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Tuition Fees - Are British students who have already started their course affected by the recent vote to increase tuition fees? |
I recently changed jobs, and my previous employer offered a 401k. I know I can roll that money into an IRA. Before I do anything, I would like to understand what options I have, and which option is best.
What recommendations do you have? |
Quit my job: What should I do with my 401k? |
Usually the best advice is to find a company that offers IRAs containing low-cost index funds. [Vanguard][1] is a noted example. Open a rollover IRA there and invest in funds the [lazy][2] way. Pick an allocation by using the [asset-allocation][3] tag here to get the information you need about international stocks, ... |
I recently changed jobs, and my previous employer offered a 401k. I know I can roll that money into an IRA. Before I do anything, I would like to understand what options I have, and which option is best.
What recommendations do you have? |
Quit my job: What should I do with funds in previous employer's 401(k) plan? |
If freezing your credit is a better way to protect your identity and the associated credit that goes along with it, how do I freeze my credit? |
How do I freeze my credit? |
There is enough equity in my mortgage to cover my line of credit - is it a good idea to pay off my credit by increasing my mortgage? |
I've spent a lot in my line of credit, when should I refinance and transfer the debt to my mortgage? |
A few links that might help:
Official releases:
http://hereview.independent.gov.uk/hereview/2010/10/press-pack-the-browne-report/
Note the section starting: "The current cap on fees of £3,290 per year will be removed". In other words, from 2012 the new fee structure applies.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/studentfin... |
I have not yet created a TFSA, nor invested anything in it. I am looking to put some money in in 2011, what will my cap be? |
I have not yet invested into a TFSA - how much can I invest in 2011? |
This question applies to anyone with a need to sort out a credit report issue, but I'll give the background in my particular case.
My credit is fine with all three agencies, but only one of the three has my credit card on the report. The other two think I don't have and have never had a credit card, which lowers my ... |
Is there a way to get a helpful person at a credit agency? |
Are 401k and IRAs protected the same way during bankruptcy? |
I have found from personal experience it's better to send a letter using legalese. However I don't know what that should say or how to write it because it's been years since I've done it.
Ideally you could pick up the phone, but those places aren't really designed for your benefit. They're best designed to treat you... |
I have had very little success with managing money. I have gone bankrupt once ($50K in credit card debt) and since then I no longer have credit cards (just a debit card) but my spending is still totally undisciplined. On a good month, I simply spend everything I make... on a bad month I dip into the leftover money th... |
A few links that might help:
Official releases:
http://hereview.independent.gov.uk/hereview/2010/10/press-pack-the-browne-report/
Note the section starting: "The current cap on fees of £3,290 per year will be removed". In other words, from 2012 the new fee structure applies.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/studentfin... |
Given there is an option to earn similar US dollars in either US or Canada, I would like to know how does being in Canada would imply more tax and less savings than in US? Or is it not true? I just have a feeling that Canada is socialist country so we'd have to pay more taxes there, but still its just my raw thinking.
... |
Comparison between US and Canada's taxes and possibility of savings? |
I am looking at starting 529 plans for my kids. My question is whether I need to start one for each of them (2 separate plans), or can I just open 1 and both of them can use it?
I would assume the best approach would be two separate 529 plans, and am not even sure if you can have 1 plan for two kids. I've research... |
Do you have direct deposit of your paycheck?
If so, almost every employer will allow you to split the paycheck into two accounts.
You could open one account for savings, and one for spending. Put $x from each paycheck into the savings account, and the rest into the spending account.
Keep the savings account to... |
I have had very little success with managing money. I have gone bankrupt once ($50K in credit card debt) and since then I no longer have credit cards (just a debit card) but my spending is still totally undisciplined. On a good month, I simply spend everything I make... on a bad month I dip into the leftover money th... |
Create one account.
You can change the beneficiary of the plan (even to nephews, nieces, yourself or your wife) as many times as you need so long as you are spending the money on valid educational expenses.
Are you 100% sure both of your kids are going to college? If you aren't really 100% sure, a single accou... |
Quit my job: What can/should I do with funds in previous employer's 401(k) plan? |
There two answers, either **never** or **now**; which one is correct for you really depends on how you view the debt, and your discipline of paying it off.
