Questions tagged [expenses]
a generic tag related to spending. To be used along with other related tags like accounting etc
163
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Are there any financial disadvantages to living significantly "below your means"?
By living "below" your means I'm asking about spending significantly less than you could, rather than living "within" your means which of course is sensible if you are able to do it!
So for example:
...
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43
votes
12
answers
19k
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How to manage monthly salary
I am a 22-y/o guy starting my first job.
I am interested to know how I should manage my monthly expenses. Keeping in mind that I need to pay for my rented apartment, food, water, etc., save money for ...
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votes
14
answers
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Is $20/day and $603/month (USD) a lot, average or little for one person's "food and related" costs?
I've calculated that I eat for $603/month or $20/day (assuming 30 days in an average month). I do not live in the USA, but "basically the same" ("the West").
I've been trying, but failing, to get a ...
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28
votes
5
answers
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What method do I use to pay current expenses while paying off credit card debt?
I’m hoping you can help me with a question that seems very hard to google for some reason.
I have $20K in debt on 4 cards, and I have set up a plan to pay off the deferred card on time, and the ...
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28
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Charging the company I work for to rent from myself
I have a Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) rental in a city that the company I work for (large company - W2) requires I travel to regularly. I am authorized to use either hotels or VRBO/AirB&B ...
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22
votes
7
answers
9k
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"Buy assets, not liabilities": How is it possible to buy a liability?
Some personal finance gurus such as Robert Kiyosaki claim that people should "buy assets, not liabilities". This made me wonder: is it even possible to buy a liability? From what I have ...
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22
votes
1
answer
58k
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What is fuel surcharge in India?
In Bangalore (INDIA), when you purchase fuel with cash, you never have to pay for a 'fuel surcharge'. When you pay for it using your credit or debit card, a fuel surcharge is added on later? What and ...
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19
votes
2
answers
554
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What should I reserve "emergency savings" for?
Should I reserve my "emergency savings" solely for times of unexpected unemployment, or keep these savings flexible enough to cover other unforeseen critical needs?
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17
votes
2
answers
19k
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Should there be a copay after "out-of-pocket maximum"
I have individual health insurance and have met my out-of-pocket maximum due to a surgery earlier this year.
I saw my (in-network) PCP this week and was still charged the regular $30 copay. Should ...
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16
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Can I send back money I "loaned" from my personal account to business account?
I opened a self-employed business (in the UK). As a starting budget I sent £100 from my taxed salary to my business account to have something on it. Can I send it back from my business account to my ...
- 263
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votes
3
answers
3k
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What does an IRS interview request entail when called in to verify expenses for a sole proprietor small business?
I received an IRS audit for the following:
I had to call them within 10 days to confirm receiving the letter. And I've scheduled an appointment 2 weeks later.
They basically said I just need to ...
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14
votes
6
answers
16k
views
How to account for startup costs for an LLC from personal money?
If I start a business (LLC, specifically) and incur some of the startup costs with my own money, how do I account for this in the bookkeeping once the LLC's bank account is up and running?
For ...
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12
votes
8
answers
811
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What expenses do most people not prepare for that turn into "emergencies" but are not covered by an Emergency Fund?
I'm looking for expenses that most of us should be planning for, but that we may not think about. Some of these would be re-occurring expenses that happen infrequently, while others would be one time ...
12
votes
6
answers
15k
views
How to determine how much to charge your business for rent (in your house)?
I started a business this year and have a dedicated room in my home for this business. How do I determine the rate at which I will charge the business rent for the space?
12
votes
3
answers
13k
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How do I efficiently add credit card expenses to my monthly budget?
I use a credit card for most of my purchases as I get to keep money in my account for a longer duration and that earns me extra interest.
But I have been having a little difficulty to include the ...
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11
votes
4
answers
7k
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How to categorize time spent on family work as billable expense
I have spent 20 hours building a family member a website. While I am not actually sending them an invoice and having them pay it, I did spend billable time on it that I could had spent on paying ...
- 229
11
votes
6
answers
4k
views
How to keep control of shared expenses inside marriage?
