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My daughter got married last year in late August, can I still claim her part year? |
Is it worth the money to buy a heating protection plan to cover an existing or recently out of warranty furnace? My gas utility company which provides the hot water boiler keeps offering to cover the furnace in order to:
- provide an annual yearly maintenance check
- warranty any parts within the furnace that co... |
Are heating protection plans (furnace warranty) worth the money? |
This definitely depends on your situation.
If your furnace is relatively young it's probably not going to require major service anytime soon so you may not need it.
As @sdg said, if you can tolerate a couple of days with no heat, you may not need it.
If you have access to trusted HVAC repairman, you may not n... |
What is the practical difference between a Health Savings Account and a Flexible Spending Account? What are the pro's and con's of each, and are there situations where either is best?
|
Difference between a Health Savings Account and a Flexible Spending Account? |
I drove to Buffalo, NY over the weekend with some friends, and I bought myself a shiny new [Apple iPad][1]. I had to pay New York State sales tax at the Apple Store, as well as declare my iPad purchase at the Canadian border to pay Canadian GST + Ontario PST. So, I've been taxed twice.
I do know that when foreigne... |
Travelled to New York State & bought something. Can I get sales tax refund back? |
I hear a lot about CDFs (Credit Default Swap) and I not really know what are those. Can you please explain it to me? What are they good for? |
Please, explain what is CDF? |
Can you recommend me a good spreadsheet templates for tracking my spending? |
Lets say your loan payment is $100 a month.
What is the differences between 1. making a regular payment for $120 and 2. making a regular payment for $100 plus an additional principal reduction payment for $20?
Is it the same thing? |
What happens when you make extra payments but don't specify principal reduction? |
Lets say your loan payment is $100 a month.
What is the differences between:
1. making a regular payment for $120
1. making a regular payment for $100 plus an additional principal reduction payment for $20
Is it the same thing? |
Please explain: What exactly is a CDS or "Credit Default Swap"? |
Can you recommend good Excel spreadsheet templates for tracking spending? |
How do you go about making a budget? Where do you start (ie: with income or expenses)? |
If you're actually footing the bill, i.e. spending out of pocket to support an elderly relative, there may be a tax deduction. However, to qualify for the tax deduction, it appears your relative would need to be classified as your dependent, and you'd need to provide a large portion of living expenses. Refer to:
... |
How should I make a budget? |
I've been an independent contractor for about 2 months now. I'm saving receipts for all my business-related expenses, and I use Mint.com to track all my personal finances -- Everything business related is "tagged" as "LLC" (I'm not really an LLC, but I aspire to be =D). I also recently found Expensify.com, which has an... |
If I were to get audited, what would I need? |
Not sure you are going to find anything like this in Excel - with the automatic lookup in specific.
Microsoft has a [template][1] available; but it looks to be a pretty *busy* page.
Why not look at other software? If you have a PC, Quicken and Microsoft Money are of course the big guns. You don't mention why yo... |
I'm 21 years old, and 2009's total itemized deduction for me is $1,908. I'm going with the standard deduction, but next year seems like it has a lot of potential to save if I open up this IRA that mint.com/turbotax is offering.
Should I worry about an IRA at this age? Are there smarter investment options at this age... |
TurboTax is telling me to open an IRA now, and get a $5K deduction this year, is this a smart thing to do? |
Here's a financial math problem:
I have a mortgage at about $78,0000 with 5.5% interest and 56 of 360 monthly payments were made. I'm currently paying about $360/month in interest charges. If I pay it down by $50,000 what would the monthly interest payments be?
I've trying to build a amortization schedule, but ... |
In a nutshell, yes, just generate a new mortgage schedule assuming the new principal amount and new number of payments. Spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel have all of the formulas you'd need to build your own schedule, but let me show you a neat way to get the answer you want online:
Did you know [Wolfram Al... |
How to determine new, lower interest payments after a lump sum mortgage payment, i.e. new amortization schedule? |
There are lots of sub-parts to your question. Let's takle them one at a time.