As mentioned by @Vitalik, your absolute cheapest alternative may well be to keep the debt in your line of credit and merely pay it off. The fact that it is a hi... |
After asking my [previous question][1] and reading about the different options available, I'm looking at rolling it over to a Roth IRA to avoid paying the taxes at retirement. *Is it better to do this in 2010, or wait until 2011? Why?*
[1]: http://money.stackexchange.com/questions/4992/quit-my-job-what-can-shou... |
Should I rollover my 401(k) in 2010 or 2011? |
Is it possible for a temporary (non-citizen) long term (leaving in 2 years) resident in Canada to obtain RRSPs? Is it advisable? |
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... |
Create one account.
You can change the beneficiary of the plan (even to nephews, nieces, yourself or your wife) as many times as you need so long as you are spending the money on valid educational expenses.
Are you 100% sure both of your kids are going to college? If you aren't really 100% sure, a single accou... |
By not saving some of your income you put yourself at risk of the following:
1. Job loss. You will have no money to pay for basic items if you were to lose your job. You may have to use charity, friends, and family to help you with food & shelter.
2. Retirement. You will have to work until you die.
If you a... |
Part of the answer depends on the various interest rates, fees and balances invovled. For instance, refinancing often involves up front fees which mean that it isn't worth it even if you can get a lower rate by doing so. Exactly where the cutoff point is depedns on your specific situation.
Perhaps more importantly... |
Do I need to start a 529 plan for each child (2 separate plans), or can I just open one 529 plan and let both children use it? |
Can't get started with budgeting -- no discipline! Any ideas on getting out of this rut? |
Most effective financial New Year's resolutions for saving or investing? |
Should I rollover my 401(k) into a Roth IRA in 2010, or wait until 2011? |
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?
P.S. I live in Pennsylvania.
|
An RRSP loan is most beneficial when the performance of your alternative investments (mutual funds?) do worse than your loan rate.
For example, suppose you have $100K in an RRSP. You withdraw $50K in a loan for your mortgage and keep the remaining $50K invested in mutual funds.
If the market (and your mutual fu... |
I'm Swedish, but living in Switzerland at the moment. Can I open a US bank account? Either when in the US on vacation or through the internet/phone?
Lots of situations when I find myself in need of an american credit card or just a bank account. Ordering things online (most retailers refuse to accept my orders if I ... |
Can I open a US bank account even if I don't live in the country? |
Can you get a bank account in the US? Yes.
Can you get a bank account with a specific bank in the US? That depends on the bank.
There's more paperwork involved, and not all banks offer the service. I would guess that the big retail banks (US Bank, Bank of America, JP Morgan / Chase, et al) are most likely to, bu... |
My wife and I will be moving to the UK from the US on a work visa sponsored by my employer. One of things I'm most unsure about it how to deal with our current financial accounts. We have one joint checking and she has an account from before we were married (that we plan on closing since we don't use it anyway). We ... |
Given two jobs earning equivalent amounts where one is in the US and another in Canada, where would I take home more money after taxes?
|
Check these links:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=722141
http://askville.amazon.com/open-bank-account-abroad/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=7004217
and http://www.talkgold.com/forum/r18761-.html
In my opinion you would need atleast ITIN or something which shows your association with stay in US. ... |
See [this][1] website. In my opinion you should physically exist there to open your account.The bank needs to fulfill all requirements such as checking your identity, taking your signatures for future transactions etc. However, there might be some exceptions as Banking industry works pretty much on personal relations a... |
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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..<... |
The [Texas Ratio][1] attempts to measure how well a bank can cover its losses on nonperforming loans. A ratio over 100 indicates the bank is in trouble.
I cross referenced the texas ratio for banks obtained from [here][2] (last updated 10/2009) with the latest list of bank failures from the [FDIC][3] (last updated ... |
There is enough equity in my mortgage to cover my line of credit - when is it a good idea to pay off my credit by increasing my mortgage? |
You have to track your spending for a month, down to the cent.
Without those records, the person trying to help you has no real data.
Even a week would be a start. Heck, try just doing this *today*. See if it works for you.
Throughout each day:
- Start with some predictable amount of cash ($20, or whatev... |
As an American citizen, does it make any financial sense to donate money in hopes of helping to reduce the US national debt?
Thanks. |
Does it make any sense to directly contribute to reducing the US national debt? |
[Previous Question.][1]
I have decided to roll my 401(k) into a Roth IRA. I use ThinkOrSwim as my broker currently, so I plan on opening an IRA with them. When opening the account I'm presented with the choice between a Rollover IRA and a Roth IRA. The description for the Rollover IRA says its for rolling over a ... |
What is the difference between a Rollover IRA and a Roth IRA? |
In general, if you are paying taxes in Canada, you are eligible to contribute to an RRSP. That said, it still may not be appropriate.
