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Where can I buy preferred stocks as opposed to common stocks? |
Should I expect the tax effect of a fourth child to be similar to that of the third, or is there a point of diminishing financial benefit? |
What would be the impact of a fourth child on taxes? |
Pros and cons of using a personal assistant service to manage your personal finances? |
After doing some research, I noticed that Fidelity appears to have fund fees between 0.71% and 0.91%, whereas Vanguard has fund fees between 0.21% or 0.22%. How do I calculate the impact that these differences will have on my investments? |
How do I calculate the impact of fund fees? |
I was reading Clark Howard's <a href="http://clarkhoward.com/topics/investingbeginner.html">Guide for Beginner Investors</a>, and have a few questions:
- What kind of investment account should I put these in? Roth IRA account, regular IRA account, or regular investment account?
- What will be the impact of the exp... |
What kind of information do you obtain before buying (or selling) a stock? I know the PER is very important, but not the only thing. Are there any rules of thump to determine whether some stock is cheap or expensive? Or do you simply listen to 'experts' and hope they are right?
I buy an independent magazine and bet ... |
Its like anything else, you need to study and learn more about investing in general and the stocks you are looking at buying or selling. Magazines are a good start -- [also check out the books recommended in another question][1].
If you're looking at buying a stock for the mid/long term, look at things like this:
... |
- Are the products the company sells going to be in demand?
- What competition does the company have?
- What intellectual property advantage do they have?
- How much debt do they carry?
|
What bank deposits are insured in the U.S.? |
What kind of information do you obtain before buying (or selling) a stock? I know the PE ratio is very important, but not the only thing. Are there any rules of thumb to determine whether some stock is cheap or expensive? Or do you simply listen to 'experts' and hope they are right?
I buy an independent magazine and... |
How to evaluate stocks? e.g. Whether some stock is cheap or expensive? |
I came across [Banksimple.com][1], and I was wondering whether or not it is safe to entrust your money to.
The [About Us page][2] says
> We partner with select deposit-taking
> institutions. We spend our time making
> banking easier for you, while our
> partners manage treasury and
> compliance. Through our p... |
If banksimple.com is not a bank, what is it? |
I'm a non resident of Canada, living in Vancouver, BC, Canada - what are the rules, regs and issues in leasing a car - is it even possible?
|
Is it possible to lease a car in Canada as a non-resident? |
Many companies offer index funds and ETFs. If two funds or ETFs track the same fund, what differentiates the two? Is it common for one index fund to outperform another? How can this happen if the funds/ETFs are tracking the same index?
I found [this post comparing index funds and ETFs][1]. When forced to choose betw... |
What differentiates index funds and ETFs? |
I'm assuming the question is about how to compare two ETFs that track the same index.
I'd look at (for ETFs -- ignoring index funds):
* liquidity -- how many shares trade daily
* expense ratio
* discount/premium
* structure of the fund -- how closely do they have to track it, do they own all components, how mu... |
Specifically, I notice that on a mortgage statement, my payment is "amortized" so that at the beginning of the loan, I am paying almost entirely interest and very little principal.
However, on a credit card balance, it seems interest is only charged on the balance.
Why do amortization schedules work the way they ... |
How do amortization schedules work and when are they used? |
Index Funds & ETFs, if they are tracking the same index, will be the same in an ideal world.
The difference would be because of the following factors:
1. Expense ratio: i.e. the expense the funds charge. This varies and hence it would lead to a difference in performance.
2. Tracking error: this means that there ... |
I was working in UK for 2 years. I had opened an account with one of the banks in UK where my salary used to be credited. Now, I am away from UK for over a year, however, I do have a significant amount of my money in the same account.
I do intend to come back to UK in the near future. Will I run into any problems i... |
I was working in the UK for 2 years. I had opened an account with one of the banks in the UK where my salary used to be credited. Now, I am away from the UK for over a year, however I do have a significant amount of my money in the same account.
I do intend to come back to UK in the near future. Will I run into any... |
Will I have any problems keeping my money in a UK bank, even though I am out of the country? |
I was bored the other day so I was looking through the real estate listings up in Cottage Country. I noticed a plot of 4 acres of land for sale for $30,000.
I was wondering what one should consider before investing in land they don't intend to live on? What can I expect with regard to taxes at time of purchase, wh... |
Its like anything else, you need to study and learn more about investing in general and the stocks you are looking at buying or selling. Magazines are a good start -- [also check out the books recommended in another question][1].
