Ah.  See, this is where you have already misread me: > . . . you attempt to construct a government and a society around false economic morality.  Why does morality have to be part of the actual solution?  It doesn’t.  Yet it can take into account moral values and immoral values.  The solution SHOULD be utilitarian - use that which works.  But not the utilitarian that throws out things that don’t quite work.  No.  It need to be a utilitarian method with foresight to see promise, and to understand the weakness of intolerance.  Our current system is actually promoting separation, building its own downfall.  A new system needs to actually be built to create unity through diversity, not for moral reasons, but for simple survival and growth.  And no one said people weren’t paid.  That was all you, bud.  I was simply saying they were able to put aside differences and survive through major setbacks to accomplish great things.  Sticking around during tough times requires either fear of the alternative, or a belief in the company or the goal.  People are NOT always selfish.


1) Every credit card company charges vendors a fee. That's sufficient to make an acceptable profit per charge even if some of that money goes into marketing expenses -- and the cash-back offer is a marketing expense. 2) Many if not most consumers pay interest; probably everyone does so occasionally when we get distracted and miss a payment. 3) The offer encourages you to put more payments on the card -- and in particular on their card -- than you might otherwise. See #1; that increases net income.


"This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecb.wp2073.en.pdf) reduced by 99%. (I'm a bot) ***** > Inflation Housing Demand + 0 + + 0 0 Mon Pol  +  + 0 0 Loans Supply Lend Rates 0 +  0  + A. Supply A. Demand +  + + The first column lists the endogenous variables of the VAR, which react to the shocks reported in the first row: housing demand shocks, monetary policy innovations, shocks to the credit supply, aggregate supply and demand shocks.  > The patterns used to distinguish aggregate demand and supply shocks are commonly used in the literature, we are able to discriminate house prices shocks from loans supply and lending rates shocks on the ground of economic theory.  > In Spain, in the absence of other shocks, if the growth rates of real consumption had been driven exclusively by housing demand shocks, they would have been largest around 1995 and 2004, and lowest in 2012.18 The cumulative effect of housing demand shocks is rather muted in the remaining countries.   ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/6gxbr4/ecb_house_prices_and_monetary_policy_in_the_euro/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ ""Version 1.65, ~142717 tl;drs so far."") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr ""PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome."") | *Top* *keywords*: **shock**^#1 **price**^#2 **House**^#3 **housing**^#4 **policy**^#5"


Ben already covered most of this in his answer, but I want to emphasize the most important part of getting a loan with limited credit history. Go into a credit union or community bank and talk to the loan officer there in person. Ask for recommendations on how much they would lend based on your income to get the best interest rate that they can offer. Sometimes shortening the length of the loan will get you a lower rate, sometimes it won't. (In any case, make sure you can pay it off quickly no matter the term that you sign with.)  Each bank may have different policies. Talk to at least two of them even if the first one offers you terms that you like. Talking to a loan officer is valuable life experience, and if you discuss your goals directly with them, then they will be able to give you feedback about whether they think a small loan is worth their time.


I found a way to do this, but it's slightly backwards. Quicken does not allow you to make a graph of just your income, probably because that would be a fairly boring graph for most people.  But it does allow you to do a graph of your expenses.  Doing so, while including income categories, will produce the graph I want, but with negative numbers (savings is negative spending). This will show a bar graph of overall spending, counting income as Negative Spending.  So, having negative bars is good in this case.


Yeah, I think this is true, but my credit scores are 810+ and I have a similar amount of liquidity and I think I would still have a tough time getting what I wanted in this market due to the cash buyers. People with outstanding credit are losing to cash.


Our mortgage provider actually took the initiative to send us a refinance package with no closing costs to us and nothing added to the note; took us from a 30-year-fixed ~6.5% note to a 15-year-fixed ~5% note, and dropped the monthly payment in the process.  You might talk to your existing lender to see if they would do something like that for you; it gives them a chance to keep your business, and it cuts your costs.


">Exactly right. ""Tax incentives"" do not mean that the state is giving Apple a trunk full of cash.  This is NOT strictly true.  If the area has (and I am fairly certain it does) [""tax incremental financing""](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_increment_financing) then a lot of the underlying costs of bringing facilities to an area -- costs associated with road construction, utility changes, etc -- are funded via municipal bonds and other taxpayer-based financing (which of course the companies that are part of these ""deals"" are given a multi-year pass on paying)."


Some other factors to consider: If none of those factors are significant to you, then the other answers will do just nicely.


Which to do is determined by how you like to consume cars. If you don't drive a lot and like to get a new car every 2-3 years, leasing is often the better choice. If you drive a lot or want to keep a car longer than 3 years, you're normally better buying.


Your argument with elvendude happened because your comment makes it appear that you think that if a business has less cash at the end of a year than at the beginning, the business does not need to pay taxes. elvendude is trying to show you that this isn't true.


"The recommendation is not to make the investment. In general, a company does not have to sell their shares to you or allow you to become an investor, because, as you have stated, it is a private company not quoted on the stock market.   If everyone were trustworthy, you could buy the tools for $11000 -- so that you own the tools -- and sign a lease of the tools to the company whereby they pay you $X/month.  The lease should be reviewed by a lawyer before it is signed, and perhaps give the buyer the right to demand back the tools at any time.  However, even this arrangement is very risky, because the ""company"" could simply steal or damage the tools and disappear.   It is not an investment that I would make, because it sounds too good to be true.  $2800/mo steady cash flow for $11,000 invested.  No, I don't think so.   The following information may also be useful, either to you, or future readers: If you still want to make this investment, then you should know that: The offering for sale of shares by companies located in the USA is subject to a wild array of complex laws.  This is true in many other countries as well.  These laws,  called securities laws or regulations,  can require certain disclosures, require that investors have a high net worth so that they can afford to lose the money or conduct their own investigations and legal actions, or require that the investors know the company founders personally, and can prohibit or limit resale by the buyer/investor.  Promoters who say you can still invest and are ignoring or disobeying the securities laws are being at least negligent, but more likely are dishonest and probably criminal.  Even if you trust in the investment, can you trust negligent managers to do a good job executing that investment? What about dishonest managers?  What about criminals and thieves?"


"wtf are we as a country and society going to do for all the Frans in 10 years when there is barely retail or fast food jobs left?  are we just going to throw up our hands and say ""welp, guess your fucked""? we're going to have millions of unemployed people a lot sooner than people think and we are doing nothing to address this upcoming problem!"


"The $1K in funds are by default your emergency fund. If absolutely necessary, emergency funds may need to come from debt, a credit capacity, focus on building credit to leverage lower rates for living expenses eventually needed. Profitable organizations & proprietors, borrow at a lower cost of capital than their return. Join your local credit union, you're welcome to join mine online, the current rates for the first $500 in both your checking and savings is 4.07%, it's currently the fourth largest in the U.S. by assets. You may join as a ""family member"" to me (Karl Erdmann), not sure what their definition of ""family"" is, I'd be happy to trace our ancestry if need be or consider other options. Their current incentive program, like many institutions have often, will give you $100 for going through the hassle to join and establish a checking and savings. Some institutions, such as this credit union, have a lower threshold to risk, applicants may be turned down for an account if there is any negative history or a low credit score, shooting for a score of 600 before applying seems safest.  The web services, as you mentioned, have significantly improved the layman's ability to cost effectively invest funds and provide liquidity. Robinhood currently seems to be providing the most affordable access to the market. It goes without saying, stay objective with your trust of any platform, as you may have noticed, there is a detailed explanation of how Robinhood makes their money on this stack exchange community, they are largely backed by venture funding, hopefully the organization is able to maintain a low enough overhead to keep the organization sustainable in the long run. The services that power this service such as Plaid, seem promising and underrated, but i digress. The platform gives access for users to learn how investing works, it seems safest to plan a diversified portfolio utilizing a mix of securities,such as low Beta stocks or ""blue chip"" companies with clear dividend policies. One intriguing feature, if you invest in equities is casting votes on decisions in shareholder meetings.  Another popular investment asset class that is less liquid and perhaps something to work toward is real estate. Google the economist ""Matthew Rognlie"" for his work on income equality on this type of investment. There are many incentives for first time homeowners, saving up for a down payment is the first step. Consider adding to your portfolio a Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) to gain a market position. Another noteworthy approach to this idea is an investment commercial property cooperative organization, currently the first and only one is called NorthEast Investment Cooperative, one stock of class A is $1K.  If you are interested and plan to focus on equities, consider dropping into your college's Accounting Capstone course to learn more about the the details of fundamental and technical analysis of an organization. The complexities of investing involve cyclical risk, macro and micro economic factors,  understanding financial statements and their notes, cash flow forecasting - discounting, market timing, and a host of other details Wikipedia is much more helpful at detailing. It's safe to assume initial investment decisions by unsophisticated investors are mostly whimsical, and likely will only add up to learning opportunities, however risk is inherit in all things, including sitting on cash that pays a price of inflation. A promising mindset in long term investments are in organizations that focus on conscious business practices. Another way to think of investing is that you are already somewhat of a ""sophisticated investor"" and could beat the market by what you know given your background, catching wind of certain information first, or acting on a new trends or technology quickly. Move carefully with any perhaps biased ""bullish"" or ""bearish"" mindset. Thinking independently is helpful, constantly becoming familiar with different ideas from professions in a diverse set of backgrounds, and simulating decisions in portfolio's. Here is an extremely limited set of authors and outlets that may have ideas worth digging more into, MIT Tech Reviews (Informative), Bloomberg TV (it's free, informative), John Mackey (businessman), Paul Mason (provocative journalist). Google finance is a simple and free go-to application, use the ""cost basis"" feature for ""paper"" or real trades, it's easy to import transactions from a .csv.   This seems sufficient to start off with. Enjoy the journey, aim for real value with your resources."


