Category: Penny Stocks

‘I’m young, debt-free and happy-go-lucky’: My boyfriend has $45,000 in debts, two houses, two kids and pays child support. Is he a safe bet to marry?

This post was originally published on this site

I’m young, debt-free and happy-go-lucky. Though by no means would I consider myself financially literate, I’ve been able to save, max out my 401(k), and contribute to a Roth IRA. My boyfriend has had a very different life. He’s been married and has two children from that relationship. His education has not made much difference, as he is a business owner (with side jobs to supplement his income).

He is $45,000 in debt from school and has two houses and a car to pay off. He says he will be selling one of his houses in the near future. I am concerned about how his debt, and any alimony/child support he’ll be paying his ex-wife, will affect me. Currently, I don’t own my own home. Lately, we’ve been discussing the future, including marriage. I’ve been advised by several people to run for the hills.

Any advice or input you can give me would be much appreciated. I want to protect my assets.

Questioning My Relationship

Related: ‘It was obvious I wasn’t in Kansas anymore’: My local bank has no cashiers — and declined to accept my money. What’s going on?

Dear Questioning,

There’s one word missing from your letter: love. 

Do you love him? Other questions that are key to your situation: Do you trust him? Do you like him? Can you envision a life with him? His kids will be grown up before you know it, and they will have kids of their own. Can you imagine growing old with him? When you have spent time in his company, how does that make you feel? Nourished, happy and at peace? Or confused and alone? Marriage is a business contract and it’s important to be financially transparent with each other, as he has been, but it’s also a commitment to spend your life together. 

As for your responsibility for your potential husband’s student debt and child-support payments. “A new spouse is not obligated to support a child from a prior marriage or relationship,” according to McKean Family Law in Roseville, Calif. “The responsibility of making sure the child’s basic needs are being met falls on the parents of the child.” And student debt incurred prior to you marrying is typically considered separate — not marital — property and is not your responsibility, as long as you are not a co-signer and have not guaranteed the loan. In any case, a prenuptial agreement is a good idea for anyone getting married for the first (or second) time.

He is more than the sum of his financial parts. 

No one will be perfect and, in the grand scheme of things, $40,000 is not a lot of money to owe for student loans, especially if he has equity in his homes that he could tap in an emergency, and a good career. Your question about whether you should run for the hills suggests a certain detachment. If you are looking at this as strictly a financial set-up, you will be unhappy regardless of whether he is solvent or not. Americans owe approximately $1.6 trillion in student debt, up more than 40% over the last decade. Those with a postgraduate degree owe a median of $40,000 to $49,999, according to the Pew Research Center.

On the upside: “Young college graduates with student loans still tend to have higher household incomes than their counterparts who haven’t completed college,” Pew says. “For many young adults, student loans are a way to make an otherwise unattainable education a reality. Although these students have to borrow money to attend college, the investment might make sense if it leads to higher earnings later in life. College graduates ages 25 to 39 who have student loan debt have higher household incomes than non-college graduates in the same age group.” Being self-employed takes guts, and it’s not an easy road.

He’s not a deadbeat dad. He’s not a bad guy, at least from your telling. He is more than the sum of his financial parts. You may prefer someone who is wealthier or more financially solvent or, to be more precise, someone with no previous history (like an ex-wife and children). If he is a good guy, and he sounds like one, he will be financially responsible for his kids until they finish college. You may not be comfortable with him diverting money that you believe should be spent on your future together with children from his previous marriage. If that’s your issue, ask him about his financial responsibilities and how that will impact your life together.

Don’t make big life decisions based on a straw poll from friends.

Related: ‘Some airline passengers are gross’: I don’t understand why they cheat to board early. Why do they act like savages?

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

The Moneyist regrets he cannot respond to letters individually.

More columns from Quentin Fottrell:

‘I know it’s awkward to give advice to wealthy people’: My wife, 50, has terminal cancer. Our estate is worth $18 million. How do we prepare?

My second wife is younger than me. If I die first, how do I make sure she doesn’t cut off my children?

Should I wait until after the election before investing $300,000 in stocks? I’m a 66-year-old retiree.

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

Check out The Moneyist’s private Facebook group, where members help answer life’s thorniest money issues. Post your questions, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.

By emailing your questions to The Moneyist or posting your dilemmas on The Moneyist Facebook group, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch.

By submitting your story to Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of MarketWatch, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

Gig work and startups aren’t the secret to your job success anymore. This is.

This post was originally published on this site

Outside the Box

Keep small business owners on a profitable path with expanded tax breaks and affordable loans

Last Updated:
First Published:

Work is about to change in a big way, and Americans are ready for it. You can see it in the popular shows nowadays. WeCrashed, Severance, and Silicon Valley have shattered our startup fantasies. Beneath the glamorous surface lies a culture plagued by burnout, isolation, and a troubling lack of humanity. Black Mirror warns of big tech’s endgame: lonely humans serving algorithms instead of communities. 

