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Subject: persfin-digest V4 #120
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 21:06:59 -0500 (EST)
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persfin-digest Tuesday, January 20 1998 Volume 04 : Number 120
IN THIS ISSUE:
ADVERTISEMENT: MCI CONNECT FOR CC:MAIL
Fee Simple, Income Tax and Legal Matters
Is there a LLC Info Web Site?
Re: online banking
Subscribing to DRIP Investor?
Re: DRIPs in a Roth IRA
Re: question about short term capital gain distributions
Re: Mortgage refinance inquiry
Re: Online Bill Payment
Re: Quicken and Mutual Fund Returns
re: Home Equity Loan...
Re: choosing mutual funds
Cuba to see Pope & more.
Re: Roth IRA For 35 Year Old Son?
Rebate cards and bills scheme?
Re: Investments for a Baby
mutual fund site?
SEP-IRA vs. IRA?
Re: mutual funds
Re: Variable Annuity
Credit Card Late Charges?
Re: transfer of 403B
Re: Flex Spending - Does Kindergarten Count?
Re: transfer of 403B
Re: Dental Insurance
Re: Mortgage Refinancing Calculation
Re: : tax help vs do it yourself
Re: persfin-digest V4 #118
Re: Variable annuity, 401(k) or Roth IRA?
Thumbs Down on Online Bill Paying Service
Hume Super Investor files?
What percentage of Co.'s are in business after a crash?
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:35:03 -0500 (EST)
From: "Gerry H. Goldsholle" <gerry@adviceco.com>
Subject: Fee Simple, Income Tax and Legal Matters
The answer to many of the legal questions posed, and thousands of other
legal questions subscribers to PersFin Digest have in over 100 topics
such as Accidents, Bankruptcy, Business Law, Criminal Law, Employment
Law, Family Law, Financial Law (such as broker disputes, commodities
law, securities law, etc), Government Law (such as public contracts,
civil rights, enviornmental law), Insurance Law, Intellectual Property
(copyright, patents, trademarks), Litigation, Real Estate Law and Tax
Law all on http://FreeAdvice.com.
The Q&As on the site are very easy to understand, and were authored by
lawyers at over a dozen leading law firms from New York and Washington,
DC to California and Hawaii. Use of FreeAdvice.com is absolutely free.
The site also lists lawyers who provide bona fide prospective clients
with a free initial consultation -- not "free advice".)
GHG
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:35:34 -0500 (EST)
From: Jacqueline.D.Richardson@Hitchcock.ORG (Jacqueline D. Richardson)
Subject: Is there a LLC Info Web Site?
I would like to get info on the LLC to see if it would be anything I
would be interested in. Can anyone recommend a web site or other place
where I could go to gain some knowledge on this subject?
Thanks
jackie
Jacqueline.D.Richardson@Hitchcock.org
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:36:29 -0500 (EST)
From: Randy Barnes <rbarnes@atl.mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: online banking
>
> I was wondering about the pioneering people's opinions about Online
> Banking and Online Bill payment. How would you rate it as regards
>
> a) Convenience
> b) Security
> c) Ease
> d) Control
>
> We have had a discussion on this and SFNB online bank has come up a number
> of times in the past , but I thought I should check with you people again.
Nikhil, here's my 2c....
a) Convenience -about the same as writing a check, except for the
payments that are the same amount each month. Equal payment utility
bills, equal loan payments etc. are much more convenient to pay
automaticlly. Just set it up one time.
b) Security - 10,000% SAFER than putting your check in the mail.
Especially true with SFNB, or one of their "customer" banks. (SFNB is
actually a security/software/service company selling their system to the
big banks. The actual bank is no longer needed to prove web banking
works, so it's for sale. Got 35 million? Cash?)
c) Ease - Web based SFNB is very easy to use. I would only deal with a
bank that had a web interface. I've seen some banking software that was
the pits. If you have to have special software to use your account
online be careful and know what you're getting.
d) Control - There is no control. You must make the payments ;-)
If you are the type of person that spends time on your computer anyway
go for it. I pitched Quicken as totally usless once I got My SFNB
account two years ago. I love it.