That's right.  I wouldn't say that she directly caused Yahoo's downfall since that was put into motion long before she started.  However, she did nothing that succeeded in changing Yahoo's trajectory after she took over.  Yahoo could have done essentially nothing and it would have ended roughly the same.  People are just upset that she got compensated quite well without achieving anything of significance.


There is really much simpler explanation for the interest rate differences in different countries. It is the interest rate arbitrage. It is a very well explored economic concept, so you can look it up on the Internet, in case you want to know more. 1) Interest rates for the same currency in different countries Basically, as one smart person here pointed out, there is only one price of money in free market economy. It happens, because investors can move their money unrestrictedly anywhere in the World to capitalize on the local interest rates advantage. For instance, if I can take a loan in the USA at 3-4% annual interest and receive 5-6% annual income on my dollar deposit in Russia, I would take a loan in the US and open a deposit in Russia to enjoy a risk free interest rate differential income of 2% (5-6% - 3-4% ~ 2%). So, would any reasonable person. However, in real World very few banks in Russia or anywhere would pay you an an interest rate higher than it can borrow money at. It'd probably lose money if it'd do so. Anyways, the difference between the risk free rate and interest rate on the dollar deposit can be attributed to the risk premium of this particular bank. The higher expected return, the greater risk premium. If there is a positive difference in the interest rates on the dollar deposits in different countries, it will almost entirely accounted for the risk premium. It is generally much riskier to keep money in, say Russian bank, than American. That's why investors want greater return on their dollar deposits in Russian banks than in American. Of course, if you'd want to park your USD in Russian bank you'd also have to consider transaction costs. So, as you may have already guessed, there is no free lunch. 2) Interest rates in different currencies for different countries If we are talking about the interest rates in different sovereign currencies, it is a somewhat similar concept, only there is more risk if you keep money in local currency (risk premium is much higher). Probably, the biggest component of this risk is inflation (that is only attributed to the prices in local currency). For that reason, current interest rates on deposits in Russian Rubles are at 10-12%, but only 1-3% in the US Dollars. An economic concept that discusses this phenomenon in great detail is Interest Rate Parity.  Hope this was helpful. P.S. It doesn't look quite realistic that you can get an 8% annual income for USD deposit in Russia with the interest rates in the U.S. being at 1-2%. At present moment, a 30-year mortgage annual interest rate in the US is at ~2-3% and an annual interest rates for dollar deposits in Sberbank (one of the safest Russian banks = very little risk premium) is at 1-3%. So, arbitrage is impossible.


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There is a fundamental flaw in this statement:  For example, a home bought cash $100,000 would have to be sold $242,726.247 30 years later just to make up with inflation, and that would be a 0% return. You forgot to deduct rent from your monthly carrying costs.  That changes the calculations significantly.   Your calculations are valid ONLY if you were to buy a house, and let it sit empty, which is unlikely.  Either you are going to live in it, and save yourself $1000 a month in rent, or, you are going to rent it out to someone, and earn an income of $1000 a month. Either way, you're up $1000 a month and this needs to be included.


Cronyism happening everywhere was my point, the government would have been better off giving out the money straight to the people with the accounts, and George W. Bush isn't Stalin, he's George W. Bush.  Isn't his name worse on reddit, and most other places?


I did that.  What is allowed changes over time, though — leading up to the crisis, lenders would approve at the flimsiest evidence. In particular, my SO had only been in the country a couple years and was at a sweet spot where lack of history was no longer counting against her. Running the numbers, the mortgage was a fraction of a percent cheaper in her name than in mine.  Even though she used a “stated income” (self reported, not backed by job history) of the household, not just herself. The title was in her name, and would have cost money to have mine added later so we didn’t.  This was in Texas, which is a “community property” state so after marriage for sure everything is “ours”.


> Whatever the supply of labor and demand for labor set.  That's essentially a circular answer. The price of labour affects both the supply and demand. If the demand for a certain type of labour increases, the price will increase, and that causes the supply to rise, lowering the price back down.  For any given job, the price of labour will tend towards the marginal value.


">*""The vast majority is just too indoctrinated or apathetic to think""*  Yes, I agree with this statement. In certain states, a party platform built upon ""Guns, Jesus and No More Abortions"" will get you elected even if the rest of the policies amount to having them bring ropes to their own hanging. In many blue states, shallow, rhetoric-laden environmental platitudes and an appeal for various kinds of ""social justice"" will have the same effect insofar as it also tends to get voters, voting against their own self interest.   There is literally no other reason why a majority of people would ever vote to de-fund schools, stifle science, dismantle society, allow corporate overreach, prefer pain, suffering and bankruptcy/financial ruin for millions instead of having sensible healthcare policies for everyone. That the military gets almost unlimited funding for its capital purchasing but leaves millions of veterans denied of VA services and almost every other kind of support is shameful and should not be acceptable to anyone. Yet, all of this goes unchanged year-after-year because of the meaningless and ineffective manner in which people vote. Voting isn't the problem. What they vote for, is!   The underlying problem is a deeply uniformed voter that is easily manipulated by the products of campaign finance. Even when voters do show up, their vote is easily purchased that their vote does not have an effect apart from confirming what the lobbyists paid for."


No they wouldn't.  That's from a pure math standpoint.  People would cancel like crazy if they did this, which would probably cost them money in the long run.   EDIT:  As you can see by $NFLX stock today after MISSING projections on earnings but CRUSHING subscribers, it's all about subs, not hard cash.  My point is proven.


When I was a kid, the sets were built, then taken apart, thrown in a big box, and rebuilt 100s of times into 100s of different things. Now they get built once, and sit on a shelf as decorations. IMO lego lost its way when it moved away from a 'bucket of discovery' , toward branded show pieces. Thankfully I still have my 40 year old bucket of lego our kids can still innovate and explore with...that bucket sees far more use than any set we've bought in recent years.


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 increase, but given that many Asian countries (Russia, China and Korea, for example) never banned it in the first place, there's a pretty ready supply already in place.  In Canada, the big reason to grow it is as an alternative crop for use in rotation that has some commercial demand, but it's certainly not as valuable as crops like canola, oats or soy beans.


> How do you purpose that these ventures be funded?   By starting small, selling shares, using profits + money from un-secured investors.  Banks are terrible investors: untold amount of them failed because of bad investments, and many of such Banks are still around just due to bailouts.   Landfills and garbage disposal services do provide value: they earn money from a service to dispose the garbage, a necessity for anyone.


Very true.  Lawyers, Accountants, IT people, and linguists are all in high demand at the FBI these days.  And linguists not just for anti-terrorism these days, either.  It didn't catch all of the public eye, but Obama has taken a pretty hard stance on international organized crime.


I mean, I don't understand how anyone actually believed that. Firstly, he largely doesn't have that power as president, and secondly, the man is, and always has been, pro-business rather than pro-consumer. If you seriously thought that a billionaire genuinely cared about your middle-American plight, I really don't know what to tell you.


"Okay. An ETF is an ""Exchange Traded Fund"". It trades like a stock, on the stock market.  Basically by buying one ETF, you can have ownership in the underlying companies that make up the ETF. So, if you buy QCLN, a green energy ETF, you own Tesla, First Solar Inc, SunPower Corporation, Vivint Solar, Advanced energy industries and a bunch of other companies that are involved in clean energy.   It allows you to gain exposure to a sector without having to buy individual companies.  There are ETFs for lots of different things. Technology ETFs, Healthcare ETFs, Consumer Staples ETFs, Utilities ETFs, etc.  REITS are essentially the same thing, except they own real estate."


It's a ludicrously slanted article. Arbitration is not a bad thing. It's usually less expensive for both parties and is a much quicker process than litigating. The same laws apply except it's harder for the defendant to win on a technicality. Are there drawbacks? Sure. But this is not a big scandal. Class action lawsuits have issues their own.


