This. I rarely buy anything on Amazon anymore, and if I do, it's from a third party seller (never had an issue). I ordered a health and beauty type product last week...it was on Amazon for 22 dollars, and I would have to pay shipping as I don't have Prime. I went to the manufacturers website...$18..free shipping. Amazon is a great place to discover new products...but then I just go search and find the product for either less money, and/or free shipping elsewhere.


You ask two questions, which I answer in order.


I'm not an expert, just giving my opinion. If you are an owner of a bank account that does not make you liable for their debts unless also cosign on their loans. I would in this join custody of the if only to assist your parents in financial decision making.


More often than not the market will rise year on year. Your best move is to put the $5000 in on Jan 2. Are you in the 15% bracket? If not, that is, if higher, I'd suggest the traditional, deductible, IRA.


#####&#009; ######&#009; ####&#009; [**Minarchism**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minarchism): [](#sfw) --- >__Minarchism__ (also known as __minimal statism__) is a [political philosophy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_philosophy). It is variously defined by sources. In the strictest sense, it holds that [states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_(polity\)) ought to exist (as opposed to [anarchy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchy)), that their only legitimate function is the protection of individuals from [aggression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggression), [theft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft), [breach of contract](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breach_of_contract), and [fraud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud), and that the only legitimate governmental institutions are the [military](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military), [police](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police), and [courts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts). In the broadest sense, it also includes [fire departments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_department), [prisons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison), the [executive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_(government\)), and [legislatures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislatures) as legitimate government functions. Such states are generally called [night-watchman states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night-watchman_state). > --- ^Interesting: [^Anarcho-capitalism ^and ^minarchism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism_and_minarchism) ^| [^Night-watchman ^state](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night-watchman_state) ^| [^Laissez-faire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laissez-faire) ^| [^Libertarianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism) ^Parent ^commenter ^can [^toggle ^NSFW](http://www.np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=autowikibot&subject=AutoWikibot NSFW toggle&message=%2Btoggle-nsfw+ck1tpnu) ^or[](#or) [^delete](http://www.np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=autowikibot&subject=AutoWikibot Deletion&message=%2Bdelete+ck1tpnu)^. ^Will ^also ^delete ^on ^comment ^score ^of ^-1 ^or ^less. ^| [^(FAQs)](http://www.np.reddit.com/r/autowikibot/wiki/index) ^| [^Mods](http://www.np.reddit.com/r/autowikibot/comments/1x013o/for_moderators_switches_commands_and_css/) ^| [^Magic ^Words](http://www.np.reddit.com/r/autowikibot/comments/1ux484/ask_wikibot/)


Embrace the web. Let folks search for info while they're in your store. make the Salesmen do it. give your customer all the info they need to pull the trigger and buy the product. Just say we'll match Amazon or Newegg on this and the sale's a lock.


You are asking the questions which matter. The quoted economist gave a few examples of how he considered China as outpacing the US. But they were not really described in detail, and the point is not very convincing. Most innovation in tech is still happening in the US.


"OptionsXpress is good. I have used them for many years to trade stocks mainly (writing Covered calls and trading volatility). You set the account up through OptionsXpress Australia, and then fund the account from one of your accounts in Australia (I just use my Bank of Queensland account). The currency conversion will be something to watch (AUD to USD). The rates are low, but one of the best features is ""virtual trading"". It allows you to give yourself virtual funds to practice. You can then experiment with stop-losses and all other features. Perhaps other platforms have this, but I am yet to see it... anyway, if you want to trade in US stocks you are going to need to switch to USD anyway. ASX never moves enough for my interests. Regards, SB"


"The quant score is definitely one of the major factors, and you are correct it is more important if you don't have a math background. I don't think it's a non starter if you apply to some of the lower level or mid-major programs though (read : below top 50/75 ish). That's why part of my advice entails doing the masters and taking as many auxiliary math courses as possible, to boost your ""math background"". It worked for me anyway."


My problem isn't the people seeking the career advice, it's the effort they put into it before coming on the board. I would prefer the board includes news & events, interviews with financiers, and papers or questions about specific topics in finance.


100% agree. While some institutional knowledge will be gone with departing boomer retirees, it opens the doors to knew ways doing things, methods for improving a business function or covering the same workload in a new manner. The ship isn't going to go down because Billy Boomer gets his gold watch. I also believe new opportunities for entrapreneurs and other product or service providers will open up as result of those nest eggs being distributed. Hopefully the insurance companies leave something for the rest of the markets to compete over. Edit:typo


Unless you make those investments inside a tax-deferred account, you will have to pay income-taxes on that money this year. Because you made that money through your own business, you will also have payroll taxes due on that money this year.


">When I was a student, back in the early nineties, I had a holiday job at the frozen-food supermarket chain, Iceland. One morning, presumably fresh from a leadership course at Frosty HQ, our manager called all the staff together to admonish us for our apparent lack of enthusiasm for the sale of turkey nuggets. “Sometimes I feel that some of you are only in this for the money” she hissed. She was cut off by incredulous laughter. After all, what other motivation could there be for spending one’s weekend restocking a giant fridge freezer? This is ironically (ROTFLMAO) hilarious. After all what exactly is the underlying motivation of the ""company"" itself? The good of all little children of the world... hence the dispensing of ""turkey nuggets"" for FREE??? Oh wait, the goal is to make money. Herp Derp. --- >Innocuous as this may sound, it’s a cultural shift that poisonously favours the employer over the worker. For as long as companies are able to offer their staff these intangible psychological carrots, they are able to get away with not paying them in full for the work they do. > >[...] > >For companies, it’s a perfect ruse. Like faith healers, the more evangelical fervour they can fire up in their staff, the more they can squeeze out of them, and the less they ask in return. I heard this kind of BS (along with the Soviet-style ""banners"" and ""mission statements"" and ""5 year plans"") well over a decade ago. My response then to it -- (from a friend/CEO who was trying to ""entice"" me into working for his company, and tried this schtick because he'd recently been indoctrinated into the BS via Harvard's OPM/MBA program) -- was simple, I said ""Sorry guy, cut the BS, I'm basically prostituting my mind/skills/time & labor -- make me a better offer in terms of $$ or STFU."" He started to take umbrage at the ""prostitute"" concept, and I replied that I wasn't born yesterday, I knew that he had inherited the company, that he himself really didn't give a rats arse about making & selling the products that he did, and that the whole enterprise was (as essentially all enterprises are) ALL ABOUT making money -- so if he wanted me on his team, he would need to PAY. (And besides, his entire reason for wanting to hire me was that he KNEW I would be able to help make his operation significantly more efficient and therefore more profitable.) Sometimes you just need to clock these jackasses over the head with a baseball bat -- they get so caught-up and habituated in using the buzzwords and euphemisms that they delude themselves into thinking that they *really ARE* ""doing God's work"". (The irony is that those same ""delusions"" and buzzwords tend to make them easy marks for scamming ""con-men"" consultants; something that I have seen happen several times, often almost hilariously.) And I also see that this is the influence of ""creeping socialism"" -- as if there is something inherently ""wrong"" with making a profit and it has to be ""justified"" with something more noble -- which is total delusional *ballocks*. The only reason to plant a seed is to reap the harvest; and thus feed yourself (and incidentally, others, from whom you are entitled to expect something in return/exchange)."


>Wrapping up, the iPhone 5 display is a quantum leap better than the display on the iPhone 4. Clicked link, found pure, unadulturated comparison to iPhone 4 and nary a comparison to any other vendor. Your insistence of fact is obtuse in relation to your link. But hey, that's just my opinion.


I remember seeing a post forever ago about how millionaires arent investing and someone (a millionaire themselves) claimed it was because of the current economic/political climate made them unsure which then provoked this other person (assuming a millionaire) to come in and respond to them, talking about how Trump was going to cut taxes, concerns over student loan defaults were overblown, etc etc (basically saying to invest because it's going to be alright) None the less that stuck with me for some reason so it's interesting to see how it's all going to turn out because it's clear the millionaires aren't unified on what the future has in store and I take that more as a sign for troubled waters ahead than anything else


In both the US and UK you are taxed on your income. Transferring your own money from one country to another does not count as income, so you won't be taxed on it. If it's not your money you are transferring that will be different. You may have to report transfers to comply with money laundering rules. You have to report large amounts of cash you bring with you.


I still get triggered occasionally, like recently when my old smoking buddy from my old job visited. I've never seen him light a cigarette and not light one myself at the same time. Other than that though, smooth sailing.


This is just a byproduct of high margin, low fixed cost businesses. They are retaining shitloads of earnings with little need, or even ability, to deploy it. Their growth strategy is probably acquisition based as well (hello Whole Foods), so having billions on the sidelines is optionality to execute quickly on an opportunity if/when it presents itself.


