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I'm starting to consider buying a home in a year or three. I'll have a lot of money available at that time -- perhaps enough to do more than the standard 20% down payment. I might be able to manage something more like 30-50% (depending on exactly how well things play out and how long I wait).
Should I pay more than ... |
Should I pay more than 20% down on a home? |
First of all, realize that buying a home isn't really an investment. It is cheaper to rent. In recent years, people were able to sell their houses for astronomical profits, but that won't be happening much in the future. Additionally, there are many hidden costs of owning a home.
Regarding the mortgage interest t... |
The more you put down now, the less money you are borrowing.
30yrs of interest adds up. Even paying a small amount at the beginning of the mortgage can turn into a huge savings over the life of the loan. That's why you'll find advice to make extra mortgage payments in the beginning.
The question is: Do you have... |
The more you put down now, the less money you are borrowing.
30yrs of interest adds up. Even paying a small amount at the beginning of the mortgage can turn into a huge savings over the life of the loan. That's why you'll find advice to make extra mortgage payments in the beginning.
The question is: Do you have... |
I work for a publicly traded company that was acquired by another publicly traded company. I also own shares of "restricted stock units" for my company. All of my shares are scheduled to vest far after the acquisition will be completed.
What typically happens to unvested stock options / restricted stock units during... |
What typically happens to unvested stock during an acquisition? |
I work for a publicly traded company that was acquired by another publicly traded company. I also own shares of "restricted stock units" for my company. All of my shares are scheduled to vest far after the acquisition will be completed.
What typically happens to unvested stock options / restricted stock units during... |
I work for a publicly traded company that was acquired by another publicly traded company. I also own shares of "restricted stock units" for my company. All of my shares are scheduled to vest far after the acquisition will be completed.
What typically happens to unvested stock options / restricted stock units during... |
I work for a publicly traded company that was acquired by another publicly traded company. I also own shares of "restricted stock units" for my company. All of my shares are scheduled to vest far after the acquisition will be completed.
What typically happens to unvested stock options / restricted stock units during... |
I also say yes. If you say it will take four years to save the required amount, why not be aggressive and set a target of three years but making extra money and trimming expenses? Also, while it is certainly possible that prices could rise in three years, it's also possible they could stay flat or fall.
In any e... |
With reference to this [question][1], how does this affect the Canadian Home and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC)? This organization made it possible to get a new home with as little as 5% downpayment, essentially insuring the borrower in case of default. Will this change with the new rules?
[1]: http://www.basical... |
What impact does the new mortgage rules have on CMHC policies? [Canada] |
Can you explain the **time value of money** concept, including **present value** and **future value**?
How does **compound interest** work? Why is compound interest a powerful concept when it comes to borrowing, saving, or investing?
Provide good examples for your best chance at the bounty.
<br>
*Note: This ... |
Can you explain the "time value of money" and "compound interest" concepts, and provide examples of each? |
Diversification is one aspect to this question, and Dr Fred touches on its relationship to risk. Another aspect is leverage:
- If you put money into pension it's unleveraged, that is you invest £50,000, and make 10%. You have £55,000.
- Another rental property is likely to be leveraged. You put in £50,000, and... |
Pension or Property: Should I invest in more properties, or in a pension? |
Other than getting a credit card with a minimal limit and using it exclusively for online purchases, what other strategies could be employed so as to avoid identity theft and credit card frauds?
|
Do you have a flexible spending account (FSA) at your employer? If so, you may be able to use some of those funds to pay for elder-care. Note I said *pay for*. You can't pay yourself. But if you paid a food preparation company, you might be able to use your FSA funds (generally pre-tax deductions) to pay for it. |
Why do you care? Any credit card these days has zero fraud liability. Even if your account number is stolen, you're not on the hook for anything. If you see a bogus transaction, call your CC company and report it. You'll get refunded and a new card will be issued.
Just be sure to use a Credit Card, not a Check/Deb... |
What are good Monthly Income Funds? [Canada] |
@sharam - big question. I am going to answer part of it, but not as directly as you might like.
