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I use to think there was something wrong with me because I always hated spending money. This hatred of spending resulted in me always saving quite a bit of my income.
Since I don't enjoy spending it, why am I making and saving it (besides for an emergency fund)? I've come to the realization that I enjoy my free ti... |
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After the last crisis it was easy for many to look back and say all the signs were there to indicate an impending crisis. Super-low interest rates from the FED, no down-payment loans, interest-only loans, under qualified borrowers, flipping of properties, securitization of mortgages, over leveraged banks, etc..<... |
For a mortgage down-payment, what percentage is sensible? |
I blogged about my discussion to [this question][1].
When I mentioned that I paid my almost-six-year-old daughter $2 for a job that took an hour I had a commenter say that I paid her "below minimum." (The commenter smells like a troll but it still has me a bit worried.)
I'm almost positive that this is a mis-app... |
Do I actually have to pay my daughter minimum wage for helping around the house? |
In Australia, even after the [global financial crisis][1], it's still common to only have 5-10% and some people even use other assets as collateral to borrow all 100%. I hear historically this has not been the case, it's only been the last decade of so during the housing boom.
In terms of avoiding risk and stuff, wh... |
I am trying to help out one of my friends that is in a financial bind.
Several years ago he purchased a house because he could build up more value then if he kept renting. At the time it looked like a great idea but then the market collapsed. Now he owes more on the mortgage then the house is worth and the mortgag... |
Any US Gov program for under water mortgages when still making payments? |
Puerto Rico is a territory of the USA.
Puertoricans can:
* not vote for president
* vote in presidential primaries
* not pay federal taxes
* go to work for the US army
* are US citizen
* work in any state without any visas (obviously they are US Citizens)
Why is the banking system different? If I open... |
Where I can learn the differences between the banking system in Puerto Rico and USA? |
google "loan modification" or "Mortgage modification". This seems to be some government website: [Making Home Affordable][1].
I find it very hard to believe that he has to start missing payments. What investor would be interested in that?
[1]: http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/ |
What choices should I consider for investing money that I will need in two years? |
> But do you know about a US state risking to go default now or in the past?
In 1847 four states - Mississippi, Arkansas, Michigan, and Florida - failed to pay all or some of their debts. Six other states delayed debt payments from three to six years ([source][1], page 103). This is the only case I know of where ... |
Puerto Rico is a territory of the USA.
Puerto Ricans can:
* not vote for president
* vote in presidential primaries
* not pay federal taxes
* go to work for the US army
* are US citizen
* work in any state without any visas (obviously they are US Citizens)
Why is the banking system different? If I ope... |
Where can I learn about the differences between the banking system in Puerto Rico and the USA? |
It's a good saving account from the persepective of usability. Easy to open, easy to manage, and free at least in Italy.
Anyway be aware that in 2008 you would not probably have been so happy to know that your saving were in bank that was close to go banckrupcy. [On October/19/2008 the Ducth government had to inject... |
Geo - this sounds more like a taxation question than a banking question. PR does have an independent taxation system (ie. independent of the US) and income generated there will catch the eye of the PR tax guys. See http://www.sisterstates.com/statetaxforms.php?id=43 for more info on the tax system and possible tax liab... |
My wife and I have been saving aggressively for the last year now and all of our savings are in the form of cash in the bank. About half of the money is in US dollars and half is in Canadian dollars. I have been reading about quantitative easing 2 (QE2) and it seems like I can expect some loss due to devaluing of US ... |
What does quantitative easing 2 mean for my bank account? |
I've seen the term "fiat currency" in another question. What is a fiat currency? Are there other types of currency? |
What is a "fiat" currency? Are there other types of currency? |
If you cannot find cheap enough World ETFs for private investors, perhaps, you should do it yourself but warning it is getting harder, see below the articles. Some alerts: the below observations show that the topic suffers from spam and disgraceful source of data, for example with EuroNext. You could try searches such ... |
I have been poking around with investing for a few years now. I have diversified my assets a decent amount, between a home, several IRA's and 401k's, savings and checking accounts, and a little bit of commodities (gold, silver and recently looked into [Moldavite][1] as another option). All of the ways I've diversified ... |
What ways are there to invest in stocks, options, indexes, etc, and where should one start (what funds)? |
A number of credit card companies - almost all of them - ask to "activate" credit cards when sent to me. Usually it involves calling the phone on the sticker and typing in whole or partial card number.