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"Ironically, the financially disadvantaged (who are butthurt downvoting you so hard right now) also tend to believe in luck when it comes to lottery tickets and other forms of gambling. They would, on the whole, find themselves far more ""lucky"" if they could stop spending what money they have on gambling, drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. Every single one of my unemployed friends eats out *every day*, smokes cigarettes and drinks at the bar on Friday and Saturday nights. Most smoke weed, too. Funny how that works out. I've also noticed a prevailing attitude among my peers that getting a good job equals ""I don't have to work any more!"" So many of them who are ""lucky"" enough to get a good job end up losing it a short while later. Shitty ""luck."""


If you're absolutely certain that you won't buy a house within a year or so, I'd still be tempted to put some of the money into short-term CDs (ie, a max of 12 months). I think that at the moment CDs are a bit of a mug's game though because you'd hardly find one that offers better interest rates than some of the few savings accounts that still offer 1%+ interest. A savings account is probably where I'd put the money unless I could find a really good deal on a CD, but I think you might have to check if they've got withdrawal limits. There are a couple of savings accounts out there that pay at least 1% (yes, I know it's pitiful) so I'd seek out one or two of those. From memory, both Sallie Mae and Amex offer those and I'm sure there are a couple more. It's not great that your money is growing at less than inflation but if you're saving for something like a downpayment on a house I would think that (nominal) capital preservation is probably more important than the potential for a higher return with the associated higher risk.


I think everyone else answered before you added the info about your car loan in your comment. While it makes sense to pay off loans with the highest interest rate first, keep in mind that in most cases you can deduct mortgage interest from your taxable income. So the after-tax rate of interest that you're paying on your 8.6% second mortgage will be less than your 7% car loan, assuming that your tax bracket is more than 18% (federal and state combined). If you plan to use your funds to pay down debt, definitely attack the car loan first.


> Even with a Pell Grant to attend school, it can be very hard to get a job that will accommodate a class schedule and also pay enough for basic living expenses. And many people around here were not encouraged to pursue education, because of the expense. And because, until 10-15 years ago, there were always factories hired and it was expected to start at 18 and stay until retirement. Yeah but I know plenty of poor people that got grants and other free money and lived off campus and were able to survive. Maybe they didn't live like I did or spend like I did, but they could get by with that and maybe a part time job. I worked all throughout college. > If you do too well at work, they don't want to give you the time off to move forward (problem I had at a law office where I was working way more hours than hired for, then told I couldn't cut back to our original agreement when the next semester required more seated classes). If you don't excel, it's not worth their trouble to accommodate you because there are plenty of others begging for a job that can work whenever they're told. I hope you're not trying to become a lawyer. That field is way over saturated.


I want to transfer around $2000 to another bank account (which is under my name ) in India. As much as I know you cannot instruct to transfer money from your travel card to a Bank Account. You can withdraw cash at ATM or swipe it. On return you can encash the balance. Will this have any tax implications? The money provided to you by the company is meant as an allowance for your expense in US. As per law any money you save and not spend has to be declared as additional income and taxes paid accordingly. Is there any difference if I send it to my parents account? There is no difference if you transfer the funds to your account or to your parents accounts or keep the cash. If you haven't spent the allowance, its additional benefit and taxable.


That's not cheap in my book, either. Haven't flown in awhile and wondered about prices. Going back to Dec 2013, the returns on the stocks of United, Delta, and AA are in the [double-digits](http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1407799434687&chddm=65688&chls=IntervalBasedLine&cmpto=NYSE:UAL;NYSE:DAL&cmptdms=0;0&q=NASDAQ:AAL&ntsp=0&ei=J1DpU7iZKcSyiAKN7IGoCA), so they're definitely not having a rough time on this basis.


Personally, I don't think that the interest from the car loan is worth the credit history you're building through it. There are other ways to build credit that don't require you to pay interest, like the credit card you mentioned (so long as you keep paying off the balance). So I'd go that route: ditch the auto loan and replace it with a line of consumer credit. Just be careful not to overspend because the card will likely have a higher interest rate than your loan.


Audio video service can make a big difference in your working style and turn them from tedious to enthusiastic one. You just need to count on a company who has been in the industry for long years and has proven its authenticity in providing the good quality equipments at least price.


You need to get some thing called landlord insurance, tenants only covers his belongings. Any property damage caused deliberately or unknowingly is not covered in this, its upon the owner to get landlord insurance.


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Luke, I'd like to point out some additional benefits of the Roth IRA accounts 1) Going Roth, you can effectively increase the amount of your contribution to your IRA account. In your example, you are assuming that your contribution to Roth IRA is in fact $ 85 ($100 less $ 15 tax paid). In reality, albeit more costly, Roth IRA allows you to contribute full $ 100 ($117.65 less $ 17.65 tax incurred.) Using this method you can in fact grow your tax-free funds to $ 1.006.27 over 30 years. The larger you effective tax rate is, the larger will be the difference between your maximum effective Traditional vs Roth IRA contribution will be. 2) Should you need to access your IRA funds in case of emergency (unqualified event of not buying your first home, nor paying for your college education), Roth IRA account contributions can be withdrawn without incurring the 10% penalty charge, that would be imposed on your unqualified Traditional IRA distribution. 3) As other contributors noted it's hard to believe that lower US tax rates would prevail. Chances are you will be contributing to Traditional 401k later throughout your work life. Having a Roth IRA account would afford you a tax diversification needed to hedge against possible tax rate hikes coming in the future. Considering the gloomy future of the Social Security funding, and ever-growing US national debt, can we really expect for there to not be any tax rate increases in the next 20-40 years?! By the way, as others pointed out your effective tax rate will always be lower than your marginal tax bracket.


...and then you'll see companies stockpile professional scapegoats. Doing something risky? Put a professional scapegoat at the head of the team responsible. If shit hits the fan, pro scapegoat gets a hefty paycheck to take the fall, sits in prison for a few years, gets out, resumes work at the same company, and wipes tears away with tons of money. Identifying pro scapegoats and taking steps to make the role illegal will turn into a very long game of whack-a-mole.


As others have explained defined contribution is when you (or your employer) contributes a specified amount and you reap all the investment returns. Defined benefit is when your employer promises to pay you a specified amount (benefit) and is responsible for making the necessary investments to provide for it. Is one better than the other? We can argue this either way. Defined benefit would seem to be more predictable and assured. The problem being of course that it is entirely reliant upon the employer to have saved enough money to pay that amount. If the employer fails in that responsibility, then the only fallback is government guarantees. And of course the government has limitations on what it can guarantee. For example, from Wikipedia: The maximum pension benefit guaranteed by PBGC is set by law and adjusted yearly. For plans that end in 2016, workers who retire at age 65 can receive up to $5,011.36 per month (or $60,136 per year) under PBGC's insurance program for single-employer plans. Benefit payments starting at ages other than 65 are adjusted actuarially, which means the maximum guaranteed benefit is lower for those who retire early or when there is a benefit for a survivor, and higher for those who retire after age 65. Additionally, the PBGC will not fully guarantee benefit improvements that were adopted within the five-year period prior to a plan's termination or benefits that are not payable over a retiree's lifetime. Other limitations also apply to supplemental benefits in excess of normal retirement benefits, benefit increases within the last five years before a plan's termination, and benefits earned after a plan sponsor's bankruptcy. By contrast, people tend to control their own defined contribution accounts. So they control how much gets invested and where. Defined contribution accounts are always 100% funded. Defined benefit pension plans are often underfunded. They expect the employer to step forward and subsidize them when they run short. This allows the defined benefits to both be cheaper during the employment period and more generous in retirement. But it also means that employers have to subsidize the plans later, when they no longer get a benefit from the relationship with the employee. If you want someone else to make promises to you and aren't worried that they won't keep them, you probably prefer defined benefit. If you want to have personal control over the money, you probably prefer defined contribution. My personal opinion is that defined benefit plans are a curse. They encourage risky behavior and false promises. Defined contribution plans are more honest about what they provide and better match the production of employment with its compensation. Others see defined benefit plans as the gold standard of pensions.


"I think that its ok to keep your ""emergency fund"" money in cash in your home. By emergency fund, I mean $1,000-2,500, that doesn't get touched. There are risks. You have a risk that the money will be stolen, or be wholly or partially destroyed, or even lost if you stash it somewhere and forget. You're also not going to earn interest. So go for it. But keep your emergency funds in cash -- if you want to buy silver and gold, that's fine...you need to treat them as commodity investments."


