Go to Jeff Salisbury LWGate Home Page.From: persfin-digest <owner-persfin-digest@shore.net>
Subject: persfin-digest V4 #30
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:46:03 -0400 (EDT)
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persfin-digest Thursday, May 1 1997 Volume 04 : Number 030
IN THIS ISSUE:
ADVERTISEMENT: MCI FAX BROADCAST SERVICE [Oppenheimer Software <Connect_]
Iowa Inheritance Tax Repealed Effective July 1, 1997 [kafer@crl.com]
There Is No NJ Property Tax On Cars [zaydehmkl@juno.com]
UGMA with a deceased custodian? [Nancy Slator <neslator@amherst.edu>]
Re: Currency exchange rate & Prepaying Credit Card Charges ["Peter Palma"]
Emergency Fund & Online Banking [Paul Michael Brown <paulo@mirror.his.com]
tax savings on child's income? ["Dalmia, Bipin K." <DALMIABK@phibred.com>]
Re: Paying off debt [WDStancil@aol.com]
Re: Does Prepaying A Credit Card Get You A Better Exchange Rate? [Jim_Sho]
My Opinion on the HMO Debate ["Hank Gillette" <Hank_Gillette@smtp.svl.trw]
Re: canceled checks [David Martin <dmartin@seabreeze.hc.ti.com>]
Re: Banks Are the Worst Place to Exchange Money [Kumar Verma <sales@ven.c]
HMO "marathon" [eric <73354.3477@CompuServe.COM>]
Starting a Business for Deductions... [bonsai@world.std.com]
RE: "Second to Die" Life Insurance ["Cal Lester C.L.U." <Cal_Lester@msn]
Re: Second-to-die Term Life Insurance? ["L. Chen" <am302@FreeNet.Buffalo.]
Re: paying a $0.27 phone bill? [johnel@ix.netcom.com]
Variable life tax issues [Paul Balwierz <pbalwierz@earthlink.net>]
atms-europe [WPooha10@aol.com]
Is money given as a wedding gift taxable? [nowak@comm.mot.com (Mark Nowak]
changing jobs for the first time.....suggestions? ["Christopher M. Kulp" ]
Re : Phone bill question + a complex divorce question [ravic@sdt.com (Rav]
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Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:16:18 -0400 (EDT)
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:17:39 -0400 (EDT)
From: kafer@crl.com
Subject: Iowa Inheritance Tax Repealed Effective July 1, 1997
Someone inquired: Had Iowa Legislature/Governor repealed inheritance tax.
Answer: Yes; governor Terry Branstead (sp??) signed the bill Feb 10, 1997.
The URL for the complete text is below, for anyone with Netscape/Internet
Explorer browser.
http://www2.legis.state.ia.us/cgi-bin/Legislation/File_only.pl?FILE=/usr/ns-
home/docs/GA/77GA/Legislation/SF/00000/SF00035/970116.html
Summary is below:
2 32 EXPLANATION
2 33 The bill eliminates the inheritance tax on property of
2 34 decedents dying on or after July 1, 1997, passing to parents,
2 35 grandparents, great-grandparents, and other lineal ascendants,
3 1 children including adopted children and biological children
3 2 entitled to inherit under the laws of this state,
3 3 stepchildren, and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and
3 4 other lineal descendants.
This answer is courtesy of a librarian at the State Law Library, who sent
it within a few hours of my query. Anyone who wants but cannot get the
complete text, may E-mail me with name of your E-mail client and whether
you know how to work with a MIME attachment. If not, I'll send as text.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:18:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: zaydehmkl@juno.com
Subject: There Is No NJ Property Tax On Cars
Regarding NJ taxes,Bob Ford said,"Personal property tax on cars is
usually about $80 per year depending on the car.".
I beg to differ. As a NJ resident since 1970,I have never been taxed on
my automobile.
Auto registration/license tag charge is based on the weight of a car - if
that's what Ford considers a tax.
This year - '97 - I paid $43.50 to re-register my Honda in NJ.
Martin K. Lubow
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:19:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Nancy Slator <neslator@amherst.edu>
Subject: UGMA with a deceased custodian?
Over the years my husband's grandmother put $2,000+ into CDs for each of
my two kids. She held on to the actual certificates until she passed away
recently, and now I don't know if I need to do anything with them. They
are in the kids' names with grandmother as the custodian. Rather than
UGMA, they say "MN UTMA" (grandmother lived in Minnesota). The kids are
13 and 8.
