From: jeff@scrooge.csd.sdl.usu.edu (Jeff Salisbury) Subject: MSNBC - Stock Genie site isn't all it appears Date: 01 Jun 1998 11:07:44 -0600 Everyone, In today's Wall Street Journal, one of the "free" articles is "Stock Genie site isn't all it appears". This is important reading for anyone who uses the Internet (not just the Stock Genie site) to gather investment ideas and information. It can be found at: http://www.msnbc.com/news/169166.asp and I suggest that you visit this site ASAP, since it my be in the "free" area for only a short time. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: BobWo@aol.com Subject: Lehman Bond Index Date: 01 Jun 1998 22:51:51 -0400 (EDT) How do find the Lehman Long T-Bond Index on the net? Do I need the Lehman site? - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeff Morgan Subject: RE: IRAs for kids. Date: 01 Jun 1998 12:35:53 -0600 >Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 18:20:03 -0700 >From: Christy Rohrig >Subject: IRA's for your kids!!! ><...> > My understanding is that, since you can gift $10k to any one person >each year, there is no reason that you can not gift your kids $2000 to >open their IRA's.<...> > >A tax-geek, engineer's opinion, >- -Christy More engineer that tax-geek? ;-) IRAs must be funded with *earned* income. Gifts aren't earned. Cheers. -- Jeff Morgan - morgajs@parsec.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: GenesisMC@aol.com Subject: Offshore Banks and Self Liquidating Loans Date: 02 Jun 1998 09:01:41 -0400 (EDT) Does anyone have any information on either of these two issues? Are offshore banls really "trust worthy" and how do self liquidating loans work? Some of the things I have read about each seem too good to be true. And we all know what they say about something that is "too good to be true". So if anyone has more information, good or bad, I would love to hear about it. Sorry if this has been answered in a previous issue but I don't always get a chance to read every issue. Thanks in advance, Rich - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rick.Schafer@bdk.com Subject: RE: Paying off debt Date: 02 Jun 1998 14:27:04 -0600 PAY IT OFF!!! Stop paying interest! That's an investment with a huge & guaranteed rate of return! Sorry for the CAPS -- but really, pay off the cards! Rick Schafer - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ravi Chivukula Subject: Good MBA software. Date: 03 Jun 1998 11:26:25 -0500 Hi Everyone: Has anyone used software tutorials for MBA program ? (Virtual MBA etc.) Could you recommend any good package ? Direct replies will be posted back to Persfin. Thanks in advance, Ravi Chivukula - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Jackson, Anthony D." Subject: FW: RE: IRA's for your kids!!! Date: 04 Jun 1998 12:12:59 -0400 Christy, You can only do the IRA up to the amount of income that the kids have earned up to a max. of $2000.00. Thus if they don't have any earned income then the IRA option is a No-Go. Also a tax geek, engineer's opinion "TJ" > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 18:20:03 -0700 > From: Christy Rohrig > Subject: IRA's for your kids!!! > > My understanding is that, since you can gift $10k to any one person > each year, there is no reason that you can not gift your kids $2000 to > open their IRA's. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jgoodbu@dynamic.ca Subject: RE: IRAs for kids. Date: 04 Jun 1998 14:20:00 -0500 >> My understanding is that, since you can gift $10k to any one person >>each year, there is no reason that you can not gift your kids $2000 to >>open their IRA's.<...> > >IRAs must be funded with *earned* income. Gifts aren't earned. Just swap the gift for your earnings . . . I'd use the gift as spending money, and put an equal amount of my earnings in the IRA, up to your annual eligible amount. I know it sounds too simple to work, so speak to your accountant. I live in Canada, and our RSP laws are similar, but not identical. Here, 18% of your earned income is eligible. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Richard A. Bauer" Subject: Tax on IRA Withdrawals Date: 04 Jun 1998 19:37:05 -0500 I'm 63 years old and have a regular IRA account (from my yearly contributions) and an IRA account (made up of my 401(k) rollover). The way I understand it, the taxable portion of IRA withdrawals are figured from 8606 information. Also, I believe 8606 information does not include rollover information. Therefore is it true that withdrawals from my regular IRA have a different tax calculation than withdrawals from my rollover from 401(k) IRA account? Help! Richard B St Louis - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mark Ollendorff Subject: calendar of Financial discussions and chats on the Net... Date: 10 Jun 1998 10:24:14 -0700 I wanted to pass along the URL for a well laid out live online events calendar. Navigation is easy and you can search by numerous variables, such as by keyword, subject, and audience type. I have found some great discussions about personal finance through it, and felt that others interested in these topics would benefit. http://www.onnow.com/Find.htmpl OnNow (that's what it's called) covers all sorts of topics, not only finance. Take a look. You should be pleasantly surprised by their depth. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Subject: RE: Offshore Banks and Self Liquidating Loans Date: 10 Jun 1998 14:46:45 EDT In a message dated 6/4/98 12:45:04 PM EST, owner-persfin- digest@lists.xmission.com writes: > Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 09:01:41 -0400 (EDT) > From: GenesisMC@aol.com > Subject: Offshore Banks and Self Liquidating Loans > > Does anyone have any information on either of these two issues? Are > offshore > banls really "trust worthy" and how do self liquidating loans work? Some of > the things I have read about each seem too good to be true. And we all know > what they say about something that is "too good to be true". So if anyone > has > more information, good or bad, I would love to hear about it. > > Sorry if this has been answered in a previous issue but I don't always get a > chance to read every issue. > > Thanks in advance, > Rich Flat out and out scams. What's funny is that the self-liquidating loan scam relies on borrowing millions - as if anyone will qualify for millions in loans without millions in collateral! :) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jim McGrath Subject: Re: Tax on IRA Withdrawals Date: 10 Jun 1998 16:35:56 -0400 >I'm 63 years old and have a regular IRA account (from my yearly >contributions) and an IRA account (made up of my 401(k) rollover). > >The way I understand it, the taxable portion of IRA withdrawals are >figured from 8606 information. Also, I believe 8606 information does >not include rollover information. > That is because rollovers are entirely untaxed. An 8606 is filed anytime a nondeductable (after tax) IRA contribution is made. >Therefore is it true that withdrawals from my regular IRA have a >different tax calculation than withdrawals from my rollover from 401(k) >IRA account? No. An IRA is a single entity that may have many accounts. A withdrawal is treated as if it is coming from the sum of all accounts. Form 8606 is used to calculate what portion of the withdrawal is not taxable. Jim - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Dalmia, Bipin K." Subject: long-term loss Date: 10 Jun 1998 15:22:13 -0500 hi: i have a question regarding long-term capital losses. do i have to use LT losses to offset LT gains or can i use them to offset short term gains? the reason is obvious, my LT gains are taxed at 20% and ST gains at 28% and i would rather offset 28% gains than 20% gains. but i am sure that in its infinite wisdom, congress will make me offset LT gains before ST gains encouraging ST behaviour. also, does the same apply to 'worthless stock'? i have some stock for a company that filed for bankruptcy and i do not see any hopes of getting anything for that stock. (for the curious, it is Venture Stores) thanx, bip - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Cal Lester" Subject: Re: persfin-digest V5 #22 Date: 10 Jun 1998 17:33:22 -0400 I have seen no discussion on the financial aspects of Life Insurance since Ira left. Does that mean that no one out there has any questions about Life, Disability or Health Insurance? Is any one considering the use of Life Insurance in business, Buy/Sell, Key Person, Pension? I will be happy to discuss the relative merits of any Life Insurance Product (as I have done in the past). Cal Lester CLU Insurance course Coordinator Broward Community College This is neither an offer nor any attempt to sell any insurance product. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: eric Subject: MCI Date: 10 Jun 1998 18:50:56 -0400 MCI is offering online signups on the internet. Includes $15/ mo intern= et access. Any 'fine print" that I'll find out about too late? - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rich Carreiro Subject: Re: Tax on IRA Withdrawals Date: 10 Jun 1998 18:43:36 -0400 >I'm 63 years old and have a regular IRA account (from my yearly >contributions) and an IRA account (made up of my 401(k) rollover). > >The way I understand it, the taxable portion of IRA withdrawals are >figured from 8606 information. Also, I believe 8606 information does >not include rollover information. Well....sorta. Form 8606 serves two purposes: (1) To track the total of non-deductible contributions. (2) To compute the taxable part of a withdrawal from *any* traditional IRA account when *any* non-deductible contribution has been made to *any* traditional IRA account. Remember, for almost all tax purposes all your IRA accounts are aggregated into a single IRA. It is true that with respect to (1), 8606 has no "rollover information", but with respect to (2) it most certainly does -- namely the total value of *all* traditional IRA accounts. >Therefore is it true that withdrawals from my regular IRA have a >different tax calculation than withdrawals from my rollover from 401(k) >IRA account? Absolutely not. The ratio between the non-taxable part of a withdrawal and the total withdrawal (no matter what traditional account the withdrawal came from) is the same as the ratio of total remaining non-deductible contributions to the total value of all traditional IRA accounts. Form 8606 will lead you through all this. Rich Carreiro rlcarr@animato.pn.com P5-100/RedHat Linux 4.1 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Subject: New tax laws on real estate capital gains Date: 10 Jun 1998 23:04:07 EDT I read in a book about the new real estate tax law which states that one qualifies for no capital gains tax if a property has been one's primary residence for 2 years, and then rented for 3 years (actually, sold before that 3 year period is up). The book seemed very clear about this. I've heard others say that it must be one's primary residence when the house is sold, not a rental. Can anyone clarify this? Thanks... - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: JONESW@CCSUA.CTSTATEU.EDU Subject: tax on IRA withdrawals Date: 11 Jun 1998 4:22:07 -0400 R. A. Bauer asks how the tax on IRAs is calculated. The tax-free percentage is the total of all non-deductible contributions (from your 8606) divided by the total of ALL IRA holdings, whether those IRAs came from regular ones or rollovers from 401k. Example: With $30,000 in ordinary IRAs, $10,000 non-deductible contribution total listed on 8606, and $160,000 in rollovers from 401k, the tax-free percentage is 10000/200000 = 5%. So you pay income tax on 95% of whatever you withdraw, REGARDLESS of whether it comes from the ordinary IRA or the rollover. The percentage has to be recalculated every year. Bill Jones - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Nelson E. Timken, Esq." Subject: RE: persfin-digest V5 #22 Date: 14 Jun 1998 11:38:08 -0400 I have a question regarding ESOPS and ISOPS. My mother in law worked for Roosevelt Savings (TR Financial- ROSE) and received stock as an employee benefits plan, both in an ESOP and an ISOP where she received shares free and had the option to buy shares at a discount to market. She wants to roll over these shares, now that she has been laid off due to the takeover by Roslyn into an IRA. The plan seems to indicate that she can do this. Anyone have any thoughts? Nelson E. Timken Contact me at: http://onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/investing-list - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Iron Foot Subject: Debt Consolidation Date: 15 Jun 1998 10:54:44 -0400 (edt) Greetings all! Thanks for the good advice about paying off debt before accumulating wealth. Now, I have more questions about debt. I'm maxed on 3 credit cards and paying usurious rates on my car. Is there a way to consolidate my debt and pay a lower rate? Thanks again! Elliott - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Rao, Bharat" Subject: Pay taxes on capital gains even if *below* deduction? Date: 15 Jun 1998 11:03:01 -0400 I am doing my parent's taxes this year, and filed for an extension. They are retired, have no income, other than interest/dividend income and capital gains from their stocks and bonds. I don't anticipate having to pay a penny of taxes, since their total amount realized is below the standard deduction for "married filing jointly." In year's past, capital gains, etc. went on Page 1 of the 1040 and were cancelled out by the deduction. However, this year, the capital gains, etc., are all figured at the very end.. And I'm not allowed to carry over the deduction to the bottom of page 2 to offset the capital gains. I understand that the idea is to give people a break by charging them a lower rate on their capital gains; however, in this case, it actually hurts my parents -- it can't be right, that this new law hurts the elderly and retired whose sole source of income is their savings.. Doesn't make sense. Any ideas? (Since their taxes are *so* simple, I just do them myself, and don't go to an accountant -- and would prefer not to do that this year too.) Thanks for any clarification, Bharat R. Bharat Rao E-mail: bharat@scr.siemens.com Adaptive Information & Signal Processing, Siemens Corporate Research US Mail: 755 College Road East, Princeton, NJ 08540 Phones: (609)734-6531(O) (609)734-6565(F) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Paul Wojcik" Subject: Life Insurance / Trusts / Estate planning Date: 15 Jun 1998 08:28:15 PDT Since Mr. Lester invited Life Insurance questions, I figured I would pose a question or two that I've been thinking about. I want to have term coverage on myself with my wife as benficiary, followed by my son if my wife doesn't survive me. In order to avoid excessive estate taxes in the event that my wife and I both die and my son is to collect the insurance, is it advisable to establish an irrevocable trust and have the trust by the policy and be the benficiary? This seems to be the best structure, but what happens if we plan this way and then only I die? I could have her as a primary benficiary, but I wouldn't want the policy payoff to be a large gift from the trust to her... Should she and my son both be trust benficiaries? Can she also be the trustee? Many thanks for help on these confusing (at least for me) topics, Paul ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Brian O'Rourke" Subject: Disability Insurance Questions Date: 15 Jun 1998 09:40:23 -0700 >Does that mean that no one out there has any questions >about Life, Disability or Health Insurance? I have a question about disability insurance. My former employer provided disability insurance, but my current employer does not, so I will be delving into the disability insurance market on my own for the first time. Who are the major disability insurance providers for individuals? What premiums can a 33-year old male expect to pay to replace around 60 - 70% of income? Brian O'Rourke - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Christy Rohrig Subject: Re: persfin-digest V5 #23 Date: 15 Jun 1998 11:57:45 -0700 > I read in a book about the new real estate tax law which states > that one qualifies for no capital gains tax if a property has been > one's primary residence for 2 years, and then rented for 3 years > (actually, sold before that 3 year period is up). The book seemed > very clear about this. > I've heard others say that it must be one's primary residence when > the house is sold, not a rental. I can see why you're confused.... It's simple though. The government changed the definition of "Primary residence" to be any house that you have lived a total of 2 year out of the last 5 years. So if you've rented the house for 2.5 years, you probably qualify. You will need to recapture the deprication (even if you didn't take it) and pay capital gains tax on that. Even with recapture of the deprication, it's a great deal! Regards, -Christy - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Christy Rohrig Subject: Re: persfin-digest V5 #23 Date: 15 Jun 1998 11:57:45 -0700 > I read in a book about the new real estate tax law which states > that one qualifies for no capital gains tax if a property has been > one's primary residence for 2 years, and then rented for 3 years > (actually, sold before that 3 year period is up). The book seemed > very clear about this. > I've heard others say that it must be one's primary residence when > the house is sold, not a rental. I can see why you're confused.... It's simple though. The government changed the definition of "Primary residence" to be any house that you have lived a total of 2 year out of the last 5 years. So if you've rented the house for 2.5 years, you probably qualify. You will need to recapture the deprication (even if you didn't take it) and pay capital gains tax on that. Even with recapture of the deprication, it's a great deal! Regards, -Christy - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rich Carreiro Subject: Re: long-term loss Date: 15 Jun 1998 17:13:54 -0400 >hi: i have a question regarding long-term capital losses. do i have to >use LT losses to offset LT gains or can i use them to offset short term >gains? the reason is obvious, my LT gains are taxed at 20% and ST gains >at 28% and i would rather offset 28% gains than 20% gains. Just follow Schedule D (as maddening as that may be :-). The first clear bit is that short-term losses first offset short-term gains. The second clear bit is that aggregate long-term losses first offset aggregate long-term gains. These are clear from the structure of Sched D. Short-term gains and losses are netted to line 7. Total long-term gains (i.e. "20% gains" and "28% gains" taken together) and losses are netted to line 16. "28%" gains and losses are netted to line 15. The net ST gain(loss) and net total LT gain(loss) are then netted to line 17. So the answer to your question is yes, you must use LT losses to first offset LT gains (but you also first use ST loss to offset ST gain), and this is fairly clear from the form. What is less clear is how "20%" gains and losses and "28%" gains and losses (remember, these are both long-term) ultimately net against each other. A quick skim of the evilness that is Sched D, Part IV does not make this immediately clear to me. Really following the calculations through should bring out the answer, though. I do recall reading that Congress was generous enough to let both "20%" and "28%" long-term losses first offset "28%" long-term gains and then offset "20%" long-term gains instead of having each offset their own kind first or even worse, having them both offset "20%" gains first. >also, does the same apply to 'worthless stock'? i have some stock for a Yes. The type of loss on 'worthless stock' is, like losses in general, is determined by your holding period in the stock. However, remember that ceasing to trade on an exchange or going bankrupt does not at all necessarily render the stock worthless in the eyes of the IRS. The stock has to be totally worthless to take the loss without selling it. Because of this difficulty, many brokers will, as a service to their customers, buy such stock from their customers for a token sum, thus providing the necessary arm's-length sale to