**Should I worry about an IRA at this age?**
Absolutely! Or at least some form of retirement account. When you are young is the BEST time to start putting money into a retirement account because you have so much time for it to grow. [Co... |
There are lots of sub-parts to your question. Let's takle them one at a time.
**Should I worry about an IRA at this age?**
Absolutely! Or at least some form of retirement account. When you are young is the BEST time to start putting money into a retirement account because you have so much time for it to grow. [Co... |
How do you go about making a budget? Where do you start (ie: with income or expenses)?
<br/>
> **Related:** [Where can I find an example of a really basic family budget?][1]
[1]: http://www.basicallymoney.com/questions/102/where-can-i-find-an-example-of-a-really-basic-family-budget |
There are lots of sub-parts to your question. Let's takle them one at a time.
**Should I worry about an IRA at this age?**
Absolutely! Or at least some form of retirement account. When you are young is the BEST time to start putting money into a retirement account because you have so much time for it to grow. [Co... |
At what point in the life of a small business would you choose to do a [LLC][1] over a [sole proprietorship][2]? What's the advantage, and what's the cost of doing an LLC?
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability_company
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sole_Proprietorship |
Sole proprietorship or LLC? |
Where can I find a list of common tax deductions in the US? I'd like to know so I can keep more receipts and pay less tax. |
List of common tax deductions? |
The primary advantage is protection of your personal assets. If your LLC gets sued, they can't take your house/car/dog/wife. There aren't really any financial incentives to be an LLC; because of the pass-thru taxing structure, you wind up paying the same in taxes either way.
"The cost" will depend on where you're lo... |
The primary advantage is protection of your personal assets. If your LLC gets sued, they can't take your house/car/dog/wife. There aren't really any financial incentives to be an LLC; because of the pass-thru taxing structure, you wind up paying the same in taxes either way.
"The cost" will depend on where you're lo... |
Students (university/college) have been hit hard enough recently with tuition hikes. How will this latest cost increase affect the cost of education materials? |
How will Ontario's HST apply to books / textbooks, which were PST exempt before? |
I'm 21 years old, and 2009's total itemized deduction for me is $1,908. I'm going with the standard deduction, but next year seems like it has a lot of potential to save if I open up this IRA that mint.com/turbotax is offering.
Should I worry about an IRA at this age? Are there smarter investment options at this age... |
This question is raised in the movie [Money as Debt][1] (at time index 29:00).
The answer that immediately pops to my head is "because printing money causes inflation".
**However**, according to this movie, money is created not only by printing it but rather more so by lending it (watch the movie for the details)... |
Why do governments loan money instead of printing it? |
I believe there are two ways new money is created:
- Central bank (the "Fed" in the US) "printing" new money (they press a button, literally get new money, and buy US Government Treasuries from banks)
- Commercial Banks making new loans (because of the [fractional reserve banking][1])
My favorite description o... |
This question is raised in the movie [Money as Debt][1] (at time index 29:00).
The answer that immediately pops to my head is "because printing money causes inflation".
**However**, according to this movie, money is created not only by printing it but rather more so by lending it (watch the movie for the details)... |
What percentage of my budget should the mortgage be? |
What percentage of my budget should the mortgage be? |
So a company decides to raise money by selling shares of its stock. The stock is offered at an initial price of their determination. The stock is then traded in a market where forces of supply and demand, as well as speculation, affect its price.
When a company performs well (or makes decisions that will likely incr... |
Why does demand for stock rise when a company appears to have high future value? |
So a company decides to raise money by selling shares of its stock. The stock is offered at an initial price of their determination. The stock is then traded in a market where forces of supply and demand, as well as speculation, affect its price.