If you're looking at buying a stock for the mid/long term, look at things like this:
... |
Are you looking for something like [Morningstar.com](http://morningstar.com/)? They provide information about lots of mutual funds so you can search based on many factors and find good candidate mutual funds.
Use their [fund screener](http://screen.morningstar.com/FundSelector.html) to pick funds with long track r... |
What should I consider when buying land as an Investment in Ontario, Canada? |
Your analysis is flawed because you're using bad assumptions.
1.00% is very high for a index fund... the [Vanguard 500 Index Fund][1] has a 0.18% expense ratio, [Fidelity Mid-Cap Index fund][2] has a 0.61% expense ratio. I'd say find a better index fund, or buy your ETFs through an expensive broker like Merril Lync... |
An amortization schedule is often used to produce identical payments for the term (repayment period) of a loan, resulting in the principal being paid off and the debt retired at the end of the loan. This is in contrast to an interest only, or balloon loan. These loans require little or no payment against the balance of... |
## What is Amortization? ###
An amortization schedule is often used to produce identical payments for the term (repayment period) of a loan, resulting in the principal being paid off and the debt retired at the end of the loan. This is in contrast to an interest only, or balloon loan. These loans require little or no ... |
4 acres for 30K strikes me as low, is the land buildable at all or is it just usable for camping? What is the abutting property? One of the ways to value any property is to find "comps", similar parcels nearby. |
Suppose I rent a 100 square foot apartment (just to keep the numbers easy). Now suppose I use a 30 square foot area exclusively for working-at-home. In that 30 square foot area there'a desk containing strictly work-related materials and a computer that's used strictly for work. Assume the monthly apartment rent is $... |
What are the ins/outs of writing off part of one's rent for working-at-home? |
Does the one giving the gift have a spouse? My wife and I can gift up to $26,000 per individual by combining our gift amounts. If the recipient has a spouse, it doubles again, so long as we write the check to that spouse.
Other than that, you make a loan and then forgive up to $13,000 in interest and principal each y... |
Suppose I rent a 100 square foot apartment (just to keep the numbers easy). Now suppose I use a 30 square foot area exclusively for working-at-home. In that 30 square foot area there'a desk containing strictly work-related materials and a computer that's used strictly for work. Assume the monthly apartment rent is $... |
What are the ins/outs of writing-off part of one's rent for working at home? |
I'm guessing this may be how it works:
Card company > Some Company > Me
I can get a credit card from my bank or some company. Do those guys review my history? Or does the card company? Perhaps "Some Company" is like a guarantor, and they need to see if I am a "good guy". Or do they just hand it off to the card co... |
Who checks my credit history when I apply for a credit card? |
Tax regulations vary from country to country - some permitting more deductions, some less - but here are a few guidelines.
As regards the home-office:
- it must be a recognisable area (i.e. a room with a door is useful, or a clearly demarcated region of the apartment that has limited alternative use);
- the onus... |
I have a Visa credit card with a $4,000 limit. I have $1,000 used at the moment, and on their online site it says I have $2550 in remaining credit, which only adds up to $3550. What is the deal with the missing $450, and is this a common practice among credit cards? |
Why is my available balance and my total balance not lining up on my credit card? |
All other factors being equal, owning your primary residence is almost always a good investment over the long haul.
Why? Because you have to live somewhere, and rentals, especially long-term leases that are important when you have kids in school, etc., are generally in the same ballpark as a mortgage in most market... |
When entering transactions in Gnucash, there is a toolbar icon to jump to "Move to the blank transaction at the bottom of the register". What is the equivalent keyboard shortcut to do that? |
Gnucash: Keyboard shortcut to move to blank transaction? |
Does Anyone Have Experience with Community Exchange Systems? |
I hope this isn't closed as off-topic.
In most jobs, you get a monthly salary. In months that have more holidays than average, your return-on-work-hours increases. So, if you had to pick a date to start working, it would be in your best interest to start working just before the holidays (barring other considerations... |
Do more people start a new job before the holidays? |
I switched employers a while back and obviously this resulted in a new place to throw my retirement money. Employer A was an academic institution so that money was in a 403B now I'm in your traditional 401K.
