Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with finance

Resource for evaluating past stock recommendations?

ibmcginty — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:10:23 -0800

Is there anyone (especially online) who's collected reasonably well-informed stock picks from, say, 2, 5, or 15 years ago and explained why the recommendations did or did not work out? Is there a better way to track that stuff down than hunting around for old articles on financial websites? It seems like making the effort to learn from mistakes in the past would help guard against over-optimistic, irrationally exuberant picks today.

Which source of $$$ to use for medical school?

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:46:53 -0800

Paying for medical school -- which money to use? I'm starting medical school in Canada in September. I've got about $50k in US mutual funds and treasury bills, $15k in a Canadian RSP (which can be used to pay for education if repaid at a certain point), and the banks are offering a line of credit at prime + 1%.

The question is: how do I start paying for school and living expenses? Withdraw and use the investments, and then move to the line of credit when they're exhausted? Use the line of credit, and wait for the investments to grow in order to repay the LOC? Are the investments likely to grow in the next few years? Buy lottery tickets?

Should I get a second job? Where?

citron — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:32:18 -0800

Should I get a second job, and should I work retail? Suggestions as to where? I have a full-time job now with benefits, I work basically 10 - 6:30, but this is an expensive city (DC) and I'm having a hard time saving money. Since I'm in the web development field, a natural fit would be freelance on content-migration projects. But I've done that and it depresses me to go home and sit in front of a computer alone slogging away at code, after I've just spent 8 hours sitting in front of a computer. What should I do? So, retail? I've never waited tables and don't want to do that. Any retail places you'd recommend to work? Or is there something else part-time that makes sense to look for as a second job, which would get me out of the house, offer evening or weekend hours (I could also do a really early shift ending at or before 10)? I am really good at juggling a lot of small tasks at once and keeping track of all the details.. and a very good copy editor/proofreader. Are there likely to be office temp jobs that are open during the hours outside my regular job, if I go that route?

Credit cards worth it?

Flamingoroad — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:36:03 -0800

I'm thinking of getting a credit card -is it worth it? I'm 22, in the UK and thinking about getting a credit card -I don't feel I need one (not a big or enthusiastic spender) apart from establishing a credit rating -is it worth it?

I understand the benefits -insurance, cash-back etc but it seems like a hassle -I'm perfectly happy just spending money that I have using my debit card.

However, as credit scores are partly based on duration of credit history I'm thinking I should get a credit card if only to prove to future mortgage providers (perhaps 3 or so years in the future) that I'm responsible with credit etc.

As I've also learnt that cancelling cards reflects badly on credit rating so any card I do take out is hopefully going to last me a long time.

I bank with Natwest and am thinking of taking out a credit card with them as it would be easy to pay it off each month with my current online banking setup. But there are no benefits/cash back with it. Aren't credit cards desperate for people to sign up? I might not too excited about credit cards but I don't want to miss out on decent benefits like cash-back etc if there's available.

In summary is it worth getting a credit card and if yes, which is the easiest to use, best 'perks' and recommended over the long term so I don't end up dealing with the 'financial clutter' resulting in opening up other cards in the future?

Any UK specific advice/opinion would be much appreciated!
Thanks

Shall I get greedy or follow my heart?

saxamo — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:15:20 -0800

It it worth it for me to put an amount of money into an immediate fixed annuity and take out a loan to pay for tuition, or is it alright to just pay off my tuition with the money available to me. Hello, yet another question on tuition unlike those in the past. I realize the best person to speak to would be a financial planner, but I don't think the amount is enough to warrant an independent planner.

I'm currently still in college and I have 34K in CD's that will mature very shortly. I have taken out a loan last year and I want to do everything I can do to prevent doing that again. I strongly want to minimize the amount of debt I graduate with.

I am being offered an immediate fixed annuity on the 34K which will lock up the principal for five years and give me a payout on the interest every quarter. If I do this, I will undoubtedly have to take out loans for my remaining years in school. I am weary of the annuity for this reason, along with the fact that they grant high commissions.

