investment. Think of it as a business. The parents bought 75% of the equity with $115K, and are entitled to 75% of the sale proceeds, should you someday liquidate the business (i.e. selling the house). The $500 per month is just business revenue and is paid to your parents as a divide...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
Actually if you look at a loan for $115,000 over 30 years at current interest rates you would have a payment of about $500 a month. I would argue your $500 monthly payments are building equity the same way a loan repayment schedule would. Is your agreement in writing? If it is, there's nothing you can do unless they ag...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
The time to have looked into this is before you bought the condo, not now. You are presumably an adult. Your parents have apparently made it possible for you to have a roof of your own over your head for what is probably below rental rates (but I don't know your area, so can't say). From their point of view, they may h...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
Basically, you have purchased 25% of the condo for $40,000, and your parents bought 75% of the condo for another $115,000. We imagine for a moment that it wasn't you who lived in the condo, but some unrelated person paying rent. You are paying $7,500 a year for tax and fees, plus $6,000 a year, so there is $13,500 lea...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
Are you in the United States? Is there some sort of written agreement that the money your parents paid into the house is a loan that will be paid back? I assume the deed to the home is in your name, and your parents do not have a lien on the property in any way? In the United States provided there is no lien and your ...
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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...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
I would go see a Lawyer no matter what. It's a form of a scam your parents are doing. Make sure it's YOUR name only on the title of the building if it is, then you have a MAJOR case against them. This is a form of Equity scam, in where you aren't really going to make hardly any money. Once you pay them that money towar...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
You're paying 5.2% 'interest' on the $115K (500 * 12 / 115,000) * 100 but the amount you pay back is not $115K but 75% of the property value at sale. Is that right? A mortgage would have cost about half that rate and the balloon payment would have been fixed - you would pay back $115K at maturity plus you could have so...
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
It depends on the selling price, but if we can assume the property will be sold at a profit, they are getting a pretty sweet deal at your expense. They are both getting about 5.2% interest on their money, plus the lion's share of any property appreciation. I would say that fair would be either of:
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Are my parents ripping me off with this deal that doesn't allow me to build my equity in my home?
You are being ripped off on several counts. 1) 40k is 26% not 25%. 2) Why should you pay them $500 rent? they bought a share of the property, they should fund it if they intend to keep 75% 3) Why do you need to pay them for the 75%? why dont they need to pay you for the 25%? You are better off getting a loan for the 75...
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FSA when a retirement agreement has been put into place
There's no reason for the employer not to deduct the whole amount before you leave. The FSA salary deduction has to be periodical, but it doesn't have to be calculated over a year. It just means that an equal amount will be deducted from your every paycheck, and if the employer (and you) know that your last paycheck is...
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FSA when a retirement agreement has been put into place
While you have found a way to possibly gain $1275 in tax free income, you are also risking $1275 if you end up not using the money you contributed. You will have to find a way to have that much in medical expenses by your retirement date or you will leave some money in the Flexible Spending Account. There are risks you...
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What should I consider when factoring fluctuating exchange rates into risk/return of overseas stock trading?
Which of these two factors is likely to be more significant? There is long term trend that puts one favourable with other. .... I realise that I could just as easily have lost 5% on the LSE and made 5% back on the currency, leaving me with my original investment minus various fees; or to have lost 5% on both. Yes that...
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How Do Scammers / Money Launderers Profit From Loans To Victims
What was the true reason they wanted to use my accounts for? We wouldn't know the true reason. The scammer can do multiple things. What exactly he would do in your case ... I am very eager to know what a person was up to who would give to me so much information about themselves. I know some of you will jump on the chan...
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How Do Scammers / Money Launderers Profit From Loans To Victims
If they have your account numbers (which are necessary for direct deposits) they could possibly initiate ACH withdrawals from your accounts too (requires some setup but they may have accomplices). Note that even if you didn't have money there, depending on the local bank rules you may be still on the hook for overdraft...
