for questions that relate to the laws, practices, and products of the United States.
22
votes
3answers
690 views
Recent graduate with new job: Choose Roth 401(k), or traditional 401(k)?
I just graduated, and I'm starting a new job soon. My employer has pretty good policy for matching 401(k) contributions, so I want to invest as much as possible, especially during this first year.
My ...
15
votes
3answers
811 views
Started new job. Rollover previous employer 401k to new 401k, IRA or Roth IRA?
I recently started a new job and have a 401k from my previous employer that I don't know what to do with. Should I roll it into my new employer's 401k, a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA?
28
votes
3answers
2k views
Saving for retirement: How much is enough?
How to save
I'm in my late twenties and am trying to get started off on the right foot saving for retirement. I have learned that retirement savings should usually be placed in retirement accounts in ...
13
votes
5answers
849 views
Where should I park my rainy-day / emergency fund? [US]
This is the US companion of the same question for Canadians Where can I park my rainy-day/ emergency fund?. Basically I want to know what options I have for my emergency fund?
16
votes
5answers
1k views
Strategies for putting away money for a child's future (college, etc.)?
So my wife and I will be having our first child at the end of the year, and I'm trying to devise a strategy for things like putting money away for the little person now, while I have the time and ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Comparing IRA vs 401K's rate-of-return with dollar cost averaging
I have both an IRA in Vanguard and an old employer's 401k with Fidelity management. I would like to compare the performance between the two accounts over time, in order to determine if I should ...
-2
votes
1answer
451 views
F1 student, as a non-resident, filing married separate tax return with US Citizen wife [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
F1 student, as a non-resident, filing a joint tax return with US Citizen wife
My income through CPT, as a F1 student for 2012 was $42k, of which I have paid $1300 in ...
10
votes
2answers
441 views
Penalty to withdraw from a new Roth IRA for first time home buyers?
My wife & I are 28 and plan on purchasing our first home in the next 1-3 years. Right now our assets are in two places:
403-b that I will not touch for the next 30+ years
FDIC-insured savings ...
16
votes
2answers
583 views
I haven't filed a return to the IRS in 10 years
My employers have always withheld taxes and for the most part I've assumed they've done it right. I have probably owed a bit some years and been owed a refund some years.
Anyhow, I want to get ...
14
votes
5answers
3k views
What U.S. banks offer two-factor authentication (such as password & token) for online banking?
Do you know of any US banks that allow you to have two-factor authentication (i.e. password and token) for your online account? Paypal does that, but it's not really a bank. For some reason banks seem ...
9
votes
1answer
727 views
Any Experience with the Gone Fishin' Portfolio?
In doing research on How to Select IRA Investments, I stumbled across the Gone Fishin' Portfolio. This link where I found out about the portfolio claims that it is based on the 1990 economics Nobel ...
10
votes
1answer
125 views
How do I freeze my credit?
If freezing your credit is a better way to protect your identity and the associated credit that goes along with it, how do I freeze my credit?
11
votes
6answers
18k views
Can I open a US bank account even if I don't live in the country?
I'm Swedish, but living in Switzerland at the moment. Can I open a US bank account? Either when in the US on vacation or through the internet/phone?
Lots of situations when I find myself in need of ...
16
votes
1answer
384 views
What are the differences between a “traditional” IRA and a Roth IRA?
I hear that a traditional IRA offers a tax deduction whereas a Roth IRA doesn't, but there's got to be more to it than that: What makes a Roth IRA any good, if it doesn't provide a tax deduction? ...
14
votes
9answers
465 views
Do I even need credit cards?
I'm 24, and so far I've been able to live without credit cards of any kind. My wife calls this "If we can't pay for it right now, we don't need it." Obviously this does not apply to our car and our ...
12
votes
4answers
862 views
Is it better to use a 401k loan to make a down payment or to put less than 20% down?
I'm about to buy a house and am considering two options:
Make a 12% down payment and pay for mortgage insurance
Take out a 401k loan and make a 20% down payment
I'm having a hard time finding ...
11
votes
2answers
557 views
Can a merchant charge you more in the US if you want to use a credit card?