This is Ellie Lan, investment analyst at Betterment. To answer your question, American investors are drawn to use the S&P 500 (SPY) as a benchmark to measure the performance of Betterment portfolios, particularly because it’s familiar and it’s the index always reported in the news. However, going all in to invest in SPY is not a good investment strategy—and even using it to compare your own diversified investments is misleading. We outline some of the pitfalls of this approach in this article: Why the S&P 500 Is a Bad Benchmark. An “algo-advisor” service like Betterment is a preferable approach and provides a number of advantages over simply investing in ETFs (SPY or others like VOO or IVV) that track the S&P 500. So, why invest with Betterment rather than in the S&P 500? Let’s first look at the issue of diversification. SPY only exposes investors to stocks in the U.S. large cap market. This may feel acceptable because of home bias, which is the tendency to invest disproportionately in domestic equities relative to foreign equities, regardless of their home country. However, investing in one geography and one asset class is riskier than global diversification because inflation risk, exchange-rate risk, and interest-rate risk will likely affect all U.S. stocks to a similar degree in the event of a U.S. downturn. In contrast, a well-diversified portfolio invests in a balance between bonds and stocks, and the ratio of bonds to stocks is dependent upon the investment horizon as well as the individual's goals. By constructing a portfolio from stock and bond ETFs across the world, Betterment reduces your portfolio’s sensitivity to swings. And the diversification goes beyond mere asset class and geography. For example, Betterment’s basket of bond ETFs have varying durations (e.g., short-term Treasuries have an effective duration of less than six months vs. U.S. corporate bonds, which have an effective duration of just more than 8 years) and credit quality. The level of diversification further helps you manage risk. Dan Egan, Betterment’s Director of Behavioral Finance and Investing, examined the increase in returns by moving from a U.S.-only portfolio to a globally diversified portfolio. On a risk-adjusted basis, the Betterment portfolio has historically outperformed a simple DIY investor portfolio by as much as 1.8% per year, attributed solely to diversification. Now, let’s assume that the investor at hand (Investor A) is a sophisticated investor who understands the importance of diversification. Additionally, let’s assume that he understands the optimal allocation for his age, risk appetite, and investment horizon. Investor A will still benefit from investing with Betterment. Automating his portfolio management with Betterment helps to insulate Investor A from the ’behavior gap,’ or the tendency for investors to sacrifice returns due to bad timing. Studies show that individual investors lose, on average, anywhere between 1.2% to 4.3% due to the behavior gap, and this gap can be as high as 6.5% for the most active investors. Compared to the average investor, Betterment customers have a behavior gap that is 1.25% lower. How? Betterment has implemented smart design to discourage market timing and short-sighted decision making. For example, Betterment’s Tax Impact Preview feature allows users to view the tax hit of a withdrawal or allocation change before a decision is made. Currently, Betterment is the only automated investment service to offer this capability. This function allows you to see a detailed estimate of the expected gains or losses broken down by short- and long-term, making it possible for investors to make better decisions about whether short-term gains should be deferred to the long-term. Now, for the sake of comparison, let’s assume that we have an even more sophisticated investor (Investor B), who understands the pitfalls of the behavior gap and is somehow able to avoid it. Betterment is still a better tool for Investor B because it offers a suite of tax-efficient features, including tax loss harvesting, smarter cost-basis accounting, municipal bonds, smart dividend reinvesting, and more. Each of these strategies can be automatically deployed inside the portfolio—Investor B need not do a thing. Each of these strategies can boost returns by lowering tax exposure. To return to your initial question—why not simply invest in the S&P 500? Investing is a long-term proposition, particularly when saving for retirement or other goals with a time horizon of several decades. To be a successful long-term investor means employing the core principles of diversification, tax management, and behavior management. While the S&P might look like a ‘hot’ investment one year, there are always reversals of fortune. The goal with long-term passive investing—the kind of investing that Betterment offers—is to help you reach your investing goals as efficiently as possible. Lastly, Betterment offers best-in-industry advice about where to save and how much to save for no fee.


I hear what you are saying, but it doesn't seem to ring true. The subsidies again may exacerbate the issue, but they aren't CAUSING the issue. The real issue is the regulatory burden in your explanation here, not the subsidies. But again, I think the large companies' abilities to sue forever, or buy out of existence, the smaller companies, or to gain regulation that does disproportionately favor the larger companies, is the real issue, then. Subsidies are only a catalyst to help the process go faster.


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$10.90 for every $1000 per year. Are you kidding me!!! These are usually hidden within the expense ratio of the plan funds, but >1% seems to be quite a lot regardless. FUND X 1 year return 3% 3 year return 6% 10 year return 5% What does that exactly mean? This is the average annual rate of return. If measured for the last 3 years, the average annual rate of return is 6%, if measured for 1 year - it's 3%. What it means is that out of the last 3 years, the last year return was not the best, the previous two were much better. Does that mean that if I hold my mutual funds for 10 years I will get 5% return on it. Definitely not. Past performance doesn't promise anything for the future. It is merely a guidance for you, a comparison measure between the funds. You can assume that if in the past the fund performed certain way, then given the same conditions in the future, it will perform the same again. But it is in no way a promise or a guarantee of anything. Since my 401K plan stinks what are my options. If I put my money in a traditional IRA then I lose my pre tax benefits right! Wrong, IRA is pre-tax as well. But the pre-tax deduction limits for IRA are much lower than for 401k. You can consider investing in the 401k, and then rolling over to a IRA which will allow better investment options. After your update: Just clearing up the question. My current employer has a 401K. Most of the funds have the expense ratio of 1.20%. There is NO MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS. Ouch. Should I convert the 401K of my old company to Traditional IRA and start investing in that instead of investing in the new employer 401K plan with high fees. You should probably consider rolling over the old company 401k to a traditional IRA. However, it is unrelated to the current employer's 401k. If you're contributing up to the max to the Roth IRA, you can't add any additional contributions to traditional IRA on top of that - the $5000 limit is for both, and the AGI limitations for Roth are higher, so you're likely not able to contribute anything at all to the traditional IRA. You can contribute to the employer's 401k. You have to consider if the rather high expenses are worth the tax deferral for you.


I'm going to be a bit off topic and recommend 'The Only Investment Book You'll Ever Need' by Andrew Tobias. It doesn't start with describe the workings of the stock market. Instead, it starts with making sure you have a budget and have your basic finances in order BEFORE going into the stock market. This may not sound like what you are looking for, but it really is a valuable book to read, even if you think you are all set up in that department.


"The only people who benefit from ""Kleenex's consumption"" are Kimberley-Clark's owners, workers/management, and the people that consume their products. A being called ""kleenex"" doesn't exist to reap the rewards. If you are truly in support of ""money going to the people who work for a living"" then you should be 100% in support of removing corporate taxes, and simply taxing wealth. This is because corporate taxes cut equally among the owners, and every middle-class citizen is going to have a 401k or IRA. On top of corporate taxes hitting the middle-class, if the good that the corporation is selling is relatively inelastic, and a lot of goods are, then a portion of the costs of corporate taxes get passed onto the consumer anyway."


"In your example, you said if someone calls for a 75% decline in the market next year, and instead it happens in 3 years, it's still a good call in your book. This is what I, and I believe mjvcaj, disagree with. Without a time frame, or an incorrect time frame, you're essentially just making a blanket statement and hoping for the best. Otherwise anyone can ""predict"" what's going to happen, as long as you're vague about the details."


They are four quarterly estimated tax payments. The IRS requires that you pay your taxes throughout the year (withholding in a W-2 job). You'll need to estimate how much taxes you think you might be owing and then pay roughly 1/4 at each of the 4 deadlines. From the IRS: How To Figure Estimated Tax To figure your estimated tax, you must figure your expected AGI, taxable income, taxes, deductions, and credits for the year. When figuring your 2011 estimated tax, it may be helpful to use your income, deductions, and credits for 2010 as a starting point. Use your 2010 federal tax return as a guide. You can use Form 1040-ES to figure your estimated tax. Nonresident aliens use Form 1040-ES (NR) to figure estimated tax. You must make adjustments both for changes in your own situation and for recent changes in the tax law. For 2011, there are several changes in the law. Some of these changes are discussed under What's New for 2011 beginning on page 2. For information about these and other changes in the law, visit the IRS website at IRS.gov. The instructions for Form 1040-ES include a worksheet to help you figure your estimated tax. Keep the worksheet for your records. You may find some value from hiring a CPA to help you setup your estimated tax payments and amounts.


if your end game is corporate, a PhD might be a bit overkill (source: phd holder who works in banking). if you want to be very technical (coding, analytics, quant finance), then the PhD might make sense. if that isn’t you and you don’t want academia, don’t do it. the phd is a really long haul. MFin gives you a stronger theoretical framework than an MBA, however for recruitment, MBAs tend to fare better and more easily getting into finance. the CFA in theory could fill in the finance gaps missing in the MBA. at any rate, if you’re dedicated and persevere, you’ll get wherever you want to be in due time with any of these choices.


Just to be clear, I've been in the industry, specifically in government and regulatory affairs, seven years. In the US, there is generation, transmission, distribution, merchant function/retail function, and government impositions (fees, taxes, environmental regulations, etc), *just like presented in the image.* In my experience, attributing approximately 50% to T&D and 50% to everything else is pretty accurate (in fact, T&D costs are often higher than all the others). I'm sure our overall rates are lower (depending on location -- Hawaii's rates are astronomical), but I don't think these percentages are that off.