For what it's worth,
Randy Barnes
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:37:16 -0500 (EST)
From: u1b04051@mail.wvnet.edu
Subject: Subscribing to DRIP Investor?
I've received several mailings from DRIP Investor. Has anyone used
it and is it worth subscrbing to?
Patrick Meighen
Morgantown, WV
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:38:20 -0500 (EST)
From: Rick Gleason <spyneyes@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: DRIPs in a Roth IRA
Saw your question in the Persfin Digest.
As a member of the National Association of Investors Corp - (Cost is
minimal) you can participate in the First Trust Corporation's Value Plus
IRA.
Once it's setup you can put virtually any kind of DRIP stock, regular
stocks and other publicly-traded securities as well as mutual funds and
cash into this one IRA account. First Trust is the nation's largest
independent trustee of self-directed retirement plans.
It's a very good product as are the offerings of the NAIC, which by the
way, publishes an excellent magazine (Better Investing) as part of your
membership.
The NAIC can be reached for more information at 248-583-NAIC.
First Trust Corp can be contacted at 1-800-863-2608.
Hope this helps.
Rick Gleason
Federal Way, Wa.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:39:20 -0500 (EST)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: question about short term capital gain distributions
> Has anyone looked at the 1997 tax forms yet as far as short
>term capital gain distributions from a mutual fund? As far as I can
Taxwise, mutual funds DO NOT make short-term capital gain distributions.
Yes, your fund will show a ST gain distribution on its year end statement.
However, it is for your information only. When the 1099-DIV (which is all
that counts, tax-wise) is issued, the STG dist is bundled into ordinary
income. In fact, short-term gains distributed by mutual funds *totally*
lose their capital gain character and cannot be used to soak up capital
losses. They become totally ordinary income (see IRS Pub 564).
>tell, capital gain distributions from a mutual fund are reported on
>Schedule D on line 13. However, line 13 is in the long term capital
>gains section, and the form doesn't seem to distinguish between short
>and long term capital gains. Does this mean that all capital gains
>distributions are now taxed as long term capital gains?
Nope. Short-term gains distributions are taxed as ordinary income as
they have been for years -- they will end up on Sched B, Part II and
will NOT be subtracted out on the cap gains distribution line on Sched
B, nor do they get transferred to Sched D.
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:39:45 -0500 (EST)
From: "L. Chen" <am302@FreeNet.Buffalo.EDU>
Subject: Re: Mortgage refinance inquiry
> Does anyone know of a formula for determining the benefits of a
> mortgage refinance? I realize that variables such as current and
> proposed interest rate, points, fees and expected years remaining
> in the dwelling all need to be considered - but I'm not sure how
> to weigh each item. Also, I realize that many web calculators
> exist which will perform such a calculation. I'm not really
> interested in having the work done for me, rather I'd like to know
> what's involved in the calculation and do it myself.
Sender: owner-persfin-mod@shore.net
Precedence: bulk
The key is that the cost for refinancing is less than the savings resulting
from lower interest rate.
You know what your current payment is. Calculate the monthly payment under
the new mortgage, including the cost of refinancing -- make sure you
calculate the payment over the REMAINING life of your old mortgage. If the
payment is lower, then it is worth refinancing.
If you have to pay the refinancing cost out of pocket, you can also calculate
the new payment without the cost of refinancing and then calculate how long it
will take you to recoup the out-of-pocket cost.
Chen
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:40:43 -0500 (EST)
From: "Lloyd Colston" <colston@viagrafix.com>
Subject: Re: Online Bill Payment
I am close to online banking but not there yet. I do use an online
bill payment service called CheckFree and use this service with
Quicken (but not the latest version of Quicken).
For Convenience, it is VERY convenient. The only downtime will be
having to learn the process. The sharper your learning curve, the
quicker that will be.
I feel quite secure in this process. The only people who could
possibly do me harm would be someone who might break into my office
to gain access to the computer. If they get that far, they also have
access to my checks anyway.
