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Personal Finance FAQs

  1. How do I value the shares that I own in a private company?

  2. What is a "twinternship"?

  3. Where did the term "tenbagger" originate?

  4. What is an elimination period?

  5. Is there a limit on the amount of disability insurance that I can buy?

  6. How much life insurance is enough?

  7. What changes might I need to make to my insurance?

  8. What are the benefits of credit ratings?

  9. When is the best time to purchase long-term care insurance?

  10. How do I stop emotional spending?

  11. Which insurance policies do I really need?

  12. What documents should I have ready in case my partner or I should die?

  13. Which of the following accounts does ERISA cover?

  14. How is my insurance premium calculated?

  15. Will Medicare pay for long-term costs?

  16. What is the "three-legged stool"?

  17. Why might one insurance policy cost more than another?

  18. Is it possible to short sell real estate?

  19. Does the balance sheet always balance?

  20. Which of the following BEST describes a wash sale?

  21. What is long-term care insurance?

  22. What is indexed universal life insurance?

  23. What is pension maximization?

  24. What is moral hazard?

  25. Is it wise to put an IRA account into a fixed or variable annuity?

  26. Which statement(s) is/are FALSE about market risk?

  27. What is long-term care?

  28. What is a typical day in the life of a stockbroker, from start to finish?

  29. Is there a correlation between inflation and house prices?

  30. What was the first company with a $1 billion market cap?

  31. What are activities of daily living (ADL)?

  32. Why should I invest in the market when I can buy and sell houses or cars?

  33. What are some cheaper alternatives to sending children to summer camp?

  34. A lot of retirement projections seem to assume an 8% rate of return. Is this realistic?

  35. What is a "phishing scam" and how can they be avoided?

  36. What kind of summer interships are available for a finance student?

  37. How did Dow Chemical defeat an international monopoly in the 1900s?

  38. What's the difference between EBITDA, EBITDAR and EBITDARM?

  39. The de Minimis clause for investment advisers means:

  40. Why does the IRS withhold income taxes from employee paychecks?

  41. Should a Canadian citizen who lives and works in the U.S. continue to contribute to a RRSP account?

  42. When is it a good idea to take out a loan to invest?

  43. Why are credit cards able to charge such high interest rates compared to other lenders?

  44. I overcontributed to my Roth, then lost half of this money to the market. Does the 6% penalty apply to my original contribution, or only what's left of it?

  45. Why is Frank Quattrone credited with contributing to the growth of the dotcom bubble?

  46. What is the difference between a gilt edged bond and a regular bond?

  47. What is cliff vesting?

  48. Which credit card company holds the honor of most profitable IPO?

  49. What is a "force majeure"?

  50. Why is a "hockey stick bid" considered fraudulent?

  51. How do I use a conduit IRA?

  52. What does it mean when advertisers say that "financing is available"? Should I trust them to give me a good deal?

  53. We are in a 401(k) at work. Can we also do a Roth each year? If we can, can it also be deducted from our taxes?

  54. Do I still have to pay penalties and taxes on money that I don't roll over from a DROP fund?

  55. How do companies like Moody's rate bonds?

  56. Is a person an active participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan if he or she was only active for a short time?

  57. What is the difference between inflation and stagflation?

  58. What is the history behind today's bankruptcy laws?

  59. What are the penalties for withdrawing from my Traditional IRA less than a year after acquisition?

  60. What business processes were used to establish the Chevrolet motor company?

  61. Am I entitled to any of my ex-spouse's retirement plan benefits?

  62. What happens when someone is given the golden boot?

  63. How did currency trader John Rusnak hide $691 million in losses before being caught for bank fraud?

  64. What is a vest fleece?

  65. What's the difference between bottom-line and top-line growth?

  66. I converted my former IRA to a Roth for tax purposes in 1998, so even though the tax was paid over four years, am I correct to assume that this is now mine to withdraw, if I like, at no penalty? I am 60 years old.

  67. Does participation in a 401(k) plan prevent an individual from contributing to a Traditional IRA?

  68. My recently deceased spouse's IRA has been rolled over into mine. Does the cost basis change for me?

  69. What exactly is a company's float?

  70. Can a spouse who is not named as a beneficiary receive assets from an IRA?

  71. What is a good book on creating a trust that would qualify as the beneficiary for an IRA?

  72. Can IRAs be held jointly by spouses?

  73. What are the tax consequences of a Roth IRA distribution if the IRA holder is younger than 59.5?

  74. Where can I find information on how to distribute my deceased parent's assets?

  75. Why won't my broker allow me to sell one stock and buy another on the same day?

  76. Why would my stock's value decline despite good news being released?

  77. Can an IRA owner disclaim his widow's account but exclude one spendthrift contingent beneficiary?

  78. Do I have to continue SEPPs for an inherited IRA?

  79. How can I use a child tax credit?

  80. I have two Roth IRAs, one of which has a balance that is much less than the total contributions I have made to the account. Can I write off the losses for that account?

  81. What is a trailing commission?

  82. What is the difference between bad credit and no credit?

  83. What types of plans allow catch-up contributions?

  84. Are all bank accounts insured by the FDIC?

  85. What's the difference between casualty insurance and disability insurance?

  86. How is something "brought over the wall" in an investment bank?

  87. Who qualifies as "single" for tax or retirement purposes when spouses do not live together?

  88. I work for a university, and I have a 403(b) with TIAA-CREF. But TIAA-CREF says I cannot transfer money to another provider. Can they prevent me from transferring my money to a better investment?

  89. Can I roll over a profit-sharing plan to an SEP IRA account without suffering any tax penalties and liquidation of current positions held in this account?

  90. Can an individual contribute to both a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA in the same year?

  91. Can my spouse and I convert our IRAs to Roth IRAs regardless of earned income?

  92. How can I find an investment club in my area?

  93. Can the non-spouse beneficiary of an IRA name a successor beneficiary?

  94. How do I sign up for the saver's tax credit?

  95. I have a small business, and I'm considering setting up an SEP IRA. What are leased employees? Does this term refer to outside contractors who receive 1099-Rs? If so, how would the 5305-SEP need to be worded to make it acceptable to the IRS?

  96. I earn more than the income limit for both a Roth and Traditional IRA deduction. Should I contribute anyway?

  97. If a trust is named as the beneficiary of an IRA, can the trustee of that trust become the beneficiary without the IRA owner signing the Change of Beneficiary form?

  98. I am a non-U.S. citizen living outside the U.S. and trading stocks through a U.S. internet broker. Do I have to pay taxes on the money I earn?

  99. What does the diluted share price reveal about a company's financial strength?

  100. Do underwriters make guarantees to sell an entire IPO issue?

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Last Questions Asked:
  1.

    If I want to have some cash in a liquid account for unexpected emergencies, what is best? A savings account or another type?

  2. How are capital gains and dividends taxed differently?

  3. Are 401(k) loans taxed?

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