"This is actually a very complicated question. The key reading in this area is a seminal paper by Almgren & Chriss, ""Optimal Execution of Portfolio Transactions"" (2000). They show that there's a tradeoff between liquidating your portfolio faster and knowing the value with more certainty, versus liquidating more slowly (and likely for a higher price) but with less certainty. So for example, if you sold your entire position right now, you would know almost certainly how much you would get for the position. Or, you could sell off your position more slowly, and likely get more money, but you would have less certainty about how much you would get. The paper is available online at http://www.courant.nyu.edu/~almgren/papers/optliq.pdf"


When you register for the exam, the CFA Institute sends you the CFA curriculum (a self-contained set of books and practice problems - it's +2,000 pages per exam).   You can have zero knowledge of finance, study the given material, and then pass the exams. This being said, it will help if you begin to develop a passion for financial markets as you learn and try to apply your lessons.  Yes, I believe the CFA Charter (or pursuit of it) is a good signal to prospective employers especially if you are trying to make a career switch.


They can sell a lower price call if they expect the stock to plummet in the near term but they are bullish on the longer term. What they are looking to do is collect the call premium and hope it expires worthless.  And then again 'hope' that the stock will ultimately turn around. So yes, a lot of hoping.  But can you explain what you mean by 'my brokerage gives premiums for prices lower than the current price'? Do you mean you pay less in commissions for ITM calls?


I would say it really depends on where you are applying.   Almost all the candidates that we get directly from school are either CFA level I candidates or have passed it already. It has become ubiquitous enough to not be note worthy for us (can't speak for other places). However, if you don't have anything else going on atm then definitely take the exam.  I would also say that you should pick/hone your programming skills revise your textbooks. I can't believe the number of MFE graduates who don't know what risk-neutral pricing means.


You are starting from false premises built on politically driven economic theories. The reality does not square with anything that you just wrote.   The Fed is not necessary. It does incredible harm to the average guy. Fiat money and fractional reserve banking guarantee monetary collapse. You cannot continue to add debt at the bottom and cheap money at the top. Asset prices inflate and the average guy's standard of living goes down the tubes.   The idea that economics is hard science is ridiculous. In a smallish closed or partially closed system, formulas and equations can determine probable outcomes, in the infinitely complex economy of the modern world, the very idea that you can predict anything beyond general directions is absurd. And the general directions are not understandable without considering the human motivations that drive each of the billions of sentient actors involved.   But cleave to Samuelson, at least it can make you feel superior to think that you understand the pointless complexity


"This may be a bit advanced now, but once you start really working and get a place, I think this will apply more... Do I set up a bank account now? Yes. There is no reason not to. As an adult you will be using this much more than you think.  Assuming you have a little money, you can walk in to any bank almost any day of the week and set up an account with them in very little time. Note that they may require you to be 18 if your parents won't be with you on the account. Otherwise, just ask any bank representative to help you do this. Just to be clear, if you can get a credit union account over a typical bank account, this is a great idea. Credit unions provide exactly the same financial services as a normal bank, but typically have variety of advantages over banks.   Bank Account Parts Bank accounts typically have two parts, a checking account and a savings account. Your checking account typically is what you use for most day-to-day transactions and your savings account is generally used for, well, saving money.  Having a bank account often gives you the following advantages: They give you an ability to store money without having large amounts of cash on hand. Once you start working regularly, you'll find you won't want to keep ~$600+ cash every two weeks in your wallet or apartment. They help you pay bills. When you set up your bank account, you will likely be able to get a Visa debit card which will process like a regular credit card but simply deduct funds from your checking account. You can use this card online to pay utilities (i.e. electricity and water), general bills (e.g. your cell phone and cable), purchase items (ex. at Amazon) or use it in stores to pay in lieu of cash.  Be aware -- some banks will give you an ATM-only card before they send you the Visa debit card in the mail. This ATM-only card can only be used at ATMs as it's name implies.  Similarly, if you can invest about ~$200 to build your credit, you can often get a deposit secured credit card attached to your account (basically a credit card where the bank keeps your money in case you can't pay your bill). If you treat this card with responsibility, you can eventually transition to an unsecured credit card. They save you hassles when cashing your check. If you don't have a bank where you can cash your check (e.g. you don't have an account), you will likely be charged check cashing fees (usually by places such as grocery stores or payday loan chains, or even other banks). Furthermore, if your check is over a certain amount, some places may refuse to cash your check period and a bank may be your only option. They give you a way to receive money electronically. The most common example of this is direct deposit. Many employers will send your money directly to your bank account instead of requiring you to cash a check. If they are prompt, this money gets to you faster and saves you trouble (on payday, you'll just receive a pay stub detailing your wages and the amount deposited rather than a check).  Also, since you asked about taxes, you should know that when you do eventually file with the IRS, they have an option to receive your tax refund electronically as well (e.g. direct deposit into your bank account) and that can literally save you months in some cases depending on when you file your return and how many paper checks they have to process. Does it cost money to setup? It depends. Some banks have special offers, some don't. Most places will set up an account for free, but may require a minimum deposit to open the account (typically $50-$100). The Visa debit card mentioned above generally comes free. If you want a secured credit card as above, you will want about an additional $200 (so $250 - $300 total). Note that this is absolutely NOT required. You can exclusively use the Visa debit card above if you wish. Bank Account Fees Any fees charged when you have a bank account are usually minor anymore. Regardless, the bank will hand you a whole bunch of paperwork (mostly in legalese) detailing exactly how your account works. That said, the bank person helping set things up will cover what you need to know about keeping the account in plain English. The most common types of fee associated with a bank account are monthly maintenance fees and overdraft fees, but these aren't always necessarily charged. Likewise, there may be some other fees associated with the account but these vary from bank to bank.  Monthly Maintenance Fees To give some examples... Overdraft Fees Overdraft fees are typically charged when you attempt to spend more money than you have in your bank account and the bank has to cover these charges. Overdraft fees typically apply to using paper checks (which it is unlikely you will be using), but not always.  That said, it is very unlikely you will be charged overdraft fees for three reasons: Many banks have done away with these fees in lieu of other ways of generating revenue.    Banks that still charge these fees usually have ""overdraft protection"" options for a little more money a month, effectively negating the possibility you will be charged these fees.  The ability to deduct an amount of money from your checking account is now typically checked electronically before the payment is authorized. That is, using a Visa debit card, the card balance is checked immediately, and even when using paper check, most retailers have check scanning machines that do roughly the same thing. On a personal note, the bank that I have allows my account to be deducted below my checking account balance only if the payment is requested electronically (e.g. someone who has my card information charges me for a monthly service). In this case, the funds are simply listed in the negative and deducted from any amount I deposit till the proper amount is repaid (e.g. if I'm at -$25 dollars due to a charge when my account balance was $0 and then I deposit $100, my available balance will then be $75, not $100). Finally, per the comment by @Thebluefish, while I minimize the likelihood you will be charged overdraft fees, it is good to check into the exact circumstances under which you might be charged unexpectedly by your bank. Read the documentation they give you carefully, including any mailed updates, and you'll reduce the chance of receiving a nasty surprise. For reference, here are some of the fees charged by Bank of America. What about taxes? When you begin working, an employer will usually have you fill out a tax form such as a W-4 Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate so that your employer can withhold the correct federal income tax from your wages. If they don't, then it is your responsibility to calculate and file your own income taxes (if you are self-employed, an independent contractor or paid under the table).  If your employer is reputable, they will send you additional information (generally in February) you need to properly file your taxes prior to April 15th (the IRS tax deadline for most people). This additional information will likely be some variation of a W-2 Wage and Tax Statement or possibly a Form 1099-MISC.  Do I have to worry about money in my bank account? Unless you have a significant amount in your bank savings account earning interest (see ""Should I save for the future?"" below), you won't have to pay any sort of tax on money in your bank account. If you do earn enough taxable interest, the bank will send you the proper forms to file your taxes. How do I file taxes? While it won't apply till next year, you will likely be able to fill out a Form 1040EZ Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers With No Dependents, as long as you don't have any kids in the meantime. ;-) You will either mail in the paper form (available at your local IRS office, post office, public library, etc.) or file electronically. There will be a lot of information on how to do this when the time comes, so don't worry about details just yet.  Assuming your all paid up on your taxes (very likely unless you get a good paying job and take a lot of deductions throughout the year on your W-4), you'll probably get money back from the IRS when you file your tax return. As I mentioned above, if you have a bank account, you can opt to have your refund money returned electronically and get it much sooner than if you didn't have a bank account (again, possibly saving you literal months of waiting). Should I save for my future? If so, how much? Any good articles? Yes, you should save for the future, and start as soon as possible. It's outside the scope of this answer, but listen to your Economics professor talk about compound interest. In short, the later you start saving, the less money you have when you retire.  Not that it makes much difference now, but you have to think that over 45 years of working (age 20-65), you likely have to have enough money for another 20+ years of not working (65-85+). So if you want $25,000 a year for retirement, you need to make ~$50,000 - $75,000 a year between your job and any financial instruments you have (savings account, stocks, bonds, CDs, mutual funds, IRAs, job retirement benefits, etc.) Where you should stick money your money is a complicated question which you can investigate at length as you get older. Personally, though, I would recommend some combination of IRA (Individual Retirement Account), long term mutual funds, and some sort of savings bonds. There is a metric ton of information regarding financial planning, but you can always read something like Investing For Dummies or you can try the Motley Fool's How To Invest (online and highly recommended). But I'm Only 17... So what should you do now? Budget. Sounds dumb, but just look at your basic expenses and total them all up (rent, utilities, phone, cable, food, gas, other costs) and divide by two. Out of each paycheck, this is how much money you need to save not to go into debt.  Try to save a little each month. $50 - $100 a month is a good starting amount if you can swing it. You can always try to save more later. Invest early. You may not get great returns, but you don't need much money to start investing. Often you can get started with as little as $20 - $100. You'll have to do research but it is possible. Put money in your savings account. Checking accounts do not typically earn interest but money in savings accounts often do (that is, the bank will actually add money to your savings assuming you leave it in there long enough). Unfortunately, this rate of interest is only about 3.5% on average, which for most people means they don't get rich off it. You have to have a significant amount of money ($5,000+) to see even modest improvements in your savings account balance each month. But still, you may eventually get there. Get into the habit of putting money places that make you money in the long run. Don't go into debt. Don't get payday loans, pawn items, or abuse credit cards. Besides wrecking your credit, even a small amount of debt ($500+) can be very hard to break out of if you don't have a great paying job and can even make you homeless (no rent means no apartment).  Remember, be financially responsible -- but assuming your parents aren't totally tight with money, don't be afraid to ask for cash when you really need it. This is a much better option than borrowing from some place that charges outrageous interest or making your payments late. Have an emergency account. As already mentioned in another excellent answer, you need to have money to ""smooth things out"" when you encounter unexpected events (your employer has trouble with your check, you have to pay for some sort of repair bill, you use more gas in your car in a month than normal, etc.) Anywhere from $200 - $2000+ should do it, but ideally you should have at least enough to cover a month of basic expenses. Build good credit. Avoid the temptation to get a lot of credit cards, even if stores and banks are dying to give them to you. You really only need one to build good credit (preferably a secured one from your bank, as mentioned above). Never charge more than you can pay off in a single month. Charging, then paying that amount off before the due date on your next statement, will help your credit immensely. Likewise, pay attention to your rent, utilities and monthly services (cell phone, cable, etc.). Even though these seem like options you can put off (""Oh my electric bill is only $40? I'll pay that next month..."") late payments on all of these can negatively affect your credit score, which you will need later to get good loans and buy a house.  Get health insurance. Now that the Affordable Care Act (ACA a.k.a Obamacare) has been enacted, it is now simpler to get health insurance, and it is actually required you have some. Hopefully, your employer will offer health coverage, you can find reasonably priced coverage on your own, or you live in a state with a health exchange. Even if you can't otherwise get/afford insurance, you may qualify for some sort of state coverage depending on income. If you don't have some sort of health insurance (private or otherwise), the IRS can potentially fine you when you file your taxes. Not to be too scary, but the fine as currently proposed is jumping up to about $700 for individuals in 2016 or so. So... even if you don't grab health insurance (which you absolutely should), you need to save about $60 a month, even if just for the fine.  This answer turned out a bit longer than intended, but hopefully it will help you a little bit. Welcome to the wonderful world of adult financial responsibility. :-)"


