instruction stringlengths 15 21.6k |
|---|
As a very frugal person, I have a prepaid phone plan that costs $100 a year. For the past two years, I've spent roughly $50 of that each year. As long as I renew the plan with another $100 every year, I can carry over the unused balance.
But there's a hitch; if I only used half of the balance one year, I'm not likel... |
How can I cash out my prepaid cell phone? |
1) How long have you had the car? Generally, accounts that last more than a year are kept on your credit report for 7 years, while accounts that last less than a year are only kept about 2 years (IIRC - could someone correct me if that last number is wrong?).
2) Who is the financing through? If it's through a used... |
How's your savings and emergency fund?
**Everyone should have an emergency fund that will last them 6 months, and the goal should be two years' worth.** This should be in an easily accessible account, such as a savings or money market account at your bank (you could consider CDs, but unless you're laddering them th... |
Here is my living situation in a nutshell
- Live in California
- 2 kids (7 and 11)
- Ex-wife
- I am almost 40.
- I rent
Financial situation:
- Make about $170k (includes regular job + moonlighting) before taxes.
- Kids school = $1000 a month (by court order they go to a private school - long stor... |
Here is my living situation in a nutshell
- Live in California
- 2 kids (7 and 11)
- Ex-wife
- I am almost 40.
- I rent
Financial situation:
- Make about $170k (includes regular job + moonlighting) before taxes.
- Kids school = $1000 a month (by court order they go to a private school - long stor... |
You sound like you're already doing a lot to improve your situation... paying off the credit cards, paying off the taxes, started your 401k... I'm in a similar situation, credit ruined & savings gone after the divorce. I know it feels like you're just spinning your wheels, but look at it this way: every monthly paymen... |
This topic has probably been beated to death, but just want to double check with you guys.
I'm currently in NYC, although I do not plan on living here (my parents are here tho). I have a web business, where no physical goods are sold, and my virtual wares are sold to customers all over the world.
I need to opera... |
I'm 29, and just started a new job with an excellent mandatory retirement plan. I contribute 5.5 percent of my salary and my employer deposits an amount equal to 8.5 percent of my salary. I have a Roth IRA I've funded previously, but I've never really thought about how much I need--I've always just contributed the max ... |
How much money do I need to have saved up for retirement? |
Is it based on how much i earn? if so, can i re-invest all of the income back into the hobby and still call it a hobby? |
At what point does a hobby turn into a business? |
Is it based on how much I earn? if so, can I re-invest all of the income back into the hobby and still call it a hobby? |
> Generally, an activity qualifies as a business if it is carried on with the reasonable expectation of earning a profit.
> In order to make this determination, taxpayers should consider the following factors:
> - Does the time and effort put into the activity indicate an intention to make a profit?
- Does the t... |
The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) act was enacted March 18, 2010 with the goal of increasing employment in the US. It also included the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) that has some onerous taxes and regulations on foreign banks and US citizens who have foreign accounts.
[FATCA Highlight... |
As a US citizen, should I only have $50,000 in non US banks due to FATCA? |
I'm becoming more interested in buying gold / silver coins as a hedge against inflation and especially hyperinflation. I know very little about this, and there are thousands of sites on the internet about this. I'm sure many of them are a little less than honest.
For those of you who are experienced with this, could... |
Part of New Year's resolutions is to keep better track of where my money is going.
I have a regular day job and I also do some freelancing work online , which is not related to my regular job. In my online job, I regularly take payments from several different companies, mostly in my paypal account.
I want to be a... |
What tool would you recommend to keep track of incomes and expenses? |
I am looking to buy gold bars. Just the element with minimal "craftsmanship". What are some good places/outlets to buy gold in the USA? |
What are some legitimate places to buy gold bullion bars in USA? |
From a tax/legal perspective, any income is taxable no matter how derived. On the other hand, if you're asking, "When has my hobby crossed over from being something that I do on the side to something I should consider doing full-time?" Different set of answers.
Firstly, do you want to place that burden on your hob... |
I recently purchased a vehicle and took out an Auto loan from the local credit union. I have run into some extra cash and can actually pay off the car completely. I have a very little credit history, mainly credit cards that are paid off completely each month with no interest accrued. I was wondering will paying off... |
Will paying off a loan early hurt my credit? |
Great answers. Here's my two cents:
First, don't forget to look at the overall picture, not just the dividend. Study the company's income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement for the last few years. Make sure they have good earnings potential, and are not carrying too much debt. I know it's dull, but it's ... |
It's not a good look.