So my question is - what is the purpose of this exercise? It can not be a security measure - anybody who has the c... |
Why activate credit cards? |
Probably means next to zero chance of having decent rates on savings accounts for the near future - who needs your money if banks can have government money for free? Probably no short-term effects on you besides that. |
If I recall correctly, in order to activate it without another human's intervention I had to call from a phone number they had on file. Otherwise, I believe I would have had to speak to a rep and do it that way. Presumably, that would entail some sort of verification that I was indeed the legitimate owner of the acco... |
I take the route of the tortoise. I subscribe to the adage that you invest in an excellent index fund like [VFINX][1] and forget about day trading and trying to make short term gains.
Just like I would do at a casino I do gamble a bit for fun. Using etrade you can purchase some Vanguard or a billion of other thing... |
My wife and I are looking to purchase our first house. What is the best approach for finding a mortgage? We're looking for a conventional 30yr fixed (w/10-20% down).
Thanks! |
First time homeowner and getting a mortgage? |
I want to take advantage of the lower rates... and I want to shop around at different banks (unless you think that is unwise).
What must I know/do before each bank runs my credit report? |
I'd like to refinance; how can I shop around at different banks without it affecting my credit? |
It's a little early, but what financial resolutions have had a major positive result on your bottom line after one year?
I'm thinking of going lightly into treasury bills next year. Never mind the small returns, at least I won't be spending the money unwisely. |
Most effective financial New Year's resolutions? |
Understanding Interest Rate Risk: What is it, and what techniques do I use to minimize it? |
Why activate credit cards? What is the purpose of credit card activation? |
I'm considering consolidating my assets with a single broker; is there any way I can transfer the shares I own to another manager?
The trick is that each ESP purchase has a 2 year period before I sell to get the lowest tax rate. I don't want to incurr any additional fees.
Am I doing something that is possible? |
Can I transfer my Employee Stock Purchase Plan assets to a different broker? |
I'm new to the concept of "line-of-credit", and my banker says I should be able to open one based on the number of stocks I own. I have no mortgage. I'm told that I'm able to deduct my interest on my tax returns.
When is it wise or unwise to open a line of credit? |
When should I open a "Line of credit" at my bank? |
I wrote a computer program that logs into my account daily and screen scrapes my balance and data for 100 or so funds available through my employer 401k plan. I have 3 or so years worth of this data. I get the fund, daily share price, daily net change, and the yearly return.
What can I do with this data to help form... |
what can I do with my mutual fund data to help me select funds and formulate an investing strategy? |
Answers given by someone else on this site indicated an assumption that minimum credit card payments were always at least the amount of interest that would be charged, meaning that the balance would always go down as long as minimum payments were made. I found a counterexample of this, where the minimum payment was 5% ... |
One of my favorite on-again-off-again recovery plays is Mittal Steel (NYSE: MT).
I buy the MT ADR there (American Depositary Receipt) because I live in the US.
Am I exposing myself to any extra risk owning the ADR instead of the underlying stock? Has there ever been any sticky issues with ADRs not performing exac... |
Is there extra risk in owning an ADR vs. the underlying stock? |
I don't like satellite radio as a business and I want to short Sirius (SIRI).
The stock sells for less than $5, so my broker won't let me short it.
Is this a limitation of my broker? Or some SEC rule?
Are there funds that bundle up shares of companies like SIRI that I could short instead? Or are options the be... |
Why can't I short a stock that sells for less than $5? Is there another way to "go short" on them? |
> **Possible Duplicate:**
> [As a general rule, how much in “liquid” emergency savings should I have?](http://money.stackexchange.com/questions/83/as-a-general-rule-how-much-in-liquid-emergency-savings-should-i-have)
<!-- End of automatically inserted text -->
How can one calculate how much emergency ... |
A bit of poking around brought me to [this thread](http://boards.fool.com/short-rules-19032892.aspx?sort=whole#19032892) on the Motley Fool, asking the same basic question:
> I think the problem is the stock price. For a stock to be sold short, it has to be *marginable* which means it has to trade over $ 5.00. The b... |
I'm visiting my old house in California and only drive when in CA. I am about to get my license renewed, but I work in NYC and spend most of my (working) time there. I never drive when in NYC.