What I would like do is to simply use this money to pay for the rest of my education. No harm in that, right? Put it in a high yield savings account and take it one year at a time. Can anyone give me a reason why this would be a bad idea or otherwise work against me?

I've been told that this is not necessarily the best way of handling my money, and that I should try and gain capital off of it while I'm in school so that I can make a down payment on an apartment or car or whatever when I graduate. I feel that a large sum upon graduation that will probably just go to my loans would not help me much.

Is there any alternative? Is it imperative that I rapidly try to accumulate more wealth on this sum of money and dive further into debt, or is it okay to spend it on my tuition with less stress upon entering the "real" world.

Inspire me with your frugality

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:57:16 -0800

Total financial ruin filter: I am terrible at managing my very small amount of money. How did you learn to manage your money better than me? I don’t buy a lot of extraneous crap and I don’t eat out much. But I don’t budget either, and I’m constantly paying for stupid crap like overdraft fees and parking tickets – stuff that has to do with poor planning, also having to borrow from friends to make rent, bouncing checks, etc. Part of the problem is that I just don’t make enough money to get by. I’m going to school to get a degree in a field that offers much better pay than what I get now. I’ve also checked out some web resources about budgeting etc, and am meeting with a financial counselor soon. But I’m worried that the next couple years in school will send me into some horrible crisis that I can’t get out of! It’s even scarier because I have kids.

In the meantime, can you tell me how you personally pulled yourself out of financial crisis? Did you marry someone with better financial skills? Did you start making more money? How did you force yourself to budget and stay within that budget? How long did it take you to change your habit – or, if you were just born with good financial management skills, what exactly do you DO that keeps things sane?

Forgive me if this comes off as chatfilter, but I don’t think it is really. Your real-life stories are a good example to help me make choices about how I can do things better. Thank you!

How would you invest $100000?

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:43:33 -0800

About $100 000 has been transfered to me, and I don't know how to properly invest it. For various reasons, I am now in charge of about $100 000, cash. Problem: I am 21 years old and I know absolutely nothing about investing on this scale.

Can anyone give me some advice on how to properly invest this much? I already have a discount brokerage and savings accounts holding about 30 grand of my own money, so I'm not completely helpless, but I've never had to even think about this many figures before. I'm terrified that I'm going to mismanage this situation into disaster.

Okay, so details:

-I live in Canada. My job doesn't offer any sort of investing plan or anything like that.
-I want this money to grow. At minimum, I would like to "keep up" with what other people do (I'm imagining this is around 7-10% growth per year, is that correct?)
-I don't want to spend any of it for the foreseeable future.
-Tax! Please tell me about how to deal with tax.
-I have a fairly low risk tolerance
-Diversification is important to me. Simplification is not really, although of course it's welcome.
-Property is out of the question. I spent most of last week thinking about buying a Playstation 3. I most certainly cannot handle owning land at this juncture in my life.
-I really don't want a financial advisor. Self management is important to me.
-I have established accounts at TD and ING Direct.

So basically, AskMe, I think I am asking how you would choose to invest this money, given these parameters. Please hold my hand and treat me like an idiot, since I am.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

What is the best financial/tax situation for a family with a kid on the way?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:27:17 -0800

What is the best financial/tax situation for us? Kid on way, financial aid eligibility concerns. Me: grad student for 2 more years, on a teaching assistantship (this covers tuition, fees, health insurance, and gives me a $1600/mo. stipend) and with some student loans on top (less than $10k/year). I also work in the summers, but make less than $5k. I also receive research grants sometimes ($5k-$15k). In 2008, I will only have been in the country for 2 months and will have an income of less than $5k. In 2009 and 2010 I will be be back on the normal track with $1600/mo. and some loans with perhaps 2-3 months of a travel grant of ~$6k.

Him: working person making a good salary (floating around 6 figures)

New factor: baby on the way at end of year (will be on Dad's insurance and Dad's company covers childcare)

The way that we see it, here are our financial options:

(1) Stay unmarried, he claims baby on his taxes.