However, it seems to me this does not change things very much. US citizens have for a long time been required to pay tax on their worldwide income, and to disclose their worldwide bank holdings. This law seems to "just" rope foreign banks into helping enforce it.
Other US disclosure rules ... |
It's not a good look.
However, it seems to me this does not change things very much. US citizens have for a long time been required to pay tax on their worldwide income, and to disclose their worldwide bank holdings. This law seems to "just" rope foreign banks into helping enforce it.
Other US disclosure rules ... |
<div>
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..<... |
You've asked for risks but neglected straight up costs. CD laddering will have some explicit and implicit costs:
- your time to set up multiple investments and manage them more frequently
- you lose some interest up front unless the yield curve is flat or inverted. If you have a lump sum and a long investment hor... |
How do I determine future balance owed on a mortgage based on amortization? |
Without plagiarizing, I found the following article interesting:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/99665/20110111/50-cent-hustler-entrepreneur-innovator.htm#
Essentially, 50 Cent tweeted about a company that he owns stock in urging people to buy it. The market responded, and now he's tripled his money. Are there an... |
Is leveraging notoriety to raise stock prices illegal in the US? |
If he didn't lie, I don't see the issue. He did not force anyone to buy anything. His opinion was stock X is good, he publicized it and it turned out to be true (at least temporary) - what's wrong with it?
It is customary for people who have either fiduciary duty towards the clients or are perceived as independent an... |
This topic has probably been beaten to death, but just want to double check with you guys.
I'm currently in NYC, although I do not plan on living here (my parents are here tho). I have a web business, where no physical goods are sold, and my virtual wares are sold to customers all over the world.
I need to opera... |
Are there any issues with registering an LLC in a foreign state? |
I have pretty awful credit rating (570 last I checked) as a result of a foreclosure and a massive amount of credit card debt. One of the credit cards (BofA) to who I owe 17k has offered a settlement - e.g. pay off the account for 12k.
However, this will go on my credit record.
Putting aside for a second the ques... |
Should I accept a credit card settlement? |
Well, your credit is already rather poor. I wouldn't ignore the impact to my credit, but that wouldn't be my main focus.
I would consider how much this is costing me on a monthly basis. Would I be better off having that money to spend on something else?
How likely is it that this debt will cause more problems f... |
I'm looking to open a tax free savings account. Where is a good place to open one? Which kind of tax free savings account would you recommend? |
Where is a good place to open a tax free savings account? |
I'm looking to open a Tax Free Savings Account. Where is a good place to open one? Which kind of Tax Free Savings Account would you recommend?
|
Where is a good place to open a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA)? |
Or is there a theory that proposes inaction is worse? |
Is it always sane to follow inaction if the only alternative investment carries a risk of higher than 50% to end up with loss? |
I would like to store my American Express statements in Google Docs so that my virtual assistant can log the line items into my accounting spreadsheets. It is also handy so that they are in one place when it is time to show the accountant at the end of the year.
My fear is that sharing this information with somebody... |
What could be the harm in sharing my American Express statements online? |
You can of course ask your employer anything you want. However I think you should reasonably ask yourself "what's in it for your employer?". I'm assuming that the things you find attractive are the higher pay, the flexible hours etc. They aren't necessarily things that incline your employer to agree. Of course if you a... |
Theres a 30yr home loan for $100,000 at 7%. After 15 years the loan is payed off in order to refinance at a lower rate. The loan has a prepayment penalty of six months interest of 80% of the remaining balance of the loan.
a) How much is the remaining balance of the loan?
b) If the loan can be refinanced with a 15yr... |
American Express is great for this use case -- they have two user roles "Account Agent" and "Account Manager" which allow you to designate logins to review your account details or act on your behalf to pay bills or request service.
This scheme is designed for exactly what you are doing and offers you more security a... |
There's a 30yr home loan for $100,000 at 7%. After 15 years the loan is paid
off in order to refinance at a lower rate. The loan has a prepayment penalty of six months interest of 80% of the remaining balance of the loan.
a) How much is the remaining balance of the loan?
b) If the loan can be refinanced with a 15... |
If you do the calculations you will find that the cut off point for the new loan is 6.55% (on a 15 year loan of 74,019.66+2,072.55 = 76,092.21), which gives a repayment of 664.94 (a rate of 6.56% will give you a repayment of 665.36, slightly more than your current repayment).
However, if they are no other costs, as ... |
I've been managing my own expenses pretty meticulously for the past 4-5 years since being out of college and on my own. Because of this, I feel I have more of a clue about finances than the average 28-year-old.