Bond aren't necessarily any safer than the stock market.  Ultimately, there is no such thing as a low risk mutual fund. You want something that will allow you get at your money relatively quickly. In other words, CDs (since you you can pick a definite time period for your money to be tied up), money market account or just a plain old savings account. Basically, you want to match inflation and have easy access to the money.  Any other returns on top of that are gravy, but don't fret too much about it. See also: Where can I park my rainy-day / emergency fund? Savings accounts don’t generate much interest. Where should I park my rainy-day / emergency fund?


I'm personally not sold on Facebook.  It collects vast amounts of data, sure, but to what purpose? I am probably missing something. I presume they intend to monetize this data for marketing activities, but is that really *that* valuable? Large budget marketing teams already have more data about their customers than they can effectively analyze.  Yet, they **still** miss with products. More data is not going to make up for the quality of personnel.


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Reading that fallacy: it says that the money could have been spent elsewhere rather than here to possibly greater benefit. In this case it's the full tax revenue that the state declined to take (which is he tax break). So I don't really see the point when that revenue will possibly not even exist.


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It can be argued that it is easier for people to get good paying jobs or get a better education is they can expect a minimum income from the government.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income  The main argument being that almost all of the money given out will be spent instead of saved and will quickly make it's way back into the supply side of the economy.  Also students can devote their college time to studying instead of working a job and going to school.


Setting a precedence with demands at the beginning should not be undervalued. Agreed that you emphasize long term value but establishing your requests ( not in demand form) also plays into your long term value because it is retribution to what you offer.


Thanks to the lack of the KeystoneXL pipeline, the WTI price has been artificially depressed. However world prices of refined product haven't - they are set relative to the global price of oil. Thus someone can make a tidy profit by refining, then shipping product.  It's no surprise that there have been shortages of distillate in places like North Dakota - the product goes where the money is.  BTW, in essence it means if US customers won't pay world prices, they won't get the product - putting a floor under the prices you'll pay.


The methodology leads me to believe the pollsters were setting up a poll for the sole purpose of getting a headline like this.   For one, the pollsters eliminated anyone who didn't graduate with a 4-year degree, thus disqualifying anyone who has student loan debt but may have graduated with a lesser degree, or didn't graduate at all. I would assume (probably safely) that people with a 4-year degree are, on average, in a more financially stable situation than those who were disqualified from the poll, and this would be more likely to worry about other things rather than paying student loan debt.   For two, the poll was commissioned by LendEDU, a refinancing startup that could use the publicity of student loan anxiety to drive more business. Having a clickbaity article like this on a relatively popular site like the Examiner that links straight to their website is just what a startup would love to have to get free marketing.


Fractional shares don't occur from Dividend Reinvestment Programs - residual credit is carried over until there is enough to purchase a whole share.


> It's like they only care about personal short term gain and care little about being in the game for the long term.  That's pretty much it. If they can't be lending (and making interest), they aren't winning.  It's funny that the banks know as well as anyone that the worst place to leave money is in a bank.


[Eliminating breaks **would allow the government to simplify the tax code and broaden the base of income** against which taxes are levied] [The dilemma—which Republicans are colliding with right now—is that many of the biggest tax breaks, especially for individuals, are **popular and hard to dislodge.**]


If you really want to decrease inequality in a sustainable way, the solution is to make energy cheaper. The rate of median household income growth started flattening in the 1970s, and it isn't coincidental that it happened when fossil fuel prices sustained significant rises. If we can't make energy at least as cheap as it was before the 1970s, we have to adjust to a much slower rate of NGDP growth. The government targets a straight line upward moving rate of NGDP growth through massive debt spending and loose monetary policies. If it doesn't pull back on these, the increasing divergent rates of growth of the NGDP and sustainable economic growth puts us on track for a future correction that will be bigger than the Great Depression.


I pulled it off. I did my own searching and so took a lot of load off my agent. As a result my agent agreed to work for 1% commission instead of the normal 3%. Got seller's agent to agree to take 4% instead of 6% and pay my agent the 1%. Seller and I pocketed the difference (I forget how exactly the split went). As it happened, my agent only had to process offers on two houses (one I got outbid on and one I got to buy).


"If the stock market dropped 30%-40% next month, providing you with a rare opportunity to buy stocks at a deep discount, wouldn't you want to have some of your assets in investments other than stocks? If you don't otherwise have piles of new cash to throw into the market when it significantly tanks, then having some of your portfolio invested elsewhere will enable you to back up the proverbial truck and load up on more stocks while they are on sale. I'm not advocating active market timing. Rather, the way that long-term investors capitalize on such opportunities is by choosing a portfolio asset allocation that includes some percentage of safer assets (e.g. cash, short term bonds, etc.), permitting the investor to rebalance the portfolio periodically back to target allocations (e.g. 80% stocks, 20% bonds.) When rebalancing would have you buy stocks, it's usually because they are on sale. Similarly, when rebalancing would have you sell stocks, it's usually because they are overpriced. So, don't consider ""safer investments"" strictly as a way to reduce your risk. Rather, they can give you the means to take advantage of market drops, rather than just riding it out when you are already 100% invested in stocks. I could say a lot more about diversification and risk reduction, but there are plenty of other great questions on the site that you can look through instead."


"Comparing index funds to long-term investments in individual companies? A counterintuitive study by Jeremy Siegel addressed a similar question: Would you be better off sticking with the original 500 stocks in the S&P 500, or like an index fund, changing your investments as the index is changed? The study: ""Long-Term Returns on the Original S&P 500 Companies"" Siegel found that the original 500 (including spinoffs, mergers, etc.) would do slightly better than a changing index. This is likely because the original 500 companies take on a value (rather than growth) aspect as the decades pass, and value stocks outperform growth stocks. Index funds' main strength may be in the behavior change they induce in some investors. To the extent that investors genuinely set-and-forget their index fund investments, they far outperform the average investor who mis-times the market. The average investor enters and leaves the market at the worst times, underperforming by a few percentage points each year on average. This buying-high and selling-low timing behavior damages long-term returns. Paying active management fees (e.g. 1% per year) makes returns worse. Returns compound on themselves, a great benefit to the investor. Fees also compound, to the benefit of someone other than the investor. Paying 1% annually to a financial advisor may further dent long-term returns. But Robert Shiller notes that advisors can dissuade investors from market timing. For clients who will always follow advice, the 1% advisory fee is worth it."