I'm pretty sure the answer is no for Visa/MC and basically no for Amex, and it's actually illegal in some states, but what if they just rephrase it as "We're giving you a discount if you choose to pay ...
7
votes
1answer
144 views
Where are good places to go for an HSA in the United States?
I have a high-deductible health plan that qualifies me to open an HSA (Health Savings Account). Where are good places to find an HSA in the US? What sorts of features should I look for? What extra ...
4
votes
2answers
330 views
Legal documents required for managing an investment portfolio among friends?
I am considering setting up a personal kind of hedge fund / stock portfolio among friends.
I am trying to figure out what kind of a legal agreement I should have them sign for investing with me to ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
Do personal checks expire? [US]
Do personal checks expire in the US? Also, if I stamp the following on it:
VOID if not claimed within 60 days.
Will that be honored by most banks?
Related
Do personal cheques expire? ...
6
votes
2answers
390 views
Can Roth IRA first time home buyer withdrawals be made up?
If we were to withdraw the annual contributions from our Roth IRAs for the closing costs on a house (we have a 20% down payment, but only recently learned that that's almost $10,000 less than what you ...
3
votes
1answer
160 views
How to find a savings or money market account with a high interest rate / yield?
I have my emergency fund in an ING Direct savings account. The saving account does not really give a good return and I was wondering what are my options?
I want to put the money in some sort of ...
3
votes
1answer
233 views
Are Investment Research websites worth their premiums?
There are websites that claim to own formulas that outperform the market. Examples of these websites are - Zacks Investment Research or Investors Business Daily. Each keep a list of equities that they ...
2
votes
1answer
779 views
First time home-buyer incentives require 3 years of primary residence, but can I move if I'm laid off?
My wife and I are 25-months into an FHA loan (we received a first time home buyer tax credit), and I seem to recall that we cannot sell or rent the property for at least 36-months. That wasn't a ...
1
vote
1answer
175 views
Deduct Health Care Premiums for Family When Employer Only Pays for Me
My employer offers insurance coverage, pays a substantial amount for me, but pays nothing for my spouse or my children. The difference in cost is around $127/month for myself and $1,330/month if I ...
23
votes
6answers
558 views
How can one get their FICO/credit scores for free? (really free)
TV and the web are filled with ads promising to give you a free copy of your credit report. Unfortunately, instead of being wholly free, they are actually free trials, which means:
You only get ...
13
votes
4answers
1k views
Possible replacement for Quicken
I have been using quicken to track my financial life for about 10 years now and am generally happy with it. A couple of years back Intuit changed the ability to download stock quotes for 2 years ...
21
votes
7answers
696 views
How to help a financially self destructive person?
My ex-wife is a mess, financially speaking. After the divorce, her house that she won in the divorce was foreclosed on, filed for bankruptcy, owes money to pretty much everyone that tried to help her ...
14
votes
5answers
4k views
How do I know when I am financially stable/ready to move out on my own?
Some background information:
I'm 23 and living at home. I have a good full time job as a web programmer that I've been at for over one year. It includes benefits and 401K (which after one year I ...
9
votes
9answers
3k views
Should I stockpile nickels?
As the US dollar continues to be devauled the metal content value of US coins will eventually be worth more than the face value of the coins.
There use to be silver in US coins but due to the ...
12
votes
6answers
946 views
Would it make sense to buy a rental property as an LLC and not in my own name?
I'm considering buying a rental property. Would it make sense forming an LLC and purchasing it in the name of my company, rather than owning it directly?
Considerations:
pros:
I don't want my name ...
7
votes
2answers
248 views
When should I switch from after-tax to pre-tax retirement savings?
I am contributing to my employer's Roth 401(k). The consensus in this question is that when you're young you should make your retirement contributions after-tax so that they grow tax free, and that ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Can making a donation reduce your tax bill?
If my adjusted gross income is $1000, and I make a donation of $100, then it seems that I'm still going to have to pay a tax on the $1000. The donation is deductible, so I don't pay any tax on that, ...
