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Personal Finance FAQs

  1. If my spouse passes away, will I have to sell my home to meet creditor obligations?

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

  3. Should I pull my money out of an annuity if the insurance company is having financial problems?

  4. Where did the term "tenbagger" originate?

  5. Does a company logo change require a material disclosable event?

  6. What is an elimination period?

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

  8. How much life insurance is enough?

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

  10. What are the benefits of credit ratings?

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

  12. How do I stop emotional spending?

  13. Which insurance policies do I really need?

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

  15. Which of the following accounts does ERISA cover?

  16. Will Medicare pay for long-term costs?

  17. How is my insurance premium calculated?

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

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

  20. Is it possible to short sell real estate?

  21. Does the balance sheet always balance?

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

  23. What is long-term care insurance?

  24. What is indexed universal life insurance?

  25. What is pension maximization?

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

  27. What is moral hazard?

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

  29. What is long-term care?

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

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

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

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

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

  35. Is there short selling in China?

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

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

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

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

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

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

  42. Do nonprofit organizations pay taxes?

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

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

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

  46. 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?

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

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

  49. What is cliff vesting?

  50. What is a "force majeure"?

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

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

  53. How do I use a conduit IRA?

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

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

  56. 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?

  57. A customer has the following in his long margin account. Market value: $18,000, debit balance: $10,000 and SMA: $2,000. How much of the SMA may be used to purchase additional securities?

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

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

  60. What is the difference between inflation and stagflation?

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

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

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

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

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

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

  67. What is a vest fleece?

  68. Where does the name "Wall Street" come from?

  69. As a temporary resident of the US, can I withdraw funds from my Traditional IRA without penalty when I leave the country?

  70. I'm about to retire. If I pay off my mortgage with after-tax money I have saved, I can save 6.5%. Should I do this?

  71. I have conservative views on investing. How should I go about investing in a Roth IRA?

  72. Can a simplified employee pension (SEP) IRA be converted to a Roth IRA in the same manner that a Traditional IRA can?

  73. When must a company announce earnings?

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

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

  76. 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?

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

  78. Is it true that you can sell your home and not pay capital gains tax?

  79. What is the difference between amortization and depreciation?

  80. Who bears the investment risk in 401(k) plans?

  81. Can I roll my 403(b) and 457 into other low-cost venders when I change jobs?

  82. I retired and transferred part of my pension distribution to a Roth IRA. If I am over 55, do I still qualify for the age 55 exemption?

  83. Does everyone have to file a federal tax return?

  84. Can I contribute to both a 401(k) and an IRA?

  85. If there are two plans and one is terminated, creating a distributable event, can loans in the terminated plan be rolled over?

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

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

  88. What is the difference between a Keogh and an IRA?

  89. What is a blackout period?

  90. Is it possible to reverse an IRA? I received a QDRO and owe money to my ex-husband. Is it possible to reverse the QDRO, which was put into a CD Traditional IRA account, without incurring any type of penalty?

  91. Can I establish more than one IRA?

  92. What's the difference between macroeconomics and microeconomics?

  93. Why do companies report earnings at different times?

  94. I have several Roth IRA conversions, each with different custodians. When I spoke to an IRS representative, he maintained that the total amount of the conversions is always available. He told me that at any time I can take out what I had paid taxes on (wi

  95. What are pro forma earnings?

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

  97. I make over $100,000/yr and my adjusted gross income precludes standard IRA contributions. My contributions to my 401(k) plan at work are limited to about $7,000/yr. It seems I'm being penalized for my income. Are there other retirement savings options av

  98. Earnings within a Roth IRA are tax free, so are these earnings included in the modified adjusted gross income which is used to determine Roth IRA eligibility?

  99. I am only 17 years old. I don't have a job or pay taxes. Can I contribute to an IRA?

  100. I have several jobs. Can I contribute the maximum to multiple employer retirement plans?

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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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