We know that grandmother wanted the money used for college, and we plan to
do that, but in the meantime -- should we let the bank know we now have
them? Do we have to pay taxes on the interest, or start filing tax
returns for the kids? (The kids also have UGMA accounts from my husband's
father, with him as custodian, giving them each about $8,000 in the bank
- -- about $7,900 more than I have.)
Thanks for the help.
- -- Nancy, neslator@amherst.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:20:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Peter Palma" <rpalma@msai.mea.com>
Subject: Re: Currency exchange rate & Prepaying Credit Card Charges
:Peter said this about getting a good exchange rate using credit cards:
:
:>When I was out of the country for a few months, I "prepaid"
:>several thousand dollars on my credit card so I already had
:>the bills covered as they came due. The credit card company
:>wasn't happy about it, but there was nothing they could do.
:I'm curious. How did the credit card company express their
:displeasure at your sending them money that wasn't owed
:(yet)?
<SNIP>
:Sam
I called the credit card company in advance to ask them if I could
do this (prepay several thousands dollars).
Their answer was, "No, you can't."
I said, "Oh, okay" and then did it anyways. I sent an explanatory
letter with the payment.
When I got back from my trip 3 months later, there were 10 messages
from the credit card company's "customer service" department on my
voice mail asking me to call them immediately.
When I talked to them, they told me that "You aren't allowed to
do that because it was against our company's policies."
I asked them what they were going to do the next time I did the same
thing and they didn't have an answer.
I have done it since then without hearing anything from the
credit card company.
Pete
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:22:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Michael Brown <paulo@mirror.his.com>
Subject: Emergency Fund & Online Banking
In respect of the emergency fund vs. pay-off-debts issue, some people have
used the "what if you're in an auto accident and can't work" hypothetical.
This reminds me of some good advice about auto insurance that I got from
my brother, who is a personal lines underwriter at that "Good Hands"
insurance company. He explained that the Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
of your auto insurance policy is a frequently overlooked source of cheap
disability coverage. You can purchase PIP that will cover medical costs
*and lost wages* if you are injured in an auto accident. Typically, you
have the option to buy various levels of PIP coverage. On my policy,
maximum PIP covers me for $100K of medical bills, $24K of lost wages and
$4K funeral benefits for only $65 per year.
IMHO, this is a very good insurance value. Think about it: Auto accidents
are probably the number one cause of disability for most people below a
certain age. With $100K of medical coverage (which also covers rehab) on
top of your health insurance, you're pretty well covered there. With $24K
in lost wage coverage on top of your emergency fund and/or accumulated
sick leave benefits, you're covered for almost all *temporary*
disabilities.
Sure, if somebody else is at fault in this hypothetical traffic accident,
you could always resort to the tort system. And if you're lucky enough to
find a deep pocket, you can always elect to eschew PIP coverage and
hopefully ring the bell for a giant pain and suffering award on top of
your compensatory damages. But PIP covers you if the other driver is
judgment proof, or if you mess up and wrap your own car around a pole. And
it's truly "no fault." You get paid right away. All in all, I think
increasing your PIP coverage to the maximum is a cheap way to buy some
decent disability insurance.
With regard to online banking, I would note that more and more folks are
offering to let you pay your bills via automatic debits from your checking
account. Granted, this lacks the flexibility and the computer-weenie
appeal of online banking. But if you're cheap like me it's cool because
it's free. You'd be surprised at how many of your regular monthly payments
can be put on autopilot this way.
Paul Michael Brown
Washington, D.C.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:22:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Dalmia, Bipin K." <DALMIABK@phibred.com>
Subject: tax savings on child's income?
hi: we have a one-year old child and i've heard that the first $1300 of
income for the child is tax-free? how can i use this to reduce my
tax-bill? should i just gift him some of my mutual funds so when they
declare dividends etc. they would be tax-free upto $1300? are their
other ways of tapping this potential tax-savings?
thanx, bip
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:23:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: WDStancil@aol.com
Subject: Re: Paying off debt
>Paying off a 10 percent debt is investing your money at 10 percent. You
>have to consider taxes to get the real percent in some investments and
>some debt (home mortgage interest for example). If you can earn 9 percent
>after taxes on an investment or pay off an 8 percent debt, take the
>investment.
Well, at least we're talking taxes, BUT none of the answers I've seen has yet
mentioned risk. In the above example, the writer is implicity assuming
the two options have the _same_ level of risk. We can't compare the two
without that assumption.