Ease is great, AFTER you learn to do it.
Control is OK. After a bill is sent out, you have some time to
change your mind. I like it because it gives me latitude in bill
payment. In other words, if I see I have a large bill coming due in
the future, I can visually plan for that. Before, it was hard for me
to mentally see the future. I like it now.
I hope that answered your questions. Let me know how more I can
help.
Lloyd Colston Excellence is not an accident
Pryor, OK USA social worker, writer, editor
Member: International Small Business Consortium
KC5FM Home page http://www.viagrafix.com/colston
Family ISP coming > http://globalads.com/gfn-prelaunch/kc5fm
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:41:40 -0500 (EST)
From: "rip west" <rip@montrose.net>
Subject: Re: Quicken and Mutual Fund Returns
Robb Warren <rwarren@mis.net> said.....
<<
I've noticed many postings regarding Quicken, and since they now only
give support through a 900 number for v6 for Windows, I thought maybe a
reader could help. Q6 sees any reinvestment from dividends (or other
gains) as ADDED money i.e. I buy $10K of a fund, and to simplify, lets
say the fund goes up 20% and distributes it all as a dividend. I post my
$2K dividend as an automatic reinvestment. A (very) little math shows
I've made 20%. But Q6 says I have invested $12k (apparently ignoring the
fact that the $2k came FROM the fund), and the value of my investment is
$12K so my return is ZERO! I can trick it by adding shares at no cost,
but then I have no record of my reinvestment cost for tax purposes. Has
anyone noticed this, or am I doing something wrong??
>>
In addition to the other answers you have received, you might try setting up
the above example in Quicken. I have just done so with a new Entity called
Test. When I run a Performance Investment report, Quicken computes the
Return on Investment as 20%.
rip
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:45:56 -0500 (EST)
From: "Lloyd Colston" <colston@viagrafix.com>
Subject: re: Home Equity Loan...
To summarize, how much home equity does one need to get a home equity
loan?
Answer: Somewhere in the range of loan plus closing costs to 125% of
home's value plus closing cost. In other words, you have a home with
$100,000 value and you owe $90,000 already, you have roughly $10000
equity, if you assume $2000 closing costs are not a part of the loan
and $8000 equity, if you do.
In the matter of the 125% loan, your $100,000 home becomes "worth"
$125,000 which should buy you a nice new car and a nice new car
payment (but most Persfiners, I think, would advise against getting
one unless one were in hock for plastic).
Please let me know how more I can help.
Lloyd Colston
Pryor, OK USA
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:46:58 -0500 (EST)
From: "Lloyd Colston" <colston@viagrafix.com>
Subject: Re: choosing mutual funds
When I began choosing mutual funds, I started out with the plan
offered in Charles Given's book, Financial Self-Defense. It started
out pretty well. I went with 20th Century and hope Ira won't be
upset with me naming names.
That worked OK but 20th Century started adding fees for low balances
and other junk. Then came the record keeping nightmare that a new
investor faces. Then came diversification. Then I found Invesco in
Denver.
Now I just stay with one fund family and don't try to find the high
rollers in the industry any more. I like one fund family because (1)
I get used to them (2) money switches is less painful (3) accounting
paper is reduced.
In your example, if it were me, I would take profit and move both
monies to one fund. If you are more "happy" with Invesco, then move
there. I am not an investment professional but rather someone just
like you, except I work in government rather than education.
Now I guess I better put this in. "The preceeding is neither an
offer to sell or an invitation to buy shares of any stock, bond, or
mutual fund. Check with your investment counselors before sending
any money. Obtain a prospectus and read it carefully before
investing. The preceeding is my experience only and should not be
taken as investment advice." Legaleze off.
Let me know how more I can help.
Lloyd Colston
Pryor, OK USA
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:48:50 -0500 (EST)
From: "Joe" <Broutek@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Cuba to see Pope & more.
Hello Dave - I can go to Cuba as a journalist.
Regardless though - there has never been and ordinary American citizen that
has been prosecuted for going to Cuba for non-business purposes. Take my
word for it Dave, when I say there have been millions.