(2) Stay unmarried, I claim the baby on my taxes. (But would this screw up my student loan/financial aid eligibility by making me look richer?)

(3) Marry and claim kid together. (Again, would this screw up my student loan/financial aid eligibility?)

Money money money, Must be funny

Bakuun — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:06:31 -0800

A noobie question on credit scores! I know raising your score is partly done by reliable monthly payments on credit cards and loans - and people who are just starting out to build their scores, are often advised to get a card and begin to responsibly pay it off, to catch the notice of the reporting agencies. Would that mean that if you can pay off a large credit loan (e.g., in the realm of $2k) immediately instead of sticking to a monthly payment system, you're missing out on chances to further raise your score? Or does being able to pay off such an amount in full give you an equivalent gold star sticker? I wish this was something that didn't need asking, but my 'financial tutors' have been virtually nonexistent while growing up. D'oh!

Financial / 401k advice for a 23-year-old engineer.

decrescendo — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:26:06 -0800

Financial / 401k advice for a 23-year-old engineer. Considering the state of the economy and the price of oil, what should I do with my stocks. Also, I have the option for a 401k but I have no idea what type of 401k to choose. I have around 30k in McDonalds stock that is up 80% from when it was bought for me when I was a kid. Should I hold onto it and weather the storm? I keep reading rumblings of a recession and stock market crash but is that just a scare tactic? I don't want to get kicked back down to a 30% gain on that stock when it's been doing so well up until right now. It has defintely been a long-haul stock but I'm afraid I'm going to lose all that I've built up over the last 23 years.

Also, I've had the opportunity to enroll in a 401k from my company for the last 6 months. I haven't done it yet mostly because I have no idea what to fill out on the form. I have the following options. Any recommendations? I believe my company matches up to 15%.

Should I go with option 1 or option 2?

1. I elect to contribute ____% or ____$ (per pay period) of my compensation as before-tax contributions to the 401(k) Plan until
such time as I revoke or amend my election.

2. I elect to contribute ____% or ____$ (per pay period) of my compensation after-tax as a designated Roth contribution to the
401(k) Plan until such time as I revoke or amend my election.

Note: The total of your before-tax and Roth deferrals cannot exceed 100% or $15,500.00. Your before-tax and Roth deferrals must be specified consistently (both as a percent or both as a dollar amount). If I am 50 years of age or older and I am eligible for a catch-up contribution, I understand I may exceed this total.

I also have all of these to pick from. No idea what to go with here. Considering the economy and what I hear, I'd probably rather take a semi-conservative approach.

Maxim Aggressive Profile II
Maxim Moderate Profile II
Maxim Conservative Profile II
American Funds EuroPacific Growth R3
Oakmark International II
Oppenheimer Global A
First American Small Cap Select A
MainStay Small Cap Opportunity A
Maxim Index 600
RidgeWorth Small Cap Growth Fund I
Lord Abbett Mid-Cap Value A
Maxim Ariel Small-Cap Value
Fidelity Advisor Mid Cap T
Fidelity Advisor Leveraged Co Stk - T
American Funds Growth Fund of Amer R3
Davis NY Venture R
Marsico Focus
Maxim S & P 500 Index
Maxim T. Rowe Price Equity Income
Oppenheimer Capital Appreciation A
RiverSource Diversified Equity Income R3
Van Kampen Comstock - R
Maxim Bond Index
Maxim Loomis Sayles Bond Portfolio
Maxim US Government Securities Fund
PIMCO Total Return Admin
Guaranteed Certificate Fund 36 Month
Guaranteed Certificate Fund 60 Month
Guaranteed Certificate Fund 84 Month
Maxim Money Market

Any help would be fantastic.