I've been married for a couple of years now, and we've been playing pretty loose with our finances (we keep separate accounts and like to pay more or less equally for our common expenses). Lately, we'...
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9
votes
2
answers
273
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Sold wall map as fundraiser for a 501c3 non-profit. Need to report on tax returns? How?
In my spare time outside of my full time job, I produced a wall map for as a fundraiser for a 501c3-registered non-profit organization. I then sold the maps via FundRazr.com and money from sales was ...
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8
votes
2
answers
3k
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Should I remodel or buy a bigger house?
My husband and I have two children under 2 years old and have outgrown our current 1400 square foot home. My husband and I both work from home, and we have a day nanny who comes and helps with the ...
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8
votes
3
answers
17k
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Should I deduct or capitalize the cost to replace a water heater in my rental property? (details Below)
Recently had a water heater die in my rental property and it had to be replaced with a new one.
Here are the specifics:
Old water heater that was in the unit when I bought it.
The property was ...
- 53k
8
votes
2
answers
4k
views
In the U.K., can I deduct coffee as a business expense if I work from cafés?
I have a U.K. limited company of which I am the sole director and employee. I work from home most days, but I occasionally work at a local coffee shop when I need to get out of the house.
Can I claim ...
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8
votes
2
answers
178
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Is there a measure that uses both cost of living plus income?
I don't know much about economy and financial measures, but was looking at a website that compares cost of living in different countries, as I am considering relocating elsewhere, but then I realized ...
7
votes
5
answers
3k
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How much of my spendable income should I set aside for travel and tourism?
Some indications about my income and expenditure patterns may be in order.
I save more than 50% of my salary and I earn about 5 times the minimum wage in my country. I am in my early forties.
I am ...
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votes
2
answers
276
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What is the difference between a charge card and a credit card?
There used to be a type of card that was offered called a "charge" card, how is that different from a credit card?
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3
answers
2k
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US: how to prove business expenses?
I'm a freelance writer who works from home. My internet fees should count as business expense and be deducted from gross, but the question becomes how much? Since I also use internet for entertainment ...
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6
votes
1
answer
799
views
How to get my money back from the Police?
On June last year I have attended a court case as a witness. I had to spend a lot of money on travelling and food because the case was in a different Country. I was asked by the Police officer that I ...
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6
votes
4
answers
28k
views
What percentage of my income should go towards expenses?
Graduated in May from school. Student loans are coming due here in January. Bought a new car recently. The added monthly expenses have me concerned that I am budgeting my money correctly. I currently ...
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votes
1
answer
1k
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Accounting for reimbursements that exceed actual expenses
When I travel on business, my employer pays for my meals by reimbursing me at a statutory "per diem" rate. Often this exceeds the amount I actually spend on meals. How should I account for the ...
- 6,971
6
votes
3
answers
904
views
What is considered a business expense on a business trip?
Scenario: I own my own business (LLC). There is a business-related conference that I wish to attend that requires travel. I assume airfare, cabs, hotel and conference tickets are all obvious ...
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Do transaction fees for investing in funds offset the benefit of a low expense ratio?
When looking for low expense-ratio funds (specifically Target Date funds), they all seem to be one of two options:
No transaction fees and high expense ratio (Example: AREVX $0 transaction, %.98 ...
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5
votes
5
answers
5k
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In a Budget is Saving Considered an Expense?
I created a personal budget with a savings section but I'm not sure if it is considered an expense. Is it an expense, and how do I account for it?
Thank you all for your great insights.
I decided its ...
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5
votes
2
answers
290
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?
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3
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277
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Why are ETF MERs lower than mutual fund MERs?
Why are exchange traded fund (ETF) management expense ratios (MERs) lower than mutual fund MERs?
user454
5
votes
3
answers
299
views
How to manage paying expenses when moving to a weekly pay schedule and with a pay increase?
I'm terrible at managing my money. This is likely the cause for this entire issue.