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Health Insurance and Disability Question
Sorry to hear about your spouse's health issues. May he have a speedy and, as far as possible, full recovery. The Patient Protectection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, aka Obamacare) is now the law of the land. Among its many provisions are that insurers may no longer deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, they may...
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Do any publically available documents from IR or SEC include all patents the company holds?
SEC filings do not contain this information, generally. You can find intangible assets on balance sheets, but not as detailed as writing down every asset separately, only aggregated at some level (may be as detailed as specifying "patents" as a separate line, although even that I wouldn't count on). Companies may hold ...
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Do any publically available documents from IR or SEC include all patents the company holds?
It appears as others have said that companies are not required to state this on as any sort of Asset. I remembered a friend of mine is a lawyer specializing in Intellectual Property Rights so asked him and confirmed that there's no document companies are required to file which states all patent holdings as assets. Ther...
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Optimal number of credit cards for a given length of credit history
I have found that between the Discover card and a Visa/Master Card a person has everything covered. In my case the Discover card had the best deal (cash back) and the Visa/Master Card took care of those times a vendor didn't take Discover. One big Box store (Costco) did trip us up, so we did end up getting an American ...
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Why can we cancel cheques, but not Western Union transfers?
You are presuming that after the transfer, the cash is still "sitting in a Western Union register" but no, that cash may have already been taken by the fraudster. To refund the victim, Western Union would have to (1) pay the victim back the amount of money lost, and then (2) pursue the fraudster to reclaim the lost fun...
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Why can we cancel cheques, but not Western Union transfers?
When you send money with Western Union, it is essentially a cash transaction. You supply Western Union with the name of the recipient and a location. Your recipient then shows up at a Western Union office, shows some identification, and receives cash. At this point, the transaction is over. It is impossible to retr...
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How Long Can It Take For a Check I Write to Clear on My Account?
There's nothing you can do. If he has indeed deposited the check, it would appear on your account fairly quickly - I've never seen it taking more than 2-3 business days. However, a check is a debt instrument, and you cannot close the account until it clears, or until the "unclaimed property" laws of your state kick in....
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How Long Can It Take For a Check I Write to Clear on My Account?
According to this Q&A by a Houston law professor: The law, however, is not designed to interfere with an individual's right to stop payment on a valid check because of a dispute with someone. If he didn't deliver as promised, you do not owe the money and have the right to stop payment. Assuming that you had enough mone...
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How detailed do itemized deductions have to be? (source needed)
When you do your taxes, you have two choices for your deductions. You can take the standard deduction, or you can choose to itemize your deductions. If you itemize your deductions, you use Form 1040 Schedule A. By looking at Schedule A, you can see the list of deductions that are itemized: On Schedule A itself, you on...
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How to send money from europe to usa EUR - USD?
The website http://currencyfair.com/ provides a service which gives you both a decent exchange rate (about 1% off from mid-market rate) and a moderately low fee for the transfer: 4 USD for outgoing ACH in the US, 10 USD for same-day US wire. For the reverse (sending money from the US to EU) the fees are: 3 EUR for an A...
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How to send money from europe to usa EUR - USD?
PayPal. Or even Western Union or MoneyGram. Despite their fees, there is a reason those companies are still in business.
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Good book-keeping software?
You can try Wave Accounting. Its a free software for Small Business and web-based. http://waveaccounting.com/
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Good book-keeping software?
The short answer is that there are no great personal finance programs out there any more. In the past, I found Microsoft Money to be slick and feature rich but unfortunately it has been discontinued a few years ago. Your choices now are Quicken and Mint along with the several open-source programs that have been listed...
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Good book-keeping software?
I like Quicken for personal use, and they have a small business edition if you don't want to move into QuickBooks.
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Good book-keeping software?
Best Linux software is PostBooks. It is full double entry, but there is definitely a learning curve. For platform-agnostic, my favorite is Xero, which is web-based. It is full double entry balance sheet, the bank reconciliation is a pleasure to use, and they are coming out with a US version this summer. Easy to use an...