Not only are they high volume but also most finish materials are very basic. For example lighting fixtures, most builders put ceiling fans in all bedrooms ($75) where Rausch coleman uses a flush mount ($15) in the spare bedrooms. Same with flooring they use a vinyl plank where most builders use wood. This can be $1sqft or more cheaper. Cabinets, carpet, tile, countertops, faucets, all they same. These are all cosmetics and you can save a ton of money while building by doing this and still build a quality home. Rausch Coleman builds a quality home at an affordable price by keeping the cosmetics basic.


"I am guessing you are being downvoted by people who wish they had two devices. The reason being: When your personal phone is your work phone, you are always on call. Quite frankly, that sucks. Give me two separate phones any day. If people need to contact you during the work day, they call your work line. If people from work need to contact you after work, too bad, that shitty work smartphone ""ran out of power"" around 5pm ;-)"


Law Office of Daniel J. Caplis Each year, millions of people get injured to the point where they need medical treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 31 million people will suffer an injury in a given year. Of those, two million will need to be hospitalized, and 162,000 will die from their injuries.


Several years ago a study found that US healthcare was so bad that a very large number of people died unnecessarily who would not have died if they were in one of the more advanced countries. [New Study: U.S. Ranks Last Among High-Income Nations on Preventable Deaths, Lagging Behind as Others Improve More Rapidly](http://www.commonwealthfund.org/News/News-Releases/2011/Sep/US-Ranks-Last-on-Preventable-Deaths.aspx)


"That depends on on the Global Macro you're applying for; your best bet is to look at their investment policy/strategy on their website. If that's not available, it's actually a good interview question (i.e. a question for you to ask the interviewer). To be clear, what I think is a good question for you to ask is ""so what's your investment strategy?"" It shows that the candidate isn't presuming anything and that s/he knows that there's an adherence to an underlying discipline. In my opinion, don't pitch anything. If it was me; even if I did know their investment approach, I wouldn't pitch an idea in an interview, unless asked. If they do ask you for your opinion, tell them your idea (assuming that you know their investment approach and what your pitching adheres to it). Interviewers sometimes ask such questions to gauge whether you have a ""finger on the pulse of the market"". So in summary: 1. Find out their investment strategy. 2. If it's not online, then ask what it is in the interview. 3. Show that you understand the strategy. 4. Don't pitch an idea unless asked; if asked, show how your idea adheres to the underlying strategy."


It's absolutely going to come eventually. But making a $15 minimum will make it happen right away, and there will be a cascade effect because everyone down the line will want a raise as well, and companies will figure out how to get rid of those people as well.


If you're audited routinely you probably have an accountant to get this straight. It's not something that I would be too worried about as it is purely journal-entry issue, there's no problem with the actual money. Mistakes happen. I'd suggest converting the currency, taking loss/gain on the conversion as a capital loss/gain, and credit the correct currency to the correct account. If GnuCash causes problems - just record it in the EUR equivalent, putting in notes the actual SGD value. Note that I'm not an accountant and this is not a professional advice.


This was excellent. VCs buy amazing ideas and people all the time for so little. It was good to see someone who knows what their idea and execution are worth and stick to their guns. I see small businesses sell for 2x revenue all the time and then flip on IPO for 10-20x earnings after some growth. When you have a good team and process, let it ride.


"There are websites out there that let people apply for micro-loans, and let other people fund those loans, and get a percent of the interest back as the loans are paid off. I have heard of people with spare cash ""investing"" in these sites. However, I don't think there is a guarantee of return of your money, and I have heard mixed reviews by people, so I will not link to any such sites here."


This is not your problem and you should not try to fix it. If your employer paid money into someone else's account instead of yours they should ask their bank to reverse it and should pay you your wages while they are waiting for this to be done. No bank will let you do anything about money paid by someone else into an account that is not yours, or give you details of someone else's account.


"This is not intended as legal advice, and only covers general knowledge I have on the subject of wills as a result of handling my own finances. Each state of the USA has its own laws on wills and trusts. You can find these online. For example, in Kentucky I found state laws here: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/krs/titles.htm and Title XXXIV is about wills and trusts. I would recommend reading this, and then talking to a lawyer if it is not crystal clear. Generally, if a lawyer does not draft your will, then either (1) you have no will, or (2) you use a form or computer program to make a will, that must then be properly witnessed before it is valid. If you don't have it witnessed properly, then you have no will. In some states you can have a holographic will, which means a will in your own handwriting. That's when you have that 3am heart attack, and you get out a pad of paper and write ""I rescind all former wills hereby bequeathing everything to my mistress Samantha, and as to the rest of you go rot in hell. "" One issue with these is that they have to get to court somehow, and someone has to verify the handwriting, and there are often state laws about excluding a current spouse, so you can guess for yourself whether that one might disappear in the fireplace when another family member finds it next to the body or if a court would give it validity. And there can be logic or grammar problems with do it yourself wills, made in your own handwriting, without experience or good references on how to write things out. Lawyers who have done a bunch of these know what is clear and makes sense. (1) In Tennessee, where I live, an intestate's property, someone who died with no will, is divided according to the law. The law looks to find a spouse or relatives to divide the property, before considering giving it to the state. That might be fine for some people. It happened once in my family, and was resolved in court with minimal red tape. But it really depends on the person. Someone in the middle of an unfinalized divorce, for instance, probably needs a will help to sort out who gets what. (2) A form will is valid in Tennessee if it is witnessed properly. That means two witnesses, who sign in yours' and each others' presence. In theory they can be called to testify that the signature is valid. In practice, I don't know if this happens as I am not a lawyer. I have found it difficult to find witnesses who will sign a form will, and it is disconcerting to have to ask friends or coworkers for this sort of favor as most people learn never to sign anything without reading it. But a lawyer often has secretaries that do it... There is a procedure and a treaty for international wills, which I know about from living overseas. To streamline things, you can get the witnesses to each sign an affidavit after they signed the will. The affidavit is sworn written testimony of what happened, that they saw the person sign their will and sign in each others' presence, when, where, no duress, etc. If done correctly, this can be sufficient to prove the will without calling on witnesses. There is another option (3) you arrange your affairs so that most of your funds are disbursed by banks or brokers holding your accounts. Option (3) is really cheap, most stock brokers and banks will create a Transfer-On-Death notice on your account for free. The problem with this is that you also need to write out a letter that explains to your heirs how to get this money, and you need to make sure that they will get the letter if you are dead. Also, you can't deal with physical goods or appoint a guardian for children this way. The advantage of a lawyer is that you know the document is correct and according to local law and custom, and also the lawyer might provide additional services like storing the will in his safe. You can get personalized help that you can not get with a form or computer program."


The market is efficient, but it is not perfectly efficient. There are entities out there that consistently, legitimately, and significantly outperform the market because of asymmetric information (not necessarily insider trading) and their competitive advantage (access to data and proprietary, highly sophisticated models)*. I say this despite most hedge funds performing worse than their respective benchmarks. For most people (even very smart people) it makes a lot of sense to invest in index funds with a reasonable asset allocation (based on desired volatility, tax situation, rebalancing methods etc.). * The usual example that is cited is RT's Medallion Fund because it has enjoyed quite dramatic returns. Other groups that have been successful include Citadel and Soros Fund Management.


given that japan is just about out of savings (due to their policy of QE and stealing wealth from everyone else and giving it to zombie banks for the last 15 years, creating loses in median income, rises energy and food costs and leading to a generation of people whom a signifigant propotion of them will never be employable because there are no jobs because the economy is not growing), pretty soon there is going to come a time when the massively overburdened japanese citizenry cannot afford to buy any more govt debt. when that happens they'll have to get foreign buyers. foreign buyers will laugh at them, and japan's debt market will implode.


This bit of marketing, like the zero-percent introductory rates some banks offer, is intended to make you more willing to carry a balance, and they're hoping you'll continue that bad habit after the rate goes back up. If you don't think you'll be tempted by the lower rate, yhere's no reason not to accept (unless there's something in the fine print that changes your agreement in other ways; read carefully). But as you say, there's no reason to accept ir either. I'd ignore it.


"Collateralized & Secured are interchangeable terms. Note the following two quotes from wikipedia (links below): ""A secured loan is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset (e.g. a car or property) as collateral for the loan, which then becomes a secured debt owed to the creditor who gives the loan."" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secured_loan ""In lending agreements, collateral is a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan."" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collateral_%28finance%29 This website also uses the terms interchangeably: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-collateral-loan.htm Loan & Line of Credit are not interchangeable terms. In a loan, you receive a one time disbursement & repay it over a fixed amortization schedule. (Think home mortgage) In a line of credit, you can pay back & re-borrow from your credit line as often as you need. (Think credit card or Home Equity Line of Credit)"


Born in Hong Kong and worked for a Hong Kong bank but still can't speak Mandarin as a middle aged man? Lol, no one to blame but yourself. If you're in a country and they give you a job, and a nice cozy banking one at that, take the time to learn the fucking language.