I believe the quickest way to end communism in Cuba is to stop the embargo.
The Cubans are hard working people begging for democracy.
The principal reason we don't stop the embargo is mostly because of rich
Cuban ex- patriots donating money to party campaign funds. These Cubans want
their property back (money), before the embargo ends.
Also big American companies who lost their holdings when Cuba was so called
"liberated" by Castro, want their money or business returned. This is a hard
question to answer, since generally they are the ones who caused Castro to
come into power in the first place.
Communism sometimes takes over a country as a very last resort of the
people. All over the Americas where communism got a foot hold, the people
had tried everything else to have a better standard of living.
In Nicaraqua for instance, the whole country was controlled (owned), by only
a few families. The people were financial slaves living in dirt floor
houses.
The same thing more or less, has been happening in Indonesia, that has led
to it's present situation of being bailed out by the International Monetary
Fund. It's currency has fallen by over 50%. The country is controlled by one
family and it's cronies. If communism was in style now - they would be a
good candidate.
Before Castro in Cuba, there was the very rich, and the dirt poor living in
dirt floor shacks. Even though Cuba is communist, it is much better off then
before. Of course not better off then true democracy.
I mentioned true democracy, because most of Latin America does not have true
democracy - they only profess that they have. Also corruption is rampant in
most of the countries. In the USA we only have a lot of corruption. I don't
think it's rampant???
I would extend myself to say that the Cuban people are more healthy then the
average American is. I did not see any emaciated Cubans while I was there -
under weight - some. They don't have as much protean in their diets as we
have (meat).
It's a proven fact though, that we eat too much protean, and fats -
therefore we are more obese people, and unhealthy because of it. It's also
proven that people who are a little under weight, live longer then people
who are the so called normal weight.
Over 60,000 men were killed in Vietnam, and now we have mostly ordinary
relations with Vietnam at this time. Last February I went to Vietnam, you
should see the free markets going on there - it's amazing. It won't be to
long before it's democratic, or communism with a free market system???
Best Regards - Joe
(Editor's Question - Can you vacation in Cuba via Canada? I knew a number
of Canadians that did it. It's a very cheap vacation. Once Castro is
gone, it will get more expensive very fast. -IK)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:49:40 -0500 (EST)
From: Derrick Cole <dccole@mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: Roth IRA For 35 Year Old Son?
>My 35-year old son is interested in investing in a Roth IRA. He can do DRIP
>investing through the Moneypaper, but they do not establish Roth IRAs.
>Basically you pay a fee of $15 or $20 to purchase the first share of stock
>which is transferred to the company you invest in or its holding agent.
>Small investments can be made throughout the year. Is there any way to
>convert such an account to a Roth IRA at the end of the year? Is anyone
>aware of a DRIP investment plan that can be set up as a Roth IRA?
Greetings, Shirley.
Coincidentially, I stumbled upon First Trust (800-525-2124), which
claims to offer what you're requesting (I've called out of curiosity,
and am expecting an information packet).
Without knowing the particulars (yet), they apparently will set up a
"custodial" IRA (conventional or Roth) through which you can participate
in DRPs. A question to FT said yes, dividends would be tax-free in a
Roth, and monies with which to buy stock would be treated as
non-deductible deferrals (i.e., subject to the $2,000/year cap).
All, what would be the advantage/sense in doing this? In my mind,
investing in DRPs via an IRA seems limiting, as you're faced with a
$2,000/year max, which would either limit the number of DRPs in which
one could partipate (given most have minimum OCPs) or (obviously) the
amount you could invest. Is this worth tax-free dividends?
Thanks,
Derrick
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:50:43 -0500 (EST)
From: Derrick Cole <dccole@mindspring.com>
Subject: Rebate cards and bills scheme?
Greetings, All!
I'm sure this has come up before, but I'd like to get feedback on the
following scheme. It seems absurdly simple, so my apologies if
everyone's doing it, and I'm just not "with it":
- - obtain a credit card that has an attractive rebate, like:
- Discover Private Issue
- Centura CashMax
- - have all monthly bills set up to auto-draft from the card, via either:
- the credit card itself (an actual Visa transaction), or
- obtaining the Routing/Account number for the credit card through
the checks the lender invariably provides (would this be treated as
a cash advance if utilized?)