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Good book-keeping software?
I like using Mint.com to track my expenses. It makes it very easy to watch my budget and monitor my spending.
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Good book-keeping software?
I think Peachtree is a double entry system
Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited.
Good book-keeping software?
Xero and WaveAccounting can make things easy, but they also have their limitations. I've used both for short periods of time but found both of them to be lacking. While the "ease" is appealing, the ability to drill into the details and get good reports is the downfall of both of these accounting systems. QuickBooks may...
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Good book-keeping software?
You should consider Turbocash. It's a mature open-source project, installed locally (thick client).
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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.
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Good book-keeping software?
You can try manager.io. It has a desktop, cloud and server edition that should fit your needs.
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Investing in hemp producers in advance of possible legalization in Canada?
It is such a touchy subject for many people, I have to say that simple "set it and forget it" kind of investing isn't likely in the near term. Instead, if this is something you believe in, treat it like any other business opportunity and do some detailed research into people operating in the field. Look into their bus...
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Investing in hemp producers in advance of possible legalization in Canada?
Hemp is already pretty easily grown by farmers here. Canada had 50,000 acres of legal hemp in 2006, but it's been in decline the last 3 years due to the cost, lack of demand, and the high values of some other crops. It's also difficult to harvest due to its size. It's possible that the demand for hemp products will i...
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Investing in hemp producers in advance of possible legalization in Canada?
The legalization of Cannabis will drastically alter supply and demand of cannabis and hemp. The distribution channels that work well for hemp may or may not work well for cannabis and may or may not continue to work well once cannabis is widely available. Companies may have avoided sponsoring hemp products because of i...
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Do I have to pay taxes on income from my website or profits?
I am not an accountant, but I do run a business in the UK and my understanding is that it's a threshold thing, which I believe is £2,500. Assuming you don't currently have to submit self assessment, and your additional income from all sources other than employment (for which you already pay tax) is less than £2,500, yo...
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Do I have to pay taxes on income from my website or profits?
Not sure about the UK, but if it were in the US you need to realize the expenses can be claimed as much as the income. After having a mild heart attack when I did my business taxes the first time many years ago, a Small Business Administration adviser pointed it out. You are running the site from a computer? Deductibl...
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Do I have to pay taxes on income from my website or profits?
Income is income... it depends how it's structured.. personal or corporate.. but still you need to pay taxes... if you get audited, the tax man could look at your bank statements and ask, "where is this money coming from"
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Do I have to pay taxes on income from my website or profits?
You need to set your status as self-employed the day you started online work. If that date is a little ambiguous (as is usually the case with online business), you can start with the day you first made any money. Yes, you can deduct expenses from your revenue. But you have to be sure that the expenses were purely busin...
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Do I have to pay taxes on income from my website or profits?
Being a tax professional, my understanding is that the threshold limit is a single limit for all your source(s) of income. Now many people who already draw salary which is liable to tax, develop application for mobile and generate some income. Such income is liable to tax, if along with other income they exceed the thr...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
If you have complicated taxes (own a business, many houses, you are self employed, you are a contractor, etc etc) a person can make the most of your situation. If you are a w-2 single job, maybe with a family, the programs are going to be so close to spot on that the extra fees aren't worth it. I would never bother usi...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
Generally speaking no person or program is really going to be able to help you lower your current tax burden, most tax decisions are done well before you reach the tax time. You either qualify for the deduction/credit or your don't. Where a good accountant will really be able to help you out is in planning that will li...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
I did my own taxes previously using both H&R Block Tax Cut and TurboTax. When I had a simple return and was single, it worked great. Once I got married it was a little more complicated. When I started a small side business, I switched to an accountant. He does a great job of adjusting deductions between my wife and...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
I have fairly simple tax returns and my experience was that TurboTax software produced roughly the same result as human accountant and costs much less. The accountant was never able to find any deductions that the program couldn't find. Of course, if you have business, etc. you probably need an accountant to help you ...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
I've done my taxes using turbotax for years and they were not simple, Schedule C (self-employed), rental properties, ESPP, stock options, you name it. It's a lot of work and occasionally i did find bugs in TurboTax. ESPP were the biggest pain surprisingly. The hardest part is to get all the paperwork together and you'd...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
A CPA or Enrolled Agent can be helpful, especially if you have a complicated situation such as owning your own business. The people at a lot of tax-prep places don't have many qualifications (they are not accountants or enrolled agents or certified financial planners or anything else). They are just trained to enter st...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
It depends on the person. i will take turbo tax over any mediocre or poor accountant ANY DAY. You get consistent, accurate tax preparation with the software (desktop - not the online version) I was in a housing rental partnership with my brothers and one of them insisted on using his accountant... what a mistake. ...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
Unfortunately, if your taxes are too complicated for the 1040EZ form, then your tax situation is effectively unique and you need to try both options and see for yourself which one is better. If you do your taxes yourself, you may be more likely to do a more thorough job in digging everything up. You might even find th...