You mention 4-6 cents per unit per month, but fail to give a unit price, so it is hard to tell how much return you are really looking for.
Given the amount you have to invest, depending on your time horizon, you will ... |
How would I do that? Wouldn't know where to start. My financing is with a major bank and I think my rate is pretty low. Are there likely penalties? |
I'm halfway through a 5-year purchase financing deal on my car. It's expensive. Can I sell it and get a cheaper car? |
Have you done garage sales before? Any key learnings to share? How to do one well, what to do, what not to do? |
You say "it's expensive". I'm going to interpret this as "the monthly payments are too high".
Basically, you need to get your old loan paid off, presumably by selling the car you have now. This is the tough part. If you sold the car now, how much would you get for it? You can use [Kelley Blue Book][1] to figure ... |
I heard [Clark Howard][1] talking about [foreign currency CD's][2], and so I looked and indeed their interest rates are much higher than US rates right now ([3.75% for a year in Australia][3]). What risks are there in investing in foreign CD's? Are there any benefits besides the obvious high interest rate?
> **Rel... |
Investing in foreign CD's, woth the risk? |
Investing in foreign CD's, is it worth the risk? |
I found a page, [Canada Gasoline Tax Information - Ontario Gas Prices][1], listing fuel taxes by province. Ontario's gas prices already includes 14.7 cents per litre of provincial fuel tax, and comments noted "Additional taxes include 5% GST." For Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where HST is in effect, comments noted ... |
I turned 18 in January 2010 and I filed a 2009 income tax return. When will I qualify to receive the rebate? |
I'm looking for an intuitive free to use personal finance management web application. There's a whole bunch of them out there and the few that seems modern are:
www.buxfer.com
www.wesabe.com
www.budgetpulse.com
money.strands.com
www.moneytrackin.com
www.justthrive.com
www.wesabe.com... |
What's a good personal finance management web app? |
I'm looking for an intuitive free to use personal finance management web application. There's a whole bunch of them out there and the few that seems modern are:
www.buxfer.com
www.wesabe.com
www.budgetpulse.com
money.strands.com
www.moneytrackin.com
www.justthrive.com
I plan to try ea... |
Ontario HST rebate: When would I qualify? |
Is it a good investment strategy to go long on "boring" companies (AT&T for example) and keep them around just because of their dividends or would it be better to trade more frequently companies that don't necessarily offer dividends? Maybe a mix of the two? |
I'm looking for an intuitive free to use personal finance management web application. There's a whole bunch of them out there and the few that seems modern are:
www.buxfer.com
www.wesabe.com
www.budgetpulse.com
money.strands.com
www.moneytrackin.com
www.justthrive.com
I plan to try ea... |
When selling covered calls, there are a couple of things a broker could do if the stock has a sharp increase. Here's an example:
<pre>
Buy Stock: $100
Sell Call $120@1month: $1
</pre>
Two days later, the stock spikes up to $120 and my call now costs $22. The broker can do two things:
<pre>
Plan #1: Wait for ... |
Number 2 cannot occur. You can buy the call back and sell the stock, but the broker won't force that #2 choice. To trade options, you must have a margin account. No matter how high the stock goes, once "in the money" the option isn't going to rise faster, so your margin % is not an issue.
And your example is a bit tr... |
What is the difference between the various US housing agencies nick-named "Freddie Mac", "Fannie Mae" and "Ginnie Mac"? How have they been affected by the sub-prime mortgage crisis? |
What is the difference between Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae? [US] |
This is the US companion of the same question for Canadians [Where can I park my rainy-day/ emergency fund?][1]. Basically I want to know what options I have for my emergency fund?