- - pay the credit card from a checking account
- - earn the rebate
Is this possible? Note I'm not going into hock to pay the bills; I'm
simply funneling them through a rebate vehicle.
Thanks,
Derrick
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:51:44 -0500 (EST)
From: Scott Barnett <sab@crisp.net>
Subject: Re: Investments for a Baby
> Any advice on setting up investments for a baby. Mutual fund set up as a
> trust? Someone had advised about an college fund that can be used at any
> school but didn't know any details. Thanks david tall
I'm sure there are plenty of good alternatives for setting up an
investment for your baby. I have 2 girls, ages 3.5 and 15 months.
When each of them was born, I opened up a mutual fund for them - but
in my name. While I would save a few $$ on taxes if it was in their
name, they would have control of the money at 18 to do whatever they
wish.
I also put a fixed amount of money into their funds every month. With
EFT, this is a painless thing to do. This dollar cost averaging also
helps smooth out price fluctuations vs. putting a large lump sum in to
the fund periodically. My older daughters fund has done quite well, my
younger daughters fund is in the toilet (PBHG Growth).
My mother-in-law also has opened an American Century Gift Trust for both
girls. Tax free, but the money belongs to them at 18.
I personally think the college specific saving plans are not
worth it. You can do it yourself with a mutual fund, and then
do whatever you want with the money at any time.
- --
Scott Barnett
sab@crisp.net
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:53:04 -0500 (EST)
From: Robb Warren <rwarren@mis.net>
Subject: mutual fund site?
I am looking for a good (and FREE) mutual fund site. Mutual Fund
magazine has what I want: calculate return between any 2 dates; returns
for various time periods- 1,3,6,12 mos. 1,3,5,10 years and certain bull
and bear markets WITH comparison to peer funds and the S&P; annual
returns for the past 15 years; charts comparing funds to S&P500. All in
two pages! I'd been visiting it every few months when I was reviewing my
options. But they've gone commercial and starting charging (even though
I'm a subscriber). It's good enough that I probably will break down and
pay if I can't find anything similar for free. Any suggestions?
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:53:40 -0500 (EST)
From: "Alan S. Kay" <ask@well.com>
Subject: SEP-IRA vs. IRA?
I have money in a number of mutual fund IRA accounts established when I was
an employee not covered by a pension plan. I grew those at the tax-free
maximum $2,000/year rate. Last year, having become self-employed, I created
a SEP-IRA account at Schwab and put $8,000 into it. Now I'm looking at my
asset allocation and would like to put my 1997 SEP-IRA contribution into my
older IRA accounts rather than the Schwab account. My question: Is there
any problem with putting more than $2,000 into any of those IRA accounts,
since they were created as IRAs? Or is it the case that all IRA accounts
are the same, and what governs the tax-free contribution limit is my
employment status and gross or taxable income? Thanks!
Best,
Alan
- -------------------
Alan S. Kay
Business and Technology Journalism
1448 Swann St., NW
Washington, DC 20009
ask@well.com / askay@ibm.net
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:54:21 -0500 (EST)
From: RLevitz42 <RLevitz42@aol.com>
Subject: Re: mutual funds
>How do you folks go about choosing a mutual fund? Do you actually analyze
>the individual investments or look at the past profit rates?
I started investing heavily in mutual funds 3-4 years ago. In computer
talk we say RTFM. In mutual funds we say RTP (read the prospectus) as
well as the quarterly reports. I purchased a small amount of shares in a
half dozen funds which were 1. Rated 4-5 stars by Morningstar 2. NO-LOAD
3. Low annual fees. Reading the quarterly reports I developed a feeling
for the each funds philosophy. By far the most informative and
interesting reports and investment philosophy are found in Martin
Whitman's Third Avenue Value Fund. Since I like his thinking I have stuck
with this fund, However, I am a big believer in Index Funds and I have
consolidated much of my portfolio into Index funds. These funds are tax
advantaged through low turnover, have very low fees, and beat 80-90% of
managed funds. Amazingly, lately index funds have done as well or better
in market corrections than managed funds.