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Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax?
so far the only thing that I can think of that would make me want to go with H&R Block is the guarantee that they offer ( for a fee ) that says they will help you if you are ever audited for a tax return that you filed through them, but I think that is given for both the software and the in person tax preparation. so...
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W2 vs 1099 Employee status
Careful. I would personally need a LOT more than $5 more per hour to go from W-2 employment to 1099 employment. It boils down to two reasons: (1) employers pay a huge amount of taxes on behalf of their employees, and (2) you would have to pay all of your own withholding up front. Your current proposal from them doesn...
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W2 vs 1099 Employee status
In general that's illegal. If you're a W2 employee, you don't miraculously become a 1099 contractor just because they pay you more. If your job doesn't change - then your status doesn't change just because they give you a raise. They can be sued (by you, and by the IRS) for that. Other issues have already been raised b...
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W2 vs 1099 Employee status
In general What does this mean? Assume 10 holidays and 2 weeks of vacation. So you will report to the office for 240 days (48 weeks * 5 days a week). If you are a w2 they will pay you for 260 days (52 weeks * 5 days a week). At $48 per hour you will be paid: 260*8*48 or $99,840. As a 1099 you will be paid 240*8*50 or...
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W2 vs 1099 Employee status
Another thing to consider, however, is the deductibility of business expenses. Let's assume that the employer can legitimately hire you as a 1099 contractor. (Would you be able to telecommute? Would you have a high degree of control over when you worked and when you didn't? These factors also affect whether you're a...
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Is it better to ask for a raise before a spin-off / merger or after?
I would guess that before the spin-off, more money would be available In my experience the reverse is true. The finance folks go into overdrive tightening everything up so that budget forecasts for the transition period are as accurate and predictable as possible. This can be true 6 months out, 12 months out, etc - dep...
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Is it better to ask for a raise before a spin-off / merger or after?
gef05 hit it on the head -- the books get frozen when mergers/spinoffs happen. I worked as an IT guy at a company whose mission was operating call centers -- and they didn't bother paying the phone bill! Why? the terms were already agreed upon, and the powers that be were waiting for final legal sign-off. Try to figure...
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Is it better to ask for a raise before a spin-off / merger or after?