I use [Mint][1] to manage pretty much all of my accounts, though I realize this is just a quick and easy p... |
What exactly can a financial advisor do for me, and is it worth the money? |
I run a credit check on myself every couple months just to make sure everything looks good. Well today I received this message on the report:
***SECURITY FREEZE: THE FOLLOWING CREDIT BUREAUS REPORT THAT YOU HAVE PLACED A SECURITY FREEZE OR LOCK ON THIS FILE. HOWEVER, THE FILE HAS BEEN DELIVERED TO YOU UNDER THE APPL... |
Security Freeze on my TransUnion credit report? |
Over the years, I've run several credit reports on myself inching my way closer to 750 then 800 on a FICO scale. Then, using [TrueCredit][1] to analyze my report, as I always have, I suddenly notice I'm being graded now on a scale of 501 to 990.
What's worse is that I was in the 90th percentile of average US scores ... |
Why is my credit score now being ranked on a scale of 501 to 990? |
I currently have a 75% credit utilization, which I know is not favorable on about 35,000 revolving credit. I am getting my year end bonus and plan on using that to completely pay off all of my credit cards leaving me with a 0% credit utilization. Currently my credit score is 668, mostly due to my utilization, I pay e... |
You really don't know how credit scoring works.
Let's think about the purpose of a credit score: to assess whether you're a high default risk. A lender wants to know, in this order:
1. Do you pay your debts? If so, do you pay late?
2. How long your behavior be measured?
3. Are you solvent?
Utilization fac... |
With all the tax credits, bailouts, and TARP money I thought there might at least be a chance to claim some kind of deduction on my 2010 tax returns for my particular situation. I'm sure this is a long shot, but it doesn't cost anything to ask all the smart folks on the site.
**The back-story:**
My wife's sister ... |
Is there any tax-credit or deduction I can take if I provided housing for someone that was unemployed in 2010? |
I may need to transfer a substantial sum of money (worth more than 10K in US dollars) from Israel to US. With this, I have these questions questions:
1. I know IRS is notified on any large transfers. Would I need to provide them some documentation so they won't want to tax me on this money? It is not income, it is s... |
Greetings Fellow Zeitgeisters,
I was wondering what option do I have to hedge the inevitable eventual raise of the interest rate in the US.
One obvious action is to refinance my loan with the current in... |
Greetings Fellow Zeitgeisters,
I was wondering what options do I have available to hedge the inevitable eventual rise of the US interest rate.
One obvious action is to refinance my loan with the current... |
How to do an international money transfer of a large sum of money to the U.S.? |
I was wondering what options do I have available to hedge against the inevitable/eventual rise of US interest rates?
One obvious action is to refinance my loan at the current interest rate. However I'm looking for an alternative strategy, at the very least, so I'll be able to compare the risks/benefits of the two. ... |
Are there ways to hedge against a rise in interest rates, other than refinancing my loan? |
Has anyone compared an in-person Tax Advisor to software like Turbo Tax? |
Just for reference, this is um, theoretical.
What is the legal/banking position if an employer transfers a large (very) sum of money into a staff members bank account?
Is said person obliged to return it? Are the bank likely to step in and return it on their behalf? What happens to the interest on the sum, if we ... |
How will going from 75% Credit Utilization to 0% Credit Utilization affect my credit score? |
I tend to buy a fair amount of things that have a mfg rebate. More often than not, that rebate comes in the form of a pre-paid card of some kind.
The problem that I have is that there is rarely a way to get the last few dollars off of the card. Much preferable to me would be if there is a way to convert these card d... |
Gas - you can ask for the exact amount you want to charge. With $3 gas, it's not tough to burn a card on two tanks.
Supermarket - those near me have no issue with me giving them the exact amount left on card and using it up on a purchase.
If these are cash cards, why lose a cent when you can just use them up? |
Is there an (ideally online) credit card interest calculator that
includes grace periods and lets you choose the interest calculation
method (eg, "adjusted balance", "average daily balance", "two-cycle
average daily balance", and the other methods listed at
http://credit.about.com/od/creditcardbasics/tp/finance... |
I am currently trading with BMO and Scottrade, and I'm pretty satisfied with both (most with Scottrade). BMO charges pretty high commissions, 30$, so I'm looking to transferring to a different broken.
The two discount brokers that seem relatively popular are Questrade and Interactive Brokers. I've heard bad things a... |
I noticed Questrade has a Tax-Free Trading account.
http://www.questrade.com/trading/tax_free_faq.aspx
Is this too good to be true? Why do not other brokers have a tax free trading account where your gains are not taxed (where you put in 5000$ per year)? |
I have 2 kids (10 and 6) and I was thinking about putting money away for them (for college, for instance). I've looked at variuos options and the more I look, the more I am confused with the array of options and its tax implications.