[1]: http://www.basicallymoney.com/questions/921/where-can-i-park-my-rainy-day-emergency-fund-savings-accounts-dont-generate |
Where should I park my rainy-day / emergency fund? |
What is the difference between Interest Rate and APY on savings accounts, CDs, etc? Is there a simple formula to convert the two? |
What is the difference between Interest Rate and APY? |
Where should I park my rainy-day / emergency fund? [US] |
My company is about to change the 401k provider it uses from one major provider to another. Does this matter to me, provided my company doesn't change any of it's benefits policies? |
Does my company's 401k provider matter to me? |
It's always a good idea to check your credit history on a regular basis - try checking your credit score from one of the independent providers recently (like [Equifax][1]) ? Maybe that will offer a clue what PayPal is doing.
[1]: http://www.equifax.com/home/en_ca |
I hope this is the right place to ask this, but if not let me know and I'll go away.
About 6 months ago I left a W-2 position to do independent consulting. Since then, I have been using my previous employer's Cobra plan. It's very expensive, and so I have been looking at other options.
However, I just receive... |
I work for a publicly traded company that was acquired by another publicly traded company. I also own shares of "restricted stock units" for my company. All of my shares are scheduled to vest far after the acquisition will be completed.
What typically happens to unvested stock options / restricted stock units during... |
I hope this is the right place to ask this, but if not let me know and I'll go away.
About 6 months ago I left a W-2 position to do independent consulting. Since then, I have been using my previous employer's COBRA plan. It's very expensive, and so I have been looking at other options.
However, I just receive... |
Retroactive COBRA Premium Increase: Can my COBRA health insurance premiums be hiked retroactively? |
First off, you generally want to park your emergency fund somewhere that is "safe", meaning something that is not subject to market fluctuations. Your emergency fund is something you need to be able to count on when times are tough! That rules out things like stock market investments.
Secondly, you need to think a... |
Pretty much as the title states, roughly how does it equate to a job in the south (say, Bristol), compared to a job in the north (say, Leeds)? |
Roughly how much more is the average salary of London compared to the north and south? |
A friend of mine did not cash her refund cheque from last year as she moved away and forgot to change her address. What is the method for retrieving that refund from the CRA? Would it be possible for them to issue a new cheque or is there a time limit for collecting the refund? |
Did not cash cheque for last years tax refund, can I ask for another? |
In Canada, cheques issued by the Government of Canada do not expire. do personal cheques ever expire? If so, what is the limit before they need to be re-issued? |
Do personal cheques expire? [Canada] |
With the interest rates beginning to ascend, is it better to lock the house mortgage at a fixed rate or to opt for a variable rate mortgage? Thanks in advance for the sage advice that is shared here. |
With interest rates beginning to ascend, is it better to lock house mortgage at fixed rate or opt for variable rate? |
With interest rates beginning to ascend, is it better to lock in a mortgage at fixed rate or opt for variable rate? |
I have an ISA with company A, and company B, because they offered good rates at the times I opened the ISAs.
I know it's possible to transfer an ISA, but can you transfer ISAs from multiple different places into a 3rd place? I ask because if company C offers a better rate and allows transfers, it would make sense to... |
Can you consolidate ISAs from multiple places? |
You certainly can.
From moneysavingexpert.com:
Q. Can I transfer more than one old ISA into a new one?
A. Consolidating all your old ISAs into one is allowed, and often a good way of upping the rate on your whole wodge of ISA cash - this is because providers regularly slice rates on the money you saved in previo... |
Do personal checks expire in the US? Also, if I stamp
> VOID if not claimed within 60 days.
Will that be honored by most banks?
|
Do personal checks expire? [US] |
Do personal checks expire in the US? Also, if I stamp the following on it:
> VOID if not claimed within 60 days.
Will that be honored by most banks?
----------
Related
> [Do personal cheques expire? \[Canada\]][1]
[1]: http://www.basicallymoney.com/questions/1541/do-personal-cheques-expire-canad... |
In general you must charge HST on and after **July 1, 2010**.
However, in the case of delivered sales, you must charge HST *if the transfer of goods will happen on or after July 1,2010*.