Finally I would go with a no-fee broker like Fidelity or Schwab.
Bob
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:55:35 -0500 (EST)
From: "Cal Lester" <cal_lester@email.msn.com>
Subject: Re: Variable Annuity
I am 40, homeowner w/mortgage, married with three kids, in the 15% tax
bracket. I have about $10,000 in a non-qualified variable annuity. I
originated this annuity in 1988 when I worked for a non-profit
organization that had (at that time) no other tax-deferred retirement
planning vehicle. My contributions (about 6K) were made after taxes, but
all earnings (about 4K) are tax deferred.
>>>> I am pleased that you used the term "tax deferred". At least you are
aware that the earnings are tax deferred, however when you withdraw them,
they are 100% taxable for all gain L I F O !!!!!! After all gain is removed
and paid for, then the contribution balance is tax free.
I no longer work for the non-profit and have made no contribution to this
account for seven years (which means that the company issuing the policy
will not deduct for a withdrawal.) I currently earn about 30K/year (gross).
I currently work for a organization with a mandatory pension plan. They
deduct 6% and, after five years match with 4%. I should become vested
early in 1999. A 401(k) is also available to me (with no matching), and
I have been using it.
If I understand the Roth IRA correctly, it seems like my best vehicle for
future retirement planning.
I have two questions:
Should I stop contributing to the 401(k) and instead direct retirement
savings to the Roth IRA?
>>>> Ordinarily, the answer would be a resounding NO, except for the fact
that there is "no matching", therefore on intrinsic value, other than
additional tax deferrment. Not knowing what restrictions there might be, it
could be less desireable than the Roth Ira. On the other hand, remember that
you can not withdraw tax free from the Roth for at least 5 years.
Is it possible or advisable to move the funds currently in the Variable
life account to a Roth IRA? How would I go about doing so?
>>>> Possible yes, but you would have to pay the tax on the money that
you withdraw, and you are still limited to $2,000.
Advisable, probably not.
Cal Lester CLU
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:55:50 -0500 (EST)
From: Leigh Menconi <lmenconi@intrex.net>
Subject: Credit Card Late Charges?
Ever since my two credit cards instituted late payment charges of $20,
it seems that my payments have been missing the due date by one day even
if I mail it a week ahead. It's happened often enough now that I'm
beginning to wonder if this is some kind of conspiracy to make more
money off my account because I pay it off every month and don't incur
finance charges. Has anyone had a similar experience?
Leigh Menconi
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:56:57 -0500 (EST)
From: "Jackson, Anthony D." <JacksAD1@central.SSD.JHUAPL.edu>
Subject: Re: transfer of 403B
Linda wrote:
I am having a problem and would like to know if anyone has a suggestion
about what I can do about this situation.
My 403B plan at work was invested in Fidelity Select Computers...which
has been doing pretty well for awhile, however last fall it was suggested
that I move this money into Vanguard Index Fund.
I filled out my forms in early November; they were received by Vanguard
on November 26, so I assumed that everything was fine.
On January 2 I received a letter from Fidelity, dated 12/24/97 saying
they could not process this without my signature (my signature was on the
form submitted), so now it is 2 months later and still nothing has been
done.
AND....look what has happened to Select Computer in the last two
months...my shares are now worth $20 less...and still going down.
Is there anything I can do about this? I have written the sec, they say
look for an answer in a month. I feel that Fidelity really drug its
feet
on this one and I am just sick about it as this is my retirement money.
Any suggestions? thanks everyone.
Linda McCullough
- -------------------------------------------------
One option (which would have secured your profits) is the transfer your
Fidelity funds into a Fidelity Money Market fund then let Vanguard take
the Fidelity MM fund balance. It's still not to late to do this if they
think the transfer will take more time.