My question is what options should I looking at?
How much should I be investing ... |
How should I go about investing/saving for my children's education? |
I noticed Questrade has a Tax-Free Trading account.
http://www.questrade.com/trading/tax_free_faq.aspx
Is this too good to be true? Why do other brokers not have a tax free trading account where your gains are not taxed and where you can contribute up to $5000 per year? |
I noticed Questrade has a [Tax Free Trading Account][1].
Is this too good to be true? Why do other brokers not have a "Tax Free Trading Account" where your gains are not taxed and where you can contribute up to $5000 per year?
[1]: http://www.questrade.com/trading/tax_free_faq.aspx |
Questrade: Tax Free Trading Account. Why don't other brokers in Canada have these? |
I have 2 kids (10 and 6) and I was thinking about putting money away for them (for college, for instance). I've looked at various options and the more I look, the more I am confused with the array of options and its tax implications.
My question is what options should I looking at?
How much should I be investing ... |
How should I go about investing/saving for my children's college education? |
I am currently trading with BMO and Scottrade, and I'm pretty satisfied with both (most with Scottrade). BMO charges pretty high commissions, 30$, so I'm looking to transferring to a different broker.
The two discount brokers that seem relatively popular are Questrade and Interactive Brokers. I've heard bad things a... |
Canada discount stock brokers: Interactive Brokers vs. Questrade? |
Credit card interest calculator with grace period & different interest rate calculation methods? |
How can I convert rebate gift cards into cash? |
<p>
Personal Finance and Money - Stack Exchange is for people who want to be financially literate, find ways to save money, minimize taxes, invest wisely, plan for retirement, etc. Also for financially-savvy amateurs, DIY-investors & personal finance pros.
</p>
If you have a question about:
* Personal investing ... |
I am currently trading with BMO and Scottrade, and I'm pretty satisfied with both (most with Scottrade). BMO charges pretty high commissions, 30$, so I'm looking to transferring to a different broker.
The two discount brokers that seem relatively popular are Questrade and Interactive Brokers. I've heard bad things a... |
I'm considering an actively managed bond fund ([DODIX][1]) versus an similar index fund ([VBMFX][2]). Both are high quality intermediate funds. The 10-year return of DODIX (exp ratio 0.43%) is 0.86% higher than VBMFX (exp ratio 0.22%). When financial news companies show 10 year returns, does the return ***include*** th... |
How do I calculate net returns with expense ratio considered? |
Do net returns on mutual funds include expense ratio? |
I'm considering an actively managed bond fund ([DODIX][1]) versus an similar index fund ([VBMFX][2]). Both are high quality intermediate funds. The 10-year return of DODIX (exp ratio 0.43%) is 0.86% higher than VBMFX (exp ratio 0.22%). When financial research companies show 10 year returns (example image below), does t... |
I have 5k to invest in stock market but do not want to do it my own. I would do it through mutual funds. What are my options? |
I have 5k to invest in stock market but do not want to select individual stocks. I would do it through mutual funds. I am willing to accept a moderately high amount of risk. How can I find a good mutual fund that meets these criteria? |
How do I find a good mutual fund to invest 5K in with a moderately high amount of risk? |
Just find a low cost S&P 500 index fund, and spend your time reading [The Great Mutual Fund][1] trap instead of wasting your time picking actively managed funds.
[1]: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Mutual-Fund-Trap-Investment/dp/0767910729/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295242517&sr=8-1 |
Just find a low cost S&P 500 index fund, and spend your time reading [The Great Mutual Fund][1] trap instead of wasting your time and money picking actively managed funds.
[1]: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Mutual-Fund-Trap-Investment/dp/0767910729/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295242517&sr=8-1 |
I'm evaluating rolling over my old 401(k) into a self-adminstered IRA. I know the general costs and benefits (mostly benefits, in terms of increased flexibility, as stated [here][1]), but I'd like to see if I can precisely quantify the difference.
In particular, I'm curious as to the difference in administration ... |
What are 401(k) administration fees compared to IRA/Roth IRA fees? |
I'm evaluating rolling over my old 401(k) into a self-adminstered IRA. I know the general costs and benefits (mostly benefits, in terms of increased flexibility, as stated [here][1]), but I'd like to see if I can precisely quantify the difference.
In particular, I'm curious as to the difference in administration ... |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.