Corporate restructuring makes everything a flux, so you might as well revisit some core fundamental questions. Here's how to do this professionally: Start floating your CV now. Line up interviews in competing companies. Attend to them. Score a job offer, and have it put into writing, with exact salary, which should be ...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
It has little to do with money or finance. It's basic neuroscience. When we get money, our brains release dopamine (read Your Money and Your Brain), and receiving dividends is "getting money." It feels good, so we're more likely to do it again. What you often see are rationalizations because the above explanation so...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
When you invest in stocks, there are two possible ways to make money: Many people speculate just on the stock price, which would result in a gain (or loss), but only once you have resold the shares. Others don't really care about the stock price. They get dividends every so often, and hopefully, the return will be bett...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
If you assume the market is always 100% rational and accurate and liquid, then it doesn't matter very much if a company pays dividends, other than how dividends are taxed vs. capital gains. (If the market is 100% accurate and liquid, it also doesn't really matter what stock you buy, since they are all fairly priced, o...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
The answer, for me, has to do with compounding. That drop in price post-ex-div is not compounded. But if you reinvest your dividends back into the stock then you buy on those post-ex-div dips in price and your money is compounded because those shares you just bought will, themselves, yeald dividends next quarter. Also...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Dividends telegraph that management has a longer term focus than just the end of quarter share price. There is a committment to at least maintain (if not periodically increase) the dividend payout year over year. Management understands that cutting or pausing dividends will cause dividend investors in market to dump ...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Isn't it true that on the ex-dividend date, the price of the stock goes down roughly the amount of the dividend? That is, what you gain in dividend, you lose in price drop. Yes and No. It Depends! Generally stocks move up and down during the market, and become more volatile on some news. So One can't truly measure if t...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Technically, the difference between dividends and growth ought to be that dividends can be reinvested in stocks other than the one that paid them, which is a definite advantage if you actually have a strategy. Dividend -paying stocks used to be preferred for exactly that reason, back in the days when fewer people were...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Dividends indicate that a business is making more profit than it can effectively invest into expansion or needs to regulate cash-flow. This generally indicates that the business is well established and has stabilized in a dominant market position. This can be contrasted against businesses that: Dividends are also given...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
There are strategies based on yields. Dogs of the Dow being a specific example while Miller Howard has a few studies around dividends that may be of use if you additional material. Selling off a portion of the holding can run into problems as how could one hold 10 shares, selling a non-zero whole number every year for ...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Someone who buys a stock is fundamentally buying a share of all future dividends, plus the future liquidation value of the company in the event that it is liquidated. While some investors may buy stocks in the hope that they will be able to find other people willing to pay more for the stock than they did, that's a ze...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Mostly we invest in companies to make money. The money can be paid to as in the form of dividends that are a share of the profit. Or the company can convince enough people that it will make a lot higher profit next year, so its stock prices increases. Clearly a company that reinvests its 20% profit from one shop to o...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
The upvoted answers fail to note that dividends are the only benefit that investors collectively receive from the companies they invest in. If you purchase a share for $100, and then later sell it for $150, you should note that there is always someone that purchases the same share for $150. So, you get $150 immediately...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Dividends are one way to discriminate between companies to invest in. In the best of all worlds, your investment criteria is simple: "invest in whatever makes me the most money on the timeline I want to have it." If you just follow that one golden rule, your future financial needs will be taken care of! Oh... you're n...
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Why do people always talk about stocks that pay high dividends?
Why do people talk about stock that pay high dividends? Traditionally people who buy dividend stocks are looking for income from their investments. Most dividend stock companies pay out dividends every quarter ( every 90 days). If set up properly an investor can receive a dividend check every month, every week or as o...
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Impact of EIN on taxation
Is it possible if (After getting EIN) I change my LLC type (disregarded entity or C type or S type or corporation or change in number of members) for tax saving ? You marked your question as "real-estate", so I'm guessing you're holding rental properties in your LLC. That means that you will not be able to qualify ...
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Impact of EIN on taxation
Your question mixes up different things. Your LLC business type is determined by how you organize your business at the state level. Separately, you can also elect to be treated in one of several different status for federal taxation. (Often this automatically changes your tax status at the state level too, but you ne...
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Fringe Benefits (Lodging) for single member S-Corp
If you use "a room or other separately identifiable space" within your apartment exclusively for your business, then you might be able to recoup a fraction of your rent for that. Check the rules for home office at the IRS and adopt a consistent and well-documented approach. (I would pay your full rent out of your perso...
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Fringe Benefits (Lodging) for single member S-Corp
None whatsoever, no. Moreover, trying something like that would very likely trigger a full audit.
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Can I write off time I spent working on my business?