Resources to learn about money and finance

Javed_Ahamed — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:12:18 -0800

[MoneyFilter] Turning 18, i find my knowledge on money/finance dangerously lacking. Help me find resources to learn everything about finance for life (stocks, banks, taxes, etc.) I feel that I should get involved in understanding how to manage money now, and get involved in putting it to good use. I dont understand what many of the terms listed in these "finance books" mean and would like resources to start from the foundations all the way to the top. Thanks :D

Online banking, credit and investing through one package

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:30:11 -0800

What basic, personal accounting software do you recommend? I would like to track:

• income
• retirement accounts
• out-come, i.e. spending on credit cards and ATM debits

This would preferably be done automatically — the software will contact the banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions electronically and download as much information as possible. We're eight years into the 21st C. and it doesn't seem necessary to spend one to two hours a day manually tracking and entering the day's business-related what-have-yous.

I don't hold investments, but if I gamble I would like to start gambling somewhat intelligently. The software would track investment accounts — and existing retirement account components — automatically on a daily basis. In particular, I'd like to be able to view how parts of my retirement account are valued on a daily basis, which I can't do currently without manually tracking its history in an Excel spreadsheet.

I don't run a small business (yet), so that is not a requirement. If it has the capability to run accounting for a small business that would be a plus.

Another criterion would be that I'd prefer a non-Windows software package, preferably something native to Mac OS X. I can run Windows software within Fusion, but due to cost and integration issues I'd prefer not being permanently locked in to that option. I can run an X11 application, but with the tradeoffs, being able to run something OS X native would be useful.

With that in mind, are there software recommendations you have?

Looking for advice about getting and spending money while in Mexico.

iamkimiam — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:02:20 -0800

Traveling to Oaxaca, Mexico next week. Looking for advice and information about money while I'm there. A friend and I will be spending some time in Oaxaca, Mexico in July. We are wondering about how to get and spend money while we're there. Specifically, whether or not it is better to bring dollars in, or go to ATMs once we arrive. Why? How do conversion rates work? Should we get pesos too? What ratio of dollars-to-pesos should we have? Where is our bargaining power and when is it most effective to offer to pay with dollars versus pesos? Any other monetary info welcome as well. Thanks!

Liquidating an estate in the USA... in today's economy. Shouldn't we just wait a while?

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:33:00 -0800

How should we handle liquidating assets in an estate in the USA right now? Assets consist primarily of a stock portfolio and a house. My father recently passed away, leaving behind an investment portfolio worth about $650,000 and a house valued at $300,000. This will be split 6 ways; four of the inheritors have expressed a preference to liquidate everything straightaway and wash their hands of it.

Aside from the emotional issues the other 2 inheritors have with rushing into this, we are wondering financially what is the best way to handle this given today's market conditions. My understanding is that housing prices are very low, and we can all see what's happening with the stock market. My first reaction is that now is an extremely bad time to be liquidating any assets from a strictly economical perspective; this view is what I am asking for your feedback on.

None of us are very experienced in financial matters; we plan on searching for a financial advisor next business week, but in the meantime I would appreciate any informed advice about how we can best retain the value of these assets as we decide how to handle the estate.

Specifically:

1) Should we sell the house now and take what we can get, or is it likely that we could get more value from holding on to it for a year or so and possibly trying to rent it in the meantime? I think that there are two factors that would contribute to the house being sold under value: today's market conditions, and the desire on the part of the executor of the will to sell the house as quickly as possible regardless of any loss. At least one of these seems avoidable, but if the market is expected to worsen, it would be an advantage to sell it now. No one plans to live in the house, but there are local family members who have offered to help with its care and administration if needed.

2) Same as above for stocks; I have not yet seen the contents of the portfolio, but am inclined to believe that after the November elections, there is a good chance the economy will be positively affected. We also know that the portfolio consisted of low-risk stocks aimed more at stability and long-term returns. Should we wait and see, for this or any other reasons, or should we cash it in now in case things get even worse?

3) The biggest concern: what happens if the 6 beneficiaries disagree on the questions above? One of the four who wants to eat the whole cake now will have power of attorney by Monday. If the two of us strongly disagree with his opinions on how to handle the assets, what happens?

