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I've calculated that I will be able to save approximately enough for a 20-25% down payment on a home (at my back-end-ratio affordability level) in the next 2-3 years. I'm maxing out contributions to my Roth IRA already, and plan to withdraw $10k from it for the first-time home purchase. I've also already saved up ~6 mo... |
A good investment vehicle for saving for a mortgage down payment? |
I was late on my mortgage payment with Bank of America for a couple of months. Does BOA have the right to disclose this with the company that helped me obtain my mortgage? |
Couple of months? well it will probably end up on your credit report and then it's available to pretty much anybody. |
How is it that some e-commerce stores are able to process credit card transactions without getting the 3 (or 4-) -digit security code from the back of my credit card?
What value does this code add if it's optional in the end? |
How comes some online stores don't need to ask for the 3-digit code on the back of my credit card? |
How are those 3 digits on a back of a credit card make it more secure? |
What value is the 3-digit code on the credit card? |
I recently learned of self-directed IRAs.
Here is how it works:
1. I open a self-directed IRA account with a company that acts as a custodian of my account (here is a short list of such [companies][1]).
2. I transfer or deposit funds to my self-directed IRA account.
3. I direct the custodian to make purchase... |
What are the advantages/disadvantages of a self-directed IRA? |
Some ideas:
1. You could begin shorting Canadian bank stocks that are issuing all the debt that may not be paid back. You have to be careful here. If things implode like they did in the US then the Canadian central bank (Bank of Canada) will bail out the "too big to fail" banks by printing money to cover their lo... |
The main advantage and disadvantage I can see in a scenario like this are - how savvy and good an investor are you? It's a good way to create below-market average returns if you're not that good at investing and returns way above market average if you are... |
I recently learned of self-directed IRAs.
Here is how it works:
1. I open a self-directed IRA account with a company that acts as a custodian of my account (here is a short list of such [companies][1]).
2. I transfer or deposit funds to my self-directed IRA account.
3. I direct the custodian to make purchase... |
Late on mortgage: Can the bank disclose this to my mortgage broker? |
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 a Canadian-US dual citizen (born in the US to Canadian parents) but I've lived in Canada my whole life. I've never had an American passport or a SSN. I've never filed a tax return in the US, or really done anything there other than some cross-border shopping and being born there.
I've heard that US citizens ... |
When do dual citizens need to file US taxes? |
I'm a Canadian-US dual citizen (born in the US to Canadian parents) but I've lived in Canada my whole life (aside from the first 3 weeks). I've never had an American passport or a SSN. I've never filed a tax return in the US, or really done anything there other than some cross-border shopping and being born there.
... |
Given that the laws on consumer liability for unauthorized transactions mean no cost in most cases, the CVV is there to protect the merchant. Typically a merchant will receive a lower cost from their bank to process the transaction with the CVV code versus without.
As far as the Netflix case goes, (or any other rec... |
How much tax will I have to pay on the money I cleared after selling my condo? How do I calculate it? |
[VIPSX][2] says it has returns of >= 5% over 5 years and almost 9% in the last year. It appears to be based on U.S. inflation-protected securities. However, U.S. treasuries are returning near zero, and inflation is near zero.
Explain.
P.S. [This answer][1] recommends inflation-protected securities, so I'm curiou... |
Why is a Vanguard fund based on U.S. treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) returning more than the rate of inflation? |
Why do some online stores not ask for the 3-digit code on the back of my credit card? |
This type of account will sell you just enough rope to hang yourself.
Gold is at $1400 or so. Were you around when it first hit $800 in '79/'80? I was. No one was saying "sell" only forecasts of $2000.
If you bought and help, you've still not broken even to inflation let alone simple market returns. |
I'm in my 30's and trying to figure out whether I should convert some of my traditional IRA funds into a Roth. The funds would be taxed at 15% based on my current taxable income. So, I need to best determine if my taxable income at retirement will be at the 15% bracket or more. What are the possible sources of taxable ... |
What is exactly is considered taxable income when you retire? |
The best argument I've heard about the "should I convert traditional to Roth?" is this: if you convert your traditional IRA to a Roth now - you pay your tax burden at your current marginal tax rate (or more if it bumps you into higher bracket). If you don't convert, you pay your tax burden at your *average* tax rate i... |
This type of account will sell you just enough rope to hang yourself.