"Says who? Or is this just something you *think* makes sense, because on first glance it does. Many studies show privatizing basic government functions like waste removal, prisons etc. to contractors ends up costing the government more. Recent study that shows that its more expensive: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/us/13contractor.html Specifically on government military private contractors, via this link, bottom of the page: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/contractors/ceff.html Steven Schooner Professor, The George Washington University Law School; expert on government contracting ""I don't think there's any question that no one knows whether it's cheaper or not. One of the best studies we've seen on whether outsourcing saves money is the RAND study, which is now a few years old. And what the RAND study says is there's the potential for immense cost-saving in outsourcing. But it hasn't been proven yet. There's a number of episodic studies since, but there has not been a compelling case made that government outsourcing, particularly this type of outsourcing, saves money."" Full interview: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/interviews/schooner.html He makes your point however that the savings is thought to come from savings in paying someone before and keeping them on payroll when we're not in a military activity that requires their services. No pension after, no payroll before. Thus the increase in compensation is a lot higher. However it doesn't mean its conclusive to show that it *does*save money."


"> However, ""bubble"" implies an undeserved/irrational increase. I say that because of the artificially low supply enforced by property owners. SF is notorious for this. It's not self regulating when the market cannot respond to demand because of government/city council interference."


We aim to keep 6 months of expenses. The rationale is that its enough time to recover from most serious illnesses (that you can recover from) or a redundancy or pay for a large unexpected problem not covered by the insurance (e.g. the boiler dying). It also gives us enough time to reorganise finances if needed. For example we could get out of contracts (like mobile phones, sky TV), sell the car, and maybe even find a cheaper house if needed in that time. It will take a good chunk of time to build up that amount and it's worth considering how many commitments you have (kids, wife, mortgage, car...) as the fewer you have the less you need. If you have fewer commitments you can be comfortable with much less contingency. When I lived in rented accomodation and didn't run a car or have many possessions, I just maintained enough cash to cover my bills for about 6 weeks, this would give me enough time to find another job, and if I didn't get one I could always crash round a friend's house.


I'm surprised that [Theranos](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/05/theranos-board-response-deposition-court-documents) isn't at or near the top. It went from $9 billion valuation to more or less worthless, all based on technological claims that never lived up to their claims, and with an all-star Board of Advisors. It's pretty much the definition of a hype bubble with an epic collapse. I suppose it's not as immediate a catastrophic failure as some of the ones on the list, but the size of the failure and collapse dwarfs most of them.


Net worth in local currency.


"Assuming the numbers work out roughly the same (and you can frankly whip up a spreadsheet to prove that out), a defined benefit scheme that pays out an amount equal to an annuitized return from a 401(k) is better. The reason is not monetary - it is that the same return is being had at less risk. Put another way, if your defined benefit was guaranteed to be $100/month, and your 401(k) had a contribution that eventually gets to a lump sum that, if annuitized for the same life expectancy gave you $100/month, the DB is better because there is less chance that you won't see the money. Or, put even simpler, which is more likely? That New York goes Bankrupt and is relieved of all pension obligations, or, the stock market underperforms expectations. Neither can be ruled out, but assuming even the same benefit, lower risk is better. Now, the complication in your scenario is that your new job pays better. As such, it is possible that you might be able to accumulate more savings in your 401(k) than you might in the DB scheme. Then again, even with the opportunity to do so, there is no guarantee that you will. As such, even modelling it out really isn't going to dismiss the key variables. As such, can I suggest a different approach? Which job is going to make you happier now? Part of that may be money, part of that may be what you are actually doing. But you should focus on that question. The marginal consideration of retirement is really moot - in theory, an IRA contribution can be made that would equalize your 401(k), negating it from the equation. Grant you, there is very slightly different tax treatment, and the phaseout limits differ, but at the salary ranges you are looking at, you could, in theory, make decisions that would have the same retirement outcome in any event. The real question is then not, ""What is the effect in 20 years?"" but rather, which makes you happier now?"


Adding on to all the fine answers, you can consider selling a covered call. You will have to own a minimum of 100 shares. It will offer a bit of protection, but limit your upside. If your confident long term, but expect a broader market pull back then a covered call might give you that small protection your looking for.


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">One presidential election is not going to break a business in such a cut-and-dry fashion. Maybe it's the straw that broke the camel's back. I hate when people use the argument ""Oh, this one thing won't or will do whatever,"" because it implies that camels have infinitely strong backs."


I thought that was strange too. BoA is infested with criminals. They wouldn't know a sustainable business model if it bit them in the ass, and they are losing all of their customers because of it. As they fall, everyone at the top is going to suck from the company everything that they think they are entitled to, and the expense is going to fall on the shareholders. Maybe he was predicting a pity purchase, or a bailout, but there is no way that he thought that this was a good long term move. Very uncharacteristic.


> But the amatuer quality products have caught up to the point where it can start competing. This is a very common misconception. Owning a pro camera does not make you a professional photographer in the same way that owning a pipe wrench does not make you a plumber or owning a pencil doesn't make you an artist. It's not the tool, it's the person holding it.


Well this is weird (although not unexpected). Only major piece of legislation passed so far is sanctions on Russia where Congress went around the president. Now this where Congress goes around the president. I see a pattern developing and I like the pattern. (Also, it must infuriate Emporer Orange and that makes me smile)


>This is your government at work; instead of funding treatment programs. Legalize it, then you can TAX it (and -- to some extent -- control distribution via licensing), instead of pissing away taxes trying to stop it (which just never works... and actually makes trafficking in the shit MORE profitable).


Perhaps you have heard of 'The Paris Accord'. No? Shame. The entire rest of the world signed on to it. So, yay 'murica and all but the rest of the world is dropping dollars on that big time. Norway banned oil heating in all homes and businesses. 100,000 homes and business have 2 years to scrap their oil heating systems. 2 years! Germany completely banned the sale of internal combustion engines by 2030, India 2031, Norway, 2025, china wants 60% of the whole fleet to be electric in cities by 2030. Canada is raising their carbon taxes even higher, BC alone is set to $40mil on public car chargers this year and that is just the public money. The rest of the world is moving and America is being left behind. 10 gigafactory sized battery plants are currently under construction and battery prices have been dropping by 30% per kwh per year every year. Power storage is expected to be the next semiconductor race for costs. Like smartphones, this is the next tech boom and reading what is going on the industry right now is staggering. They are ramping up battery production like no time seen in recent history. Oil prices are as much a function of speculation into the future as right now. The entire industry is slashing investment because they know that in a few short years it will become a shrink industry and that is not good for the bottom line. Saudi Arabia and most oil countries with 'cheap easy oil' are now vested in pumping as much oil as they can in the next decade. Leaders have quoted as saying 'what we don't pump in the next 10-15 years will never be pumped'. The race is now on to pump cheap oil fast because these guys have driven tesla P85D's and they know what's up. Prices will continue to stay low because they want to crush the competition and be the last to sell oil. Holding on to their vast reserves is now bad for business where as before it was waiting for higher prices when you close the tap.


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And besides a personal attack, to the points I made, do you have anything to say? My usual conclusion when I get a personal attack with no substance is that the other side has no counter claims and no clue what they are talking about.


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Here is a simple answer: Most merchants do not charge customers, but you can.


Sorry for the late reply. Nonetheless the Dow has the same pros as any other index but what sticks out to me is that all of the stocks are extremely popular with private investors. In my experience it helps to compare stock development of competitors in terms of popularity.


You clearly are not paying attention to what Walmart is doing and how smart they are doing it. They have an insane amount of stores and network far beyond Amazon for shipping/receiving and a far more dedicated customer base. They are also diving into areas that make middle class Americans love the fuck out of them. There stock price is where it should be unlike Amazons insanely inflated price. The best part is they are doing it even more intelligently than Amazon who is putting far to many hands in the cookie Jar. Their spending power and market cap can easily match Amazon if not exceed it. They are also not trying to squash out the middle man they are building UP the middle man. Also, if you think Walmart has no manufacturing you need to educate your self heavily on what they are doing here in the states. EDIT:I'll clarify...I in now way like Amazon or Walmart as a company past financial gains. I think they are both cunts of company's that could and should treat their employees better and I wish they would.


"To add to Jason's answer; a further mechanism is that of monopoly rents which you mention in your question. Movie theatres are often in shopping complexes (which themselves may offer a particular cinema exclusivity), or physically remote from each other, making price comparison more difficult. Different companies may not offer the same movies (similar to the way phone companies offer difficult-to-compare contract pricing). Once you've paid for your movie ticket, if you're suddenly thirsty or peckish, the theatre is the only place selling snacks. Many theatres (including film theatres) discourage (or refuse) patrons from consuming products purchased elsewhere on site. A sense of ""capture"" is reinforced with ticket collection at the entrance or some form of barrier (inside vs outside the cordon). A theatre can thus capture their patrons and then leverage that access in order to discriminate amongst the higher-paying consumers mentioned by Jason."


"BestInvest is a UK site looking at that URL, base on the ""co.uk"" ending. Yahoo! Finance that you use is a US-based site unless you add something else to the URL. UK & Ireland Yahoo! Finance is different from where you were as there is something to be said for where are you looking. If I was looking for a quarter dollar there are Canadian and American coins that meet this so there is something to be said for a higher level of categorization being done. ""EUN.L"" would likely denote the ""London"" exchange as tickers are exchange-specific you do realize, right?"


