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1500 questions
24
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9 answers
I earn $75K, have $30K in savings, no debt, rent from my parents who are losing their home. Should I buy a home now or save?
My parents have advised me to buy a home, as residential real-estate is still "cheap" (or what's considered cheap in my area). My parents have valid points, especially from an economic/investing perspective. However, I really do NOT want to rush…
overanalyzer
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3 answers
What differentiates index funds and ETFs?
Many companies offer index funds and ETFs. If two funds or ETFs track the same fund, what differentiates the two? Is it common for one index fund to outperform another? How can this happen if the funds/ETFs are tracking the same index?
I found this…
Ryan Michela
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24
votes
10 answers
Can paying down a mortgage be considered an "investment"?
I've read a few articles online about investments, and other articles about paying down home mortgages. One thing that I've noticed is that people who advocate paying down mortgages seem to emphasize that it should not be considered an…
Stephen Cleary
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24
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6 answers
Foolish to place orders before the market opens?
I was wondering if it is unwise to place orders for stocks/ETFs before the market opens. I am almost always buying to add more to existing positions. I don't have any time during the day to make trades, so I usually put in my orders the night…
mushroom
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24
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3 answers
If low-cost index funds are considered the best investment, why are there so many high-cost, managed funds?
The general consensus is that the single best indicator of a fund's future performance is the its expense ratio (source). If you look for more than 5 minutes online you discover the Bogleheads approach to investing; the Motley Fool's discourse on…
Dang Khoa
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24
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3 answers
Getting paid to like Instagram's posts? Scam?
My dad just told me that he had accepted a passive income job offer on WhatsApp where the task is to like the linked Instagram post every 20 minutes to earn money. The amount is too good for such job and my dad had really received the money and…
Ugly Duck
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24
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3 answers
If US Treasuries at yielding 4-5% right now, why can't I find an ETF that yields that amount?
If US Treasuries at yielding 4-5% right now, why can't I find a 1 month US Bond ETF or 6 month US Bond ETF that yields 4-5%? The best I can find is SGOV but it only yields 2%.
Picture of US yields on 3/8/2023 for reference:
Katsu
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11 answers
Why should I hold stocks for the long term when the risk of more companies going bankrupt increases over time?
The longer the time frame, the larger the risk that any given company is going to go bust. If this is the case, then why is long term stock investing encouraged? Isn't it more risky to invest for the long term rather than the short term? In the long…
Flux
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24
votes
8 answers
Dental insurance isn't really a type of insurance?
The central tenet of insurance is to pay slightly more on average while getting protected from paying very large amounts of money should disaster strike. In essence it's paying a premium to lower risk. A large company can pool risk, so it doesn't…
Kevin Kostlan
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24
votes
2 answers
Ordered bike parts, paid with Paypal, received face masks. How do I get my money back from this scam?
My wife fell victim to a scam that she will not let go of. She was looking for a bicycle online and came across what appeared to be a legit web site. My wife assumed that it was safe to use Paypal because recipients would not get her credit card…
maple_shaft
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24
votes
3 answers
Why would a financial institution prevent their clients from trading a specific security?
Ameritrade restricts trading of Gamestop:
"In the interest of mitigating risk for our company and clients, we have put in place several restrictions on some transactions in $GME [GameStop], $AMC [AMC Theaters] and other securities," reads the TD…
Franck Dernoncourt
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24
votes
2 answers
What happens to my shares if a company reverse splits its stock 10 to 1, but I own fewer than 10 shares?
Company A decides to do a reverse stock split and reduces the number of shares by, say 10 to 1.
Before the reverse split I only owned 7 Stocks on that company. How will this reverse stock split affect me? Will I now own only 0.7 shares, or what…
greenrabbit
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24
votes
8 answers
How could an amateur investor make money off of a market crash?
Assume someone 'knows' that a market crash could occur within the next couple of months, and has no access to 'professional tools'.
What methods could this person use to prepare for the crash in such a way that not only will they not lose money, but…
ispiro
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24
votes
4 answers
Buying a house. Seller wants cash now and move only next year, renting same house in meantime
A relative of mine found a fantastic house on the market (Canada), evaluated 750k. He knew there were 3 other buyers making offers and he was entering a bidding war. He made an 800k offer and was the highest bid, offering to take ownership 3 months…
Alex L
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24
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10 answers
Does the “15% into retirement” rule include employer contributions?
I keep seeing that you should be putting 15% of your income (link2, link3) into a retirement account. Does that include the employer match? For instance, if my employer has a 4% match, do I still put in 15% or do I drop it down to 11%? What if my…
rhavelka
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