Gold is at $1400 or so. Were you around when it first hit $800 in '79/'80? I was. No one was saying "sell" only forecasts of $2000.
If you bought and held, you've still not broken even to inflation let alone simple market returns. |
Does anybody know whether, for financial aid purposes, colleges (2 or 4 year) will look at an adult student's 401(k)/IRA/pension or other retirement assets when determining financial aid?
Please reference sources. |
Do adult student's retirement accounts affect financial aid? |
Why are American-style options worth more than European-style options?
I realize I can exercise American-style options anytime before the
expire, but I can only exercise European-style options during their
"exercise period" (usually right when they expire, but no earlier).
So it makes sense that an Americ... |
Why are American-style options worth more than European-style options? |
Knox's answer is correct, but I wanted to elaborate a bit.
The price for an individual bond increases as interest rates decrease.
If you buy a bond that pays 5% at par (100), and next year a similar bond yields 3%, people will pay a premium if you sell the 5% bond (which varies based on a number of factors, but t... |
My family has 4 brokerage accounts: 1 traditional IRA & 1 Roth for both my wife and me. I would like to do a single asset allocation (such as the one below) across the 4 accounts? Is this a good strategy and any tips on managing this effectively if the accounts have widely differing balances (with some below the minimu... |
Any tips for asset allocation across multiple retirement accounts? |
Think of it this way, if you traveled back through time one month - with perfect knowledge of AAPL's stock price over that period - which happens to peak viciously then return to its old price at the end of the period - wouldn't you pay more for an American option?
Another way to think about options is as an insuran... |
I'm about to buy a house and am considering two options:
* Make a 12% down payment and pay for mortgage insurance
* Take out a 401k loan and make a 20% down payment
I'm having a hard time finding resources that really discuss the pros and cons of each of these options. Most resources that I've found are quite... |
Is it better to use a 401k loan to make a down payment or to put less than 20% down? |
For some reason my CFT, CIU, CSJ, and LWC are -2.95% overall, when the rest of my stocks are at +8%. Is there any specific reason why Corporate Bonds are going down while the market is climbing?
|
Why my corporate bond portfolio is decreasing when the market is increasing? |
I would put down 12% and pay PMI. Either way, you are taking out a loan, with payments against 88% of the value of the home.
I assume the mortgage note would be either 15 or 30 years and the 401k loan would be less (5? 10?).
If you take out an 88% mortgage loan and pay it off at the same pace you would have pai... |
There's a fair amount of ways to refinance online via sites like Zillow marketplace and lendingtree. I'm hesitant to dive into using these services, I prefer dealing with a person directly. However I'm contemplating using one of these service for our next refinance.
Is there anything specific we should look out for ... |
What to look out for/what could go wrong when refinancing online? |
There's a fair amount of ways to refinance online via sites like Zillow marketplace and lendingtree. I'm hesitant to dive into using these services, I prefer dealing with a person directly. However I'm contemplating using one of these service for our next refinance.
Is there anything specific we should look out for ... |
Advantages/Disadvantages to refinancing online? |
Yeah, bonds tend to rise when stocks fall, and vice versa.... that's sort of the idea of having both.
Why are the bonds falling in value right now? Interest rates, mostly. When you buy a bond, you're basically buying future money. When you buy a bond, you're signing up for a fixed amount of future money (hence the t... |
Why are American-style options worth more than European-style options?
I realize I can exercise American-style options anytime before the
expire, but I can only exercise European-style options during their
"exercise period" (usually right when they expire, but no earlier).
So it makes sense that an Americ... |
Yeah, bonds tend to rise when stocks fall, and vice versa.... that's sort of the idea of having both.