More important background: the 4 who want to take the money and run are all 40-something homeowners who are married with 2 or 3 kids apiece, have Masters degrees, are stably employed in long-term careers, and generally already have all the security they could ask for as far as I know. We (the other two) are in our early twenties, have bachelor's degrees, are employed but with very modest salaries, and are unmarried. I think these differences are serious and, without being selfish, I feel that given that they have so much more security, our needs for the near future should be prioritized. The people who left this inheritance were there to support them when they were our age, and we no longer have any sort of safety net. Side question: is this incredibly selfish of me? I realize that they are probably looking forward to using their share towards their children's college tuition and their retirement funds, but the fact is that a few thousand dollars lost by liquidating sooner than necessary could mean a lot more to the younger beneficiaries. We are not sure why they want to rush into liquidating everything immediately when none of them have any immediate need for large sums of cash that we know of, and certainly no one was anticipating this to happen now.

Again, we will look for a financial advisor and are going to speak with some attorneys in our local network as well, but appreciate your advice in the meantime.

Is an index fund really a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

reenum — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:34:08 -0800

InvestingFilter: Is there anything inherently flawed about investing in index funds? I recently opened up a Roth IRA, and have invested in an S&P 500 Index Fund. I'll also be investing in a bond index soon.

I've been reading articles online and books such as 'The Lazy Person's Guide To Investing' by Paul Farrell. These books make it seem that investing in anything but index funds sets you up for a loss long term.

In my opinion, I'm a passive investor. I don't have the inclination to try and pick hot stocks. I'm fine getting a market average return. Farrell's book and some other sources such David Swenson make it seem that investing in anything but an index fund is lunacy. They harp on about load funds and how actively managed funds always underperform the market.

My question is: What's the catch about investing in index funds? It seems to good to be true. You keep putting money in and 30 years later, a nice pile is waiting for your retirement.

Some input from the more financial minded members of the Hive Mind would be much appreciated.

How to spend 25k to reduce debt and increase freedom!

crewshell — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:11:09 -0800

A man has debt, he comes into a little bit of money... how best should he spend it? A man has debt.
6k in student loans (5%)
19750k in credit card debt (ranging from 8-10 % interest)
15500k car loan (car is worth 12k)

Man gets 25k at 2% interest.
Man thinks he could get away with no car for 6 months, saving him 600 a month.

Should man pay off credit cards & student loans and continue to drive his car

or

Should man pay some student loans, sell car (take the lose) and pay off credit cards?

What makes the most financial sense. Ultimately regained financial freedom and the ability to go back to school is the goal. Though eventually another car will be needed.

P.S Current car is a gas hog. 18 MPG

Why can't I close out and withdraw from my 401k? Any way out?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:02:16 -0800

I want to close out my 401k (and pay the necessary taxes) so I can pay off some debt. My 401k says I'm not allowed. Why not? Can I change anyone's mind? I have relatively minor credit card debt n. I have meager 401k savings n. (I am only 23). I would like to pay off my credit card, and be putting the money I'm currently putting toward monthly credit card payments toward more immediately accessible savings. Additionally, my company has as of last month decided to start matching 401k contributions, so I'd rather be putting matched money in than letting the $n sit there doing not much in the stock market while I continue to accrue credit card interest. However, I can't put money in until I'm not worried about paying off credit cards.

So I called my 401k people (Fidelity) to ask to take the withdrawal. They said I can't. I said, are you seriously telling me I can't have my money? And they said that since I'm still at my current company, I can't do anything with it until I'm fired or leave voluntarily. I've got a while before I'm planning on either of those. What the hell? It's my money, isn't it? We wants it :(

The other option is to take out a loan, but I'm only eligible to take out loan n/2, and paying back loan + interest plus paying off the other half of credit card debt won't really solve my problem. My goal is to wipe out the debt, be able to start contributing small (matched) amounts to retirement, and separately do a better job of keeping an accessible savings account with monthly contributions.

So, question 1: Why can't I take out my money? What's the reason behind this? And is it likely that by arguing in a different way I could get it? I'm fully aware of and willing to pay the necessary taxes if they'll just let me get at the money.