"TJ"
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:58:00 -0500 (EST)
From: Bob Hartwig <rph1@mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: Flex Spending - Does Kindergarten Count?
Kindergarten is not an eligible expense. However, if you child remains at
the school for an afterschool program that you are charged for, then that
is an eligible expense. Kindergarten is not considered preschool.
- --Bob
>My employer's flexible spending account allows me to include
>dependent care expenses for "pre-school" dependents. I'm having
>trouble defining what "pre-school" is. Is kindergarten considered
>pre-school? One HR person at my office says is it, another says it
>is not!
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:58:26 -0500 (EST)
From: Avrum Lapin <avrum113@cyberg8t.com>
Subject: Re: transfer of 403B
Can't help you with your problem but a "trustee to trustee" transfer
typically takes at least 6 weeks. This is the best argument to keep your
IRA like funds with a "Fund SuperMarket" like Schwab,Fidelity etc. You
may not have acess to evry fund in the world but you can phone/I-net a sell
order and have it executed the next time the market closes at that NAV. A
new purchase can be called in 3 days later.
If you are transferring because you think that your fund is is about to
collapse then place the money in a money market or short term bond fund for
the 6 weeks while the trustee to trustee transfer is taking place.
Avrum Lapin
Upland., CA
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 20:59:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Avrum Lapin <avrum113@cyberg8t.com>
Subject: Re: Dental Insurance
>I'm looking for a good comprehensive dental plan for my family of three.
>Any company recomendations, or suggestions of what to look for in a good
>plan will be very helpful. Have not been very successful with web
>searching. Any help will be sincerely appreciated. Thanks.
The Dental Insurance plans open to the "general public" that I have seen
all require that you use dentists on a panel. Your dentist (if you have
one) will tell you if he is on a panel
We had a dental plan at work which paid for procedures per a schedule (X
dollars for procedure y) - about 65% for a simple filling down to about 30%
for a crown. Now that I am retired I am self insured. I put the typical
premium aside every month and hope that we don't need a crown the 1st month
Avrum Lapin
Upland., CA
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 21:00:41 -0500 (EST)
From: BOB FORD <BOB_FORD@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: Mortgage Refinancing Calculation
>Does anyone know of a formula for determining the benefits of a
<mortgage refinance? I realize that variables such as current and
>proposed interest rate, points, fees and expected years remaining
>in the dwelling all need to be considered - but I'm not sure how
>to weigh each item. Also, I realize that many web calculators
>exist which will perform such a calculation. I'm not really
>interested in having the work done for me, rather I'd like to know
>what's involved in the calculation and do it myself.
>Regards, Andrea Welch
ANDREA
There is not a simple calculation that can be performed to give you the
answer of when to refinance. Some of the things you need to consider are
how long will you have the home loan, is it fixed or variable, can you
invest the money elsewhere at a higher rate of return, what it will cost
you to refinance, etc.
In general terms, you should refinance when the refinance will reduce the
total cost of the loan on your home.
The only hard and fast rule is with a "No Cost" refinance. Assume your
loan is $100,000 and has 240 payments left to pay. If you can get a new
loan with no money out of your pocket of $100,000 that has 240 payments
and the payments are lower, you should do it.
BOB FORD
BOB_FORD@COMPUSERVE.COM
Editor 57-56-55 CHEVY LIST
Sender: owner-persfin-mod@shore.net
Precedence: bulk
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 21:02:02 -0500 (EST)
From: "Ken Meinken" <kmeinken@bigfoot.com>
Subject: Re: : tax help vs do it yourself
> From: "L. Chen" <am302@FreeNet.Buffalo.EDU>
> Subject: Re: tax help vs do it yourself
>
> > Usually our CPA optimizes the income to reduce the taxes (who gets
> > what deductions, who gets which investment income, etc.) That's
> > something I know I would never be able to do and that saves us some
> > money too.
>
> Is that optimization between parents and children? Or between spouses? If
> between spouses, do you and your wife file separate returns?
>
Chen,
I assume you are asking me? The CPA figures it out both ways and
saves us a couple of hundred by filing separate returns.
