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Regarding the emergency fund question (savings, money market, short bonds, or intermediate bonds): 1. The difference in liquidity should be a non-issue : Say, you become unemployed (in the unlikely case that you don't get unemployment money). You are likely to have access to money that saves you for...

Very frequently, the recommended asset allocations, for an investment horizon of 30-40 years, contain US stocks and the total bond market (average maturity: five years) as the lion's share of the recommended portfolio. However, looking at the historic worst case "valley" (longest period un...

Is it worthwhile to go through the trouble of printing out all transactions of a credit card that has been used for business expenses before the corresponding card is cancelled and destroyed? The expenditures are assumed to have been verified (i.e., assume that the company has reimbursed me with 100...

I've been following the advice of prudent investment advisers and invested most of my savings in stock market index funds. Then, I compare BRK with the domestic stock market and see that it has consistently outperformed it. Now, I feel like a sucker. Why should I go for the market average when I mig...

Thanks for all the answers. I should have stated that I have plenty of garages/storage available at our home and the car is paid in full (no loan outstanding). If you have a low cost place to store this car indoors (eg a barn or a garage), the car is a keeper, and you don't need the cash from the sa...

I'm going back to school for the next two years. When I go to school I won't drive. I know that car insurance companies check if you had prior car insurance to determine the premium and it will be higher if you don't, but I don't know by how much and whether it's worth spending ~$1500 for nothing du...

I owned VGTSX for many years now but only in year 2011 was it a requirement for me to file taxes.

Can I claim foreign tax credit carryovers for past years even though I didn't file taxes during those years?

How can I access that information (i.e., foreign taxes paid in prior years) on Vanguard.com?

But where do you set the method: when filing taxes (i.e., to the IRS) or before selling a fund (i.e., to Vanguard)?

And at what resolution does this method get applied: your entire portfolio or on a per-fund basis?

1. I heard Vanguard integrates with TurboTax. Suppose I sold some index fund shares in a given tax year, will TurboTax automatically go to "Transaction History", figure out when I bought that share (and how much I paid for it) and when I sold the shares (and how much I sold them for) - and...

After Johnny graduated from community college in 2008, he got his first driver's license, car, and car insurance. When talking with the insurance agent, he was told that he would get the Good Student discount even though he is not in school anymore (since it's been so close to his graduation). Johnn...

0% 401(k) contributions is a bad idea? Maybe for Americans who plan to stay here and get old. My situation is different because I could move back to my home-country and give up US citizenship (due to tax reasons). Also, I don't plan on getting that old.

Based on all the info I've read here I'm convinced to set my contributions to 0%. Thanks everyone!

You do not need to take out a loan for a house or a 529 plan. I am trying to get you to understand that you can have your cake and eat it, too. You do not have to pay a penalty nor do you have to pay taxes if you take out a loan and invest the money.. I think my confusion arises from the definition...

Lets say is in this way: The only reason to cancel the card is to give in to my OCD traits (I have 5 cards atm and want to cancel 4). But I have to draw a line if my FICO drops more than, say, 25 points due to this. The FICO decrease due to credit line decrease I dont care about but the payment hist...

Let me rephrase my question: Are you even allowed to withdraw from your 401(k)? Your employer will control this, not the IRS. A way to avoid taxes and penalty is to take out a loan against your 401(k). We do that and invest the money in a tax-free 529 plan. The benefits specialist at my company sai...

I cancelled a USAA card that I had had for 25 years. I didn't worry about it. May I ask this: What would happen if your FICO went down by 10 points? Would it be the end of the world? Payment history makes up 35%....this was my only card up until 2months ago and Ive never used any other credit/loan

livesoft wrote:Are you allowed to withdraw from your 401(k) without penalty?

I thought the IRS defines a 10% penalty on it...

1. Suppose my salary is $60,000 and my company offers to match 50% on the first 6% My plan is to invest the pretax range where I get matched (6%), then immediately withdraw it for a total investment of [Company match]*[fraction left after 10% penalty]*[match range]*[pretax] =1.5 * .06 * 60 000 Penal...

I have a card since 06 but it doesn't offer any cashback so I wan't to cancel it. I have paid every bill on time. Will my FICO go down if the credit line gets transfered over to my other credit card of the same bank? I'm worried that the credit history component of FICO will be erased by cancelling ...

According to the article below, it looks like, for now at least, the act does not require insurance companies to insure adult children with access to employer-sponsored health plans. But, if the adult child does not have access to one of these plans, even if a non-student, not claimed as a dependen...

Thanks for the clarification. :sharebeer School project prize was actually only $250 and the redemptions were a little less than $3000. I assume that if I file delinquent 2010, I still owe the government $0? What is the penalty for not filing a tax return in which the tax payer owes nothing? Can I s...

So, the act forces insurance providers to offer employers a plan in which its employees' kids are covered up to the year of 26 even if they have full time jobs (i.e., not full time students)?