Sure, having great customer support is good... but so is having great products, great prices, etc. At the end of the day a company still needs to figure out how to balance time & money spent across engineering, support, marketing, sales, manufacturing... Frankly, having the CEO do windows support for customers is rarely going to be a winning strategy.


Your friend would have only been liable for a tax penalty if he withdrew more 529 money than he reported for qualified expenses. That said, if he took the distribution in his name, it triggers a 1099-Q report to the IRS in his name rather than his beneficiaries. This will likely be flagged by the IRS, since it looks like he withdrew the money, but didn't pay taxes and penalties on it, not the beneficiary. In other words, qualified education expenses only apply to the beneficiary, not the plan owner/contributor. In this case, the IRS would request additional documentation to show that the expenses were indeed qualified. To avoid this hassle, it's easiest to make sure the distribution is payed directly to the beneficiary rather than yourself. Once he or she has the check, then have them sign the check over to you or transfer it into your account. Otherwise you trigger an IRS 1099-Q in your name rather than your beneficiary.


"There are three aspects of what to value gold over. It doesn't easily chemically react with anything, so it stays pure over a long period of time (vs, say a bar of iron or a bar of butter). So it's valuable so far as it doesn't rot. It is shiny, and there is the historical allure of having a bag of shiny, jingly gold coins. Other people will give you other items of perceived value in exchange for it. I believe it was Warren Buffett who stated his opinion on gold - paraphrased such: ""You pay people to dig it out of the ground, you pay people to purify it and pour into forms, you pay people to verify the number of nine's purity in it, you pay people to build a secure building to store it in, and you pay people to stand around and guard it. Where is the value in that?"""


While I think that electric cars are the future I also think it will not be Telsa making the money. Once all the big players with their massive production capacity are fully in the market, I think Tesla will be blown away. Edit: Typo 2nd edit: I am short Tesla


"> Do you know why it's so popular? I thought other trucks are pretty good too. Well, for starters because FORD (the company) is considered a more solid brand/firm -- the two chief competitors (Chevy/GMC & Chrysler/Dodge) are considered by some (many actually) to have ""soiled"" themselves in the financial crash of 2008-2009. I know many previously ""loyal"" GM fans who swore after it became ""Government Motors"" that they would never buy another GM... and the vast majority of them switched over to Ford. And Chrysler -- having gone through various owners -- is likewise looked at somewhat dubiously by many. You have to keep in mind that business owners are (generally) not just thinking of a singular vehicle purchase, but of a series of such purchases (often over years and decades), as well as the supply of parts, the availability & consistency of service & support (whether internal in company ""shops"" or at dealers) and so on... anything & everything that brings those things into the ""question mark"" territory, tends to reduce confidence, and thus shift the focus onto other brands that seem to be more ""stable"". >You're right that they get burned out quickly, although I'd think there'd be a longevity version of trucks by now. That would be part of the reputation of the F series, and especially the F150... it is widely considered to be one of the BEST (longest lasting, least problematic) vehicles made. >aren't toyota trucks very long living? Yes and yet no. The history/reputation has been a bit more ""spotty"" than with Ford. The same is true of Dodge, GMC and the other brands. Certainly there will be people who think/believe/state otherwise -- I myself own a Dodge that I am generally VERY happy with, and I know others who have Chevy/GMC and other brands and are likewise quite happy with them -- but over the years, Ford has undisputably built up a solid reputation with it's truck line."


"There is no zero risk option! There is no safe parking zone for turbulent times! There is no such thing as a zero-risk investment. You would do well to get this out of your head now. Cash, though it will retain its principle over time, will always be subject to inflation risk (assuming a positive-inflation environment which, historically in the US anyway, has always been the case since the Great Depression). But I couldn't find a ""Pure Cash - No investment option"" - what I mean by this is an option where my money is kept idle without investing in any kind of financial instrument (stocks, bonds, other MFs, currencies, forex etc etc whatever). Getting back to the real crux of your question, several other answers have already highlighted that you're looking for a money market fund. These will likely be as close to cash as you will get in a retirement account for the reasons listed in @KentA's answer. Investing in short-term notes would also be another relatively low-risk alternative to a money market fund. Again, this is low-risk, not no-risk. I wanted such kinda option because things may turn bad and I may want nothing invested in the stock markets/bond markets. I was thinking that if the market turns bear then I would move everything to cash Unless you have a the innate ability to perfectly time the market, you are better off keeping your investments where they are and riding out the bear market. Cash does not generate dividends - most funds in a retirement account do. Sure, you may have a paper loss of principle in a bear market, but this will go away once the market turns bull again. Assuming you have a fairly long time before you retire, this should not concern you in the slightest. Again, I want to stress that market timing does not work. Even the professionals, who get paid the big bucks to do this, on average, get it right as often as they get it wrong. If you had this ability, you would not be asking financial questions on Stack Exchange, I can tell you that. I would recommend you read The Four Pillars of Investing, by William Bernstein. He has a very no-nonsense approach to investing and retirement that would serve you (or anybody) well in turbulent financial markets. His discussion on risk is especially applicable to your situation."


Limit orders are generally safer than market orders. Market orders take whatever most-favorable price is being offered. This can be especially dangerous in highly volatile stocks which have a significant spread between the bid and ask. That being said, you want to be very careful that you enter the price you intend into a limit order. It is better to be a bit slower at entering your orders than it is to make a terrible mistake like the one you mention in your question.


Try and bring with you a folder full of evidence about your skills and accomplishments, many of the top blue chip companies do what's called evidence-based interviewing and it means you provide evidence to back up your assertions about how great you are. So for example, the interviewer asks how you get on with your colleagues and you provide an email thanking you for being a great team player, or they ask you about research and you show them a piece of research you did. Of course this is harder when you go for your first job, but bring what you can. As an alternative and/or alongside this you can use stories (as someone else said) as a kind of evidence if you don't have any physical evidence. Your story should show systematically how you handled a situation to get a good outcome. If they are a very conservative company they will want you to show that although you can kind of think outside the box, you are not prone to emotional reactions or knee-jerk responses and everything you do is carefully thought out and wouldn't bring them into disrepute if it got covered on the front page of a newspaper. Good luck.


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I'm pretty sure employees were instructed to give loans to people who they knew would not be able to pay it back. [This](http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/12/01/379332/former-banker-subprime-pushed/) (about chase rather than BoA but still relevant) is just from a quick search but the key phrase is predatory lending. So they give out all these loans they knew were at risk and then packaged them up in investments that looked good from the outside but were rotten within. So from what I gather they basically double fucked both people who shouldn't have taken a loan, and then people who invested in whatever investment packages they were selling. Now you know more about the technicalities of all this than I do, so let me ask. What is it that they *did* do that was unscrupulous?


Being from the UK, I'd not heard of a Roth IRA, but it sounds very similar to our own ISA (Individual Savings Account). Having just looked it up, I couldn't believe the annual limit was so low: $5500! Still, you have to work within your jurisdiction's legal framework (or agitate for change?). I would definitely agree with Ben Miller's answer: you need different savings buckets for the different savings objectives you'll have throughout the different periods of your life. I, for instance, am now a parent of two young children. I am fortunate to be able to provide for them on multiple levels: I hope that's of some help.


Yahoo provides dividend data from their Historical Prices section, and selecting Dividends Only, along with the dates you wish to return data for. Here is an example of BHP's dividends dating back to 1998. Further, you can download directly to *.csv format if you wish: http://real-chart.finance.yahoo.com/table.csv?s=BHP.AX&a=00&b=29&c=1988&d=06&e=6&f=2015&g=v&ignore=.csv


I worked for a major shoe retailer's e-commerce division. Our return rate on shoes was nearly 70%. Shoe manufacturers do not size consistently, at almost any price point. Customers had no idea what their size was and would often order a size up and a size down, 3 pairs of shoes, and return all three. They were unable to measure their feet, because there are really no standard measurements for feet. We thought about a 3D scanner from feet, but customers would have to come into the store for that, then we'd have to scan every shoe. Shoes can be high margin, but they are extremely expensive to sell online. There really is no silver bullet here - Foot Locker has nice stores and a great selection. They are cash positive and EBITDA profitable. If AMZN cuts into any body's shoe business, my guess would be Walmart, Target, or TJMaxx. IMO the biggest threat to Footlocker is just general death of the mall...but whatever model replaces malls could just as well have a FL. I think the market has dramatically overreacted - this isn't sears. It's a profitable business that's missed earnings a couple quarters. I bought in and I am long.


Vacuum pumps are the most credible part of any vacuum system and for safe and efficient operation, the right vacuum traps and filters should be installed on the inlet and outlet of the vacuum pump. Proper maintenance of filters and traps can improve the life of the vacuum pump and minimize harmful emissions into the environment.