take the loss even though the company isn't worthless in the eyes of the IRS. Rich Carreiro rlcarr@animato.pn.com P5-100/RedHat Linux 4.1 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: James Garcia Subject: Re: persfin-digest V5 #23 Date: 15 Jun 1998 20:36:35 -0700 (PDT) > Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 18:50:56 -0400 > From: eric > Subject: MCI > >Eric Marcus asked: > MCI is offering online signups on the internet. > Includes $15/ mo internet access. > Any 'fine print" that I'll find out about too late? If you go several pages deep into the "terms", you will find that that if you don't spend $5.00/month in interstate calls, MCI will "round up" to $5/mo. Also, they don't state what their intrastate long distance rate is. If you spend $5/mo on out of state long distance, it looks like a good deal. Jim Garcia jimgarci@pacbell.net _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: David Stanowski Subject: UTMA Date: 15 Jun 1998 23:41:31 -0400 Is there any way to transfer funds from a UTMA account for a minor into a trust, so that the child will NOT get a lump sum payout when they turn 18??? = - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Peter Palma" Subject: catches to MCI`s online phone service Date: 16 Jun 1998 10:12:01 -0400 If you're talking about signing up for MCI's online billed phone service, here are the catches I found: Extremely high in state rates ($.25 to $.40 /minute) They won't send you an invoice in the mail, they only place one on their website for you to view. Their website was often down or wouldn't display correctly so I could read the invoice. They sign you up for services (with fees) you don't request (in one case one I specifically declined). When I complained, they said they'd remove the fee and cancel the service but didn't. There's no phone number to contact them directly. All their "customer service" is handled by email. When I had complaints, it took them an average of a week to get back to me by email. Their typical first response was, "we can't find your account, please send us your account number and phone number again." In summary, they were incompetent, very frustrating to deal with, and the rates weren't THAT good. Obviously the service is new and may improve, but nothing they said or did gave me the impression they were trying to correct their mistakes. On the other hand, a month after switching to MCI, I got a $60 check in the mail from AT&T to switch back, and they gave me a $.10 rate for 6 months with no fee. Hope it helps, Pete - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: PowellFamily Subject: Persfin administration Date: 15 Jun 1998 13:25:20 -0400 Dear Jeff: I couldn't find the address to write this to you personally. I wanted to let you know that I think you are doing a great job on the list. I think some people's comments are merely their way of adjusting to change. Please continue to do a great job, just like you are doing. I admire your knowledge of technology in being able to apply filters and such, I wouldn't know how. Thank you for your time and effort. Sherri [Jeff's comment] Thanks Sherri, I appreciate your kind words... - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Monty Baddar" Subject: RE: MCI Date: 16 Jun 1998 13:46:24 EST5EDT You have to be an MCI long distance customer to qualify for a $15.00/month. > MCI is offering online signups on the internet. Includes $15/ mo intern= > et > access. > > Any 'fine print" that I'll find out about too late? Monty Baddar User Support Manager Liberal Arts Computing Lab Gambrell Hall Bldg. Room 003 University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 email: baddar-monty@sc.edu (803)777-7843 Fax (803)777-7489 Service Requests:http://garnet.cla.sc.edu/lacl/network/department.html - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: greg.panayotti@swissbank.com Subject: Re: persfin-digest V5 #23 Date: 16 Jun 1998 16:35:26 -0400 >Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 23:04:07 EDT >From: >Subject: New tax laws on real estate capital gains > >I read in a book about the new real estate tax law which states that >one qualifies for no capital gains tax if a property has been one's >primary residence for 2 years, and then rented for 3 years (actually, >sold before that 3 year period is up). The book seemed very clear >about this. > >I've heard others say that it must be one's primary residence when the >house is sold, not a rental. > >Can anyone clarify this? > >Thanks... (Usual disclaimers: One should consult a real estate attorney for the applicable laws as they pertain to them. I do not consider myself an "expert" and neither should you!) >From what I've seen, tax law states that a person must hold a property for 5 years total. Of those 5 years, the person must've lived in the property for 2 years total to get the full exemption. That's it. I never saw anything that said when exactly you had to live in the property, as long as it was atleast 2 out of atleast 5 years. A copy of the new tax law can be found (for example) at www.schwab.com. Look under investment advice/strategies. G. Panayoti Meadowlands Board of Realtors, NJ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Avrum Lapin Subject: Rental of part of residence Date: 17 Jun 1998 05:51:35 -0700 (PDT) I have a few questions about renting out part of a residence. I've read Chapter 10 of Pub 17 and recognise that that the rent is income which I can offset by certain expenses. If I choose what I will call renting for profit I can include depreciation of the rented part of the building as an expense. 1. Only the building and not the land is depreciable. How do you arrive at what portion of the property is land and what is the building if the residence is 30 years old and in an urban tract (Los Angeles). 2. I recognise that the property basis in the future will be the cost less the depreciation charged off. When I sell and I want to exclude the first $500K (married) of capital gain must I be tenant free for 2 years or just a resident. (where did you find the answer) If I choose to rent "not for profit" I recognise that I can't depreciate and that expenses are deducted as as Miscellaneous expenses on Schedule A subject to a 2% of AGI exclusion. 3. Under the "not for profit" situation must I be tenant free for 2 years to exclide the $500K Other than the depreciation deduction and the 2% exclusion why would one do one rather than the other. Thanks Avrum Lapin Upland., CA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jeff@scrooge.csd.sdl.usu.edu (Jeff Salisbury) Subject: Sharing large files (graphics, spreadsheets, etc.) with the group Date: 18 Jun 1998 12:18:28 -0600 Everyone, From time to time, you may wish to share large files with our group (i.e. gif, jpeg, spreadsheets, etc). Our list is configured to reject large postings (even if they are properly encoded) since the sheer volume has caused problems in the past. As an alternative, we have provided an anonymous ftp site. To provide your file to the group, please follow these instructions: 1. Send your file to "ftp://ftp.xmission.com/pub/users/m/mcjathan/incoming". See the "FTP Instructions" below. 2. Send mail to me directly at "owner-persfin-digest@lists.xmission.com" telling me the name of the file that you uploaded. I will move the file from the incoming directory, to a public directory where people will be able to download or view your file. 3. After I notify you that the file has been moved to the public directory, you should send an email to the group describing your file, and its public URL or address. Although this may seem unwieldy at first, it really isn't too bad and it solves more problems than it creates. You should note that I do not monitor my email on the weekends as closely as during the week. Therefore, steps 2-3 may take longer over a weekend. Best Regards, Jeff Salisbury =========================================================================== FTP Instructions: (A) Using Netscape, go to the URL: ftp://ftp.xmission.com/pub/users/m/mcjathan/incoming (B) On the Netscape "File" menu, select "Upload File..." This will open a file selection widget on your hard-drive. Select the file you wish to upload and hit the "Ok" button. At this point, your file will be uploaded. (C) Eventhough your file has been uploaded, you will not be able to see the file in your netscape browser. The reason for this is that the "incoming" directory is set to write-only for security reasons. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jeff@scrooge.csd.sdl.usu.edu (Jeff Salisbury) Subject: The Great Boom Ahead Date: 18 Jun 1998 12:18:37 -0600 Persfin'ers, In the spirit of my last message about sharing large or graphic files with the group, I have a chart I want to share... I've recently read a couple of books "The Great Boom Ahead", and "The Roaring 2000's" by Harry S. Dent. Dent uses a simple and overlooked correlation between the age & size of the population and its relation to the value of the stock market. The graphs in his book show a REMARKABLE relationship between the peak spending years of our population, and the stock market. The book, written in 1993 when the Dow Industrials stood at 2800, predicted a solid boom in the US stock market. And indeed it has happened, our current Dow has been as high as 9000 -- unthinkable in 1993. I think Mr. Dent makes a strong case to be optimistic over the next decade. This is a good thing to keep in mind during the stock market volatility we've seen over the past days/weeks. A chart of some of Mr. Dent's work can be seen at: ftp://ftp.xmission.com/pub/users/m/mcjathan/canslim/GreatBoom2.gif Take a look at the chart and toss out your questions and thoughts to the group. Best Regards, Jeff Salisbury - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "David W. Vaughan" Subject: Good Free/Low-cost Mailing List Discussion Group Software/Provider? Date: 15 Jun 1998 15:48:49 -0400 Hi folks! I'm seeking advice/pointers etc. on good free/low cost mailing list software/net provider for a professional mailing list _discussion group_ that I plan to bring up shortly! (I've some pointers to free/advertiser supported mailing list providers on the net but these seem to be aimed at essentially _one way/broadcast_ type mailing lists rather than _two way_ discussion group mailing lists.) TIA! David W. Vaughan mail@david-vaughan.