Princess Billi Jo♥ asked:


Marcia and Phil Helm, a couple in their thirties, have been married for several years. They have no children, and each has a professional career. Marcia is a trainee for a management position at a large department store, and Phil is an engineer at an electronics firm. Their careers have promising futures, but neither has exceptionally good income protection in the event of a layoff. The Helms have saved around $8000, and $7400 of it is in a 3.5% savings account at the credit union where Phil works. They have about $600 in a regular checking account (with Mid-City Bank) that doesn’t pay any interest. The Helms’ combined take home pay is about $5000/month, and Phil thinks they should take the $7400 out of their savings and invest in the stock market to earn a better return. He points out that, excluding their life insurance policies, they have no other investments. Marcia thinks this plan might be too risky, but she does agree that the 3.5% yield is not very good.

Recently, at a party, a friend suggested they take out certificates of deposit (CDs) with long maturities because the CDs were paying around 6% in interest. The Helms liked her advice and stopped at Phil’s credit union to get more information on the CDs. After talking with the office manager for a while, though, they became more confused. He didn’t favor CDs; although, the union had them available. He pointed out that interest rates on the new money market accounts were around 4% and didn’t require “freezing” your money for a year or more. He also indicated that the union could offer a super NOW account that would allow the Helms to close their current unproductive checking account with Mid-City. This account would give them unlimited check writing privileges with no service charges and would pay 3% interest; however, it would require a minimum balance of $2500. If their balance went below the minimum in a month, interest would be only 2%.

The Helms left the credit union without taking any action. They have asked you for advice on managing their liquid deposits.

In 3-4 paragraphs, answer the following questions.
Do you feel the Helms’ $8000 liquid balance is adequate? Explain.
Explain the relative risks and potential advantages of CDs. Explain under what condition(s) you would recommend them for the Helms.
Do you agree with Phil that some of their funds should be invested in the stock market? Explain.
What are your recommendations for a cash management plan for the Helms?

butterfly234 asked:


Let’s say someone is 2 years out of school and now makes 70K, but their college and grad school debt is 140K at 2.8% for 30 years. This person is not married, has no kids about 5K in credit card debt and is renting an aprtment at 600/month. Now after credit cards are paid off, should this person accelerate payments on their student loan or after paying high interest credit cards, should they buy a house, or save for retirement. This person is currently 30. This question came up because his student loan interest is so low, but he is woried about the total amount owed, but also wants to buy a house.

Kelly R asked:


The Cash Option is the amount you could receive today as a lump sum. So in this problem you are calculating the present value. If the amount were divided equally over 20 years you would be receiving an annuity of $300,000 per year. The applicable interest rate is 7%

Drea asked:


A $1,000 investment in common stocks at the beginning of 2000 was worth $______ at the end of 2000.

a) 2,160
b) 909
c) 254
d) 1,160

king of class asked:


What is the annual premium of Katy’s car insurance if the base premium is $250.25 and the rating factor is 2.35?

Mike asked:


OK guys, I do not know what I am suppose to do from here. I am 45 and married with 2 kids.7K in collidge fees for 2 more years for my older kid, my other one will be starting in 4 years. I am the only one who works. I have been fortunate in the last 10 years to pay off my house. It is value is 275K in todays market. I have $13K in my IRA and my wife 13K too. My IRA is set up in a CD.II started my IRAs 3 years ago. have 66K in the stock market and 50K in a bank CD. I also have 95K in cash.My monthly payments are $1500 and I do not have health insurance. I am self employed and will close my doors at the end of this year if not sooner. I am in the video store business, which is a fast dying business.I never went to collidge and am not expierenced in anything, but I did graduate high school.I guess I was a natural born salesman, but now I am getting older and worn out from being self employed for all those years.I am willing to work hard at anything. This is my personal position.