Why are the bonds falling in value right now? Interest rates, mostly. When you buy a bond, you're basically buying future money. When you buy a bond, you're signing up for a fixed amount of future money (hence the t... |
Is there any good online source for historical federal income tax rates in US comparison? I'll explain the problem: there are may [good sources][1] for marginal rates and income brackets, what I am interested in is the source that allows to compare effective (as opposed to marginal) rates and also do that in constant (... |
Is there any good online source for historical federal income tax rates in US comparison? I'll explain the problem: there are may [good sources][1] for marginal rates and income brackets, what I am interested in is the source that allows to compare effective (as opposed to marginal) rates and also do that in constant (... |
Why is my corporate bond portfolio decreasing when my stock portfolio is increasing? |
I have come across quite a bit good information about investing (real estate, stocks, bonds, etc..) and so far, almost all of my investment knowledge comes from books and online research. I would like to start actually playing with the numbers and realistic investment scenarios. **Are there any programs, games (online ... |
What are some valuable sources for investment experience, when there is very little to no money to start with? |
> "How much tax would individual earning
> equivalent of $80000 today would pay
> through last 100 years?"
Do you mean in today's dollars? If so, you don't need to worry about converting to today's dollars. Just calculate how much tax they owe by using [the chart][1] you pointed to, or download the [excel spreads... |
We're in the process of hunting around for a lender in our area (US) to refinance our mortgage with.
I'm having a hard time understanding the steps in the application process. In particular once I've call around and got a rate for a x year mortgage locked in for 30 days, what do I need to do before I can lock that ... |
As opposed to dollar cost averaging (DCA), value averaging (as described in [this eHow article][1]) is a technique where the investor determines the value the investment ***should*** have after a given time frame (monthly or quarterly). The ***actual*** performance of the investment then determines how much needs to be... |
How to determine desired/required value with "value averaging"? |
When and how do I lock a mortgage rate while shopping for a refinance? |
I saw [this question](http://money.stackexchange.com/questions/5193/how-to-determine-desired-required-value-with-value-averaging) about value-averaging and had researched it a while ago without understanding how to apply it.
In theory, the idea is that you contribute to your account so that the total value of your a... |
How does Value Averaging work in practice? |
I am getting paid with checks so each time I deposit it to my bank account they ask whether it is a paycheck or not. What difference does it make? |
Why do they ask whether it is a paycheck or not in a bank? |
I'm going to have to consider trading into my taxes for the first time this year. I have somewhere under 1000 trades for the year, but some of it is in fairly large quantities, including selling both covered and naked options. I wouldn't consider myself a day trader, but I know that some of my trades will have to be co... |
An older gentleman needs reliable transportation to replace his 10 year old vehicle with over 100k miles. He can afford the payments, but doesn't want to burden his younger wife with payments she alone couldn't afford on top of other expenses in the event of his death since her income will decrease. Is purchashing cred... |
A problem with your question seems to be that you expect a site which details whether a particular bank uses 2 factor authentication to help you decide the relative security. In testing thousands of applications for various global banks I can tell you that what is far more important is information you are unlikely to f... |
Knowing the US Laws for 2010. What will be the top 3 recommendation of actions to do to your portfolio before year end? |
Top 3 things to do before 2010 year end for your Stock Portfolio? |
I have a practice of never buying insurance except when the law demands, such as car insurance, or when the loss would be too great to bear, such as house insurance, and this policy has saved me a lot of money over the years.
How do you react when the salesman offers you an extended 5 year guarantee on your new wash... |
I'd like to get things in order so the application process can be quick, so I thought I'd scan a bunch of documents beforehand. What will I need? |
What documentation will I need to apply for a mortgage? |
I understand that you can recharacterize Roth IRA contributions back into traditional IRA contributions by the next April 15, if you change your mind and decide it would make sense. Then you won't owe taxes up front on the amount contributed.
Can you do the same with a Roth 401(k) contribution? I contributed a few t... |
Can you recharacterize a Roth 401(k) contribution? |
An older gentleman needs reliable transportation to replace his 10 year old vehicle with over 100k miles. He can afford the payments, but doesn't want to burden his younger wife with payments she alone couldn't afford on top of other expenses in the event of his death, since her income will decrease.