But what about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ?

Yes, but before I finetune the policy I need to know whether I even need health insurance at all. It's almost $1,000/yr

I don't see how asking for money and then buying my own policy at non-negotiated rates would help me.

I don't have health issues but I don't want to take a risk of being six to seven digits in debt due to something that could come up.

Why not?

Yes, someone did claim me as their dependent during those years.

Thanks for the answers.

I am still in the dark regarding Question 1: Can someone please address whether I need to sign up for the medical plan?

Thanks for the references.

In terms of gross income, I'm okay. However, the pdf makes no mention of fund holders (in that section), but rather uses the vague term for most people - do you know whether the simple fact of me having been an investor will require me to file nonetheless?

This article describes situations in which low income singles don't have to file taxes. I never had any dependents, was never blind, always single, and am currently a 24-year-old US citizen (in previous years I was a US permanent resident). I am not sure whether I can be claimed as a dependent by s...

I'm a 24-year old citizen of the United States and have an emergency fund. 1. Do I need to sign up for medical with my company or does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act obviate this need? 2. I read in Personal Finance for Dummies that one should avoid small insurances - unless it's paid...

I carry my business notebook with me when I travel to the client. However, I don't feel comfortable storing personal files and bookmarks on it. That's why I want to buy a mobile digital device for during the flight (reading books) and for the hotel room in the evenings (browsing the web, videos). I ...

1. When one applies a fit to the market cap of S&P500, an appreciating trend can be seen. Why do stocks appreciate over time? I saw an article stating that it can be explained by the fact that companies' earning grow over time. However, why should we investors as a collective then say "ok, ...

If I have just converted all shares in a Vanguard Investor Fund to the corresponding Admiral Fund, and the former has made a capital gain compared to the original investment amount - do I have to treat this as a liquidation of the fund to purchase/convert to an entirely new fund, or does it not have...

Can somebody else confirm that A. is tax exempt? Is B. tax exempt even if you use the card to pay for business expenses for which you are reimbursed for? Also, if C was given to me as a check in a year in which I was not a degree candidate, does it count as gross income? Finally, if my company tells...

Thanks. I was under the impression that 1 Delta mile counts as 1 free-of-charge physical mile when you redeem it. The distance from USA to Europe is about 5000 miles. There are a lot of credit card companies out there that hand out bonuses when you open credit cards with them and spend a certain amo...

There are a lot of credit card companies out there that hand out bonuses when you open credit cards with them and spend a certain amount in a certain time interval. 1. Some of these bonuses tend to be quite high. How can companies afford to hand them out? 2. Could I simply sign up for one, get a bon...

How come the markets aren't 100% electronic in this day and age? Why do we still need human brokers? Why does it have to physically take place somewhere?

yes, nice find indeed..thx

Is there any public data that shows a breakdown of what proportion of the American population fills out their taxes with: - software - CPA - independently - tax preparation company ? In any case, I'm going to have to do my taxes for the first time and I'm wondering with which approach I should go. I...

It would be interesting to see some of these lender models (maybe someone has leaked or reverse engineered them). I'm curious as to whether I can open more credit cards and rake in those sign-up bonuses :lol: But I would only do it if I knew at least approximately how they look at the timespans: Whe...

Oh, so the three bureaus offer various scores (FICO, VantageScore etc.) and then the lender will query those and then use their own propriety models to adjust/finetune the scores? And the concern you raised (multiple accounts opened recently) will not affect the FICO or VantageScore but will probabl...

This does not show the exact quantitative impact of each credit score changing event (especially w.r.t. the points made in the OP - time frames etc.)

Is the algorithm for setting (or writing) credit scores publicized or has it been reverse engineered? The reason I'm asking is because I've opened up two credit cards in the last two weeks and I'm trying to figure out what the implications of short time intervals between hard pulls are. Someone also...

Obviously, internship money and tutoring money from school is taxable as gross income, but what about the following: A. I received $150 on my BoA cassh rewards card after spending $300 or more in the first 3 months. B. I received 1% on all my CC purchases of the year (cash rewards card). I made $250...

2.6 years? I can't find a segment on that graph (short term bond), where the invested amount was not recovered within over than half a year. The worst case appears to be .4-.5 years.

Thanks for the nice post!

Or a split? If so, what split is recommended? Also, how much money is recommended to be invested for a single person (mid 20's) who lives with parents (middle-class)? What is the mean time to recovery of original investment in a short-term bond fund? I also want to create a separate fund for grad sc...

Oh, I thought a trust was a type of account. Who is considered a trust?

Is a savings account considered a trust?

...Vanguard may not even know what your basis is, so it cannot report the correct capital gain. I would have guessed that they do know your basis. If you have set to reinvest dividends, Vangaurd knows your original basis and how much dividends are converted into shares. If you have set to not reinv...