If you are only here two years, then you will not accumulate much contribution room. Then once you move away, your options become more limited. Most brokerage accounts in theory re... |
I am a landlord and just filed with the county sheriff for garnishment of a bad debt - a prior tenant. The tenant has a job and is being garnished - I just don't want to wait fo so long to get the full amount (Around $6000)
Is there a market for these things? I know people do discount these revenue streams -just n... |
I have a couple of questions about the notion of "cash advance" on credit cards.
1. How credit company decides if some transaction is a "cash advance"? Does the merchant tell the credit company it's "cash" or does it depend on the type of the merchant (e.g. anything I buy from certain merchant is considered "cash")... |
I've just completed a consulting project in South Africa looking at various economic inputs required to reduce their 25-35% level of unemployment. It is estimated that for every 1% of new jobs created, the South African economy must grow by 2.3%.
With a government target of 5 million additional jobs, over the curre... |
What economic growth rate is required to halve US unemployment? |
Apart from what others have contributed.
* Look at all your usual spendings. Can they be cheaper? (Telephone, Electricity, Gas, Car, Mortgage, Loans, Insurance...)
* Whenever you are tempted to buy anything, ask yourself: Do I need this? If the answer is 'Yes' go ahead and buy (food, basically). Otherwise, restr... |
I am not from USA. I read few articles about US National debt but still can't get the sense of it. Could you explain it in simple words? I know that it is [huge][1]. I can't understand following things:
1. what sort of debt is it? Was it given in US Dollars? If yes, couldn't US gov't just print them?
2. what does... |
1. It is in dollars, but US government can not "print" dollars. That's prerogative of the Federal Reserve, which is formally an independent institution. They sometimes do something that amounts to "printing money" - heard about "quantitative easing"? That's it. But US Treasury can't do that.
2. To fund whateve... |
I am not from USA. I read few articles about the US National debt but still can't get the sense of it. Could you explain it in simple words? I know that it is [huge][1]. I can't understand following things:
1. What sort of debt is it? Was it given in US Dollars? If yes, couldn't US gov't just print them?
2. What ... |
The U.S. National Debt: What is it, where did it come from, and how does it work? |
What economic growth rate is required to halve U.S. unemployment? |
I have a couple of questions about the notion of "cash advance" on credit cards.
1. How does the credit company decide if some transaction is a "cash advance"? Does the merchant tell the credit company it's "cash" or does it depend on the type of the merchant (e.g. anything I buy from certain merchant is considered... |
Credit cards: How is a cash advance different from a purchase? Why are the fees so high? |
If my credit card currently has a 0 balance, and I make a transaction
and pay it back within 25 days, I won't pay any interest, even if I
had a balance and was paying interest previously. Is that correct?
Example:
% I have a $5000 balance that I'm currently paying interest on.
% I pay back the full... |
I have about $50K+ in credit card debt and am paying anywhere from 0%
to 20% on it, depending on the card.
How much can an unsecured consolidation loan lower my rate, assuming I
can get one at all?
Will the lender pay the credit card companies directly, and ask me to
close my credit card accounts?
What's a ... |
Expected rate for unsecured consolidation loan + where to apply? |
Two points.
* Any job creation in excess of the number of new entrants into the labor force will *eventually* halve unemployment. That's math. You need to put a timeframe on it or the question is nearly meaningless.
* Economic growth isn't always expressed in terms of job creation. It can also come about from pro... |
If my credit card currently has a $0 balance, and I make a transaction
and pay it back within 25 days, I won't pay any interest, even if I
had a balance and was paying interest previously. Is that correct?
Example:
- I have a $5000 balance that I'm currently paying interest on.
- I pay back the full... |
How to calculate credit card interest with respect to grace period transactions? |
I am currently renting an apartment, and investing a portion of my income in stocks and bonds (90/10). Part of my stock allocation contains REIT's.