"This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](http://ngdp-advisers.com/2017/09/14/thinking-constrained-phillips-box-get-nightmarish-solutions/) reduced by 75%. (I'm a bot) ***** > Grep Ip has an article: The Fed&#039;s Bad Options for Addressing Too-Low Inflation in which he argues that what looks like a dream economy could be a nightmare for the Fed&acute;s chairwoman.  > The reason being that, according to the Fed&acute;s Phillips Curve precepts to which the Fed subscribes, when unemployment is this low inflation should move up to the Fed&acute;s 2% target.  > Just as it reaped rising inflation by producing a rising NGDP growth trend, lowered inflation by producing a falling NGDP growth trend and kept inflation &quot;On trend&quot; by producing a stable NGDP growth trend, it can raise the level of the stable NGDP growth trend, which it stopped doing in 2010.   ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/70qy24/the_dangers_of_phillips_curve_thinking/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ ""Version 1.65, ~211779 tl;drs so far."") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr ""PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome."") | *Top* *keywords*: **Inflation**^#1 **Fed**^#2 **growth**^#3 **trend**^#4 **recession**^#5"


"The short answer is that you will not be able to go back to whichever discussion you were having and say ""the Euro crisis was caused by bailing out private banks,"" if that is indeed what you were ultimately searching for here."


Where does the money go Who wins the billions Ever heard of The Wolf of Wall Street , theres where the money goes . In short ,bankers, traders who are paid millions to take make leverage bets using the banks money regardless of whether they do well .  If they screw up and lose millions , they get paid to leave ( compensation package ) . If they do well , they get bonus.


Write a virus, start spreading it via USB. That's how stuxnet got to Iran's nuclear program.  Someone could make a virus that does nothing on most computers, but if it happens to be on an ATM, it spits out cash if you type in the proper number on the key pad.


Isn't this because of chronic oversupply of business studies graduates? Nobody seems to want them much when it comes to actual hiring. Yet colleges keep churning them out because they're profitable and there's seemingly an infinite supply of fresh BS rubes to earn money from.


Let’s compare your target fund, FFFFX to a well-known ETF, SPY; SPDR S&P 500 ETF. Source: Yahoo Finance The difference in performance over a longer time-frame is significant, You can and should carefully research better funds in order to improve performance. FULL DISCLOSURE: My own IRA is at Fidelity. Less than 10% of my IRA is in Fidelity mutual funds. None is in FFFFX.


I went there as a last resort for a few items a week ago. They had some promotion going on where spending so much money got you a $5 gift card. The thing expired a few days later. Sure, I could have looked on the card, but the ads for that and the cashier never mentioned this. And since when do giftcards expire?


"I agree -- personally, at the expense of some of the convenience you speak of, I use credit unions exclusively. However, my credit union more than makes up for that with   1) online check deposit (only thing you ever need to go to a bank for) 2) ATM fee reimbursement  With those two amenities, I don't need a branch on every corner. I am pretty disappointed with BofA's practices (profiting off of those who are ""less responsible"" -- to me it's wrong to profit off of people's 'stupidity'), so I would never bank with them. It's just a personal preference because 1) I don't need them and 2) I wouldn't want to indirectly support their business. I can understand why people stick with them, and frankly don't really care, to be honest... I just think they're a fundamentally bad company through and through and would rather keep my money away from them."


Are there any examples of compulsory paternity (or maternity) leave in the world? Where required, employers must offer it, and it is medically necessary for women to have some time to recover from the stress of childbirth, but I don't believe it's forced on the parents. I do believe, though, that many men would take the opportunity for paternity leave if it were more convenient than spending vacation or sick days (which aren't always available).


Amazing. I applaud your clear an concise way of explaining such a complex matter. I personally have been baffled by many financial matters and you sir have made it all the more clearer. I am sincerely grateful that you have spent the time to write this, thank you.


"India's a very interesting case study. They're economy's exploded and grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade. It's a free market but the Reserve Bank of India's get's weird sometimes.   For instance a lot of these crappy and defaulting loans are because the government (Reserve Bank of India) said to fuel growth you have to make sure a certain percentage of your loan book is made out industries we want to develop. So huge loans were made to construction firms, not because they fit the risk profile of the bank or were good investments, but cause the government mandated it. Ton's of horribly run companies got money they shouldn't have.  Also, public banks pay a lot less than their private counterparts, so you don't have the best and brightest handing out these loans.   India's a fucking mess of laws. Like there's no codified way to declare bankruptcy like there is in the West. So if a company goes belly up, they have to go through this maze of different government offices with contradictory rules so creditors (in many cases, the banks that lent them money) can get some of their money back, IMF said it takes 4.5 years on average for a company to go through bankruptcy proceedings. That's insane!  And because it's India, there's a ton of shady shit going on behind the scenes. Up until 2-3 years ago, loans that the banking industry considers non performing (interest payments haven't been made in 90 days) were lumped in another category and hidden in the balance sheet, so the rest of the world looked at this said, ""well, their NPL ratio is only 3-4% which is fine for developing country"" and continued to rate them highly. It wasn't until recently that we figured out the ENTIRE banking sector wasn't reporting their bad loans properly."


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.


With an increasing age, old age people are become helpless and unable to walk, stand, eat and remember properly. They need help of others to do their daily work. Home health care aide stands by their side and assists them as they confront these issues.


"You could not have two stocks both at $40, both with P/E 2, but one an EPS of $5 and the other $10.  EPS = Earnings Per Share P/E = Price per share/Earnings Per Share So, in your example, the stock with EPS of $5 has a P/E of 8, and the stock with an EPS of $10 has a P/E of 4.  So no, it's not valid way of looking at things, because your understanding of EPS and P/E is incorrect. Update: Ok, with that fixed, I think I understand your question better. This isn't a valid way of looking at P/E. You nailed one problem yourself at the end of the post: The tricky part is that you have to assume certain values remain   constant, I suppose But besides that, it still doesn't work. It seems to make sense in the context of investor psychology: if a stock is ""supposed to"" trade at a low P/E, like a utility, that it would stay at that low P/E, and thus a $1 worth of EPS increase would result in lower $$ price increase than a stock that was ""supposed to"" have a high P/E. And that would be true. But let's game it out: Scenario Say you have two stocks, ABC and XYZ. Both have $5 EPS. ABC is a utility, so it has a low P/E of 5, and thus trades at $25/share. XYZ is a high flying tech company, so it has a P/E of 10, thus trading at $50/share. If both companies increase their EPS by $1, to $6, and the P/Es remain the same, that means company ABC rises to $30, and company XYZ rises to $60. Hey! One went up $5, and the other $10, twice as much! That means XYZ was the better investment, right? Nope. You see, shares are not tokens, and you don't get an identical, arbitrary number of them. You make an investment, and that's in dollars. So, say you'd invested $1,000 in each. $1,000 in ABC buys you 40 shares. $1,000 in XYZ buys you 20 shares. Their EPS adds that buck, the shares rise to maintain P/E, and you have: ABC: $6 EPS at P/E 5 = $30/share. Position value = 40 shares x $30/share = $1,200 XYZ: $6 EPS at P/E 10 = $60/share. Position value = 20 shares x $60/share = $1,200 They both make you the exact same 20% profit. It makes sense when you think about it this way: a 20% increase in EPS is going to give you a 20% increase in price if the P/E is to remain constant. It doesn't matter what the dollar amount of the EPS or the share price is."


"The most fundamental answer is that when you short a stock (or an ETF), you short a specific number of shares on a specific day, and you probably don't adjust this much as the price wobbles goes up and down. But an inverse fund is not tied to a specific start date, like your own transaction is.  It adjusts on an ongoing basis to maintain its full specified leverage at all times.  If the underlying index goes up, it has to effectively ""buy in"" because its collateral is no longer sufficient to support its open position.  On the other hand, if the underlying index goes down, that frees up collateral which is used to effectively short-sell more of the underlying.  So by design it will buy high and sell low, and so any volatility will pump money out of the fund. I say ""effectively"" because inverse funds use derivatives and contracts, rather than actually shorting the underlying security.   Which brings up the less fundamental issue.  These derivatives and contracts are relatively opaque; the counter-parties are in it for their own benefit, not yours; and the people who run the fund get their expenses regardless of how you do, and they are hard for you to monitor.  This is a hazardous combination."


Tell me about it. Looking for housing here when you're not one of those lucky millionaires sucks big time. For $2000 a month you can get a 950 square foot condo with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. What a deal!