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeff Morgan Subject: RE: Debt Consolidation Date: 18 Jun 1998 13:30:43 -0600 >Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 10:54:44 -0400 (edt) >From: Iron Foot >Subject: Debt Consolidation > > Greetings all! > > Thanks for the good advice about paying off debt before >accumulating wealth. Now, I have more questions about debt. > > I'm maxed on 3 credit cards and paying usurious rates on my car. >Is there a way to consolidate my debt and pay a lower rate? > > Thanks again! >Elliott A couple of ways: you might find an independent lender to offer a consolidation loan. Look out for two traps here, high rates is one, and the second is they will often want much more than the loan value as security; cars, furniture, other personal property, etc. Interest on this type of consolidation loan is not deductible. The second way is with a home equity loan, if you have equity against which to borrow. The term is usually longer (5-15 years), and the interest rate may be a little more affordable depending on your credit rating and the amount of equity you borrow. Be careful, there has been a lot of publicity lately about some outfits that use questionable methods like bumping the rate sky high on one late payment, talking you into refinancing and then financing high closing costs along with the deal, etc. Read everything carefully before you sign it, and get professional counsel for anything you don't understand. There are plenty of lenders out there, you can afford to shop around. Either way, get rid of the credit cards and learn to live without them, lest you find yourself in the same canoe in short order, this time *without* a paddle... Cheers. Jeff Morgan - morgajs@parsec.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Dill, Mary" Subject: Mass treatment of Roth Conversion Date: 18 Jun 1998 15:31:46 -0400 I am finally digging out after the CFA exam and remember seeing the comment below: My understanding is in Mass an IRA distributions is considered 5.95% income not 12% income. In 1997 it would have been reported on Line 9 and Form X. Unfortunately, no 4 year averaging is allowed, the distribution reduces Cost Basis first, and the Cost Basis includes all IRA contributions, whether deductiable or not on Federal Return. Mass DOR URL on this is: www.magnet.state.ma.us/dor/rul_reg/tir/98/TIR98_2.HTML, but it does not say much. Mary - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Robb Warren Subject: MCI Date: 18 Jun 1998 20:20:17 -0400 I just signed up online a few months ago for the 9 cent deal. Yes there are some 'inconveniences', BUT I save a few bucks a month over a 10 cent plan (even though most my savings are on Sundays, 5 cent/min), you CAN use the 800 customer service, I never had trouble seeing my invoices. So far I'm happy with it. However, unrelated to this service: I made a LD call home, direct dialed from a payphone (should be 9 cents/min + 35 cent fee), an operator cut in and asked what number I was calling, so I gave it and was connected. I though it was odd, but didn't think twice. My bill later showed a 20 minute operator assisted call for $8. I call MCI for an explanation, they said it WAS an oper. ass. call. I said "not of my choosing, what was I supposed to do when she asked what number I was calling, hang up??" She said yes!! I said since my direct dial call was intercepted, and I wasn't given a choice to redial, or told it would now be a 40 cent/min call, I want a $6 credit. She said no, and I asked for her supervisor. Now I'm waiting "24-72 hours" for a call back! Looks like I'm going to cash the ATT check I just got in the mail! - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rich Carreiro Subject: Re: Pay taxes on capital gains even if *below* deduction? Date: 18 Jun 1998 19:02:37 -0400 >I don't anticipate having to pay a penny of taxes, since >their total amount realized is below the standard deduction >for "married filing jointly." In year's past, capital gains, etc. >went on Page 1 of the 1040 and were cancelled out by the >deduction. However, this year, the capital gains, etc., are >all figured at the very end.. And I'm not allowed to carry >over the deduction to the bottom of page 2 to offset the >capital gains. Yes you are. 1040 Line 38 - taxable income, which takes into account all their deductions and personal exemptions - is carried to Sched D line 19. Look at Sched D line 53. You figure the tax on the that number. Then look at line 54, the tax you have for the year. It is the *smaller* of line 53 or the tax figured by lines 20-52. So if not considering cap gains separately would result in a lower tax, they'll pay the lower tax. So you are needlessly getting yourself all worked up. Rich Carreiro rlcarr@animato.pn.com P5-100/RedHat Linux 4.1 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Cal Lester" Subject: Re: persfin-digest V5 #24 Date: 18 Jun 1998 23:23:27 -0400 - >persfin-digest Thursday, June 18 1998 Volume 05 : Number 024 > >From: "Paul Wojcik" >Subject: Life Insurance / Trusts / Estate planning > >Since Mr. Lester invited Life Insurance questions, I figured I would >pose a question or two that I've been thinking about. >I want to have term coverage on myself with my wife as benficiary, >followed by my son if my wife doesn't survive me. > >In order to avoid excessive estate taxes in the event that my wife and I >both die and my son is to collect the insurance, is it advisable to >establish an irrevocable trust and have the trust by the policy and be >the benficiary? >>>> The establishment of an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, more than three years prior to you death, could provide Federal EstateTax Free Dollars. There are however many other factors to take into consideration. 1) Your age, your wifes age, your sons age. 2) do you have now, or expect in the near future to have a Federal Estate Taxable Estate? Remember you can currently shelter 1.4 Mill, going to 2 Mill in a few years. 3) YES, if you do establish the Trust, you should contribute an amount (NOT the same as the premium) to the Trust, and have the Trust be the Applicant, Premium Payor & Beneficiary of the policy. 4) you could purchase a " Last to Die " policy, reduce cost, and attain your primary goal. This seems to be the best structure, but what happens >if we plan this way and then only I die? I could have her as a primary >benficiary, but I wouldn't want the policy payoff to be a large gift >from the trust to her... >>>> If you purchase "First to Die" policies, and you die first, the proceeds are paid to the TRUST, which has instructions that you gave it, as to how much of the proceeds to dispurs, to whom and when. Should she and my son both be trust benficiaries? >>>> NO. The TRUST MUST be the beneficiary at ALL times............ Can she also be the trustee? >>>> Yes she could, but it would DEFEAT the purpose that you suggested. If you want it OUT of your Federal Estate Taxable Estate, then she can NOT be a Trustee. >Many thanks for help on these confusing (at least for me) topics, >Paul >>>> My pleasure. I hope that I have shed some light on your questions. I strongly urge you to consult with your Financial Advisors, to determine if there is even a need for concern about F/E/Taxes. BTW, IF there is, then in all probability you should NOT entertain the use of Term Insurance........................ If you have any further questions, I will be happy to try to answer tehm. Cal Lester CLU Insurance Course Coordinator Broward Community College. Cal_Lester@msn.com >From: "Brian O'Rourke" >Subject: Disability Insurance Questions >I have a question about disability insurance. My former employer >provided disability insurance, but my current employer does not, so I >will be delving into the disability insurance market on my own for the >first time. Who are the major disability insurance providers for >individuals? What premiums can a 33-year old male expect to pay to >replace around 60 - 70% of income? > >Brian O'Rourke > >>>> Brian, I am certain that you will not appreciate my responce to this question. As a general rule, I do NOT reccomend Insurance Carriers in this venue. I try at all times to keep my comments as generic as possible. I would suggest that you first contact the Insurance Commissioner in your State. Second go to the Library, and research the companies that they tell you sell D/I in your State. Third check with friends and neighbors to see they are using, AND how well they have paid claims in the past. Please keep in mind, that price is NOT the major factor in deciding which policy to purchase. Look for company stability, claims paying & service. Cal Lester CLU Insurance Course Coordinator Broward Community College Cal_Lester@msn.