When a company performs well (or makes decisions that will likely incr... |
Yes - Simply put, printing money is called "monetizing the debt" and would result in some nasty inflation. It's a no-no as it quickly devalues the currency and makes it far more difficult to borrow in the future, an entire generation will remember getting burned by it. If, say, Canada's currency were suddenly worth hal... |
I have a different take on this. If it would only take 3 months to save up to pay for it, line up the work now. Shop with your spouse to find the exact floor you want. By the time you hire the store to do the install, a month will have gone by, by the time the charge bill comes in, you'll be able to pay 2/3 off, and pa... |
Debt creates risk. The more debt you take on, the higher your risk. What happens if you lose your job, miss a payment, or forget to write the final payment check for the exact amount needed, and are left with a balance of $1 (meaning the back-dated interest would be applied)? There is too much risk for little reward... |
Why do governments borrow money instead of printing it? |
This question is raised in the movie [Money as Debt][1] (at time index 29:00).
The answer that immediately pops to my head is "because printing money causes inflation".
**However**, according to this movie, money is created not only by printing it but rather more so by borrowing it (watch the movie for the detail... |
How much tax we can save if one invest 5100£ in ISA Account in UK? |
How much tax we can save if one invest 5100£ in ISA Account in UK? |
The rules will affect ATM withdrawals and debit card transactions, and are meant to protect consumers with an opt-in option. What does this mean? |
What do the new Overdraft rules for U.S. banks mean for bank transactions, when they go into effect July 1, 2010? |
What do new Overdraft rules for U.S. banks mean for transactions, when they go into effect July 1, 2010? |
I'm not sure how this works. Do you just report on your taxes which investments you contributed to during that year, and then get a deduction?
I want to pay less taxes, and put my income in some investments at the same time. Where should I start? |
How do I use investments to lower my taxes? |
How do I use investments to lower my taxes [US]? |
If I have $100 to invest and I have the ability to choose from the following:
1. GIC at 3% interest
2. Shares that I might later sell at $105
3. Shares that pay a dividend of $3
Assuming that the period is about a year (same tax year), which would be the best option from an income tax deduction perspective? ... |
Which investment option provides the best income tax benefit? [Canada] |
For years I was under the impression that renovating a home was an investment. However, when I [look up return on investment][1] for typical home renovation projects, it appears that even the most high-value renovations (kitchens, bathrooms) seem to return only 80% at best of the investment. Is home renovation ever a g... |
Is home renovation ever a good investment? |
When I worked in the corporate world, I remember dealing with a company from the U.K. who cited a U.K. regulation on maximum interest/finance charges that necessitated a change in their contract.
What are those maximums, and do all countries have them? |
Is there a law or regulation that governs the maximum allowable interest amount that can be charged on credit cards or in agreements where credit is extended? |
I saw this term "Samurai Bond" while I was reading about investing and bonds, but I am not sure about what this is. Can you please explain? |
What is a Samurai bond? |
I was watching [Mad Money][1] last night and he was discussing [Sunoco][2] how they were planning to [liquidate some of their retail locations][3], thereby improving their value. Why is it that removing locations (presuming they're not a [net loss][4]) improves a companies value. Wouldn't removing a revenue stream (n... |
Why would selling stores improve a companies value? |
We just bought our first house and are contemplating fixed vs. variable. Our broker is really pushing for variable but we're just not sure. I know interest rates will probably be creeping up soon, but will they creep up so fast that we'll be in trouble with our monthly payments? Our situation is that we are earning ... |
Which type of mortgage is better? Fixed-rate, or Variable? |
If a broker is pushing fixed rates in this period of historic lows, I'd find another broker. Of course nobody can predict which way interest rates will go, but at the moment they have a lot more room to go up than down and have been slowly climbing over the last month. A variable rate mortgage will likely have a lower ... |
If my employer requires that I own a laptop and other computer equipment, but does not provide them, am I able to deduct the expense of purchasing the equipment? I know that I definitely would deduct these expenses if I was self-employed. |
Can I deduct equipment that I'm required to purchase by my employer? |
I'm trying to find the laws on what makes a condo complex available for FHA loans. I hear it has something to do with the amount of money on reserve and the owner/occupancy ratio. Does anyone know if there is a copy of these laws online? |
From time to time my HOA needs extra money for a project (eg painting fences, fixing roofs, plumbing repair, etc). They typically respond by raising the monthly HOA dues for a short time to cover the expense.