Once you own no shares for 31 days, it's game over. Even though the accounting has wash sales to consider, in the end, gains and losses all cancel to one net position of break even, gain or loss.  It's when there are shares remaining at the end of a period of time that the wash sale rules really impact the numbers.


I like this option, rather than exposing all 600k to market risk, I'd think of paying off the mortgage as a way to diversify my portfolio. Expose 400k to market risk, and get a guaranteed 3.75% return on that 200k (in essence). Then you can invest the money you were putting towards your mortgage each month.  The potential disadvantage, is that the extra 200k investment could earn significantly more than 3.75%, and you'd lose out on some money. Historically, the market beats 3.75%, and you'd come out ahead investing everything. There's no guarantee. You also don't have to keep your money invested, you can change your position down the road and pay off the house. I feel best about a paid off house, but I know that my sense of security carries opportunity cost. Up to you to decide how much risk you're willing to accept. Also, if you don't have an emergency fund, I'd set up that first and then go from there with investing/paying off house.


Sorry if I came of harsh, I've spent the last few years starting small businesses, and that's the most consistent message I've come across. Ideas don't get bought.   I know your research seems valuable to you, but these companies likely pay $3-10-50k for massive research studies that come in the form of custom written books. Your work has to be unique, thorough, and well presented on a level that can compare to be valuable to them. It would be far easier to sell them an existing client base, a phenomenal team, or better yet, defensible IP.


The same as when you are buying a car. If a dealer quotes 10k and you quote 8k. 8k is the buy price and 10k is the sell price.  Somebody might quote 8.5k and another dealer might quote 9.5k. The the new price that you see on your screen is 8.5k(Best buy price) and 9.5k(Best sell price). When the buyer and seller agree to an amount, the car(In your case stock) is traded.


I owned a restaurant for over 5 years. Sales tax was only collected on POST discount price, though every state that collects sales tax may have different laws regarding collection. For example, when a customer used a gift certificate, that did NOT reduce the amount that tax was collected on. Why? Because the restaurant at some point or another collected the full amount of the bill.


Over the last ten years you have reaped the benefits of a good financial decision. (Presumably your low mortgage has freed up money for other financial priorities.) There would be no harm in making a clean break by selling as is.  On the other hand, the resale value would probably be rather low considering the condition and the neighborhood. I don't want to assume too much here, but if a potential buyer is interested in the house by virtue of not being able to afford a house in a better neighborhood or better condition, their finances and credit history may make it difficult for them to be approved for a mortgage. That would reduce the potential buyer pool and further reduce the sale price. If you can pull more in rent than the mortgage, you definitely have an opportunity to come ahead. Maybe window A/C units and a repaired chimney are enough if you're renting. Your rental income would pay for that in less than a year even while paying your mortgage for you. (Of course you don't want to become a sleazy slumlord either.)


"Without all the details it's hard to tell what options you may have, but none of them are good.  When you cosign you are saying that, you believe the primary signer will make good on the loan, but that if he doesn't you will. You are 100% responsible for this debt. As such, there are some actions you can take. First, really try to stress to your friend, that they need to get you outta this loan. Urge them to re-finance with out you if they can. Next look for ""better"" ways of defaulting on the loan and take them. Depending on what the loan is for you could deed-in-lue or short sale. You may just have to admit default. If you work with the bank, and try not to drag out the process, you will likely end up in a better place down the line.  Also of importance is ownership. If you pay the loan, do you get ownership of the thing the loan was secured against? Usually not, but working with an attorney and the bank, maybe. For example, if it's a car, can the ""friend"" sign over the car to you, then you sell it, and reduce your debt.  Basically as a cosigner, you have some rights, but you have all the responsibilities. You need to talk to an attorney and possibly the bank, and see what your options are. At this point, if you think the friend is not that much of a friend anymore, it's time to make sure that any conversation you have with them is recorded in email, or on paper."


The other answers have offered some great advice, but here is an alternative that hasn't been mentioned yet. I'm assuming that you have an adequately-sized emergency fund in savings, and that your cars are your only non-mortgage debt. Since you still have car debt, you probably don't have anything saved for buying a new car when your current cars are at the end-of-life. Consider paying off your car loans early, then begin saving for your next car. Having cash in the bank for a car is very freeing, and it changes your mindset when it comes time to purchase a car, as it is easy to waste a lot of money on something that depreciates rapidly when you aren't paying for it immediately.  This approach might be counterintuitive if your car loan interest rate is less than your mortgage rate, but you will probably need another car before you need another house, and paying cash for a car is worth doing.


As an electric vehicle engineer... I can say that shitty 18650 batteries are not the only bottleneck in vehicle production. If your supply chain is completely dependant on out of date battery technolgy, one small part of an EV,  the vehicle will be postponed a great deal. There are many many facets to vehicle production than 1/5 of the powertrain.


Have you ever been so poor as to be destitute? Not just someone with a hard scrabble life but someone with no options? I come from a third world country and was so poor that sometimes, I went hungry for days and on others, had nothing more than a banana to eat. My parents pawned all their meager savings to ensure I got a good education and was supporting my parents straight out of college.   I am one of the lucky ones who got away but I had plenty of hard-working, honest and talented friends who are stuck. You need to walk in the shoes of these people.   It is not always so simple. There are quite a few youth who while away their time on Reddit, games, hanging out on the corners of streets and so on but for every such person, there is a Dad or a Mom with a medical condition, a child whose parents are uneducated and too poor to teach their children at home, people who are too ill physically or mentally to work and having large medical bills and families that are barely surviving. Yet, they have chosen the hard, honest life over one of crime and petty theft. These people deserve our respect, even when we disagree with them.   I am an extreme libertarian who thinks all government programs should be abolished but I respect the liberal viewpoint. Churches and charity are not always the answer. Many times, it is also one of chance and station in life.  Edit - Pardon the lack of structure. This thread touched a raw nerve, even as I leave my old life behind and move towards a brighter future.  Edit - Need to add for posterity that I came to the US as a skilled worker and legal immigrant, having been invited due to my skills in a particular field.


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"The trouble is that everybody is afraid of the consequences of letting ""too big to fail"" fail. I contend that it would be painful, but we would be better off in the long run if we let those with bad economic practices go out of business instead of rewarding them.  Edit: It is like the difference between having a necessary needle shot quickly and sharply painful or having it slowing inserted and pulled out multiple times which is the equivalent of what we are going through now."


if more people wanted to short mortgages, the price of insurance on them would have gone up, and investors would have stopped wanting to buy them, which would cause interest rates on homes to go up, reducing the number of people who can buy homes out of their price range- which was a fundamental cause of the crisis


An index fund is just copying the definition of an index. The group that defines the index determines how to weight the different parts of the index. The index fund just makes sure they invest the same way the index creator wants.  Think of a non-investment scenario. A teacher can grade tests, quizzes, homework, in-class assignments, research papers. They decide how much weight to give each category and how much weight to give each part of each category. when a student wants to see how they are doing they take the information in the syllabus, and generate a few formulas in a spreadsheet to calculate their current grade. They can also calculate what they need to get on the final exam to get the grade they want.


"The best answer to this is: Read the fine print on your credit card agreement. What is common, at least in the US, is that you can make any charges you want during a time window.  When the date comes around that your statement balance is calculated, you will owe interest on any amount that is showing up as outstanding in your account.  Example...  To revise the example you gave, let's say Jan 1. your account balance was $0. Jan. 3rd you went out and spent $1,000.  Your account statement will be prepared every XX days... usually 30. So if your last statement was Dec. 27th, you can expect your next statement to be prepared ~Jan.24 or Jan. 27.  To be safe, (i.e. not accrue any interest charges) you will want to make sure that your balance shows $0 when your statement is next prepared.  So back to the example you gave--if your balance showed $1,000... and you paid it off, but then charged $2,000 to it... so that there was now a new set of $2,000 charges in your account, then the bank would begin charging you interest when your next statement was prepared.  Note that there are some cards that give you a certain number of days to pay off charges before accruing interest... it just goes back to my saying ""the best answer is read the fine print on your card agreement."""


I understand your point now. When I first read your comment, I gathered that you were making a prediction of a 50% drop (thus my comment about the fool's errand of making predictions).  I now see that you were commenting on the high price volatility of gold and silver.


[&#9733;&#9733;&#9733; Register To Vote &#9733;&#9733;&#9733;](https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/registertovote)   [**Randy Bryce**](https://randybryceforcongress.com/) is running against Paul Ryan.   [Donate](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/randy-bryce-for-congress-1) | [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/RandyBryce) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/RandyBryce2018) | [Twitter](https://twitter.com/IronStache)   Bryce supports universal health care, living wages, protecting Social Security and Medicare, affordable college, renewable energy, campaign finance reform, and DACA.    [**Cathy Myers**](https://cathymyersforcongress.com/) is running against Paul Ryan.   [Donate](https://secure.actblue.com/donate/cathy-for-congress-1?refcode=website) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/cathymyersforcongress/)   [Map of Wisconsin District 1](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/WI/1)   ^(I'm a bot and I'm learning. Let me know how I can do better. I'll add candidates who will represent working-class people instead of billionaire political donors.)