Will me getting my license in California affect my taxes? |
Does the state I get my license in affect my taxes, or how I file? |
Donating books for the tax write-off? |
I'm visiting my old house in California and only drive when in CA. I am about to get my license renewed, but I work in NYC and spend most of my time there (95%). I never drive when in NYC.
Will me getting my license in California affect my taxes? |
Seems like a no-brainer? I guess if your security is not marginable, it can't be bought long on margin either, but I would also guess for most companies there are more margined shorts than margined longs.
Is it due to listing requirements? Or are they just not devious enough? |
Recently, I invest some stock in US stock market. I was wondering
1. Whether there are capital gain tax if I sell stock? Do they take account into my foreign exchange loss?
2. Is there any dividend tax for my received dividend?
Thanks.
|
For the Singapore Stock Exchange, the minimum lot size (number of shares) to trade is 1,000 units.
I was wondering: What is the minimum purchased unit for the London Stock Exchange?
Thanks. |
What is the minimum lot size (number of shares) for the London Stock Exchange? |
Recently, I invested in some stock in the U.S. stock market. I was wondering:
1. Whether there are capital gains taxes if I sell stock? Do they take account into my foreign exchange loss?
2. Are there any dividend taxes for my received dividends?
Thanks.
|
Are there capital gains taxes or dividend taxes if I invest in the U.S. stock market? |
Are there capital gains taxes or dividend taxes if I invest in the U.S. stock market from outside of the country? |
I think George's answer explains fairly well *why* the brokerages don't allow this - it's not an exchange rule, it's just that the brokerage has to *have the shares to lend*, and normally those shares come from people's margin, which is impossible on a non-marginable stock.
To address the question of what the altern... |
> But do you know about a US state risking to go default now or in the past?
In 1847 four states - Mississippi, Arkansas, Michigan, and Florida - failed to pay all or some of their debts. Six other states delayed debt payments from three to six years ([source][1], page 103, this [source][2] has more details). Thi... |
> But do you know about a US state risking to go default now or in the past?
In 1847 four states - Mississippi, Arkansas, Michigan, and Florida - failed to pay all or some of their debts. All of these states had issued debt to invest in banks. From the detailed source listed below: "...it should be remembered tha... |
I’m struggling for a while now with a question about options, namely 'which is the best option to buy?'. I have various books on options, but I’m not an mathematician and don’t have (yet) any extensive hands-on experience with options.
According to Cohen (Options Made Easy, 2nd Edition), the Delta of an option is th... |
Can the Delta be used to calculate the option premium given a certain target? |
In a simple world yes, but not in the real world. Option pricing isn't that simplistic in real life. Generally option pricing uses a Monte Carlo simulation of the Black Scholes formula/binomial and then plot them nomally to decide the optimum price of the option. Primarily multiple scenarios are generated and under tha... |
I think George's answer explains fairly well *why* the brokerages don't allow this - it's not an exchange rule, it's just that the brokerage has to *have the shares to lend*, and normally those shares come from people's margin, which is impossible on a non-marginable stock.
To address the question of what the altern... |
I’m struggling for a while now with a question about options, namely 'which is the best option to buy?'. I have various books on options, but I’m not an mathematician and don’t have (yet) any extensive hands-on experience with options.
According to Cohen (Options Made Easy, 2nd Edition), the Delta of an option is th... |
Good question! It seems to me that there is no minimum order size for shares trading on the LSE. Please note, I couldn't find an definite answer, but:
According to the "International Order Book" document (see: http://www.londonstockexchange.com/traders-and-brokers/rules-regulations/change-and-updates/stock-exchange-... |
Good question! It seems to me that there is no minimum order size for shares trading on the LSE. Please note, I couldn't find an definite answer, but:
According to the "International Order Book" document (see: http://www.londonstockexchange.com/traders-and-brokers/rules-regulations/change-and-updates/stock-exchange-... |
I know that LLCs have the benefit of pass-through taxation in the US and that any profits realized by the LLC are recorded as income by the LLC members, thus increasing their taxable income.