5
votes
1answer
100 views
How can I fix a mistake I made on my income tax filing? [US]
How can I fix a mistake I made on my income tax filing?
14
votes
1answer
156 views
Is there a benefit to creating a donor advised fund to make charitable donations instead of simply donating to organizations each month?
I'm looking to set up recurring charitable donations to various groups, and I'm considering using a donor-advised fund through Fidelity or Vanguard. General question: Is there a benefit to placing ...
9
votes
5answers
523 views
What should I do with the stock from my Employee Stock Purchase Plan?
I've got an employee stock purchase plan program. The details are a little tricksy, but I basically get to buy about 2500 shares of company stock at something like $2.33/share... and the stock has ...
6
votes
2answers
300 views
Non-qualified Savings Plan vs. 401(k) for Highly Compensated Employee
Late last year, I started a higher-paying job than I've ever had. Today I got a letter from my employer's benefits department and Fidelity telling me that I'm expected to pass $115,000 in ...
6
votes
5answers
604 views
Could excess 401(k) contributions be used to game/maximize matches from different employers?
Suppose I max out my 401(k) really early. This avoids the risk that if I lose the job I would have lost the chance to contribute to it fully. However there is another risk. My company doesn't match. ...
6
votes
2answers
386 views
Is it possible to deduct health insurance premiums from taxes?
I currently have health insurance provided by my employer. My monthly premiums are deducted pre-tax from my salary.
I'm considering canceling this health coverage in favor of an individual health ...
6
votes
1answer
393 views
What are the benefits and downsides to an LLC vs. Sole Proprietorship vs. Individiual?
As a followup to my previous question, what benefits are there for an LLC vs. a Sole Proprietorship? What are advantages and disadvantages to both and also vs. just being paid as a person?
6
votes
1answer
521 views
How are 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) tax-advantaged retirement plans different? How are they alike?
How are 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) tax-deferred retirement plans different? How are they alike?
5
votes
1answer
509 views
My bonus is taxed at a higher rate than my regular paychecks, so should I contribute 100% of my bonus to 401k?
Is there a tax advantage to putting 100% of my bonus into 401k? From looking at my pay stubs, my bonus gets taxed at a higher rate than my regular paychecks. And since traditional 401k contributions ...
5
votes
2answers
141 views
Should I wait a few days to sell ESPP Stock?
I have read three other threads about employee stock purchase plans (I get to buy company stock at a 15% discount) and come to the conclusion that I should sell most of my shares immediately after ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Multiple mortgage pre-approvals and effects on credit score
Background Info: My wife and I are looking to purchase our first home/condo. Given our combined gross annual income of ~$100k and lack of any actual debt, we're looking at properties in the $200-250k ...
4
votes
2answers
189 views
What expenses do 401k funds charge?
What expenses do 401k funds charge? For example, do they charge front-end or back-end loads (commission when buying or selling funds)? Also how do I find out if the 401k administrator charges a fee?
3
votes
2answers
109 views
What kind of an impact does moving have on your credit (score)?
Being an international student, the room I rent near campus has been my domestic home address since I came here to study.
Now that I am working at a place quite far from campus, I would like to ...
3
votes
2answers
277 views
How bad would maxing out my credit card once a year affect my score
I just got approved for a $1500 cash secured credit card from Wells Fargo.
This means I have no credit history whatsoever, and am going to use this card to establish one.
With fall semester at ...
2
votes
1answer
76 views
How can I calculate the number of deductions I should use?
Recently I've been trying to adjust my W-4 so that I overpay the government less (get a smaller tax return). How can I calculate the number of my deductions based on my income and family status, ...
2
votes
1answer
136 views
Self-managed IRA account brokerage as an HSA?
Most specific than this question, I'm desperately seeking a TD Ameritrade or E-Trade type online brokerage that offers self managed HSAs to accompany an HDHP. I cannot find one.
Is there another key ...
1
vote
1answer
82 views
US Simple donation taxation question
If i take in 50k of income and donate 40k to a 501(c)(3) non-profit, how much money will have to pay taxes on?
I am a sole proprietorship.
Thanks!