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Avrum Lapin Subject: Re: Pay taxes on capital gains even if *below* deduction? Date: 19 Jun 1998 06:43:08 -0700 (PDT) At 12:20 PM -0600 6/18/98, persfin-digest wrote: >Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 11:03:01 -0400 >From: "Rao, Bharat" >Subject: Pay taxes on capital gains even if *below* deduction? > >I am doing my parent's taxes this year, and filed for an >extension. They are retired, have no income, other >than interest/dividend income and capital gains from their >stocks and bonds. > >I don't anticipate having to pay a penny of taxes, since >their total amount realized is below the standard deduction >for "married filing jointly." In year's past, capital gains, etc. >went on Page 1 of the 1040 and were cancelled out by the >deduction. However, this year, the capital gains, etc., are >all figured at the very end.. And I'm not allowed to carry >over the deduction to the bottom of page 2 to offset the >capital gains. If their income is less than the sum of the personal exemptions and the standard deduction then it is not necessary to file. Look at the table on Page 7 of the 1040 Instructions (called Filing Requirements) or am I missing something. > >I understand that the idea is to give people a break by >charging them a lower rate on their capital gains; however, >in this case, it actually hurts my parents -- it can't be >right, that this new law hurts the elderly and retired whose >sole source of income is their savings.. If the amount of Capital Gains is small and they are in the form of distributions and you are in a low tax bracket the amount you might save may be out weighed by the fee charged to fill out schedule D> This cynic believes that H&R Block writes the tax code (so that only they can interpret it) Avrum Lapin Upland., CA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jack Subject: Financial Find Date: 19 Jun 1998 10:43:52 -0400 Hi - I have found myself in a very bad financial situation and would like suggestions from anyone who may wish to help. Two years ago I found myself, at age 47, retiring from the U.S. Federal Government on a disability. This disability does not prevent me from working at all, so I did not qualify for Social Security assistance. I am married, with 2 children in college. The debts we had accumulated prior to my retirement were significant, but at that time I was getting 60% of my former salary and managed to do okay. After the first year, my annuity was reduced to 40% of my former salary and slowly the debts began to increase. I should mention here that the money for our kids' education was set aside by their grandparents over the years, so that is not a real problem at this time. Anyway, the credit card debts have built up to a very high number and I've already cashed in both my 401k and my IRA. My home has a very good mortgage on it (15 year fixed, 6.375%) and I have about 10 years left on that. I also have a $25k equity line (prime + 1), most of which is spent. Aside from those, we have credit card debt of @ $60k. I have been trying to get a new equity line, but with both my wife's salary and my annuity, the dept-to-income ratio is @ 58% and no one yet will loan us the money to consolidate (I would destroy most of the credit cards, if I could do this). I don't want to re-finance the entire debt, including the mortgage, as I think there is a good chance that I will see the end of that loan. The nature of my illness does not allow me to work full time and finding part-time work in my field (I was in data processing/computer work) has been impossible. Also, the nature of my illness would make it difficult to work in a standard, shirt and tie, office environment. I am willing to do other work, but nothing seems to be available over about minimum wage. I have considered bankruptcy, but I want, no need, to keep my house. I think I understand that Federal bankruptcy laws may allow me to re-commit to the mortgage lenders and keep my home, thereby excluding it from my assets for liquidation. However, I have also heard that if your state has established their own exclusion rules, then those are the ones that are followed. I believe that my state, Maryland, has their own rules, but I cannot find out if my home can be excluded. I sincerely prefer paying off my debts, but cannot see that happening at this time. I am already starting to incur late charges, something I have never done. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks, Jack - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ron Rothenberg Subject: consolidation loans Date: 21 Jun 1998 13:58:14 -0400 > I'm maxed on 3 credit cards and paying usurious rates on my car. >Is there a way to consolidate my debt and pay a lower rate? > Yes, there are numerous ways. If you're really in trouble, it might be best to speak to the non-profit credit counseling service in your area and get their help in setting up payment schedules and perhaps lowering some of the interest rates on your credit. Consolidation of debt ALONE almost never ends the problem. Sure, your payment may be a few dozen or hundred bucks less than it was before, but you still have the same problems, just at different interest rates. Studies and my own experience show that this ALONE doesn't work, as people feel free to resume their spending habits and quickly work their way up to a larger amount of debt. Consolidation is fine, just don't expect it to be the panacea for debt reduction. Some of those ways: if you own your own home, consider refinancing your mortgage with a cash-out (refinancing to a larger amount) - this will yield the lowest interest rate. make sure you don't pay your consumer debt off over 30 years!! pay it off faster. Way 2: see your friendly local banker for a consumer loan. Way 3: search for a low-interest credit card deal and consolidate all your debt on one low-interest credit card. Way 4: Consumer loan companies - that specialize in more risky loans -- these may be no cheaper than your credit card debt. -rsr- Ron Rothenberg, CFP exclusive buyers broker Homebase Real Estate Homebase@world.std.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Ray McKinnon" Subject: Re: persfin-digest V5 #25 Date: 22 Jun 1998 10:28:26 -0400 Hello All - I am looking for a home budget software tool to purchase. I know Quicken and other money tools provide this feature. However, I ONLY want a stand alone home budget tool. Does anyone know of one? Thanks.... Ray McKinnon. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Somesh Rao Subject: Re: The Great Boom Ahead Date: 22 Jun 1998 10:41:09 -0400 >I've recently read a couple of books "The Great Boom Ahead", and "The Roaring >2000's" by Harry S. Dent. Dent uses a simple and overlooked correlation >between the age & size of the population and its relation to the value of the >stock market. The graphs in his book show a REMARKABLE relationship between >the peak spending years of our population, and the stock market. > >The book, written in 1993 when the Dow Industrials stood at 2800, predicted a >solid boom in the US stock market. And indeed it has happened, our current Dow >has been as high as 9000 -- unthinkable in 1993. I think Mr. Dent makes a >strong case to be optimistic over the next decade. This is a good thing to >keep in mind during the stock market volatility we've seen over the past >days/weeks. > >A chart of some of Mr. Dent's work can be seen at: > > ftp://ftp.xmission.com/pub/users/m/mcjathan/canslim/GreatBoom2.gif > >Take a look at the chart and toss out your questions and thoughts to the group Jeff, I think we are comparing Apples and Oranges. The author is corelating the Dow index with the immigration adjusted births in the USA. In today economy where various countries economies are not isolated and companies do business all over the world, don't you think it would make more sense in todays world to compare the worlds population (or for a better fit, the population of our largest trading partners) against the dow? If this corelation is correct, in my opinion, the fall predicted from 2010 to 2023 may not be as severe since the world population is still growing, and I expect global trade to expand exponentiallyi( the trend has already started with EU and NAFTA, WTO etc). Somesh - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Christy Rohrig Subject: Re: Financial Bind Date: 22 Jun 1998 08:07:17 -0700 Jack, Call a consumer counseling service ASAP. They may be able to work with you and the credit card companies to restructure your debt. Credit card companies don't like this, but they hate bankruptcy more. Next step, start living within your means. Somehow you have managed to accumulate $60k of debt. Look at what type of things you're buying. Maybe you shouldn't eat out as much? I have always used my credit cards as a cash management tool. For me this means not spending any more than I can manage to pay off COMPLETELY. (Credit card companies don't like this either, since they make their money on interest.) I don't eat out every day and if money were tighter, I would probably brown bag lunch more often. Good luck working through this. Don't put your house in jeopardy by refinancing again. Work on the spending side and see consumer credit counseling services in your area! -Christy > Date: Fri, 19 Jun 1998 10:43:52 -0400 > From: Jack > Subject: Financial Bind > > Hi - > > I have found myself in a very bad financial situation and would like > suggestions from anyone who may wish to help. > > Two years ago I found myself, at age 47, retiring from the U.S. Federal > Government on a disability. This disability does not prevent me from working > at all, so I did not qualify for Social Security assistance. I am married, > with 2 children in college. The debts we had accumulated prior to my > retirement were significant, but at that time I was getting 60% of my former > salary and managed to do okay. After the first year, my annuity was reduced to > 40% of my former salary and slowly the debts began to increase. I should > mention here that the money for our kids' education was set aside by their > grandparents over the years, so that is not a real problem at this time. > > Anyway, the credit card debts have built up to a very high number and I've > already cashed in both my 401k and my IRA. My home has a very good mortgage on > . > . > . > . > > Any thoughts or suggestions? > > Thanks, > Jack > - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Jackson, Anthony D." Subject: RE: Disability Insurance Questions Date: 22 Jun 1998 09:51:49 -0400 Brian wrote: >Does that mean that no one out there has any questions >about Life, Disability or Health Insurance? I have a question about disability insurance. My former employer provided disability insurance, but my current employer does not, so I will be delving into the disability insurance market on my own for the first time. Who are the major disability insurance providers for individuals? What premiums can a 33-year old male expect to pay to replace around 60 - 70% of income? Brian O'Rourke Brian, Depending on what career you are in I would suggest you try to get disability Ins. from your trade organization. That way you take advantage of group rates, etc. The premiums are based on the dollar amount that represents 60-70% of your salary. At your age to replace about $3000 per month premiums should be around $150-$200. These figures are around what I think my engineering society get from NY Life. If you are not in a trade group, consider joining one for the benefits. The cost of membership plus the reduction in premiums sometime are better than the rates if you go it alone. "TJ" - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "James C. Parinella" Subject: Official date of wedding for tax purposes Date: 22 Jun 1998 13:21:41 -0400 A friend of mine is getting married next January 2, and makes about twice as much as his fiancee, and is therefore concerned about the marriage penalty for income taxes. He is worried that since Jan 2 is a Saturday and Jan 1 is a holiday, that the marriage license must be signed before the wedding on Dec 31, and therefore they would be "legally" married in tax year 1998. What is the official legal date of a marriage in Massachusetts? How will this affect their income taxes? Jim Parinella - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rich Carreiro Subject: Re: Mass treatment of Roth Conversion Date: 22 Jun 1998 19:48:55 -0400 >unearned income.