Question 2: Any other options for what I'm trying to do?

(Anonymous because I don't want this connected to the real name I use on here)

If you can't trust a car salesman, who can you trust?

jluce50 — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:27:42 -0800

A local Dodge dealership has been running ads for $15,000 cash back on new trucks. They make it a point to point out that it does not get added on to the price of the vehicle (i.e. you don't buy a $30k truck and finance $45k to get the cash, I'm assuming). So what's the catch? How is it possible to get a $30k truck for $15k? I'd love for someone to explain the slight-of-hand that my cynicism dictates must be taking place here...

Managing an Anothology Project

divabat — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:16:08 -0800

What should I take into consideration when spearheading an anthology project? What resources are out there for us? I'm organizing a book project to collect real-life stories related to the Others (non-Malay/Chinese/Indian, classified as "Other" on all official documentation) in Malaysia. This only started a few days ago, so it's all planning at this stage, but currently I've built up a great team and we're discussing issues on content, definitions, research, publication, and publicity.

While some of us in the group have some experience with publishing (as a writer, editor, or just part of the process somehow), none of us really have that much experience in starting, organizing, and managing such a project. I'm doing quite a bit of brainstorming to work out what we need to consider, but would like some ideas and tips in case I left anything out.

1. Publication - I've contacted a well-known socially-conscious (and somewhat alternative, but great for our target audience) local publisher, who is interested in looking at our manuscript when we're done. Their advice was to "just do it". This is great, but I'd also like Plans B, C, D, Etc.

How else can we find possible publishers, what should we look for in a publisher, and what should we ask them? Some in our group have suggested self-publishing - what should we take into consideration about this option? What other alternative options are there? (Malaysians, particularly our target readers, are quite web-savvy, but it is a bit difficult to purchase online due to Paypal/bank restrictions.)

2. Rights - how do we manage rights and contracts with contributors? I would like the contributors to keep the copyright to their works (and give an option for a Creative Commons license), but would this be a good idea overall? We're planning on field interviews (to get stories from people who won't necessarily write their own tales, such as older folk) and may possibly deal with translations - who gets the rights to those?

3. Finances - assuming we make money out of this, what would we do with the money? I don't think we'll ever make enough to pay each contributor individually (though that would be great!!). Donating the proceeds to an NGO would be great, but our topic is in-between niche and general and there isn't a specific NGO for Malaysian Others yet.

Also, I've heard a lot about how we shouldn't pay to get something published. If we're getting published through an established publisher, are there any costs we still have to look out for? We're thinking of possibly getting sponsorship - is it worth it? Would we need sponsorship? (Perhaps to cover costs of research and compilation?) Where would be good resources for money?

4. Timelines - what's a typical timeline for this project? I was thinking 6 months - get the Call for Submissions and guidelines ready within 3-4 weeks, get submissions for about 3-4 months, edit and compile and get everything ready for publication by Month 6. Is that realistic, or too short? What's normal?

5. Team needs - currently I'm scouting people for editorials, research/field interviews, publicity/promotions, website management, and logistics/finance/publishing. What other skills and roles would we need for a project like this?

Are there any resources for managing a project like this? I've seen plenty of books and articles on non-fiction writing, but those tend to assume you're the sole writer. Any resources on managing anthologies?

Thanks so much!

Bank accounts, currency exchange, and financial advice for an American in Hong Kong?

milquetoast — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:05:52 -0800

Moving to Hong Kong for two years, and seeking advice on keeping the finances in order. I've been hired by a company in Hong Kong and will be there for a minimum of two years. I will be paid exclusively in Hong Kong Dollars. However, I have some small recurring bills and such that will need to be paid in USD.

This seems like a pretty typical temporary-expat situation, and I wonder how other people have approached it. In essence, I'm looking for advice on and experience with HK banks and credit cards, and transferring money from HKD to USD at regular intervals without getting screwed on the exchange. Any and all experience with expat finances in HK is appreciated.