I was only working there for a short period of time post college which resulted on only about $15k sitting ... |
Ideally, do neither. Withdrawing from your 403b will incur a 10% penalty unless you are over the minimum age on top of the normal tax on that income. With a 401K loan you're putting yourself at risk if you run into a situation where you can't pay the loan back of incurring the same penalties as an early withdrawal. ... |
I would think the opposite. If I were in a situation where I could pick my start date, unless I was really hard up for money, I wouldn't want to go into the holiday season with a new job that and no vacation time accrued. Who wants to work on Christmas eve? |
Kudos to you on having money in a retirement account as early as after college. Many people don't start investing towards retirement until far to late and compound interest makes a major difference in those early years.
Ideally, neither withdraw nor borrow from these accounts. Withdrawing from your 403b will incur... |
If you want a ~12% rate of return on your investments.... **too bad**. For returns which even begin to approach that, you need to be looking at some of the riskiest stuff. Think "emerging markets". Even funds like Vanguard Emerging Markets (ETF: `VWO`, mutual fund, `VEIEX`) or Fidelity Advisor Emerging Markets Income T... |
If you want a ~12% rate of return on your investments.... **too bad**. For returns which even begin to approach that, you need to be looking at some of the riskiest stuff. Think "emerging markets". Even funds like Vanguard Emerging Markets (ETF: `VWO`, mutual fund, `VEIEX`) or Fidelity Advisor Emerging Markets Income T... |
I'm trying to find a premium credit repair service to help work towards the goal of removing all included in bankruptcy trade-lines from my credit report. In the past I have dealt with disputing negatives in my credit report on my own with reasonable success, however, this is time consuming, and I would expect that a ... |
I'm trying to find a premium credit repair service to help work towards the goal of removing all included in bankruptcy trade-lines from my credit report. In the past I have dealt with disputing negatives in my credit report on my own with reasonable success, however, this is time consuming, and I would expect that a ... |
How do I find a legitimate, premium credit repair service? |
Where can I get information about australia and the US's real estate market rent / price ratio? |
Came across a "HARRIS N.A. IL" CD today (you can find the <a href="http://fixedincome.fidelity.com/fi/FIBondDetails?cusip=DSA991209&ordersystem=AORD">details here</a>), and I'm strugging to understand the details. Here's what's listed:
<blockquote>
CUSIP: DSA991209<br/>
Pay Frequency: SEMIANNUAL <br/>
Coupon:... |
Are the online lenders responsive and helpful? Lately it's been hard to get anyone on the phone though I suspect that's due to refi's because of the very low rates. |
Are online mortgage lenders as good as local brick-and-morter ones? |
Are online mortgage lenders as good as local brick-and-mortar ones? |
I switched employers a while back and obviously this resulted in a new place to throw my retirement money. Employer A was an academic institution so that money was in a 403(b), now I'm in your traditional 401(k).
I was only working there for a short period of time post college which resulted in only about $15k sit... |
Switched jobs & short on cash. Should I withdraw from 403(b) or borrow from 401(k)? |
Understanding details for certificate of deposit: Explain the features of this CD? |
Source for information about Australia and U.S. real estate market rent-to-price ratios? |
> What exactly is "Call Protection"? Is "NO" normal for a CD?
A "callable" cd (or one without protection can be revoked before maturity by the issuer. For example, if interest rates drop they might recall the CD since they can borrow money at a lower rate. A callable CD should offer a better return in exchan... |
If you receive a (non-spousal) Beneficiary-traditional IRA as a beneficiary due to death, is there a way to avoid taken a Required Minimum Distribution until your own retirement age? Or are you always required to take an RMD regardless of your current age? |
I have just got my credit report. All seems fine, but I have noticed that there is no mention of my credit card on the report.
I only have one and it is with the same bank current account. I was a bit concerned because due to some administractive mixups a few months ago I missed some payments.
Why would this not ... |
Why is my credit card not showing on my credit report? |
The Economist aggregates data from financial lenders around the world. [This article][1] is their most recent analysis, but they also have a data site where you can play around and view [house-price data over time][2].
![alt text][3]
[1]: http://www.economist.com/node/15911113
[2]: http://www.economist.co... |
The World Economic Forum released their [Global Competitiveness Report][1] yesterday and it offers a comprehensive view of individual country risk/reward. There has been an explosion of these types of indexes over the past few years.