To expand a little on what littleadv said, you can only deduct what something cost you. Even if you had done volunteer work for a charity as a sole prop you could only deduct your actual costs. If you paid an employee to do charity work or to learn something related to the business that would be deductible as a normal ...
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Can I write off time I spent working on my business?
No, you cannot write off time, period. You should price the time spent into your product. I, occasionally, work on side projects of my own and forgo the possibility of earning direct income for that time. Income not earned is income not taxed, so there's nothing to deduct.
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How to “pay” one self in a single member LLC w/ separate checking account?
Basically, yes. Don't use your business account for personal spending because it may invalidate your limited liability protection. Transfer a chunk of money to your personal account, write it down in your books as "distribution" (or something similar), and use it in whatever way you want from your personal account. The...
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Earnings Calendar Fiscal Quarter Ending
Why do stock markets allow these differences in reporting? The IRS allows businesses to use fiscal calendars that differ from the calendar year. There are a number of reasons a company would choose do this, from preferring to avoid an accounting rush at end of year during holiday season, to aligning with seasonality fo...
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US Tax Form 1040EZ: Do I enter ALL income or ONLY income specified in W-2 forms?
Yes, you need to include income from your freelance work on your tax return. In the eyes of the IRS, this is self-employment income from your sole-proprietorship business. The reason you don't see it mentioned in the 1040EZ instructions is that you can't use the 1040EZ form if you have self-employment income. You'll ...
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Australian stocks - any dividend tax or capital gains tax?
For non Australian residents: Dividends withholding tax rate is 30%. Depending upon your country of residence where there is a tax treaty in place to avoid double taxation, then this can be reduced. Note that only dividends that are unfranked are subject to this (in Australia, if tax has already been paid by the comp...
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Are there contracts for fixed pay vs. fixed pay rates?
Yes. I have personally signed such contracts (fixed budget software development) and lost money every single time. And yes, it is quite possible for you to get paid under minimum wage if you take too long. Scope creep is the primary culprit for these kinds of contracts, so make sure you put together iron-clad explanati...
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Are there contracts for fixed pay vs. fixed pay rates?
In general the other party will expect you to keep your promises. If you promise to do something for a fixed amount of money, you take on a risk and it is no longer their problem if you work slower than you planned. In principle it could even be the case that you take on a project and fail, after which the company may ...
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Are there contracts for fixed pay vs. fixed pay rates?
Software Contractors are not employees of the company that is procuring the software. Software Contractors necessarily work for another legal business entity. There is a business to business relationship between the procurer of the software and the entity producing the software. Therefore, the company procuring the sof...
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Can we cash a check under business name?
All banks in the US that I have ever worked with will allow you to deposit checks if: In your case, you have 3 options:
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How should I report earning from Apple App Store (from iTunes Connect) in Washington state?
If you're waiting for Apple to send you a 1099 for the 2008 tax season, well, you shouldn't be. App Store payments are not reported to the IRS and you will not be receiving a 1099 in the mail from anyone. App Store payments are treated as sales commissions rather than royalties, according to the iTunes Royalty departme...
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What constitutes illegal insider trading?
It becomes illegal when it is both material and nonpublic information. Material being defined as: Information that you would want and significantly alters the perception of the stock. To your point -- "materiality" is really up to the courts Nonpublic This is a little easier to define, but need to be careful if the inf...
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What constitutes illegal insider trading?
You have to read some appeals court cases see scholar.google.com , as well as SEC enforcement actions on sec.gov to get an understanding of how the SEC operates. http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/insidertrading/cases.shtml There are court created guidelines for how insider trading would be proven There is no clear line, but...
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If the housing market is recovering, why would a REIT index ETF (e.g. VNQ) not be performing well?
VNQ only holds ~16% residential REITs. The rest are industrial, office, retail (e.g. shopping malls), specialized (hotels perhaps?) etc. Thus, VNQ isn't as correlated towards housing as you might have assumed just based on it being about "real estate." Second of all, if by "housing" you mean that actual houses have go...