Ken
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 21:03:04 -0500 (EST)
From: flynndj@juno.com (David John Flynn)
Subject: Re: persfin-digest V4 #118
David Martin <dmartin@seabreeze.hc.ti.com> asked about short term capital
gain distributions and Sch D.
My mutual fund company put short term capital gain distributions on the
1099 as ordinary dividends. Even in 1996 there was no line on Sch D for
short term CGDs..
"Blair, Frank" <fdb@plcmc.lib.nc.us> asked about 403b, 401k, and Roth.
Any financial company can provide you with the forms to send in to roll
your 403b to another 403b or IRA. I suggest you let it be a custodian to
custodian transfer. Call your favorite mutual fund company and they will
be happy to do it. As for a 401k vs a Roth - You can put more in a 401k,
but the 401k may not have all the investment options a Roth offers since
a Roth can be set up with hundreds of companies who have hundreds of
investment options. If you have enough money and the 401k investments are
ok, why not do both?
flynndj@juno.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 21:03:27 -0500 (EST)
From: Steve Foulks <steve_foulks@up.bresnan.net>
Subject: Re: Variable annuity, 401(k) or Roth IRA?
Frank Blair said:
>...I have two questions:
>
>Should I stop contributing to the 401(k) and instead direct retirement
>savings to the Roth IRA?
If your tax rate remains the same when you retire as it does today, and
your employer does not match in the 401(k) , then it better to put $2,000
into the Roth, first and the balance of your retirement saving into the
401(k).
>
>Is it possible or advisable to move the funds currently in the Variable
>life account to a Roth IRA? How would I go about doing so?
No, Variable life insurance does not qualify for an IRA rollover.
Steven M. Foulks, CPA, CFP, PhD
Professor of Accounting & Finance
Northern Michigan University
<http://www.acs.nmu.edu/instruct/business/sfoulks/default.html/>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 21:04:29 -0500 (EST)
From: "pmgp" <pmgp@ccgate.kastle.com>
Subject: Thumbs Down on Online Bill Paying Service
Someone asked the followimg:
I was wondering about the pioneering people's opinions about Online
Banking and Online Bill payment. How would you rate it as regards
a) Convenience
b) Security
c) Ease
d) Control
I used to work for an online bill payment service. I would not use
the service. A lot of people have no problems with the service, but
when something goes wrong, it can be very bad. If you (or anyone
else) uses one, do NOT use it to pay student loans or American
Express.
George Phillips
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 21:05:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Steve Brodeur <sbrodeur@draper.com>
Subject: Hume Super Investor files?
Has anybody ever heard of (or ordered, read, used...) the Super Investor
Files produced by the Hume Group? They are "files" that describe investment
techniques. Hume sends them out in a series on approval. First one, "the
Ted Spread" (some kind of a play on the direction of interest rates...) is
free and all additional files cost $39.95 ($34.95?). Buy only what you
want, stop when you want, the first one is yours to keep, etc......
I'm curious, but the price is pretty steep. Anybody got more info?
Thanks.
- -Steve
sbrodeur@draper.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 21:05:58 -0500 (EST)
From: Hjc66@aol.com
Subject: What percentage of Co.'s are in business after a crash?
Hello Persfiners....
I am a firm believer in the power of "Buy and hold" when it comes to stocks,
and I am familiar with the numerous studies that tout the need for discipline
in long term investing. But I'm wondering.... in the case of a prolonged bear
market, or a depression, what is the percentage of publicly traded companies
and mutual fund companies that are in business at the end of the down period?
Has anyone ever done a study? I know that "the market" eventually "came back"
after the depression, and historically "the market" has done x percent a
year..... but none of that mattered if you were unfortunate enough to have a
portfolio that consisted of American Buggy Whip, Amalgamated Iron, Union
Steam Locomotive, and Dracut Textiles...... What are the chances,
historically, that even a well-diversified stock and mutual fund portfolio
can be entirely wiped out, never to return?
Not a bear, just wondering from a scholarly standpoint.
Harry Clark
------------------------------
End of persfin-digest V4 #120
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