Is it sensible to keep savings in a foreign currency? The answer varies from one country to the next, but in the UK (or any other mature economy), I would advise against it. There are better ways to hedge against currency risks with the funds readily available to you through your ISA. You can keep your money relatively safe and liquid without ever paying a currency exchange fee.


Only they didn't work a day in their lives they received an inheritance of blood money built on the backs of minorities and exploited people. It's not entitlement to expect a good life when we have the means and ability to provide it to everyone. These people have so much money they have a responsibility to help mankind with it instead of encouraging further exploitation.


"In summary: In long form: Spreads and shorts are not allowed in cash accounts, except for covered options. Brokers will allow clients to roll option positions in a single transaction, which look like spreads, but these are not actually ""sell to open"" transactions. ""Sell to open"" is forbidden in cash accounts. Short positions from closing the long half of a covered trade are verboten. Day-trading is allowed in both margin and cash accounts. However, ""pattern day-trading"" only applies to margin accounts, and requires a minimum account balance of $25,000. Cash accounts are free to buy and sell the same security on the same day over and over, provided that there is sufficient buying power to pay for opening a new position. Since proceeds are held for both stock and option sales in a cash account, that means buying power available at the start of the day will drop with each purchase and not rise again until settlement. Unsettled funds are available immediately within margin accounts, without restriction. In cash accounts, using unsettled funds to purchase securities will require you to hold the new position until funds settle -- otherwise your account will be blocked for ""free-riding"". Legally, you can buy securities in a cash account without available cash on deposit with the broker, but most brokers don't allow this, and some will aggressively liquidate any position that you are somehow able to enter for which you didn't have available cash already on deposit. In a margin account, margin can help gloss over the few days between purchase and deposit, allowing you to be somewhat more aggressive in investing funds. A margin account will allow you to make an investment if you feel the opportunity is right before requiring you to deposit the funds. See a great opportunity? With sufficient margin, you can open the trade immediately and then run to the bank to deposit funds, rather than being stuck waiting for funds to be credited to your account. Margin accounts might show up on your credit report. The possibility of losing more than you invested, having positions liquidated when you least expect it, your broker doing possibly stupid things in order to close out an over-margined account, and other consequences are all very serious risks of margin accounts. Although you mentioned awareness of this issue, any answer is not complete with mentioning those risks."


Sorry, but whether or not you drive in New York, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles requires you to get a license in New York and surrender your California license. According to their website: If you become a   resident   of NYS, you must get a NYS driver   license within 30 days and surrender   your out-of-state driver license.   Normally, you cannot have a NYS driver   license and a driver license from   another state, but there are   exceptions. It is a violation of   Federal law to hold more than one   commercial driver license (CDL).


There's only one hard constraint in there:  >A population grown completely accustomed to a resource-intensive, globalized lifestyle relative to that enjoyed by almost any other country on Earth.  We do have to live within the limits of real resources. Labor, energy, commodities, clean air, water, etc.  Fortunately, we're not *at* the limits on those things right now and the rest of the problems are financial. Financial problems have financial solutions and those are always within our grasp *if* we [understand how the monetary system works](http://moslereconomics.com/mandatory-readings/soft-currency-economics/) and manage the poltiical coordination to get things done.


Whats been interesting is for the past decade, Meijer, our big box store pushed to atleast 50/50 self check out.   The past year they have gotten rid of all but a few. The money they lost to petty theft using self check out more than pays for hiring more workers for the check out lanes.


Wrong. If an industry needs 3 widget makers, and there are only 2 widget makers on Earth, their salary is going to be dramatically higher  (and thus cut into margins) than a world where 3 are needed but 30 exist.   To claim that supply and demand doesn't exist in the labor market or isn't a primary driver of wages is so fallacious that it's nothing short of retarded.


Not doing this would defeat the entire purpose of a VAT. The reason for a VAT rather than a simple sales tax is that it's harder to evade. Having a simple sales tax with the type of rates that VAT taxes typically are is unworkable because evasion is too easy. Imagine I'm a retailer. I buy products from a wholesaler and sell them to consumers. With a sales tax, if I don't charge the customer sales tax, the customer is happy and I don't care (assuming I don't get caught). And if I keep the sales tax but don't report the sale, I make a lot of money. Now, imagine a VAT. If I don't charge the customer the VAT, I lose money since I paid the VAT on the wholesale products. And if I don't report the sale, how do I claim my VAT refund?


"You're asking an intensely debatable question.   You'll have some people believe that the short-term effects on tax cuts will be an increase in the deficit, but long-term provide more economic prosperity that then eventually translates into higher tax revenue (the Laffer Curve). You'll have others state that it'll simply increase government debt and make us even more indebted, and the benefits of tax cuts will be marginal at best.  Large enough shocks, such as a war, cause market downturns due to heightened uncertainty. These are pretty unavoidable (we had a small shock with North Korea's nuke test).   > I ask because the economic fundamentals of U.S/Western Europe are strong.  Why do you think this?   > B. What will be the geopolitical result? Does China back NK to prevent a immigration crisi/power vacuum or do they side with the UN/U.S and allow military destruction of NK in the event of a NK-started war?  Also intensely debatable. Does China grow too tired of NK and simply acquire it itself? Does it keep it separate as a distraction to pin down U.S. attention? Does the U.S. pre-emptively strike NK leadership? Does it leave a vacuum there, close enough that China can keep an eye on it, or does it ""surge"" like Iraq? Would South Korea get it?   These are extremely open-ended questions that could have debates rage around them for years."


"Everyone has items that they consistently purchase.  I don't really need to see a picture of JIF Peanut Butter in order to buy it. Also if all you do is make a list at your computer and then put it aside until you're ready to purchase, it can now be down w/ voice commands.  Google has never hidden their desire to build Star Trek's ""Computer"" so all of this seems in-line w/ that."


>What makes you think anything would change? If they allowed Match money to be distributed tax free, they are missing out on a future tax revenue opportunity.  I agree that it's highly unlikely that matching contributions would be made entirely tax-free. If anything, I would expect employer contributions to be treated the same way that after-tax (non-Roth) 401(k) contributions are treated today to the extent that they exceed the new contribution limits. It's also possible that only individual contribution limits will be reduced and employer contribution limits will remain much higher - I haven't seen any reporting on the latter.  >I think the more likely way they would stick it to us is to sunset the Roth 401(k) all together and make plans go back to the old school pre-tax and after-tax only, where even the earnings on after-tax are taxed at distribution.  I'm optimistic that Roth 401(k)s are here to stay. Trump's priorities seem to be centered around short-term budget characteristics with far less concern for the long-term (as is characteristic of populist administrations in general), and eliminating Roth 401(k)s would be unpopular and have a negligible impact on tax revenue in the short term.


Free healthcare is not a human right and the affordable care act is not healthcare, it's mandated health insurance - a guarantee of payment to private insurance companies. It is a tax on the poor. They can't afford the rising healthcare costs from the bubble ACA created, so now they have to pay a fine. That's a tax. In America, if you go into a hospital without insurance, you will be treated. But now, if you don't have insurance, you're also a criminal. It's the slow, constant creep of socialism. You can free yourself by becoming a member of a health share that is cash-based and exempt from the ACA tax penalty. I use Samaritan Ministries (top rated) and it's been a great experience.


"Piggybacking on this, the best thing you can do is ask current analysts for help. You're new and people expect you to ask dumb questions at this point. So ask them now while you still get a pass.  With that being said, there's a strategy to it. Before you ever ask a question, spend at least 5 minutes trying to figure out the answer on your own. OP did a Google search, which is great. So many people won't do this. Finally, the way you ask the question is key. I would go to an analyst and say, ""[Boss] asked me to get a list of all US apartment flooring companies. I looked on Google to see if I could find anything there. If you were doing this, where would you go to find the information?""  They'll usually even walk you through how to do it if there's something special with the service you have for the task. You'll also make them feel important. And you'll get the task done fast.  Also, if you run into trouble with the boss after presenting it, you can always back yourself up by saying you asked around the office for what tool to use and people told you to use that. But be strategic with how you say it because you don't want to throw anyone under the bus."


Does the Spanish market, or any other market in euroland, have the equivalent of ETF's?  If so there ought to be one that is based on something like the US S&P500 or Russell 3000. Otherwise you might check for local offices of large mutual fund companies such as Vanguard, Schwab etc to see it they have funds for sale there in Spain that invest in the US markets.  I know for example Schwab has something for Swiss residents to invest in the US market.  Do bear in mind that while the US has a stated policy of a 'strong dollar', that's not really what we've seen in practice.  So there is substantial 'currency risk' of the dollar falling vs the euro, which could result in a loss for you.  (otoh, if the Euro falls out of bed, you'd be sitting pretty.)  Guess it all depends on how good your crystal ball is.