In general I would not agree that the above would have the
same risk profile. Given the current economy a 9 percent investment (a
corporate bond?) has additional risks (e.g. default risk). I don't mean to
imply it is trivial to measure risk quantitatively but we should keep in mind
given the potential investments to return 9% (after-tax) in today's economy
have _some_ risks we can _qualitatively_ discuss.
(And perceived risks also depend on the individual's risk profile - being
risk-averse and knowing what risks I'd have to take to get a 9% after-tax
return I'd pay off the debt).
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:25:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jim_Shoenfelt@USFG.COM
Subject: Re: Does Prepaying A Credit Card Get You A Better Exchange Rate?
How does pre-paying your credit card help you get a better exchange rate?
Peter said this about getting a good exchange rate using credit cards:
>When I was out of the country for a few months, I "prepaid"
>several thousand dollars on my credit card so I already had
>the bills covered as they came due. The credit card company
>wasn't happy about it, but there was nothing they could do.
I'm curious. How did the credit card company express their
displeasure at your sending them money that wasn't owed
(yet)? How can this be a negative to them considering that
they can now earn interest from your money until you actually
spend/charge on the card. I've done this twice in the past
year with not even a peep out of the credit card companies,
even though several thousands of dollars were involved at
one point. In fact, I negotiated the removal of the yearly dues/
fees by pointing out their income potential should I continue
to send them money they haven't yet earned.
Sam
I wonder if people just forget that the card holder is the
income generator for the credit card company. This is
a distinct advantage in any negotiations necessary.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:26:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Hank Gillette" <Hank_Gillette@smtp.svl.trw.com>
Subject: My Opinion on the HMO Debate
I've been following the HMO debate and I'd like to contribute my opinion.
I have use HMOs for nearly twenty years and in general have be very
satisfied. HMOs are not all alike. Some are non-profit and others are
for-profit companies. I would probably not belong to a for-profit HMO.
Non-profits spend a higher percentage of the premium dollar on patients.
BOB FORD asserts that it is in the HMO's interest not to treat you. The flip
side of that is that it is in their interest to keep you well. My HMO has
many "wellness" programs to keep people from requiring expensive treatment
in the future. It's much more cost efficient to treat problems when they're
small than wait until they become major problems.
While it sometimes can be several weeks to get routine appointments, I have
no trouble getting in on the same day for urgent care.
Other things I like about my HMO: lower premiums, no paperwork to fill out
for reimbursements, no deductible (other than a $5 co-payment), and a
reasonable expectation that the doctor has been screened for competence.
The down sides are seeing a lot of different doctors (which doesn't bother
me), potential problems if I'm sick or injured out of the area, and the
HMO's tendency to try less-expensive treatments first (When I had a back
pain problem, I was sent for physical therapy and other treatments before I
was given an MRI. However, once the MRI disclosed a herniated disk, I was
able to schedule timeley surgery which cost me not a penny.).
I firmly believe that a single-payer system like nearly every other
democracy has would be the best solution because it would squeeze the profit
out of all the middlemen that our system currently has and would allow the
single payer a lot of leverage to negotiate fees with doctors, hospitals,
and drug companies. But since we're probably never going to get that, I find
non-profit HMO's to be the best available choice (for me).
Hank Gillette
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:27:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: David Martin <dmartin@seabreeze.hc.ti.com>
Subject: Re: canceled checks
Several people have praised online bill paying and online banks
like SFNB. Many aspects of these appeal to me, but one problem is that
they often don't give you canceled checks. Actually, a number of
regular banks don't do this anymore either. A paperless online economy
is a nice idea, but when something goes wrong, I have found that
having a piece of paper helps a lot in resolving the conflict. Banks
may claim that they will keep the records for you, but they only keep
them for a certain period of time, and they have no incentive to go
out of their way to help you.
-David Martin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:30:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kumar Verma <sales@ven.com>
Subject: Re: Banks Are the Worst Place to Exchange Money
I personally have found that the worst place to exchange money is in the
bank. Usually when I travel to other countries (especially third world
countries), I exchange my dollars for local currency with friends. They
always offer a higher rate.
- --
Kumar Verma Investors Free Forum
vermak@ven.com http://www.investorsforum.com
*** The best site for Free Investment offers and information ***
(Editor's Comment - I believe some countries have exchange controls. You
could risk jail time (or worse) for your friends in some countries.
My worst currency exchange experience was the Greek post office in a
small town in Crete. Yes, in Greece the post office will exchange money.
