While it’s true that all transactions lead to cash in the end, the realities of financing place obstacles between buyers. Sellers naturally want to deal with buyers who face the fewest hurdles. All-cash offers are a great way to remove those obstacles, but they’re not always the best choice. What Is an All-Cash Offer? In most real estate transactions, buyers rely on the help of a lender to finance their purchase....
For this reason, term insurance can be a great choice if you need temporary coverage, such as while you’re raising a family. However, term insurance would be a poor choice if you require lifetime coverage, perhaps because you have dependents with special needs. Here is a breakdown of the basic types of term life insurance coverage to help you decide if this is the right choice for you. Level Term Policy A level term policy is the “standard” type of life insurance policy, in which both the policy premiums and the death benefit remain constant (or level), until the end of the term....
For example, a business owner might drive to a client’s office a few hours away and stay at a hotel overnight before driving home the next day. In that case, the business owner can often deduct travel expenses such as gas (or they might use the standard mileage rate rather than adding up actual car expenses) and lodging. However, not all travel costs are tax-deductible travel expenses. For one, traveling to and from your home to your main office wouldn’t count as travel, because that would just be commuting, which isn’t deductible....
This article describes the legal duties of a board of directors and how to select board members for your small business. Who Are Board Members? The individuals who are selected to be on the board of directors of a company have overall responsibility for its activities. Boards of directors do not participate in day-to-day decision-making; instead, they set overall policy, based on the company’s mission and vision, and exercise an oversight function, reviewing the actions of its officers and executives....
This doesn’t only apply to people who are self-employed. Even if you are traditionally employed, you should plan to pay yourself first because this advice isn’t actually about getting a paycheck. Pay yourself first is a money-saving technique that focuses on saving for your long-term needs and well-being ahead of any other spending. Learn how this system works and how it can help you save money. What It Means to Pay Yourself First “Pay yourself first” means that you should pay your own savings and investment accounts first....
The chart below shows the starkly different trajectories of the annual pay of people working for minimum wage versus the average Wall Street bonus. Minimum wage, $7.25 an hour since 2009, was $3.35 in 1985. It’s a different story for workers in New York’s securities industry, where bonuses have soared from an average of $13,970 in 1985 to $184,000 in 2020, the Institute said, citing data from the New York State Comptroller....
Bank credit ratings provide: A common vocabulary for consumers, investors, government agencies, and financial institutions to useThird-party insight into the reliability and risk level of financial institutions Agencies such as Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service, and Standard & Poor’s issue credit ratings for banks along with other financial institutions and investments. These ratings are normally given as letter grades, with an AA or AAA rating being better than a BB or BBB rating....
You can find BINs on: Debit cards that are linked to a checking or money market accountCredit cardsCharge cardsPrepaid debit cardsGift cardsElectronic benefit cardsHealth care payment cards (such as a health savings account (HSA) debit card) This numbering system was developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). These organizations create business and industry standards in the U.S. and internationally, respectively. Those standards include the issuance of bank identification numbers and issuer identification numbers....
Individuals can use banknotes as currency. If you want to buy a coffee for $2, you might hand over two banknotes in the form of two $1 bills. Or you might hand over one $5 banknote and receive three $1 banknotes in change. Suppose you help a friend move and they give you a $100 gift card as a thank you. You can’t take that $100 gift card to a bank and deposit it into your checking account or exchange it for five $20 bills, for example....
For example, suppose you have assets totaling $1,400,000 ($1.4 million) and liabilities totaling $200,000. In that case, your net worth would be $1.2 million, meaning that you fit the definition of a millionaire. How Being a Millionaire Works When considering whether someone is a millionaire, in most cases, you consider their net worth. According to a Spectrem Group Market Insights Report, there were 11.8 million Americans with a net worth of at least $1 million in 2019....
Alternate name: Account number Chances are you’ve noticed your primary account number every time you’ve taken a look at your credit or debit card. How Primary Account Numbers Work While the long string of numbers on your credit card may look random at first glance, primary account numbers are not assigned randomly. A primary account number is created by following a system set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The ANSI system codes the numbers to identify the card issuer, network, and account, with the goal of preventing fraud and identity theft....
Alternate name: Market bottom, rounding bottom Consider this example. Stock A’s price has been falling for two consecutive months. Sellers are attempting to sell their shares but there is no demand—the sellers outnumber the buyers. During the third month, there is renewed demand for the stock. Now, buyers are actively purchasing Stock A and driving up its price. The lowest price before Stock A rebounded was $25; this is the bottom price....
Definition and Examples of a Straddle A straddle involves the purchase or sale of two options for the same security. There are two types of straddles: long and short. A long straddle allows investors to profit from a significant change in a stock’s price. It does not matter whether the price rises or falls. The larger the change in the stock’s price, the greater the investor’s potential profit. For example, to execute a long straddle on stock XYZ, an investor may buy both a call option and a put option with the same strike price....
These accounts usually come with limited fees but still have many of the same features as regular savings accounts. College students may be able to set up a direct deposit for their student loans if there’s money left over after their tuition and fees are paid for. Example of a Student Savings Account Opening a student savings account works a lot like establishing any other bank account: You either visit the bank in person or apply for an account online....
As an example, 10 friends and family members may each agree to put in $100 a month for 10 months. Each member of the tanda would get $1,000 in one of those months. ROSCAs are more common in developing countries or among immigrant groups in more developed countries. Alternate names: A tanda goes by many names in different parts of the world, including cundina (in northern Mexico; tanda is more often used in central and southern Mexico), hui (Vietnam), paluwagan (Philippines), asusu (Benin), esusu (Liberia), and susu (Tobago)....
How Tax Expenses Work When an individual or commercial entity owes a money to a governing agency, that amount is considered a tax expense. The amount of a tax expense is determined by the tax rate, which is typically a percentage of the amount being taxed. The government imposes multiple types of taxes, creating tax expenses related to earned income, investments, and gross sales revenue. Consider this common example of a tax expense for individuals: direct income taxes....
Federal employees who participate in a TSP can save part of their income for retirement. Like a 401(k), your employer takes out a tax-advantaged percentage of your choosing from your paycheck and may match your contribution. If you’re covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), you can save in a TSP while also taking advantage of a FERS retirement annuity and Social Security benefits. If you’re covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or are a member of the military, the TSP is a supplement to a CSRS annuity or military retired pay....
There are times when a variable-rate CD can be a prudent choice over a fixed-rate CD, especially if the current interest rates are low. Because the fine print on each CD is slightly different, it’s important to know what you’re looking for to determine if a variable-rate CD is the right place for your money. Definition and Example of a Variable-Rate CD A variable-rate CD offers an initial interest rate for a set amount of time that may fluctuate based on market conditions or a pre-set schedule....
Typically, the abandonment clause comes into effect when the property is deemed a total loss by the insurance company. This can occur when a vehicle is totaled, or when a boat sinks and the salvage process costs more than the vessel and goods inside are worth. For instance, if your home suffers substantial damage from a tornado, you might want to sign the house over to the insurance company and make a fresh start somewhere else....
Alternate name: Multipurpose card In some payment card contexts, the term “open loop” is used to describe a kind of card network that does not issue cards or establish cardholder rates and fees directly, but instead partners with financial institutions to perform these tasks. In these contexts, Visa and Mastercard would be considered “open loop.” Meanwhile American Express and Discover, both of which serve as an issuing bank and the payment network, would be considered “closed loop....