Yes. It was a very trying time. The company management and board were basically incompetent, and they fired the CEO, who was a great guy.  The company went from being worth essentially nothing, to a billion dollars in less than 5 years. And it got that successful despite the management and directors rather than because of them.  The amazing staff held the company together, and made it successful, while the board concentrated on in-fighting, and management concentrated on lining its pockets with stock options.


People have been saying that since it's launch. I believe facebook will be around for awhile. They have too much valuable data and are continuing to expand the platform. For example, they are trying to include AI into Facebook's messenger. As much as ppl hate Facebook, they are here to stay. And to answer ur question, I would think most of their money comes from ads and what not. That's why google hates them haha


Your taxable income is your total income from however many sources of income you have. If you are in employment and doing self-employed job at the same time, your taxable income will be a combination of both incomes.  For example if in employment you make £10000 and self employed you make another £10000 - your total income is £20000 and this is your taxable income.  And even if your self-employed job does not bring you more than personal allowance, how would HMRC know that without you filling-in tax return?


"The other answers are talking about seller financing.  There is another type of arrangement that might be described as ""writing your own mortgage,"" where the buyer arranges his (or her) own financing.  Instead of using a bank, a buyer might find his own investor to hold the mortgage for him. An example would be if I were to buy a house that needs fixing up.  I might be able to buy a house for $40,000, but after I fix it up, I believe it will sell for $100,000.  Instead of going through a traditional mortgage bank, I find an investor with cash that agrees the house is a good deal, and we arrange for the investor to provide funds for the purchase of the house on a short-term basis (perhaps interest-only), during which I fix up the house and sell it.  Just like a regular mortgage, the loan is backed by the house itself. I am not recommending this type of arrangement by any means, but this article does a good job of describing how this would work.  It is written by a real-estate guru with lots of training courses and coaching materials that she would like to sell you.  :)"


Firstly, it should be noted that the period of the investment is  all of the years 2007 to 2017 inclusive. This totals (temporarily removing one shoe and sock to extend counting range) 11 years!  Not the 9 of the OP and the accepted answer... Secondly, there are various definitions of average rate of return.  One would be : What constant annual rate of return, compounded annually, will yield   the same result as the given investment? Unfortunately, this results in an equation that cannot be solved by ordinary algebraic methods.  If r is the desired annual rate, then the equation is: (1+r)^11 * 10000 = 14567 Using logarithms: log(1 + r) = log(1.4567)/11 r = 3.4789%


Talk about coincidence, we just recieved letters from our bank saying that our interest only loans will be going up by 0.46% and if we want to keep our lower rate we will need to change early to P&I. Now our Interest only periods end in 6 months to about 16 months anyway. We have decided to change to P&I early and save on our interest expenses. Why? Because the main purpose of investing is to make money not to save on tax. Even if you are on the highest marginal tax rate for every extra dollar of expenses you spend and claim as a deduction you will only get about 50 cents back through tax savings. If you are on the lowest marginal tax rate your tax savings will reduce to less than 20 cents for every extra dollar spent. If you are investing in order to save on tax you may be investing for the wrong reasons. Your primary reason for investing should be to make money, for wealth creation. A good reason to stay with an Interest only loan for an investment property would be if you require the extra cash flow you would receive compared with an I&P loan.


The money is still their money, it never becomes your money. The reason is as follows, The books now look like this:  YOU: Asset: Mattress Liability: 600   THEM: Asset: 600 Liability: Mattress  Now, in their books, they mistakenly thought the mattress was returned, and therefore they returned the mattress to you. The books now look like this  YOU: Asset: Mattress Liability: 600   THEM: Asset: Mattress (incorrect) Liability: 0  As you see, their books are wrong, but yours are still correct. According to your books, you owe them $600, which you paid, but then they paid you back. You still have the liability. Why not just depreciate the mattress by 50% over two years? Then there will be no liability on your books.


"Relax im not picking on you, I just think its hilarious that people actually think saying ""my college's student investment fund valued this stock"" holds any legitimacy. Also, if i was back office I wouldnt be an IB analyst would I? So your dig at me doesnt make any sense."


"Given the place of games in mainstream culture, you won't be astonished to find that the interest for games tickets for an extensive variety of occasions has soar as of late. The NBA basketball is more popular in the USA. NBA b-ball round out the ""real four"" associations. In case you're attempting to locate the best NBA playoffs ticket at sensible costs, Eticket Pros is the place to be. We've assembled an amazing determination of tickets for the NBA's most smoking groups, without a moment to spare during the current year's playoff activity."


It's not really like google is stepping into a new business, it's still just a search function. They're taking one product (search) and making it more full featured.  This would be like TicketMaster being upset you could buy tickets directly from the venues website and you found the website through Google.


"It's interesting that the federal government actually has a set of criteria they use to fight against gangs by labeling them as ""Transnational Crime Group.""  What would happen if they applied the same standards to these corporations?  How similar are their current strategies for dealing with both?"


"So I've done some digging and have some new information.   I looked up Beam in California's business search and found Beam Financial, registered in November of 2015 by Yinan Du, incorporated in Delaware.  Searched Delaware's database and found a listing from 6/24/2014 with the agent ""National Registered Agents, Inc""--not much to go on from that.   Some Google Sluething and it appears that Du was previously in charge of something called 24quan.com (not entirely sure what that business was).   Still trying to figure out which bank will be covering them for FDIC and when they will launch."


how is it double taxation when you didn't start off with that extra $100?  it's double taxation if they taxed you on the total amount you pulled out of the market, not the profit you made.   explain the math on your last part, please.


"Right - if you want to blame the banks for the unsustainable ""NINJA"" loans they gave out, you can't turn around and slam them for not lending to people in struggling financial positions. Pick your poison.  A better solution would be for the government to step in to this gap and re-finance mortgages themselves, but the Republican party has made that politically unsustainable."


"The purpose of the emergency fund is to enable you to pay for unplanned necessary expenses without going into debt.  You know that cars don't last forever and eventually need to be replaced. Ideally, you would have a ""car replacement fund"" which you contribute to a little every month. (Essentially, it is a car payment to yourself.)  Then when it comes time to get a replacement car, you have money set aside for this purpose and know exactly how much you can spend.  However, in your case it seems that you don't have enough money in your car replacement fund for the car that you want.  There are a few different causes that might have led to this situation: Due to unforeseen circumstances, you need a replacement car before you thought you would need it.  You find that your planning was not quite right, and you weren't saving as much as you need.  You are trying to buy a more expensive car than you need.  If a replacement car is a necessity, two of these are emergencies, one is not.  If you don't have enough cash set aside for a car, it is certainly better to spend your emergency fund and pay cash than to borrow money to buy the car. Only you can decide if the car you are looking at is appropriate for you, or if you should be looking at a less expensive car. After you purchase the car, build your emergency fund back up first, then start saving for your next car."


Law Office of Daniel J. Caplis Each year, millions of people get injured to the point where they need medical treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 31 million people will suffer an injury in a given year. Of those, two million will need to be hospitalized, and 162,000 will die from their injuries.


"Yea, I saw that too. It doesn't change the fact that what I quoted is still the current idea of socialism.  Edit: also, you realise we're probably the last two people that will ever read these comments, right? You don't have to keep downvoting me just because you disagree.  I hope you work through whatever it is that's really weighing on you. Maybe go for a nice long walk through the mountains or something. I know I need to go again soon. Been cooped up for too long recently.  For the record, I don't get my political views from 4chan or Fox News. It's kind of lame that you just jumped directly to that. It indicates that your mind has gone way down the ""us vs. them"" tribalism path.  I know this kind of went on a tangent. I'm pretty tired. But really, I hope things work out."


if you put a mcdonald's job on your resume and you are over the age of 25 in a non-white collar position, i guarantee 95% of hiring managers will never call you back. well-paying jobs these days are mostly office based, and hiring managers have a hell of a bias against your non-middle income and above demographic


In some cases, we when we see an opportunity to save our clients money, without risking valuable coverage or diminishing benefits, we make certain recommendations for more affordable life insurance. One of these strategies is laddering (or layering) term lengths, or term maturities. The strategy is simple. While most people who are considering longer terms, such as 20 or 30 year term, purchase a single policy to fit their needs, the laddering strategy has you purchase two policies totaling the same amount of coverage you currently need, but with a shorter length term mixed with the longer term. For example, instead of purchasing a 30 year term for $1 million dollars, you might purchase two policies for $500,000 each, one with a 15 year term, and the other with a 30 year term. The result is typically a savings of 15%-25% on your term life insurance. Just be aware that the plan going in is to let the first policy go (the one with the shorter term length) when its level term has expired. For example in a 15 year term, the premiums will be guaranteed to stay level the first 15 years, and then increase every year thereafter. There is typically a sizable jump in rates in that 16th year. Clients often see rates increase 8-10 times or more. Therefore, it’s important you understand that going in, and realize you will most likely let that first policy go when the premiums increase, leaving you with the second policy through the end of its (longer) level term. You can crunch some numbers with our laddering calculator: https://www.jrcinsurancegroup.com/term-life-insurance-laddering-calculator/