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Deciding what type of tax professional (if any) is best suited for you can be a challenge. Learn the differences between various tax preparers, so you can determine which one best suits your specific tax needs. What Is a CPA? Certified Public Accountants, or CPAs, are accounting professionals who have met education and professional requirements and have passed the four-part Uniform CPA Exam. The credential is granted by states, so education and professional requirements vary accordingly....

To get a rough estimate, walk through five simple steps to come up with a simple yes-or-no answer. 5-Step Calculation for Retirement Saving Here is an overview of the simple five-step calculation to determine whether you’ll have enough income and savings to cover your expenses in retirement. Answer these questions: When you are done with the calculation, compare the answer to your current annual expenses to see whether the amount projected is enough to cover the living expenses you normally have....

There are two primary ways of determining yields: the distribution yield and the SEC yield. It’s helpful to know how each type of yield is calculated so that you can use both of them to get a better sense of your return. What Is the Distribution Yield? The distribution yield—also known as the “trailing 12-month yield” or “TTM”—is calculated by comparing a fund’s distributions in the previous 12 months to the fund’s net asset value (NAV) at the end of that 12-month period....

When the Damage Is Your Fault By way of example, suppose that the mirror was broken in a minor collision with another vehicle caused by your negligence. Or, perhaps, the mirror clipped a bush as you backed out of your driveway. In both situations, you or your insurance company would have to pay to repair the damage. Your insurance company will cover some repair costs if there was a vehicular accident, and you had collision coverage on your policy at the time of the accident....

Basis of Faulty Work Claims Faulty work claims generally derive from complaints about the way a job was done. A plaintiff may allege that the contractor performed the work incorrectly, or that the contractor used inferior materials, the wrong tools, or incorrect machinery. Alternatively, the plaintiff may claim that the work doesn’t meet industry standards or the quality warranted in the contract. Some claims allege the contractor completed the work but failed to provide adequate instructions or warnings....

You can make shared living easier and keep your roommate from ruining your credit by setting the rules for space- and bill-sharing from the beginning. Decide who’s going to be on the lease (the landlord may require both people), whose name the utilities will be in, and how bills will be paid each month. Sharing a Lease Many landlords require all adult occupants to be on a lease. In that case, everyone on the lease is responsible for the rent each month....

A last will and testament is a document that a person completes when they are living direction the division of their assets and belonging at the time of their death. If someone dies without a will, the division of their property must be decided by the state in a process known as “probate,” which is a legal proceeding that can be costly and takes several months to complete. Kentucky’s Revised Statutes (KRS 391....

Until now, the $2 trillion CARES Act and other emergency relief measures had cushioned the blow on vulnerable U.S. households, paying most Americans a one-time stimulus check of as much as $1,200 in the spring, providing an additional $600 a week to those collecting unemployment benefits through July, and then offering an extra $300 a week for six weeks in most states. But as the additional benefits expire, more than 26 million people are still out of work, and economists see more suffering ahead without new federal aid....

What Is Efficient Market Hypothesis? The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) essentially says that all known information about investment securities, such as stocks, is already factored into the prices of those securities. If that is true, no amount of analysis can give you an edge over “the market.” EMH does not require that investors be rational; it says that individual investors will act randomly. But as a whole, the market is always “right....

Why a Cover Letter Is Important Here’s a secret: Writing cover letters is hard for nearly all candidates—not just entry-level applicants. So, don’t be disheartened if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the process. This means writing a cover letter that complements your resume, and not one that merely duplicates that information. A good cover letter also shows off your communication and writing skills and proves that you know how to tell a compelling story—a bonus in almost every job, even if the job description doesn’t include writing as a requirement....

How Interest Is Charged The credit card rate is expressed as an APR or annual percentage rate. You’ll find a list of all the APRs for a credit card in the credit card disclosure. The interest rate currently being applied to your balances is on your billing statement along with each balance. Most credit cards have a grace period during which you can pay your balance in full and avoid paying interest....

Typically a forex broker will offer you a price from the banks where they have lines of credit and access to forex liquidity. Many forex brokers use multiple banks for pricing, and they’ll offer you the best one available. Opening a Forex Trading Account To get an account with a forex broker, it’s a bit like opening a bank account. It requires paperwork and steps, such as identity verification. The whole process takes a few days....

It depends on the employer’s company policy regarding holiday pay, because federal law doesn’t require payment for time not worked. However, depending on where you live, your state may mandate paid holidays. Review a list of federal holidays, dates each holiday will be observed in 2022 and 2023, information on holiday time off and compensation, extra holiday days off from work, and when you may have to work on a designated holiday....

Fed officials raised the benchmark fed funds rate to a target range of 0.75%-1% from 0.25%-0.50%, double the typical increase and the first one that size since 2000. The Fed also detailed plans to reduce its holdings of mortgage-backed securities and other assets bought earlier in the pandemic in order to help keep financial markets running and support lending to households and businesses. The moves show just how serious the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee is taking the recent spike in inflation, which officials readily acknowledge sneaked up on them and has only been made worse by the war in Ukraine....

PayPal said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it received a Civil Investigative Demand letter from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Jan. 21. While neither party provided details on the investigation, Venmo has come under scrutiny for its debt collection practices in the past. The company has threatened to unleash debt collectors on customers who carry negative balances in their accounts of as little as $7, and even on customers who were victims of scammers, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2019, based on emails from Venmo’s customer service team....

On the other hand, the appeal of a move-in ready home is undeniable and might even come as a relief after a long home-hunting process. If you buy a house that’s ready for move-in, you won’t need to wonder how much you’ll spend on renovations or how long they will take. Whether you’re looking for a fixer-upper or a move-in ready home, there are upsides and downsides. Learn more about the specific challenges of each type of home, so you can decide which is the right kind of right property for your first home....

Although ethanol has a lower energy content than regular gasoline, such vehicles typically don’t exhibit performance loss other than a decline of 15% to 27% of their fuel efficiency when E85 is used. Acronym: FFVsAlternate name: Flex-fuel vehicles How Flexible-Fuel Vehicles Work Henry Ford built the first FFV, the 1908 Model-T Ford, which could run on either gasoline or ethanol. But it wasn’t until 1994 that the first mass-produced FFV hit the market....

As long as your age qualifies you to enter into a legally binding contract in your state, lenders can’t factor in your age when deciding whether to give you a car loan. But if you’re a college student, you likely don’t yet have the credit that lenders typically require to approve a car loan and might be wondering how a student can get a car loan. Although it can be difficult to secure your first auto loan, there are many steps you can take to get and maintain a car loan as a student....

Learn more about what Form 1065 is, who must file it, and a step-by-step process for filing, as well as when and where to send the return. Also learn how Form 1065 plays a role in Schedule K-1, which is used for your personal taxes. What Is Form 1065? Form 1065 is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) federal tax return for all types of business partnerships, including general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships....

The contrast between these two types of funds matters. If you are a newer investor, you need to be sure you grasp the basic concept of each. Understanding global vs. international mutual funds not only allows you to know what you are getting into when you invest in a fund that is not based out of the U.S., but you’ll also grasp the risks of these investments as well....