The UN has its [Human Development Index][2], the World Bank has its [Ease of Doi... |
What are useful indexes for rapid evaluation of country investment risk? |
Investing in individual long-term fixed income instruments now is probably not going to make you much money right now unless you do intend to hold onto the thing and it's low yield for 15 years.
The yield is actually not the best out there, see these similar examples:
- [US Governent Agency Bond - 4.00%, 15 year... |
Are you saying the account isn't showing up at all on the report, or just that the late payments didn't show up?
What could explain the account not showing up is that not all credit card companies report to all credit agencies. You have more than one credit report, it probably will show up on one of the others. Th... |
Where can I find intraday prices of a mutual fund? (Mine are Oppenheimer funds.) |
Where can one find intraday prices for mutual funds? |
I have just got my credit report. All seems fine, but I have noticed that there is no mention of my credit card on the report.
I only have one and it is with the same bank current account. I was a bit concerned because due to some administractive mixups a few months ago I missed some payments.
Why would this not ... |
My simple rule to avoid *impulse* buys is that if you see something you want, you can get it.... but not today; go back and get it tomorrow (or wait even longer, for big-ticket items). This way you'll have time to think about it rather than just doing it.
That won't address all your wasteful spending, but it's a goo... |
What expenses do most people not prepare for that turn into "emergencies"? |
Here's a few. Is this what you're looking for? Also this should probably be a community wiki.
- Broken Stuff: Car, Appliances
- Retirement
- Holidays/Christmas
- Loss of overtime or job loss
- Home maintenance: Painting, maintenance of roof flashing, maintenance of heating system
|
> What exactly is "Call Protection"? Is "NO" normal for a CD?
A "callable" cd (or one without protection can be revoked before maturity by the issuer. For example, if interest rates drop they might recall the CD since they can borrow money at a lower rate. A callable CD should offer a better return in exchan... |
If you receive a (non-spousal) Beneficiary-traditional IRA as a beneficiary due to death, is there a way to avoid taking a Required Minimum Distribution until your own retirement age? Or are you always required to take an RMD regardless of your current age? |
I've been told the average rent for a house should be the house price, minus 3 zero's and that should be how much it should be a week, which I think works out to be about 5% of the house price per year.
Is that an accurate way to measure whether it is worth it to buy or rent? |
When is it better to rent and when is better buy in a certain property market? |
I've been told that the Australian property market is more than 45% over valued, I've also heard arguments that there are justifications for this such as
1) increased rate of immigration
2) shortage of land
3) shortage of labour to build new property
So what is it? Is it a big bubble or are these factors permane... |
Is the Australian property market a bubble? |
I'm paying off a student loan right now that accrues interest on a daily basis. Last month, for example, I got a bill where the principal was $25k and the interest was $150.
I pay about $500 each month, so when my payment is applied, the first $150 goes to interest and the other $350 knocks out some of the principa... |
Can I save money on interest by paying a loan multiple times per month? |
An admission: There's a reasonably well-known money personality/expert that wasn't on my radar screen until I started running this site. I'm referring to **Dave Ramsey**. I've become curious about Ramsey as I've seen many mentions of his name, shows, books, or courses in answers here at Basically Money:
- In [r... |
Does anyone have experience with Community Exchange Systems? |
Is a bank obligated or required to report information on your credit report?
I was reading [this question](http://money.stackexchange.com/questions/3539/why-is-my-credit-card-not-showing-on-my-credit-report) and I thought that banks did not have to report information about a loan to the credit reporting bureaus if t... |
Is a bank obligated to report information on your credit report? |
If you're looking for an alternative, HSBC also has online only savings account that used to be called HSBC Direct, but is now called HSBC Advance. The offer high interest savings (currently 1.1%) with no minimum balance and CDs and give you an ATM card. I've been a satisfied customer for a few years.
https://www.us... |
The depot of private investors often consists of random securities, caused by tips of friends, banks and exchange newspapers. It is said that the ratio of risk and return cannot be optimal like this. Why? |
Why are "random" depots bad? |
Newbie question.
I was looking into money market funds and bond mutual funds for some relatively stable investments. Before I make decisions, though, can someone explain under what circumstances would I need to pay federal vs state vs municipal tax, and ways of minimizing those expenses?
Thanks! |
Federal, State, Municipal tax; and how to minimise? |
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