With all that said, I do not know what to do from here, how should I invest the money I have left? Is it possible to invest it and have enough to pay the bills if I can not get a job for 1 or 2 years, and when I do it will probably be low paying.Do I keep putting money into my IRA and if so what is the advantage? I really do not understand IRAs.Oh yea, mine is a traditional IRA. I am limited in knowledge on bonds,ect..
PLEASE, no stupid remarks or I will delete them, I really want to know from one of you guys who is way smarter than me what possible road I should take from here, I do not want to watch everything I worked for disappear in the next few years.
Thank you in advance.

Chris asked:


I am 25 and have been working for a few years. Can anyone recommend any books and/or strategies to help me learn more about how to manage my personal finances? I know the basic about 401k and my Roth IRA. Can you help me prioritize and also suggest some other investment opportunities I should consider beyond my 401k and Roth IRA? Thx!

Windy asked:


You want to go to college.(Finish actually, you have some college.
You had an injury so you’re on sickness pay to cover daily expenses, you owe way more on your car than it’s worth, and it doesn’t drive on the freeway due to the transmission, you have bad credit-someone signed student loan docs in your name several years ago which are in default and therefore you can’t get financial aid or student loans due to federal student loan default. The bank did offer to help with student loans, only they denied the loans due to the credit.
What in this situation would you do to be able to:
a.) Travel (have a car to go places such as school etc, possibly work)
b.) Go to college
c.) own a home, or some type of place.
d.) Oneday start a buisiness(restaurant)
e.) Work, w/out sickness pay stopping too abruptly
Just curious to hear everyone’s own opinion and what they would do in this “Real life chose your own adventure” that I have presented for you. I wonder where I got the idea for it?
Thanks

MaStErT927 asked:


1. Which of the following is not true concerning Income Tax Refunds? (1 point)
It is advantageous to receive a large sum of money in the form of a refund so that you can use the money to pay down debt.
You are essentially giving the government an interest–free loan.
It means that you are having too much deducted from your paycheck.
You haven’t properly evaluated your personal tax circumstances.
2. When claiming dependents, they must meet the following criteria EXCEPT: (1 point)
the dependent must be a relative.
the dependent must reside with you for the entire year.
the dependent must be under nineteen years of age unless he or she is a full–time student (under 24 years old).
the dependent was unable to provide over half of his or her support for the year.
3. If you opt to put money in a medical flexible spending account rather than trying to amass enough medical expenses to itemize on your tax return, you are taking advantage of _____. (1 point)
a credit
withholding
a deduction
an exclusion
4. A form of taxation in which everyone pays an equal rate of taxes is called a _____. (1 point)
progressive tax
regressive tax
flat tax
net tax
5. A form of taxation in which the highest income earner pays the largest percentage of taxes is called a _____. (1 point)
progressive tax
regressive tax
flat tax
net tax
6. A form of taxation in which the lowest income earners pay the largest percentage of taxes is called a _____. (1 point)
progressive tax
regressive tax
flat tax
net tax
7. Which of the following is not considered part of your gross income? (1 point)
Everything of value you received during the year
Bartered goods and services
Everything of value of that you received from April 15th to December 31st
Money you win on a game show
8. Which of the following is not true about your adjusted gross income? (1 point)
It is your income minus deductions
It is your income plus your deductions
It determines whether you are eligible for additional tax breaks
It is your gross income minus deductions
9. Which of the following is true about standard deductions? (1 point)
They are tax breaks that you can claim without having to itemize
They are listed just above the total taxable income on the 1040 tax form
They reduce your tax bill rather than your taxable income
You must itemize in order to take advantage of this deduction
10. A dollar–for–dollar reduction in your tax payment is called a _____. (1 point)
deduction
flat tax
credit
debit

girl_zone_6 asked:


Hey guys,
I m having trouble trying to solve these two problems. If anyone can help it will be greatly appreciated
Thanks in advance!

*For someone who has $100,000 to save for 20 years, would a 4% Certificate of Deposit that compounds annually be a better deal than a 4.00% Certificate of Deposit that compounds quarterly? Why or why not?

*How much can you borrow today if you can make payments of $3,600 a year for the next five years and the interest rate is 10%?