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1500 questions
20
votes
4 answers

When is Cash Value Life Insurance a good or bad idea?

What makes CVLI either good or bad? If you get it while young (~23 years old) and have a respectable starting salary then what are some benefits or detriments to having it? The specific policy I'm talking about is from Northwestern Mutual. Is it a…
Joe Phillips
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20
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4 answers

Does doing your "research"/"homework" on stocks make any sense?

One thing about investing has always bothered me. You constantly hear people saying you need to "do your research" or "do your homework" on a company before buying their stock. I rarely watch Mad Money but I heard Jim Cramer saying this on there…
Craig W
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20
votes
3 answers

How can I invest in gold without taking physical possession?

I want to buy gold but I do not want to physically store it. I just want to invest in the price of gold. Where can I buy electronic gold certificates? Something like putting money in the bank but instead of dollars, I'm depositing gold, for example.…
user4951
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20
votes
4 answers

Why would anyone buy a government bond?

In my country, the interest rates on government bonds are currently 2 - 3%, but I have money in a term deposit at the bank which earns 4% interest. I don't understand how this can be possible. Why are there any buyers of government bonds, either…
Flounderer
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20
votes
3 answers

What are the indicators a stock is part of a pump and dump scheme?

What are the indicators that a stock is currently being pumped for a later dump? If one were watching the market what would they need to look for in order to identify a stock as a victim of pump and dump?
OpenCoderX
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20
votes
3 answers

Should I pay off zero interest debt early?

My cash reserves are around $11k, including an emergency fund of about a month and a half, and I budget rigorously. The only debt I have is $7k at zero interest, paid at $300/month, and it's from a family member who would almost certainly defer…
Paul
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20
votes
10 answers

How can I avoid international wire fees or currency transfer fees?

I'm paid by an American company, but travel to France frequently and need to have a French bank account for various reasons. So far the cheapest procedure I've found to transfer money is withdraw euros from an ATM with my American card, walk to…
20
votes
1 answer

Locked out of EIC and dependent deductions by adult son's fraud

A young friend asked my help with her taxes where we found her adult son has claimed her two young sons as dependents, filed for and received EIC and a bigger refund, and left her broke and without a car (stolen, likely a coincidence). The older boy…
Steve Scott
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20
votes
3 answers

Banned from using Western Union. Is it worth filling out the paperwork to get past this?

Aside from my main job, I’ve been tutoring a couple of students online and regularly receiving payments from them via Western Union, as they live in a different country. A couple of weeks ago, a transfer sent to me was automatically returned to the…
wiss13
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20
votes
5 answers

Paying a parking fine when I don't trust the recipient

I realized post factum that I forgot to pay for parking at a country park in the UK. There were signs and payment machines, but for various reasons I forgot to do it. Today I got a payment notice from, it seems, the outsourced manager of the…
Bennet
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20
votes
4 answers

What happens to non-cooperative shareholders when a company goes private?

I own a few shares in some large publicly-traded US company. This company gets acquired and "goes private". Am I required to give up my shares in the acquisition? What if, for whatever reason, I don't want to cooperate? Are my shares still worth…
rlandster
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20
votes
4 answers

Somebody sent me a check to deposit into my account, but I now think that it's a scam. will I get in trouble?

I am homeless and have been for the last 8 months. Finding work has been difficult as I am physically and mentally handicapped. This girl on Facebook who was friends with somebody I know hit me up and offered me financial help, and at first…
20
votes
2 answers

FOREX: Pair Trading, What is Really Happening?

I am starting to study FOREX again and one thing about trading on the market through means available to me personally is that one can take positions on 'currency pairs'. This has made little sense to me because I'm looking for some sort of physical…
Burton Samograd
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20
votes
6 answers

What is the point of "earnest money"?

My wife and I are in the process of buying a house. We recently found a place we liked and had our real estate agent make an offer. The offer contract he drew up said that we put a certain amount of money in escrow as "earnest money," which makes…
Mason Wheeler
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20
votes
2 answers

What are "headwinds" and "tailwinds" in financial investments?

I've seen/heard these terms in various writings & broadcasts lately. What do they mean?
danludwig
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