I'm being moved from a bi-weekly (1st and 15th of the month) pay schedule, to a weekly pay schedule. At the same ...
user27283
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Recording claimable expenses in GnuCash
I am new to accounting and trying to learn a few things as my accounts get more and more complicated. I currently use GnuCash to record simple income/expenses/assets/liabilities and have had a new ...
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5
votes
2
answers
173
views
Working abroad in Australia, what is involved financially and administratively?
I've always dreamed of making it down to Australia to work, intentionally for the long term but would probably go for 1 year as a "trial" (or at least force myself to go that long)
What would the ...
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5
votes
1
answer
295
views
USA: Renter had major medical setback and may become unable to make rent. What implications?
For 2017 taxes (USA) I formally converted my first home to a rental by declaring income, establishing cost-basis for depreciation, etc. The tenant's lease is July/2017-July/2018.
Complicating things, ...
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5
votes
1
answer
2k
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For dependent care benefits, what's the dividing line between "camp" and "music lessons"?
For dependent care benefits, what's the dividing line between an eligible expense and one that's not?
According to IRS publication 503, "The cost of sending your child to a day camp may be a work-...
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5
votes
1
answer
667
views
What percentage of my income/assets should I commit to vehicles?
The past few years have been rough financially (housing crisis and collapse in real estate prices). As a result I have been educating myself about personal finance (credit, debt, budgets, etc). I ...
- 2,630
5
votes
2
answers
628
views
Where do expense ratios show up on my statement?
This answer describes the lowered expense ratios of Vanguard admiral shares compared to Vanguard investor-class shares.
How do I tell from my statements that I am saving money through the lowered ...
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5
votes
1
answer
135
views
How does revenue shared with someone else go into my tax return in Canada?
I'm contracting to publish a game for someone on Apple's App Store. I will take 15% of the revenue, he gets 85%.
But Apple will report the full amount to the government. Let's say for example this ...
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5
votes
0
answers
80
views
What counts as different sources of income?
I'm a freelance writer (in US), but I also do some freelance video editing, programming, and virtual assistance along the side. I'm wondering if each of this counts as a "separate source of ...
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4
votes
4
answers
470
views
how to budget for random annual expenses in a monthly budget
I have a solid monthly budget, but I'm noticing that every few months a significant expense is needed (car tabs/registration, identity protection service, precious metals account fee, a trip to see ...
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4
votes
3
answers
875
views
Am I being fair to my partner, or will she lose money?
My partner and I both have good degrees, and should be able to figure out simple arithmetic, but ...
We work through our own company, which we share equally.
I purchased an item which I will use for ...
4
votes
1
answer
156
views
Two Different Websites List Different Expense Ratios - Which One Can I Trust?
I'm trying to find VXF's expense ratio.
Finance.yahoo.com says that it is .10%.
Seeking Alpha says that it is .16%. (and I suppose that I should consider that a tracking error of .11% further ...
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4
votes
2
answers
4k
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Processing PayPal transactions Via GNUCash
I am taking the time to set myself up to record finances in GNUCash, and I have slowly been refining my recording processes. I am curently twiddling my thumbs about how to treat "Middleman" ...
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4
votes
1
answer
416
views
Is a purchase still a Schedule C expense if its paid using a gift card?
I've made an Amazon purchase for my business (self-employed) solely using an Amazon gift card which I received for non-business reasons. Does this still qualify as a business expense on my tax return?
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4
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2
answers
198
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What is the procedure, and limit of medical expenses in order to claim for tax returns in US?
Since last year I have spent sufficient amount of money on medical bills (greater than $1500) as a result of 20% that I am supposed to cover under my insurance. My questions are:
What is the ...
user2191
4
votes
2
answers
188
views
Is it advised to minimize life insurance cover as investments grows over the time?
I am investing for retirement. I have covered myself with term/life insurance. I understand importance of insurance; that is not what I am asking here.
Premiums paid for insurance are expense. ...
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votes
2
answers
396
views
Expenses to consider for first time home buyer
As a first time home buyer, I'm making sure I have all of my expenses accounted for and I can afford everything I'm getting myself into.
I'm currently allocating money for:
Mortgage
Home Insurance
...
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