The commissions are huge and the rate is terrible. -IK)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:30:37 -0400 (EDT)
From: eric <73354.3477@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: HMO "marathon"
A few weeks ago, Newsweek had an article about a study of the efficacy of
various TYPES of HMO's. Anyone have the article?
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:31:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: bonsai@world.std.com
Subject: Starting a Business for Deductions...
Scott Barnett wrote:
>
>>My tax clients asked me similar situations - my simple advice is to
>>establish your own business as a sideline - making some money to show
[snip]
>Isn't there also a rule about having to make a certain amount
>of money or the IRS views your business as a hobby? I'd be
>concerned about telling someone (as this person's friend did) to
>just slap up a home page on the Internet and say you're in business.
>You have to anticipate making at least some money!
Fortunately for those of us who really ARE trying to make a profit in a
very small business, the rule doesn't say you have to "make a certain
amount of money" -- although you do have to show a profit 3 out of 5 years
(and you have a tiny bit of say as to *which* 5...). Other than that the
rule is that you must show a profit **incentive** in your approach to the
business.
But in the end, as an everyday taxpayer, I would also advise someone
against setting up a "paper" business just to take extra deductions. It's
dishonest, for one thing, but also, if the person "makes some money" to
show a profit motive, that profit will increase taxable income, likely
offsettin the tax savings from the deductions.
I guess people like the advisee in the initial post are the reason us
Schedule C filers get audited at nearly five times the rate of "plain
vanilla" 1040 filers...
Bonnie
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:34:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Cal Lester C.L.U." <Cal_Lester@msn.com>
Subject: RE: "Second to Die" Life Insurance
>From: "Jim Reed" <jreed1@airmail.net>
Subject: Second-to-die Term Life Insurance?
Hi, I've been studying the pro's and con's of term life insurance as it
pertains to my particular situation.
>From what I've found out, term life insurance of the second-to-die type is a
product that does not appear to be available from any insurance company..
>>>> NOT true. there are companies that offer either Second to Die Term
insurance or a combination of some form of Permanent Life with a multiple
Term Rider IE: $200,000 permanent & 400,000 Term.
The problem however, is that most Second to Die Insurance is purchased be
people over the age of 65, when ALL forms of Term Insurance get expensive. the
cost of Term insurance INCREASES each and every year, which makes it less
attractive.
If the policy is expected to remain in force for 10 years or more, in all
probability a combination of Universal Life with some Term Rider, would be
less expensive in the long run.
With all the various insurance products available, it would appear that
some insurance company would be interested in offering a term life
product that would only pay when both husband and wife dies.
>>>> Every Second to die policy pays ONLY upon the death of the Second
Insured. It is conceivable that they could die simultaneously, but not
usually.
This would appear to be a good product for some couples in certain
situations where term life was not needed at first death but, a second
death, it was needed to pay taxes.
>>>> the need for a specific number of dollars to pay Federal Estate Taxes,
which are due "in cash, in nine months" after death, is one.
(Editor's Comment (not an estate planning professional): For people with
estates above $1.2 million, second-to-die life insurance is a way of
using both spouse's $600,000 estate tax exemption, in conjunction with a
testamentary trust. ( with or without )Without this insurance, say the husband
dies. The wife gets everything with no estate tax (unlimited tax free
transfer to spouse). When the wife
dies, only $600K of the estate is shielded from estate tax. The husband's
$600K deduction is gone. So far, TRUE ! ! ! !
If instead the husband had set up, in his will, a trust (I believe it's
called a "credit trust") which is established on his death and funded with
a second to die life insurance policy with a death benefit of $600K and
the children as beneficiaries. When the wife dies, the children receive
the $600K with no estate tax. There's also no income tax on the $600K
because it's a life insurance distribution.
>>>> NO way. What you are probably referring to is what we call an A & B
Trust, or a Marital Trust. The will provides that up to $600,000 of his
PERSONAL assets, assets over which his wife has absolutely no
no control, so that it HIS personal property, be placed into a Trust for the
benefit of beneficiaries OTHER than his wife, with the earnings on those
assets going ONLY to his wife. The balance of his Estate goes directly to his
wife. In this way there is No Federal Estate Tax due at his death. IF the
balance of the Estate that went to the wife is more than $600,000, then the
potential Tax on that amount has to be determined, and a policy on the life of
the Wife Only, in that amounts purchased, with a third party as Owner &
beneficiary.
A Second to Die policy would only be useful in the event that NO
trust is set up, and ALL of the assets would go to either spouse upon the
death of the other. In that event, you determine the potential tax
burden, and purchase a Permanent 2nd to Die policy to pay that eventual
tax that will be due on the death of the Spouse.