If he replaced 'our world' with 'I' the quote would make more sense. There are definitely many people who are still driven by logic and reasoning but they just don't need to spew it out their assholes all over social media to make a safe space.


Ok, let me break it down for you. If you post a comment saying something was terrible you better have factual evidence. Hence why that fool got the comment he did because he failed to back up his argument? Savvy?


"100% debt free is an objective. Being there is good, but as long as you have a plan to get there, are sticking to it and it's moving you towards it at a reasonable rate (e.g. ""I will be debt free by the end of 2011.""), you should be in good shape. It's when you don't ever expect to be debt free that you have a problem. Going into debt is one question and a very situation dependent one. Getting back out is another and a very easy one: pay off all debts as a fast as you reasonably can, starting with the highest interest ones. OTOH this doesn't imply that you should forgo every optional expense (including things like savings and entertainment) to pay off debts, that would be unreasonable, but just that paying down debts should always be considered when thinking about what to do with money."


I believe that your son will need to get a new loan for the car in his name only and use the proceeds of that loan to pay off the one you co-signed on. The only way that will happen is if he can find a lender willing to loan him the money based on his credit only. From the current lender's perspective, if your son isn't a good credit risk, then why would they let someone out of the loan who might be able to pay if your son defaults? If he is a good credit risk, then they, or someone else, should be willing to lend to him without you as co-signer. Also, as Dilip Sarwate mentioned, you might have to do something with the title, depending on whose name it is in.


There's no law that prohibits a US citizen or US LPR from holding an account abroad, at least in a country that's not subject to some sort of embargo, so I don't see how it could affect your wife's chances of getting US citizenship when she's eligible. As mentioned by other posters, you'll have to file FBAR if the money you have in all your accounts abroad exceeds $10k at any point of the year and if the account pays any interest, you'll have to tell the IRS about the interest paid and (if applicable) taxes you paid on the interest income abroad.


"So what is preventing people from racking up as much credit card debt as possible in cash advances or consumer goods or whatnot, and then walking away from it? Then rinse and repeat once the debt is ""gone forever""? It seems too good to be true - either there's something missing there, or people would be getting tens of thousands of dollars for free every half decade..."


Yes - it's called the rate of inflation. The rate of return over the rate of inflation is called the real rate of return. So if a currency experiences a 2% rate of inflation, and your investment makes a 3% rate of return, your real rate of return is only 1%. One problem is that inflation is always backwards-looking, while investment returns are always forward-looking. There are ways to calculate an expected rate of inflation from foreign exchange futures and other market instruments, though. That said, when comparing investments, typically all investments are in the same currency, so the effect of inflation is the same, and inflation makes no difference in a comparative analysis. When comparing investments in different currencies, then the rate of inflation may become important.


> I didn't imply anything except what I said. It's not time now, it was time a long time ago. Then you are explicitly saying it is to late. Which means the implication deduced earlier was correct. So, shut up.


The typical process is to look at the savings and see how many months it will take to break even on the closing costs. Since you've stated there are no costs, even 1/8% drop in rates is going to save you money. A savings of over 1.5% even on a sub 100K loan is nothing to ignore. You first year interest savings will exceed $1200. How many hours does it take you to earn that much money? (this is a rhetorical question, if that wasn't obvious)


Agreed. But this isn't the fault of business. You could argue that entrepreneurs are failing to some extent in figuring out how to take advantage of an overly-abundant but still somewhat valuable resource (low skilled labor). However, with complex work rules, and laws that make it illegal to offer workers wages commensurate to their skill level, I think it the problem of unemployment is can be more correctly blamed on government. Lack of education/skill translates to lower wages. Having an artificial cut-off, making it illegal to hire low-skilled workers makes increased unemployment of low skilled workers inevitable.


That's a loaded question. Economists can't even agree on an answer from a purely economic point of view. I will say this... I think that many people who are advocating radical cutbacks in spending (Republicans and Tea Partiers) are deluding themselves in two important ways: 1) That it's possible to balance the budget without raising revenues. I don't think very many economists agree with this premise. Even Paul Ryan's plan to balance the budget, should one take a hard look at the number, clearly show how impossible it is. There would either have to be tax hikes **OR** we slash the military to a fraction of its size now **AND** leave no money for pretty much anything else (like roads, highways, air traffic control, food safety inspections, education, farm subsidies, oil subsidies, etc.). 2) More importantly, I think there is an implicit and fundamental belief among right-wingers that the world will somehow stop what it's doing while the US balances its budget. The belief goes that, once we are fiscally healthy, we will remain a superpower and ruling the world like we have for 100 years. This is fundamentally wrong. I think most people, even Tea Partiers, fail to appreciate how fundamentally important America's debt has been to our history. We have essentially borrowed our way into power. Should the right win the day and put in place radical cuts in spending, America's economic, political, diplomatic, cultural, and military influence around the world will be among to go. The dollar will nosedive and so will our standards of living. Our GDP will not be able to support a a political economy that can maintain superpower status. Now, I do not mean to say that I do not agree with the right. From a purely economic point of view, they may very well be right. I'm not even sure there is an option. In fact, a part of me is ready to accept America becoming what France and the UK are now, still having relatively good standards of living but nowhere near the height of their historical powers. Maybe the world will be better for it. I just don't think Tea Partiers appreciate the ultimate result of what they want to see happen.


This isn't totally wrong- there are hedge funds that are long 150% of AUM and short 50%. However, Rentech has said that holding a position for 8 seconds is long for them, so that's not what they're doing. I'd assume the 4X leverage most just refers to option positions that have delta 4 on average. They also may be borrowing money, which they can probably do extremely cheaply since they have a 35 year track record showing they're essentially risk-free.


>If I have a 200-300 mile range EV, then the only time I ever have to worry about the inconvenience of charging up is on a cross country trip. For the other 50 weeks of the year, I don't require the convenience of a gas station, other than to buy beer. As long as you plan ahead... a lot of people like the feeling of security they get knowing they can pop into a nearby gas station on a whim & get max range in a few minutes. Until they can do this with EVs, it will be a significant disadvantage in their eyes over gas-powered.


If #2 is how it really worked I would approve. In the real world, entities who have the money to purchase access have systems which are in a position to execute strategies which shave pennies of of people who want to make real trades. I want to sell for $61.15 and someone wants to buy for $61.10 and the HFT traders force both hands and make their money on that nickel in between us.


FYI: David Knopf is a graduate of Princeton with a BA in Econ. His parents are rich. Like totally fucking rich. You might do better. If your parents make less than $140k, tuition at Princeton is zero. Of course your chance of getting into Princeton, unless you are a legacy admission, or ace the SAT, is about zero. Better bone up on Algebra if you want to ace the SAT. And yes, you ARE a math person. Everyone is. It's just that nobody ever taught you right. Forget about the CCNA or CCNP, that stuff will be obsolete before you would finish learning it. And even if you did, some H-1 visa immigrant will do the job for a quarter of what it would cost you to make a living. I completely sympathize with your situation. I'm not going to pour out my life story, but I always thought I'd be a multimillionaire by the time I was 30. Instead, I have made choices that took a troublesome path, including depression and poverty. Even today I am suffering from choices I made (or avoided making) decades ago. BUT I am suffering only by OTHER people's standards. I don't regret the choices I made. I turned down fast money I could have made by exploiting people, it would have only cost me my soul. I have been exploited by other people, and it taught me the value of dealing with people who have ethics like my own. So ultimately, you have to admit to yourself, you are exactly where you need to be. You are struggling because what you want to do is hard. I am an artist too, and that is just about the hardest thing to do on this earth. If it was easy, anyone could do it. So don't despair, get busy. I remember when I lived in a slum, barely subsisting, but I had a sunny window and a table, I spent $2 on a cheap brush and a tube of black watercolor, and a $2 tablet of cheap watercolor paper. And I sat at that sunny table and made art that made me happy. Nobody but me has ever seen it. And for all the changes I have gone through in decades since, I would give almost anything to be living in abject poverty, sitting at that sunny window with that cheap paintbrush in hand again. [So I'll just leave you with this odd comic by Carol Lay, it's one of my all time favorites.](http://i.imgur.com/4XsDbnE.gif)