Example:
> A person comes into my hypothetical store on June 29, 2010 and buys a couch. They opt to have it delivered by ... |
<h2>More questions related to the introduction of HST in Ontario:</h2>
*(community wiki)*
- [Ontario special HST sales tax transition rebate cheques: When and how much?][1]
- [What will happen to quarterly GST cheques when HST starts in Ontario?][2]
- [Ontario HST rebate: When would I qualify?][3]
- ... |
Investment Portfolio Analysis: Could you recommend software or a web application with these features? |
What do you look for in a stock that makes you say "I'm done with this, let me take profits and go somewhere else"? |
When to sell a stock? |
Some services will be impacted earlier than July 1, 2010. What services are impacted and what date does the full 13% get charged? |
When does the HST impact pre-purchased services in Ontario? [Canada] |
I am a believer in stocks for the long term, I sat on the S&P right though the last crash, and am 15% below the high before the crash.
For individual stocks, you need to look more closely, and often ask yourself about its valuation. The trick is to buy right and not be afraid to sell when the stock appears to be too ... |
What are the different roles involved in a Trust? |
What is a Trust? What are the different types of Trusts? Are some better than others? |
What is a trust? What are the different types of trusts? Are some better than others? What are the different roles involved in a trust? |
What is a trust? What are the different types of trusts? |
I would like to donate some money to a charity, but I would rather [they not know who donated it][1]. How could I go about this if cash isn't an option
[1]: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6:3&version=ESV |
How to donate money anonymously? |
In the US, you can use an intermediary site like [justgive.org](http://www.justgive.org/) or [Network For Good](http://www1.networkforgood.org/). I believe they charge a small percentage for the pleasure. I've no experience with either site to recommend them or otherwise.
In the UK, you can set up a CAF (Charities A... |
Why would selling off some stores improve a company's value? |
Can you explain "time value of money" and "compound interest" and provide examples of each? |
PEG is **Price/Earnings to Growth**. It is calculated as [Price/Earnings][1]/[Annual EPS Growth][2]. It represents how good a stock is to buy, factoring in growth of earnings, which P/E does not. Obviously when PEG is lower, a stock is more undervalued, which means that it is a better buy, and more likely to go up.
... |
I came across a reference to a "Master Limited Partnership" in a news article recently. I understand they are exchange-listed investments like individual stocks. But, what exactly are Master Limited Partnerships, and how are they different from regular company stocks?
Are MLPs appropriate holdings for individual i... |
What is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) & how is it different from plain stock? |
In "general" is it better to pay off one's debt (line of credit, etc.) or is it better to invest (RRSP or the like)? I understand that the answer will depend on terms of debt and amount of debt, inter alia, and perhaps saving and paying off debt. But I am seeking to understand the the principle that determines the answ... |
It has to do with return. I don't know if Canada has a matching feature on retirement accounts, but in the US many companies will match the first X% you put in. So for me, my first $5000 or so is matched 100%. I'll take that match over paying down any debt. Beyond that, of course it's a simple matter of rate of return.... |
Can I claim a UK charity donation as tax deductible in Canada?
More generally, are charitable donations to foreign charities tax deductible in Canada?
|
Can I claim a UK or foreign charity donation as tax deductible in Canada? |
Can I get a mobile phone contract if I am unemployed? |
Can I get a mobile phone contract if I am unemployed? |
As part of [introducing the HST this July 1st, 2010][1], the government of Ontario promised to issue special HST rebates to people meeting certain criteria, in order to ease the transition to the new tax.
- Who will receive the special HST rebates?
- How much are the special HST rebates worth?
- When will the s... |
Today (5/6/2010) the [market dropped][1] almost 900 points in less than an hour. I don't see any news story that explains the drop. Am I missing something obvious?
[1]: http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=0&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=0&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1273176000000&chddm=391&chls=IntervalBasedLin... |
Why did the market drop 9% in a few minutes? |
May 6, 2010 stock market decline/plunge: Why did it drop 9% in a few minutes? |
Do you prefer using your **bank account** or your **credit card** for your monthly pre-authorized purchases?
Are there certain kinds of bills you'd prefer to pay with your bank account or credit card? Why would you choose one or the other method of payment?
|
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