The wife should have the same provision in her will, since you can't
predict who will die first.
OK, I'm not an estate planner, but I've read innumerable discussions of
this and have gotten confused any number of times. How close did I get?
- - -IK)
FAIR.
Cal Lester CLU
Insurance course CoOrdinator
Broward Community College
>From: William Jones <bill.and.ginny@worldnet.att.net>
>Subject: long-term care insurance for near-seniors
I have a question that I hope someone can answer. I am considering buying
long-term care insurance. The level annual premius for the coverage I want
($109,500) is $382 at my current age of 53. Or I could wait 1 year and get
the same coverage for $409 annually; or $436 at age 55; or $612 at age 60;
or $877 at age 65; etc. My question is, should I buy now or wait?
>>>> Y E S ! ! ! !
I developed the following analysis, with which I can see nothing wrong,
but I would appreciate constructive criticism. The cost at age 53 is one
30-year T-note costing $7579 and paying 7%, which is 5.04% after tax, which
is $392. I would then use the interest to pay the premiums. When I die or
otherwise cancel the policy, I get the $7778 principal back (plus or minus
interest fluctuations).
The cost at age 54 is $409/(7%*.28) = one T-note costing $8115 next year.
The present value of this is more than the age-53 policy: I can buy my
$7579 T-note now, which will give $392 in after-tax interest by next year at
this time, which is only $7971, so it will cost me $144 additional to wait
one year (actually only $137 extra in present value).
>>>> Very Well thought out.
But, you say, this way of comparing costs leaves out some factors! Yes,
it does. (1) I might die in the next year (0.5% probability), in which case
I cancel the insurance and I am out only $382 by buying now. (2) I might
need long-term care in the next year, in which case I am piles ahead by
buying now. (3) My health, though good now, might deteriorate in the next
year to where I cannot get long-term insurance, in which case I am well
ahead by buying now.
>>>> (2) possible but (3) much more possible at any time.
I figure that the chance of coming out ahead (case (2) or (3)) is about
the same as the chance of coming out behind (case (1)) and the payoff is
much better when I come out ahead (tens of thousands instead of $382), so I
should buy long-term insurance now. Also, the annual premium jumps by 7 to
8% for every year I wait up until age 67, which is more than the 5% annual
after-tax increase in value of a T-note with reinvestment.
>>>> TRUE
Unfortunately, this contradicts the advice I have read in several
sources, saying to wait until your mid-sixties. So what have I missed?
Note: don't bother to tell me I should get a higher face value or get
inflation protection; that question is separate (the pluses and minuses for
buying it now or later are relatively the same).
>>>> I don't know what you have read, but the prevailing thought is to take
advantage of your youth.
There are two factors that I might point out that should be of interest to
you. You use the term LTC, which could infer some form of a) Home Health Care
or b) Nursing Home Care or hopefully c) a combination plan, which provides a
"pot of money" that can be utilized for any of the above and more.
Second, because of your age, you might want to look into a " Return of
Premium Rider ". there are many forms of this type of rider available. Look
for one that returns all or a major portion of your premiums paid in to date
at specific times IE: 5 yrs, 10 yrs or such. Do not accept one that is only
effective at death or possibly age 65 or 75. If you have any specific
questions, you can reach me by E-Mail, Cal_Lester@msn.com
Cal Lester CLU
Insurance course CoOrdinator
Broward Community College
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:37:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: "L. Chen" <am302@FreeNet.Buffalo.EDU>
Subject: Re: Second-to-die Term Life Insurance?
The recommended way is not to leave everything to your spouse; but set up
a trust for the $600K -- with income to spouse. Also the spouse can
withdraw x%/yr if income is insufficient to maintain his/her lifestyle.
That way, when the 2nd spouse dies, s/he can leave another $600K estate
tax free -- for a total of $1.2 million. [I don't remember the name of
the trust.]
Lily Chen
am302@freenet.buffalo.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:38:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: johnel@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Re: paying a $0.27 phone bill?
CHRISTY_ROHRIG@hp-santaclara-om3.om.hp.com pondered:
>>I just received a phone bill for $0.27 that is a long distance company I
had used. I find it really hard to justify sending a check for $0.27 as it
costs $0.32 to do that. I have considered calling and having them charge
my credit card, but last time I tried that, I was told they are not set up
to take credit cards. Any thoughts on what I should do?!?