Status: US citizen of the Brooklyn type, no debt except rapidly diminishing student loans, one US brick-and-mortar bank checking account, one ING Electric Orange checking account, couple of investment accounts through Vanguard, couple of US credit cards that rook me for 3% when I use them abroad.

help managing my money

serazin — Mon, 26 May 2008 15:50:24 -0800

Financial skills building classes or workshops for a low-income person with crappy money management skills? I have demonstrably terrible money management skills - constantly overdrawing my bank account, the beginnings of credit card debt, etc. I'm a single parent and about to become a full-time student, and I'm expecting things to get worse. But I want to head off further problems at the pass.

I know that there are non-profits that help low-income people manage money better, and I think I need the help of one of these organizations! I'm willing to take a class on the topic - better yet would be some individualized coaching and support. I'm in Oakland, CA - so something in SF or the East Bay would be ideal. Book recommendations are also OK, but sadly, my limited reading of Your Money or Your Life and related stuff hasn't sunk in so well. I think in-person help might make a bigger difference. Thanks in advance,

Personal Finance

locoindio — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:37:59 -0800

whats a good personal finance magazine to subscribe to? i know of kiplinger's. i don't know how good it is, though. what are some other magazines for personal finance?

Comparing Construction Prices 1968 to 2008

viewmastr — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:15:06 -0800

I need to compare construction costs in 1968 to costs for a similar project in 2008. I'm not a math/finance person, so I apologize in advance if there is an easy answer to this one.

For a marketing presentation I'm giving next week, I need to be able to compare the cost of a building built in 1968 (for a total of $3 million) to a comparable building that is scheduled for completion later this year.

My final statement will hopefully look something like:

"The original building was completed in 1968 at a total cost of $3 million. Built today, a similar building (on a dollar for dollar basis) could cost approximately $XX million dollars. Thus the proposed structure is [ right on target / dramatically lower than / ludicrously higher than ] the original built 40 years ago."

I do realize that there are an infinite number of variables and distinct differences between how the buildings would be built, the forms and functions, etc. Just keep in mind that this is marketing, not rocket science. I need a sound bite more than I need an in depth study.

Thanks for your help!

A sensible saving plan for an uncertain international future?

Cantdosleepy — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:10:35 -0800

PersonalFinanceFilter: 25 year old looking to start making payments into something pensionesque, but with an international bent. Any suggestions? I think it's time to start a pension (overdue, probably). I am British but have a Significant Other who has ties to three other countries, and feeling not a massive attachment to the UK, there's a reasonable chance that I won't be seeing out my days here.

I earn about 25k a year before taxes. I'm living in London so there's not a massive amount left at the end of the month, but I'd like to start putting a little something by.

So what do people advise? Would a regular British pension with a reputable company (Scottish Widows &c) be a good bet if I plan on disappearing from these shores in the next five, ten, fifteen, thirty years? Or might a regular/fancy savings account that isn't technically a pension but might operate like one (and still be around in ~50 years) be better for my situation?

FinanceMasters, I humbly beg for advice.

Money stories from international types are also greatly welcome.

Thanks!

Small business planner?

malphigian — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:18:22 -0800

Help with small business financial (and organizational) planning? Recommendation for someone to talk to? I've had a small web business for a number of years now, mostly operating by using a network of freelancers. We're in the midst of making the jump to a more formal set up with full time employees.

The process is going pretty well, but one of the things I'd really like is someone to talk to about the financial planning side of the business. We don't necessarily need any financing right now, but I'd love someone I could talk to about preparing for that process down the road. As well as the nuts and bolts of organizing finances and preparing for full time employees.

I have an accountant, but he's focused strictly on the basic books. What I'm looking for is some kind of consultant who can give us advice, and who I can email questions to now and then.

I tried to google, I really did, but I don't know if what I'm looking for exists. All I found was a lot of state/city agencies (too basic/broad) and a lot of banks who want to loan me money. Are there people out there who do what I'm looking for and what do they call themselves?

Even better, any specific recommendations in the NYC area?

Thanks in advance!