Your comment regarding your existing finances is very relevant and helpful. You need to understand that generally in personal finance circles, when a strong earning 22 year-old is looking for a loan it's usually a gross spending problem. Their car costs $1,000 /month and their bar tabs are adding up so the only logical thing to do is get a loan. Most 22-year-olds don't have a mortgage soaking up their income, or a newborn. With all of this in mind I essentially agree with DStanley and, personally, and many people here would probably disagree, I'd stop the 401(K) contribution and use that money to pay the debt. You're still very young from a retirement standpoint, let the current balance ride and forego the match until the debt is paid. I think this is more about being debt free at 22 quickly than it's about how much marginal money could be saved via 401(k) or personal loan or this strategy or that strategy. I think at your age, you'll benefit greatly from simply being debt free. There are other very good answers on this site and other places regarding the pitfalls of a 401(k) loan. The most serious of which is that you have an extremely limited time to pay the entire loan upon leaving the company. Failure to repay in that situation incurs tax liability and penalties. From my quick math, assuming your contribution is 8% of $70,000 /year, you're contributing something in the neighborhood of $460/month to your 401(k). If you stopped contributing you'd probably take home a high $300 number net of taxes. It'll take around 20 months to pay the loan off using this contribution money without considering your existing payments, in total you're probably looking at closer to 15 months. You'll give up something in the neighborhood of $3,500 in match funds over the repayment time. But again, you're 22, you'll resume your contributions at 24; still WAY ahead of most people from a retirement savings standpoint. I don't think my first retirement dollar was contributed until I was about 29. Sure, retirement savings is important, but if you've already started at age 22 you're probably going to end up way ahead of most either way. When you're 60 you're probably not going to bemoan giving up a few grand of employer match in your 20s. That's what I would do. Edit: I actually like stannius's suggestion in the comments below. IF there's enough vested in your plan that is also available for withdrawal that you could just scoop $6,500 out of your 401(k) net of the 10% penalty and federal and state taxes (which would be on the full amount) to pay the debt, I'd consider that instead of stopping the prospective contributions. That way you could continue your contributions and receive the match contributions on a prospective basis. I doubt this is a legitimate option because it's very common for employers to restrict or forbid withdrawal of employee and/or employer contributions made during your employment, but it would be worth looking in to.


Well from that perspective nothing is legal. The legal team we had were not stupid. They put it right in the job description that they had to be Christians because there is a solid history of similar cases that the employers have won. This is the only way in which the company would have been this brazen. They put a big bulls eye on themselves by doing this and no one has sued because other lawyers also know the case history. Unfortunately I do not know the case history as I'm not a lawyer.


yeah no worries, it's tough right, because uber provides an incredibly valuable service, but i'm amazed at how they're able to get away with not vetting their drivers, but at the same time that sort of lack of regulation is what allowed them to expand so rapidly and provide a (usually good) service. Austin TX banned uber and drunk driving rates went up - (https://fee.org/articles/without-uber-or-lyft-austin-experiences-skyrocketing-dui-rates/) Clearly this needs to be worked out, and it's been pretty clear that the management at uber has been incapable of making mature decisions in a lot of areas, but it's also a positive disrupter because it allows a lot of people who are between jobs or out of work to be able to continue to bring in an income without being beholden to the cab companies that hold the medallions and charge the drivers for use of the cars and licensing. I don't know the answer, I think that by providing the matchmaking service there is a level of accountability that is required for uber's vetting of drivers that hasn't yet been reached, but at the same time I think that the primary burden of liability should fall on the drivers themselves unless there's a reorganization and the drivers become employees instead of contractors.


It can be. The problem is that the poor performers either are good at playing the game, or are yes-men to the idea of all of the layers of bureaucracy. Some corporations have high levels of backstabbing and the backstabbers don't like it when you risk messing up their cushy desk jobs that pay $20+/hr


Yep, IMO level 1 is vastly underrated. At 8 amps, I can charge at about 3mph. At 12 amps it's about 4.5mph. If I can plug my car at work into a plain old 15 amp outlet for 8 hours, I'll add between 24 and 36 miles of range to my battery. For most people, that's more than their one way drive into work. So if I leave my house with a full charge, I'll leave work with a full charge too. The primary advantage is that it doesn't cost much to install a couple dozen electrical outlets in a parking lot. BYO charge cable. I travel frequently, and I would love to see more outlets in hotel parking lots and parking garages.


Personally, I have entry and exit signal generating functions, which also have sizing, stop and target functions... E.g. based on some entry you have an optimal bet, take profit and stop loss. Algorithmic execution is generally used for large orders to prevent walking the book.


The issue is online stores driving prices down and that drives down revenue and more importantly profit. The most effective way to cut costs is to cut wages and that leaves uneducated and under-qualified employees at a retail establishment. The business model simply cannot be sustained. Walmart has it right. Leave everything to the consumer to decide and neglect to give them assistance. Until a sales associate earns more than their wage in profit, they are losing the company money (assuming their only job is to sell). Electronics sales has very little profit outside of the extra items such as cables, cases, protection plans, etc. So they really have to be a professional sales associate to be valuable. Professionals cost money and become the managers (or more) which brings us back to the uneducated and under-qualified associates that walk the floors.


Cute conspiratorial story. A cabal of evil grocery store owners set up a sprawling and risky supply chain overseas so they can pay more for their products for the express purpose of paying their employees market wages for their labor? Grocery store workers are not underpaid. If they were, they could walk across the street and make more money at a competitor. So if the profit margins are fat on the supplier side, somehow competition would come in there either? You can't have it both ways. The vast majority of food products sold in grocery stores in North America are grown, manufactured and sold right here in North America. There's no way to explain it away - the grocery store market is viciously competitive and profit margins are slim.


Are you serious? Voting for more social services for poor people hurts those with money by either raising their tax burden and/or reducing government expenditures that would have otherwise directly benefited them. By giving blacks the vote, the white population's votes by definition carry less weight. Thus they've hurt their own ability to influence government. I hope you can see the list goes on.


WP7 was indeed a totally new OS. There is nothing it has in common with the desktop Win7. In Win8 they're trying to merge desktop and mobile, but WP8 will still be an entirely new interface for most users. > You want you OS to feel familiar and comfy, not different on every device. From a consumer's point of view, that's perfectly true. One of the biggest frustrations with Android is the lack of updates. However, from the manufacturer's point of view a platform-wide homogenous experience is a bad thing. How can a Samsung differentiate itself from an HTC if not for the UX? Hardware quality does play a role but it isn't as in-your-face and easily sellable as the UX. This is one reason why manufacturers other than Nokia aren't pushing WP7 as aggressively as they push Android. MSFT is betting the company on the Win8/WP8/Metro combination, and I agree that this combination can be lethal to competitors. But the only way they can do it is by going vertical and manufacturing their own devices.


Wages were not what did Circuit City in that is a very bold assumption. I would say the saturation of the electronics market and the failing (at the time) carmax was the beginning of the end. Not to mention the failed Canada expansion project.


"I think that ""better"" is up to a discussion, but the difference is that while in trust you can control the money after your death in some way - giving it directly to children means you have no such control. I.e.: in trust you can stipulate that the children will be able to spend the money under certain terms or in certain ways (for example - for college, only after getting married, no more than 10% of the value a year, etc), giving their names as the beneficiaries means that they get the money and can do with it whatever they please. BTW: ""Minor"" has nothing to do with it. They don't have to be minors, or your children at all."


Shit happens, even to the most senior in their field. It was not intentional nor malicious, so, no problem for the client. Don't make it a bigger deal than it really is and don't beat yourself up. We're all human.


If it's not the classic scam described in Daniel Anderson's answer, then it's probably money laundering. In that case, the woman would actually wire you money, which you have to wire to someone else she names. This is done to enter illegally gained money into the regular money circulation, hiding the trail. If this is the case, you would have to do many transfers, and the woman might actually pay you for performing this service. And then, one day, when the FBI/police busts some people and follows the illegal money trail they'll end up at your dad. Or rather, at you, because the account is in your name. And then you'll have a lot of explaining to do and a lot of time in jail to think about what a bad idea this was. See this question for an example of this. This answer also touches on the subject. Close the account, and run away from this. No good will come of it. It's very simple: if someone you don't know (or sometimes, you do know) contacts you and offers you easy money, they are getting something out of it at your expense. Period. It might be a scam where they somehow end up with the money, or you might be doing something illegal for them, but it always benefits them, not you. As a final thought, you also write: I had to get the bank account in my name because my dad has bad notices on his records for falling for fraud traps ... What makes you think this time it will be different? Think carefully, because the bank account is in your name! So when the shit hits the fan, it's you who's in trouble.


An index fund is inherently diversified across its index -- no one stock will either make or break the results. In that case it's a matter of picking the index(es) you want to put the money into. ETFs do permit smaller initial purchases, which would let you do a reasonable mix of sectors. (That seems to be the one advantage of ETFs over traditional funds...?)


"There is no simple rule like ""you can/can't spend more/less than $X per person."" Instead there is a reasonableness test. There is such a thing as an audit of just your travel and entertainment expenses - I know because I've had one for my Ontario corporation. I've deducted company Christmas parties, and going-away dinners for departing employees, without incident. (You know, I presume, about only deducting half of certain expenses?) If the reason for the entertainment is to acquire or keep either employees or clients, there shouldn't be a problem. Things are slightly trickier with very small companies. Microsoft can send an entire team to Hawaii, with their families, as a reward at the end of a tough project, and deduct it. You probably can't send yourself as a similar reward. If your party is strictly for your neighbours, personal friends, and close family, with no clients, potential clients, employees, potential employees, suppliers, or potential suppliers in attendance, then no, don't deduct it. If you imagine yourself telling an auditor why you threw the party and why the business funded it, you'll know whether it's ok to do it or not."