Is purchashing ... |
Credit life & disability Insurance on vehicle loan for elderly buyer: Does it make sense? |
Buying insurance (extended warranty or guarantee) on everyday goods / appliances? |
Can you take 2 loans -- an 80% and an 8% loan? Same payments as doing PMI, but the 8% can be paid off in pretty short order and drop payments significantly. |
It's wise to invest in the stock market if it's the best alternative. What are the alternatives?
* You can **pay down debt**, which probably has an interest rate over 6% unless it's mortgage debt
* ***This is almost always the wisest thing to do with your money***
* Debt whose interest can be deducted from your ... |
Is a Canadian TFSA similar to an American Roth IRA? |
I currently use AceMoney to track my spending, but, it gets a bit tedious. I like to track everything coming in, and going out. I'm self-employed, I have an "account" for every client, and another "account" for every employee, where I track all my incomings/outgoings. I also have a "cash" account, and a "bank" account.... |
I hear that Australia has the highest household debt to disposable income ratio in the world.
What does that mean? What implication does that have for the economy, for the stock market and for the housing market? |
What implications does having the highest household debt to disposable income ratio have on Australia? |
In general credit life/disability insurance is way over priced and a bad deal. Having read through a few policies in the past for credit cards I haven't seen a disqualification based on age before but each of these types of policies are going to be company and possibly product specific and you would really need to read... |
I'd like to see a credible source for "the highest", but it's certainly fairly high.
Household debt could be broadly categorized as debt for housing and debt for consumer durables.
Housing prices seem very high compared to equivalent rental income. This is generating a great deal of debt. Keynes(?) said that "i... |
I'd like to see a credible source for "the highest", but it's certainly fairly high.
Household debt could be broadly categorized as debt for housing and debt for consumption.
Housing prices seem very high compared to equivalent rental income. This is generating a great deal of debt. Keynes(?) said that "if some... |
If the beneficiary of a Will is implicated or convicted of the deceased murder, does the Will still stand? |
Be careful with credit life & disability insurance!
In addition to being **expensive**, companies that provide car loan (or mortgage) life & disability insurance often practice **post-claim underwriting**. Post-claim underwriting is a shady practice, where only *after* the insured becomes disabled or dies does the ... |
I keep hearing people saying that speculation is NOT an investment, but isn't it really just investment with high risk? |
What is the difference between speculating and investing? |
Trying to make sense of the difference between installment and amortization. They seem to be used interchangeably in some places but to me it seems like amortization should be amount that you pay off your actual loan, while installment refers to the whole sum of your amortization + interest + bank charges.
As a bonu... |
Is installment the same thing as amortization? |
I keep hearing people saying that a speculation is NOT an investment, but isn't it really just investment with high risk? |
The bank gives you a commitment letter at some point along with a required Good Faith Estimate of your loan amount and interest rate. Then they will "lock" in that rate for 30-60 days. If rates drop, can't I just go to another bank if they aren't willing to lower my rate before closing? I realize that starting the p... |
Am I allowed to freely shop for mortgages before closing? |
Read what you sign. My wife used to work for a mortgage broker back in the boom, and people could not show up at signing and there is nothing anybody can do about it. I assume you are free to walk anytime, especially if you have signed no contract.
The only real consequence is that lender won't want to work with y... |
I changed jobs this year and as a consequence, rolled over my employee 401(k) to a personal rollover IRA. I just completed the rollover earlier this month, and right now the money is just sitting in a money market. I know I need to choose investments soon, but with the size of the investments I don't want to make any... |
Invest in new mutual funds before the end of the year or after? |
Top 3 things to do before year end for your Stock Portfolio? |
## Tax consequences
The tax consequence is that if you wait until January of 2011 to invest, you won't have the option to sell as a long-term capital gain in 2011. However, this is not a huge point in practice:
- If the investment is at a loss, you would rather it be short-term (if you care at all). You can sel... |
Do you find [Techical Analysis][1] to be an effective way of increasing the returns on your investments? This can be either by itself, or in combination with other indicators. If so, what techinques do you use?
What studies exist which show the can evidence for whether or not different techniques work?
[1... |
Effectiveness of technical analysis? |
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