I talked to a banker about possibly getting a loan in the name of the HOA. The bank was willing to give a ... |
Currently, I have an Roth IRA account with Citi bank, but they moved my account to their affiliates. They won't allow me to buy stocks that are below $5 on their site, I have to call them and they will put the transaction for me, but the transaction fee costs more than $100. So Im thinking to swtich to another company,... |
What are some of the best companies for Roth IRA account ? |
If a broker is pushing variable rates in this period of historic lows, I'd find another broker. Of course nobody can predict which way interest rates will go, but at the moment they have a lot more room to go up than down and have been slowly climbing over the last month. A variable rate mortgage will likely have a low... |
With an FHA loan that only requires a 3.5% down payment, I'm able to buy a home right now and comfortably afford the monthly payments. However, I know that means I'll pay PMI and more interest over the life of the loan. A 20% down payment would allow me to avoid PMI, however it would take me around 4 years to save that... |
Should I wait until I have a 20% down payment to buy a home? |
It depends. What kind of rent do you pay now? How big/small a house is it and what would the total payments be?
More than that, what is your motivation to buy? If you bought and the market dropped 30% from here, would you panic or just say "I plan to be here 10 years, I don't really care what's it's worth day to day"... |
You are the buyer, you don't have a broker. They work for the seller. (90% of the time). If you are using a buyer's broker, you should fire him/her.
That broker (this is not an indictment of all brokers) is pushing you to buy more house than you can afford. Look at any rate chart, rate literally have nowhere to go b... |
I've preferred having a variable-rate mortgage for the last 8 years. Rates were generally declining and I've saved considerable money as a result. But, I don't recommend going into a fully variable rate mortgage at this time. I don't think rates will continue to decline or stay this low for much longer. Rates are alr... |
First of all, if Citibank is charging you a transaction fee of $100, you should really dig deeper on that. That doesn't sound correct. Are you sure it is $100?
Since it seems you want to invest very small amounts per month, I would suggest an account with Sharebuilder ([http://www.sharebuilder.com][1]). You can s... |
I know it is a long complicated process, but what is the high level overview of what a bank does when it forecloses on a house? Beyond credit getting hurt, what else?
Where does the bank get it's money? How does PMI play into it? How do the homeowner's taxes change for that year? For the upcoming years? Please ... |
I would advise Fixed Rate because I'm very risk averse. If you have a variable rate mortgage and the rate goes from 4% to 10% can you still afford it? Also I just like being sure of how much I need to budget for my mortgage from year to year, instead of depending on the waxing and waning of interest rates I have no c... |
I think it looks very interesting, and certainly promises to deliver. My main concern is, as a single person, is it wise to put all of my eggs into one basket? |
What are your thoughts on all-in-one accounts, like ManulifeOne? |
What are your thoughts (pros & cons) on all-in-one accounts, like Manulife One? |
Foreclosure process: What happens when a bank forecloses on a home? |
From time to time my HOA (homeowner's association) needs extra money for a project (eg painting fences, fixing roofs, plumbing repair, etc). They typically respond by raising the monthly HOA dues for a short time to cover the expense.
I talked to a banker about possibly getting a loan in the name of the HOA. The b... |
Homeowner's association funding a project in a condo: Bank wants an individual guarantor. What to do? |
In what state should I register my web-based LLC? |
Today – April 15th – is the income tax filing deadline in the U.S.
Here in Canada, we still have until the end of the month. Perhaps we get a little longer to figure things out because we pay more tax than our American friends? ;-)
Anyway, I'm curious about **late tax filing in the U.S.**, and I'm s... |
What are the consequences of filing personal income tax return past the deadline of April 15th (i.e. filing late)? [US] |
Today – April 15th – is the income tax filing deadline in the U.S.
Here in Canada, we still have until the end of the month. Perhaps we get a little longer to figure things out because we pay more tax than our American friends? ;-)
Anyway, I'm curious about **late tax filing in the U.S.**, and I'm s... |
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