What is not clear to me is how losses affect the taxable income of the LLC members. Is there a limit to how much can be deduct... |
How do LLC losses affect personal income taxes in the US? |
Answers given by someone else on this site indicated an assumption that minimum credit card payments were always at least the amount of interest that would be charged, meaning that the balance would always go down as long as minimum payments were made.
I found a counterexample of this, where the minimum payment was... |
Can a credit card minimum payment be less than the interest? |
I know this could be a duplicate of other questions here, but I think I have a different take on it which may be of interest to others in a similar frame of mind.
I'm self-employed and based in the UK, and every time I've looked at a pension I've balked at the idea of handing over a large sum of cash every month to ... |
Is it worth having a pension? |
I have some used books and I would like to figure out their market value. I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions for how I should do that? Should I use prices on Amazon? If so, what formula should I use.
I have noticed bookstores in my area just use a simple formula of half the listed price for most of the ... |
In a simple world yes, but not in the real world. Option pricing isn't that simplistic in real life. Generally option pricing uses a Monte Carlo simulation of the Black Scholes formula/binomial and then plot them nomally to decide the optimum price of the option. Primarily multiple scenarios are generated and under tha... |
I know this could be a duplicate of other questions here, but I think I have a different take on it which may be of interest to others in a similar frame of mind.
**Some background**
I'm self-employed and based in the UK, and every time I've looked at a pension I've balked at the idea of handing over a large sum ... |
Should I pay off my braces all at once so that I can get write them off this year as a health expense? Or should I pay off my braces over the long haul?
|
Should I pay off my braces all at once so that I can get write them off this year as a health expense? |
By paying your braces off over the long haul, all you are doing is paying interest, unless you have no interest on them (you don't specify). I have trouble fathoming a situation where paying them off over time is helpful to you - even if the interest is tax deductible is it going to make a major change in your itemize... |
Should I pay off my braces all at once so that I can write them off this year as a health expense? Or should I pay off my braces over the long haul?
|
Should I pay off my braces all at once so that I can write them off this year as a health expense? |
I've been working in the US for a number of years, and am shortly to return to Australia. My cash is in an online bank based in the US.
Would you recommend I move it to an Australian bank, or leave it with the US bank? What sorts of issues should I consider while making my decision? |
Moving country: where should my money be? |
What different options are available? What are the pros and cons of different types of accounts? |
How can my dad (grandpa) can transfer shares to my 2 year old son? |
What different options are available? What are the pros and cons of different types of accounts?
*update, in response to Joel Spolsky's request for more info:* I live in the U.S., the shares are GE. Once I open the account it would be for grandparents, myself, and others to deposit money into. My objectives are to c... |
How can my dad (grandpa) transfer shares to my 2 year old son? |
I'm moving to another country. Where should I keep my money? |
I believe that tax will be withheld (at 30%?) on dividends paid to non-residents. You can claim it back if your country has a tax treaty with the USA, but you will need to file. You probably also need to file a W-series withholding form (eg a W9-BEN).
Interesting question. I would like to hear a more definitive a... |
On the face of it, it doesn't look like a very good deal - neither pension not annuity company are in it for the fun of it, so they'll take their cut from your money, and then invest it anyway. The rest depends on what they promise you - if they just promise you market returns then I don't see much sense to do it, you ... |
I'm looking to buy a house in a couple of years and I have a sum saved for the deposit. I won't need access to this money instantly, I think a 6 month notice period is ok.
Where is the best place to put it for a high yield (in the UK)? I'm totally risk averse on this, I want a guarantee of more out than I put in.
... |
I'm looking to buy a house in a couple of years and I have a sum saved for the deposit. I won't need access to this money instantly, I think a 6 month / 1 year notice period is ok.
Where is the best place to put it for a high yield (in the UK)? I'm totally risk averse on this, I want a guarantee of more out than I... |
Donating books to charity & claiming a deduction on my income tax: How to value the goods? |
One of my New Year's resolutions a few years ago was to give up New Year's resolutions. It's the only resolution I've kept.
Why wait until Jan. 1 to do something? Jan. 1 is just another day of the year.
> I'm thinking of going lightly into treasury bills next year. Never mind the small returns, at least I won... |
In the US, Tax day is April 15th meaning income tax for 2010 must be filed by April 15 2011. Is there an equivalent date for Canadian taxes? |
What is the Canadian Income Tax Day? |
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