I have been saving to purchase a home (I have enough for a 20% down payment), but was wondering if increasing REIT exposure is comparable to owning real estate? |
Can buying REIT's be compared to investing in Real Estate? |
So much in the news about inflation, and interest appreciation dooming long-term bond funds. Are short-term bond funds affected by the same risk? Does this make investing a portion of your portfolio into a bond allocation not wise? |
Are short-term bond funds subject to the same risk as long-term bond funds? |
I've just completed a consulting project in South Africa looking at various economic inputs required to reduce their 25-35% level of unemployment. It is estimated that for every 1% of new jobs created, the South African economy must grow by 2.3%.
With a government target of 5 million additional jobs, over the curre... |
A couple of distinctions.
First, if you were to "invest in real estate" were you planning to buy a home to live in, or buy a home to rent out to someone else? Buying a home as a primary residence really isn't "investing in real estate" per se. It's buying a place to live rather than renting one. Unless you rent a... |
Do you have to file taxes even if you didn't make money? What if you had no profit and no loss? What if you had profit but your losses exceeded your profit? I'm asking about both federal and state tax law. |
Do you have to file taxes even if you didn't make any money? |
If you're "living off the land" and make no money, then you don't have to file. Though you might be able to actually make money through credits and the like if you do file.
If you've lost more than you've made, then you'll probably need to file since someone will have needed to report that they paid you (W-2 or 109... |
You're essentially asking the very common "Do I Need to File a Tax Return?" question. It's common enough that the IRS answers it right at the beginning of the Form 1040 Instructions, and it's answered fairly thoroughly here:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96623,00.html
There's about 20 questions in... |
I'm looking for a not too out of date source of information, to find out who owns, how much, Google stock. Is this available somewhere online? |
Where can I find a breakdown of Google stock ownership? |
Expected this to be a bit easier than it was, but dug around for a while and found what I hope is deep enough answer for your situation.
Here's the live report on NASDAQ's site:
http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/holdings.asp?symbol=GOOG&selected=GOOG
Top 5 Holders
====
FMR LLC 15,335,005
CAPITAL RESEARC... 12,730,0... |
I'm starting work in the US, and I'm wondering if my credit history will transfer. If not, is there a way for me to gain an "international" credit history, or equivalent, in expectation of other future moves? |
Are credit histories/scores international? |
I live in the UK and I'm an employed web and mobile phone developer and very occasionally do some work on the side. I've been recently advised by a family member that I should look at starting my own company for several reasons, one being that I can claim against tax for things like computers etc. As long as I intend... |
Should I start my own company so I can claim against tax? |
Not a personal finance question per se but regarding finance and money - The type of economy and content Chris Anderson writes about in [Long Tail][1] and [Free][2], essentially defined by close to zero marginal cost, does there exist models for optimal pricing when supply is infinite?
Probably this is a sort of eco... |
Software or any online service fits this category I suppose.
There are two apps I pay for that are "free." Evernote and Pandora.
[Evernote][1] is free for 40MB, $45/yr for 500MB/mo transfer.
[Pandora][2] is free for 40hrs/mo, $36/yr unlimited.
When I use a free product and hit the limit it's a sign to me that I... |
I think you want to look at companies that buy annuities and give you a lump sum. They exist to do this for lawsuit payments, lottery winnings, etc.
I'm not sure what the fees would be on a relatively small payout of $6K but try [searching for "converting annuity to cash"](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chr... |
I'm 28yrs old and going to start my 403b retirement investment.
My investment % is 5% by me and 5% by my employer
1. I'm planning to invest 8% in pretax and 2% in roth
2. Investment company i'm going to select is Vanguard (choice is vanguard, fidelity, tiaa)
I'm stuck on deciding how to allocate my pretax and rot... |
The Canadian household debt/disposable income ratio is at a record of 1.48:
<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/household-debt-ratio-hits-record/article1835268/">Reference</a>
What are some good investment ideas which would allow one to take advantage of this situation? |
The Canadian household debt/disposable income ratio is currently (December, 2010) at a record of 1.48.
Reference: <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/household-debt-ratio-hits-record/article1835268/"> The Globe and Mail - Household debt ratio hits record</a>.
What are some investmen... |
How to take advantage of record high household debt in Canada? |
I'm 28 years old and going to start my 403(b) retirement investment.
My investment contributions will be 5% by me and 5% by my employer.
1. I'm planning to invest 8% in pretax and 2% in Roth.
2. The investment company I'm going to select is Vanguard (choices are Vanguard, Fidelity, TIAA)
I'm stuck on decidi... |
Vanguard retirement portfolio suggestions for my 403(b)? |
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