Reminds me of the supposedly true story of a ConEdison customer who
received a billing for $0.00. When he ignored it, they threatened to cut
off his power. He sent them a check for $0.00 and they got off of his
case....<g>
I recently also received a bill for about $0.27 worth of long distance. I
just called the long distance company and told them that they could save
us both some postage money by not sending me a silly bill for $0.27,
because I was sure not going to spend $0.32 postage to mail a check for
$0.27, and was there some other way to take care of this? The phone
company lady just laughed and said not to worry about it, but to pay it
when the next billing comes, no problem.
Give 'em a call; it's toll-free.
John Leipold
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:40:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Balwierz <pbalwierz@earthlink.net>
Subject: Variable life tax issues
In addressing variable life and its tax issues Cal Lester wrote:
Remember, only those withdrawals "up to basis" will be income tax free.
ALL withdrawals after that point ( until it becomes a Death Claim) will
be 100$ Income Taxable.
Cal is 100% correct however, almost all companies offering variable life
include a loan provision that will allow you to access your cash value
at a 0% or a very low interest rate.
For example Mr A has contributed $25,000 to his VUL and it has grown to
$50,000. He needs $40,000 for junior's college tuition. He withdraws
25K Tax free (his basis) and takes a (no or low interest) loan from his
account for the remaining 15K. This is a loan and is TAX FREE. As I said
most companies provide the low interest provision in the VUL contract to
allow tax free access to the cash value. Of course his death benefit
will be lowered by 40K.
In the hands of a savvy financial professional a VUL can prove to be a
very valuable and flexible financial tool, providing death coverage,
emergency funds, and the beginnings of a retirement fund.
I hope this will help clarify the issue.
Sincerely:
- ---------------------------------------------
Paul Balwierz
Financial Directions Group, the creators of:
CommonCENTS Your Journal of Personal Finance
http://www.commoncentsjournal.com
DebtZAPPER! - take the FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE tour
http://www.gen.com/debtzapper/tour/2044
ACTION PRODUCTS FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS-Take Control Now!
http://www.galaxymall.com/shops/action_planning/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:41:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: WPooha10@aol.com
Subject: atms-europe
some of the atms in europe give you your card back and then your money.
others tell you to take the money and then return the card...the point is::::
when the atm tells you to take your money---take it or the machine may eat
your card
Hugh Kellogg...........Your Personal Financial Advisor to Individuals and
Businesses
E-mail Dowwhizkid@aol.com Telephone or fax to 847-332-2654
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:41:42 -0400 (EDT)
From: nowak@comm.mot.com (Mark Nowak)
Subject: Is money given as a wedding gift taxable?
Hi,
Does anyone know how much (if any) money given to a couple
getting married is taxable?
Thanks.
Mark
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:42:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Christopher M. Kulp" <kulpcm@cig.mot.com>
Subject: changing jobs for the first time.....suggestions?
I am probably going to leave my current company shortly and move to
another firm. I am unsure what I can do (and what my options are) with
my 401K money. My limited understanding so far is that I can move it to
somewhere like Janus or roll it over into my new companies 401K plan.
While I have heard that moving it Fidelity, for ex., precludes my
borrowing against that money if I had it in my companies 401K, the
performance of my current employers 401K plan has been dissapointing. I
have about 20K or so, and I have been considering moving it to Fidelity
or Janus for the flexibility and broad fund selection options.
I would welcome any input or suggestions on
1) Issues I will need to worry about in a job move, even if they are
outside of the 401K scope (I can use all the advice I can get!!)...
2) 401K options..
3) Suggested places (like Fidelity, Janus, etc) to put my money and why I
should put it there...I would especially appreciate first hand
information on these places and how they handle your 401K money.
This is my first time moving jobs (Motorola was my first job out of
college), and the whole idea is a little intimidating. However, I got a
great offer and it seems like the right choice..... I would appreciate
some wisdom from those more experienced employees....
Thanks,
Chris
---------------------------------------------------------------
| Christopher M. Kulp | Motorola CIG Computer Engineer |
| email: QA3056@email.mot.com | (v) 847.632.3874 (fax) 632.3733 |
---------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 21:43:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: ravic@sdt.com (Ravi P Chivukula)
Subject: Re : Phone bill question + a complex divorce question
I was in the same situation. I estimated my expense for the following month
and sent a check for about $5.00. Sometimes, the long distance companies
accept credit cards for a minimum of $5 or something. Even in this case, you
can charge for $5 and let it be.
Ravi Chivukula
------------------------------
End of persfin-digest V4 #30
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