> > >My understanding is in Mass an IRA distributions is considered 5.95% >income not 12% income. True. However, that was in the context of talking about how unfair the MA tax rate on dividends and interest is. I had also mentioned how I had read in more than one article that earnings inside of *Roth* IRAs will be taxed at 12% regardless of whether they are long-term cap gains or not. I admit such a statement puzzles me but I have seen it in more than one place. Of course (hopefully :-) it'll be moot quite soon, since the tax cut packages passed by the MA House and MA Senate (a conference committee is currently thrashing out a reconciled bill) both will follow the federal treatment of Roths. >distribution reduces Cost Basis first, and the Cost Basis includes all >IRA contributions, whether deductiable or not on Federal Return. Mass Here I disagree slightly. I believe that the MA cost basis in a traditional IRA only includes contributions made while one is an MA taxpayer (deductible or not), not all contributions. At least this is what I remember the Form 1, Sched X instructions saying. Rich Carreiro rlcarr@animato.pn.com P5-100/RedHat Linux 4.1 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "George Podhiny, Jr." Subject: MCI - More of the Same Date: 23 Jun 1998 01:32:17 -0400 MCI does it again. It seems that MCI has a mission to be a company most people would want to avoid. Years ago they called repeatedly to convince me to switch long distance carriers, and only by threatening them with a lawyer did they finally give up contacting me. In addition, they contacted my wife's employer seeking their business and were very insistent. My impression is to avoid this outfit even if you think you will be saving money. The underhand tactics of MCI far outweighs any benefit to be derived by using them. George Podhiny, Jr. Coatesville, PA - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Stephan Iscoe" Subject: re: Good Free/Low-cost Mailing List Discussion Group Software/Provider? Date: 22 Jun 1998 23:58:11 -0400 David Vaughan asked: >I'm seeking advice/pointers etc. on good free/low cost mailing list >software/net provider for a professional mailing list _discussion group_ David, check out http://www.listbot.com We use their free service for both moderated discussion and newsletters. The free service has a 10K size limit and carries a small Listbot promo ad. The Gold service has no restictions or ad and costs US$75. yr This is a very professional service and offers you a lot of flexibility in managing your list(s). I'll email you a sample Listbot sign-up notice. Best of Success, Stephan Iscoe Ann Arbor, MI Visit http://www.LinktoSuccess.com "Winners Visualize the Rewards of Success" - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: BOB FORD Subject: financial bind Date: 23 Jun 1998 10:59:46 -0400 >Date: Fri, 19 Jun 1998 10:43:52 -0400 = >From: Jack >Subject: Financial Bind = >I have found myself in a very bad financial situation and would like >suggestions from anyone who may wish to help. = >Two years ago I found myself, at age 47, retiring from the U.S. Federal >Government on a disability. This disability does not prevent me from >working at all, so I did not qualify for Social Security assistance. I = am >married, with 2 children in college. The debts we had accumulated prior= to >my retirement were significant, but at that time I was getting 60% of my= >former salary and managed to do okay. After the first year, my annuity was >reduced to 40% of my former salary and slowly the debts began to increas= e. >I should mention here that the money for our kids' education was set asi= de >by their grandparents over the years, so that is not a real problem at this >time. = >Anyway, the credit card debts have built up to a very high number and I'= ve >already cashed in both my 401k and my IRA. My home has a very good >mortgage on it (15 year fixed, 6.375%) and I have about 10 years left on= >that. I also have a $25k equity line (prime + 1), most of which is spen= t. >Aside from those, we have credit card debt of @ $60k. I have been tryin= g to >get a new equity line, but with both my wife's salary and my annuity, th= e >dept-to-income ratio is @ 58% and no one yet will loan us the money to >consolidate (I would destroy most of the credit cards, if I could do this). I >don't want to re-finance the entire debt, including the mortgage, as I think >there is a good chance that I will see the end of that loan. = >The nature of my illness does not allow me to work full time and finding= >part-time work in my field (I was in data processing/computer work) has >been impossible. Also, the nature of my illness would make it difficult= to >work in a standard, shirt and tie, office environment. I am willing to = do >other work, but nothing seems to be available over about minimum wage. >I have considered bankruptcy, but I want, no need, to keep my house. I >think I understand that Federal bankruptcy laws may allow me to re-commi= t >to the mortgage lenders and keep my home, thereby excluding it from my >assets for >liquidation. However, I have also heard that if your state has >established their own exclusion rules, then those are the ones that are >followed. I believe that my state, Maryland, has their own rules, but I= >cannot find out if my home can be excluded. > = >I sincerely prefer paying off my debts, but cannot see that happening at= this >time. I am already starting to incur late charges, something I have nev= er >done. = >Any thoughts or suggestions? >Thanks, >Jack JACK (THE USUAL WARNING) I am not an attorney and the following is not legal advice. It is just m= y opinion. It is based on my experience in California. The laws of other states may be different. = = There is no easy answer to your financial problem. It looks to me like your family income is less than your family expenses. You can only live this way for a short period of time. Someday you are going to run out of credit.= = You must either reduce your expenses or increase your income. = Immediately consult a bankruptcy attorney in your state. They can tell y= ou what you can keep and what must be sold to pay your creditors. Bankruptc= y may be only a temporary solution for you however. The only permanent solution is for your income to exceed your expenses. = I would also check with your attorney about the money for your kids education that you have "set aside". When you file bankruptcy you must list all of the assets you control. If that money is under your control, the bankruptcy court may give it to your creditors. Ask yourself what amount of money you could pay after your expenses to reduce your debt to zero. Then contact your creditors and ask them to accept that amount of money each month to reduce your debt. If the interest on your debt is more than the amount you can pay each month, bankruptcy is your only choice. Otherwise you can never get out of debt.= GOOD LUCK BOB FORD BOB_FORD@COMPUSERVE.COM = - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Greg.Panayotti@swissbank.com Subject: RE: Financial Bind Date: 23 Jun 1998 13:47:54 -0400 >Date: Fri, 19 Jun 1998 10:43:52 -0400 >From: Jack >Subject: Financial Bind > >Hi - > >I have found myself in a very bad financial situation and would like >suggestions from anyone who may wish to help. > >I have considered bankruptcy, but I want, no need, to keep my house. I >think I understand that Federal bankruptcy laws may allow me to re-commit >to the mortgage lenders and keep my home, thereby excluding it from my >assets for liquidation. However, I have also heard that if your state has >established their own exclusion rules, then those are the ones that are >followed. I believe that my state, Maryland, has their own rules, but I >cannot find out if my home can be excluded. Jack - sorry to hear about your situation. From what I understand ( I went to a bankruptcy lawyer years back for my father when he left work on disability also with stacks of medical bills. If I am wrong I hope someone will correct me.) - bankruptcy is a federal set of laws - not a State set so it's basically the same in all states. The bankruptcy you're looking for (Chapter 7 I believe) allows the discharging of "unsecured" debt. (i.e. credit cards, medical bills, etc). This does NOT include your mortgage or anything SECURED - so you cannot "exclude" your home. BUT here's the important part: The whole point of liquidating assets (taking your home, possessions, etc) is to sell it and pay off your debt with it. It's not a punishment. So if your house is worth say $200,000 and you owe say $150,000 on it they will not take your house because it's not worth it. They need to sell it (which costs money) - the bankruptcy administrator needs to get paid, taxes on the sale need to get paid, etc ... so there would be nothing left after the sale to pay off any debt. Also, if you own the home as a married couple, each of you gets a $15,000 excemption to use in bankruptcy which could be combined to exempt $30,000 in equity on your home if that's what you choose to use it for. In a real sense, the more you owe on your home, the better your chance of keeping that home through bankruptcy because there is nothing to gain by the sale of it. ** This is , of course, provided you are keeping current on your mortgage! ** Bankruptcy can stall a foreclosure, not prevent it. For you, it sounds like if you got rid of that mountain of credit card debt you could probably pay your mortgage and keep your house. Keep in mind they *will* take any cash you have in the bank in bankruptcy to pay off your debts. This is what I remember but please, please contact a competent bankruptcy attorney in your area. Initial consultations can be as little as $100 to discuss your situation and to see if bankruptcy is an option for you. Good luck. G. Panayoti - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rick.Schafer@bdk.com Subject: RE: Financial Bind Date: 23 Jun 1998 11:39:42 -0400 The nature of my illness does not allow me to work full time and finding part-time work in my field (I was in data processing/computer work) has been impossible. Also, the nature of my illness would make it difficult to work in a standard, shirt and tie, office environment. I am willing to do other work, but nothing seems to be available over about minimum wage. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks, Jack Frankly, I find it astonishing that someone in Maryland with computer/data processing skills cannot find work in their field at 2-5 times minimum wage. Maryland abuts D.C., the largest bureaucracy in the world! Part time work should be available as well -- call a temp agency. Also, these days many companies have a 'business casual' dress code, so I seriously doubt you won't be able to work in a 'standard, shirt and tie environment'. And even so, I bet the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) would support your working without a tie. If you want to work, you can. If you want to be bankrupt, you can do that too. Rick Schafer - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jeff@scrooge.csd.sdl.usu.edu (Jeff Salisbury) Subject: A new wrinkle for persfin... Date: 24 Jun 1998 17:08:16 -0600 Everyone, Starting today, I am making a new option available for the persfin group. So far, persfin has only been available in digest form. With the digest, multiple messages are "conglomerated" (is that a real word?) together into one larger message you have been receiving every 2-5 days. The new option will allow you to receive each message individually as they are sent in to the group. On the spectrum of internet discussions, this new option will be somewhat closer to a "chat" session than has our digest. Whether you want to remain with the digest, or sign up for the "instantaneous" version is purely a matter of individual preference -- there is no loss of content with either option. Also, you can easily switch back and forth. To change your subscription of persfin from the digest to the "regular" option, send email to: majordomo@xmission.com In the body of the email, write: unsubscribe persfin-digest subscribe persfin Best Regards, Jeff - persfin owner/admin - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Prabhat Mishra" Subject: Free mutual fund Beta and Alpha listings on the web Date: 24 Jun 1998 17:21:18 PDT Fellow Persfiners, Does anyone know of a free website where one could lookup various attributes of mutual funds like their Beta, Alpha etc? I know of a lot of places where they have the performance information but not these. Thanks. Prabhat ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "David W. Vaughan" Subject: re: Good Free/Low-cost Mailing List Discussion Group Software/Provider? Date: 24 Jun 1998 21:11:55 -0400 Thanks Stephan for your reponse! >David, check out http://www.listbot.com >We use their free service for both moderated discussion and newsletters. >The free service has a 10K size limit and carries a small Listbot promo ad. >The Gold service has no restictions or ad and costs US$75. yr >This is a very professional service and offers you a lot of flexibility in >managing your list(s). I'll email you a sample Listbot sign-up notice. I'm aware of this service and it does look very professional. However, I want to avoid (3rd party) adverts if possible - and I'm also envisaging a _busy_ _two-way/discussion_ list (not a one-way "push"/announcement list which seems to be the mkt listbot is targeting) -- but when I checked the Gold service I was surprised to see that - unlike the free service - this is a message traffic limit of 1000 messages per month after which surcharges apply!!! So I don't think this service will meet my needs, cost effectively! Anyone know of any other good, free/low cost discussion group mailing list services? Thks/dwv - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Nelson E. Timken, Esq." Subject: RE: Good Free/Low-cost Mailing List Discussion Group Software/Provider? Date: 24 Jun 1998 21:47:43 -0400 The one I use is www.onelist.com check out the links below! Nelson E. Timken http://www.geocities.com/wallstreet/5791/ http://onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/investing-list http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/investing-club -----Original Message----- [mailto:owner-persfin@lists.xmission.com]On Behalf Of David W. Vaughan Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 1998 9:12 PM Software/Provider? Thanks Stephan for your reponse! >David, check out http://www.listbot.com >We use their free service for both moderated discussion and newsletters. >The free service has a 10K size limit and carries a small Listbot promo ad. >The Gold service has no restictions or ad and costs US$75. yr >This is a very professional service and offers you a lot of flexibility in >managing your list(s). I'll email you a sample Listbot sign-up notice. I'm aware of this service and it does look very professional. However, I want to avoid (3rd party) adverts if possible - and I'm also envisaging a _busy_ _two-way/discussion_ list (not a one-way "push"/announcement list which seems to be the mkt listbot is targeting) -- but when I checked the Gold service I was surprised to see that - unlike the free service - this is a message traffic limit of 1000 messages per month after which surcharges apply!!! So I don't think this service will meet my needs, cost effectively! Anyone know of any other good, free/low cost discussion group mailing list services? Thks/dwv - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Allan Spring Subject: Re: Official date of wedding for tax purposes Date: 24 Jun 1998 19:37:33 -0700 > "James C. Parinella" wrote: > Subject: Official date of wedding for tax purposes > > A friend of mine is getting married next January 2, and makes about > twice as much as his fiancee, and is therefore concerned about the > marriage penalty for income taxes. He is worried that since Jan 2 > is a Saturday and Jan 1 is a holiday, that the marriage license > must be signed before the wedding on Dec 31, and therefore they > would be "legally" married in tax year 1998. What is the official > legal date of a marriage in Massachusetts? How will this affect > their income taxes? > > Jim Parinella Jim,I think your friend may want to consider getting married a few days EARLIER. With a big difference in the income of spouses there is often times a little spoken of negative marriage penalty. I suggest running the numbers of the two incomes through an income tax program as married and again as single to see if this is the case. You never know until you crunch the numbers. Does anyone else out there in persfin-land think he should consider eloping secretly a few days early? Romantic and possibly economical. Allan Spring pecanpi@primenet.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rich Carreiro Subject: Re: Official date of wedding for tax purposes Date: 24 Jun 1998 23:11:39 -0400 [Disclaimer: this is my opinion, not advice. I am not a professional.] >A friend of mine is getting married next January 2, and makes about >twice as much as his fiancee, and is therefore concerned about the >marriage penalty for income taxes. He is worried that since Jan 2 Given that he makes twice as much as his fiancee, they'll in all likelihood have a marriage *benefit*. Married people with very unequal incomes pay less tax than they did as singles. Married people with similar incomes pay more tax than they did as singles. >is a Saturday and Jan 1 is a holiday, that the marriage license >must be signed before the wedding on Dec 31, and therefore they I'm pretty sure that signing for the license is not the marriage. The person performing the ceremony, civil or religious, also, I believe, must sign the license, in effect transforming it into a marriage certificate, and so the official date of the marriage is the date of the ceremony. Of course, given the facts you said, they would, as stated above, probably save money if they did in fact get married 12/31/98 instead of 1/2/99. Rich Carreiro rlcarr@animato.pn.com P5-100/RedHat Linux 4.1 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jacqueline.D.Richardson@Hitchcock.ORG (Jacqueline D. Richardson) Subject: PC Software Advice Needed for Landlord Date: 25 Jun 1998 07:54:53 EDT I currently have 7 apartment units and will close on a building with 4 more in a few weeks. So far I have been keeping my records manually with the old 13 column green paper. I would like automate my records with a PC. Does anyone have any suggestions for a software that works well for landlords? Thanks jackie Jacqueline.D.Richardson@Hitchcock.org - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Subject: Re: Need for Bankruptcy Advice Date: 26 Jun 1998 02:13:31 EDT One way to get really good basics about Bankruptcy issues, and about 100 other fields of law, is to look at http://FreeAdvice.com. It has all sorts of information in easy-to-understand question and answer format. For example, its Estate Planning stuff earned it a rating by Bloomberg as one of the top tax sites. It also links to http://AttorneyPages.com. It lists good lawyers in a number of states and practice areas -- and many of them give a (real) prospective client a free initial consultation. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Subject: Planning move and school Date: 27 Jun 1998 23:36:37 EDT Persfin- I have a broad planning question for the group. My situation: I am currently a Mass resident but am planning on attending a GA state school next June. Since I'm in the military, I have the option of immediately changing my tax address based on an 'intention' to move when I leave the Army next year. I currently have somewhere around $50K in securities- some big gainers (Walmart and Idexx Labs) and a few 'speculative' stocks that have mixed results. Walmart and Idexx are both up over 100% since I bought them, but I had been planning on long term holds. I also have approx $10 in back-load Merrill Lynch funds that have done well but I'll owe some load fees upon withdrawl (mistake getting into these) and own about $5K each in PBHG growth and 20th Cent Ultra. I also have a traditional IRA that I haven't contributed to for 98- planning to convert and begin a Roth (hoping for the Mass tax bill, first). I also have approx $10K in a money market. I plan to leave my $55K/year job next year for a one-year MBA program. I will be paying approx $10K for school (Maybe on a cash-back credit card?) and living off of my savings for the year. (If I can become a GA resident in time, school will only be aprox. $6K). After a year I expect to be making enough to live off of again (at least $55). My question begins with what is the best method to decide what to sell or where to get cash for living next year? If that question is too broad, what's the best start point? My current thoughts are to sell the smaller holdings- some at losses. This will help offset my gains for this year and give me cash to get through most of the year. Other people say sell Walmart since they're at a p/e of over 30 and I've doubled my money in three years. Finally, any gains I take in 98 will be on top of my income. Gains (or losses) I can wait and take in 99 will be against a small income, since my income will end around February. My options: - Keep my securities as-is, hoping for the traditional 10% gain and live off of money market cash and maybe some 5% introductory credit cards. - Sell the smaller stocks (some at small loss) but keep the 'bluer' chips. - Sell the bigger gaining blue chips and hold on to the speculation. - Sell some of the Funds? (I'll probably sell Merrill because I don't like thier fee structure) - Question: What is GA income tax like? I'll either be in Athens or Norcross. Will I also get tapped for automotive excise taxes, etc? Finally, how are the big fund families about detailing your cost basis when you sell? Between dollar cost averaging and reinvested dividends, my 6 years of investing will be darn hard to tally come April. Will Merrill or American Century help break them down? - I know this is unweildy but thanks for your thoughts. Let me know if you need more specific info. Scott - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Subject: Protecting assets from Medicaid Date: 28 Jun 1998 17:36:34 EDT A couple of Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) questions regarding protecting assets from Medi-Cal re-capture (or qualification). If anyone knows of any books, websites, or other info sources to point me to, I would be most appreciative. Here are the particulars: My 87 year old father lives with me. I am his only child. He has had several transiet ishemic attacks, which are predictive of an impending stroke. He has about $200k in investment assets and in checking accounts (to which we hold joint title). We recently purchased a house jointly in which we reside. Questions: 1. When we transferred all of my father's funds in to joint checking and investment accounts, does this start the Medi-Cal clock ticking on the 3 year period re gift transfers? If so, since it is a joint account, do all, or only 1/2, of the funds qualify as a gift? Do I need a letter from my father indicating that it is a gift? Would it be better to remove his name entirely from the accounts? 2. We recently purchased a house that we own as joint tennants. A non-specialist attorney I spoke to indicated that there was some case law that set a precedent such that if the son/daughter of the Medi-Cal recipient is living in the recipient's house, the government would not force the sale of the house to recover Medi-Cal long term care costs. I'm not sure how joint tennancy would affect this, or if the child must be a minor. If this is true, it would make sense for us to put $$ into the house (a remodel, addition, etc.). If this is not true, would it make sense to have my father quit-claim on the house after we do an addition to it. (But, that would start another 3-year clock...). Thanks. -- Mike Mills - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Iron Foot Subject: Bidding for Airline Tickets Date: 28 Jun 1998 20:42:44 -0400 (edt) Hi, I've heard of websites that allow the user to bid for airline tickets. What is the URL for that? Thanks. Elliott - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Subject: Great Mutual Fund Site Date: 29 Jun 1998 00:05:20 EDT Prabhat recently wrote, "Does anyone know of a free website where one could lookup various attributes of mutual funds like their Beta, Alpha etc? I know of a lot of places where they have the performance information but not these." You'll find what you are looking for on this great free mutual fund site: http://www.quicken.com/investments/mutualfunds/ Search under a particular fund's Value Line Profile. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Abbott" Subject: Re: Financial Bind Date: 28 Jun 1998 16:29:42 +0000 Jack, Take a look at this web site, find an organization there that is a support group for your disability. I think with any experience in data processing you can find a better than minimum wage position: http://www.eskimo.com/~jlubin/disabled/org.htm > I have found myself in a very bad > financial situation and would like > suggestions from anyone who may wish to > help. > > Two years ago I found myself, at age 47, > retiring from the U.S. Federal > Government on a disability. This > disability does not prevent me from > working at all, so I did not qualify for > Social Security assistance. I am > married, with 2 children in college. > Anyway, the credit card debts have built > up to a very high number and I've Get a container that you can freeze with a lid. Take your credit cards and put them in the bowl, fill the bowl with water, now place it in the freezer. Keep those cards frozen until you can call Consumer Credit Counselors, and make an appt.; they will make you cut them up and contact the cc companies to work on payoffs. Many cc companies will take less than the amount owed to recoup the money they spent, the interest amounts are what you have for negotiating power. You must cut back on your expenses AND increase your income. You have sold out your retirement accounts, you need something to live on in the future. Don't sell the roof over your head, work this out. Check out the frugal usenet group, read frugal oriented web pages, there are ideas for everyone from every type household on the web. The ideas work. I am saving money for the first time ever, these things give me new ideas daily. I still live very comfortably, have some things I didn't have before living this way that I wanted! Be prepared to ask yourself what do you want in your life and make priorities, set goals, and exam who you are. Even a minimum wage job would pay off 60K in about 3 years BUT ONLY IF YOU DON"T INCREASE THAT 60K. Don't allow yourself to be a victim of negative thinking. You seem to have good experience and some marketable skills, find your market and GO FOR IT. Temp agencies are excellent places to start out. Take some positive first steps. Get some support, you are not the only one in your boat, I know, been there, done that! Our debt was 16K this time last year, at the end of this first year with only me working for 6 months of that, 8K is paid off and we have emergency fund money in the bank. I do office work through a temp agency, nothing high powered and high paying! I won't wish you good luck, luck has nothing to do with it, how about strong will power :-) You can get out from under this! Cheers, Joell labbott at mho dot net or joella at rocketmail dot com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: elaine steward Subject: Re: Financial Bind Date: 29 Jun 1998 08:00:52 -0700 Abbott wrote: > ... read frugal oriented web pages, there are ideas for everyone from every type household on the net... > Cheers, > Joell Could you provide a web site? Thanks, Elaine Steward esslady@ix.netcom.com - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rick.Schafer@bdk.com Subject: RE: PC Software Advice Needed for Landlord Date: 30 Jun 1998 09:25:50 -0400 I currently have 7 apartment units and will close on a building with 4 more in a few weeks. So far I have been keeping my records manually with the old 13 column green paper. I would like automate my records with a PC. Does anyone have any suggestions for a software that works well for landlords? [> ] ------------------------ Jackie, What records are you keeping manually? I have 9 units in 3 buildings and am trying to buy more. I use Quicken for everything & haven't noticed a need for more. I do have some brochures on Landlording software at home & can send you the names if you like. Also, check out the book 'Landlording' by Robinson. It is a very practical, large workbook format softcover. In it he lists applicable software, including some of his own that he sells. Also, check out books by John Reed. He has a series of them and I think discussed software. Other suggestions: post your question on the usenet at misc.invest.real-estate. Go to the Mass. Rental Housing Association's website at http://www.massrha.com/ . And join your local Landlords Association (we belong to 3). You will get a lot of help there. Rick Schafer -