The book “Bullshit Jobs” exposes the astonishing number of meaningless roles filling corporate offices. And to top it all off, Succession and The Assistant reveal the sociopathic elites using us as pawns in their power games. Behind the glossy façades lurk predators who exploit and destroy the people beneath them.

‘I can’t deal with managing them’: I juggle 18 credit cards. How do I close them without ruining my credit score?

This post was originally published on this site

Okay, talk me down. I have 18 credit cards and would like to close five of them — all at once.  

Actually, I’d like to close more, but I have five targets for now. The cards are paid in full every month. It’s been many years since I have carried a balance and I have very high limits, so charges barely make a blip on my credit-utilization ratio.

I can’t deal with managing them — the game of keeping them open and checking to make sure there are no mystery charges. I’m old but active, and I don’t want my family to have to deal with this when I go. How bad would it be to close down five at all at once?

Tired of Juggling

Related: ‘It’s so unfair!’ I’m miserable in my job. I’m 58 and have $1 million in a 401(k) and Roth IRA. Can I afford to quit?

Dear Juggler,

It’s hard to find someone who would say closing a credit card is a good idea. The chief reason is that it will hurt your credit score. But you should not be held hostage by your credit score, and 18 credit cards is at least 15 too many, so close them you shall. You can’t break up with a partner without hurting their feelings, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, and you can’t close your credit cards without dinging your credit score. That’s life, I’m afraid.

I’m in favor of you closing five and, hopefully, more. If you have to make any big purchase like a car and you need a loan, do it now. If you already have a mortgage and you don’t intend to take out a personal loan for the next six months or so, this is a good time to rid yourself of these cards once and for all. There are card closures that should take priority, once you have made sure that there is zero balance on those cards, and you have redeemed their points.

Cancel credit cards with the lowest credit limit (the less you use of your credit limit, the better). Generally, most experts recommend keeping your credit-utilization ratio below 30%. “Canceling a card may increase your credit utilization — the proportion you use of your available credit — which can also lower your score,” Experian says. If you have an overall limit of $1,000 and you use $250 of it, your credit-utilization ratio is 25%, it says; if you use $500? It’s 50%.

Some other rules of thumb when closing credit cards: The older your credit, the better risk you are for lenders, so cancel your newest cards first. Finally, prioritize canceling cards with hefty annual fees; if you’re not using them, there’s no point in paying them. “It can be good to show lenders that you can successfully manage multiple credit accounts, as they may see this as evidence that you’re a reliable borrower,” Experian says. 

The main credit bureaus — Equifax EFX, Transunion TRU and Experian UK:EXPN — calculate their scores differently, so your score would be dinged differently depending on the bureau. For instance, a FICO FICO score has five categories: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%). In other words, FICO values consumers who stay on top of their finances.

Your credit score should be fully recovered a year from now, or less. Godspeed with managing your finances going forward, keeping your credit utilization low, and maintaining a long credit history. This will be crucial if you require any kind of loan over the next few years. The best time to take a hit to your credit score is, of course, when you don’t actually need it. 

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

The Moneyist regrets he cannot respond to letters individually.

More columns from Quentin Fottrell:

‘I never thought they would be in this situation’: Our daughter and son-in-law spend money as fast as his parents give it to them. Do we butt in?

‘We don’t have a joint account’: My husband has a tenant from hell. He forces me to pay for all his rental-property expenses. Am I being used?

I give my mother’s ailing next-door neighbor $500 a month. She agreed to sell me her house, although she’ll continue to live there. Is this wise?

Check out The Moneyist’s private Facebook group, where members help answer life’s thorniest money issues. Post your questions, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.

By emailing your questions to The Moneyist or posting your dilemmas on The Moneyist Facebook group, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch.

By submitting your story to Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of MarketWatch, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

Fed’s Musalem says going slow on interest-rate cuts makes sense

This post was originally published on this site

Greg Robb is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in Washington. Follow him on Twitter @grobb2000.

Humana’s stock extends losses as BofA downgrades to sell on concerns about margin recovery

This post was originally published on this site

Last Updated:
First Published:

Humana Inc.’s stock closed down another 1.9% on Thursday to bring its week-to-date losses to 24.3%, after BofA Securities downgraded it to underperform — or sell — on concerns about a delay in margin recovery.

The move comes a day after the health insurer HUM said one its key Medicare Advantage plans looks set to have its government rating cut, which would reduce reimbursement rates. The stock sold off Wednesday on the news and led S&P 500 SPX decliners.

Would a 60% tariff on Chinese imports hurt China or the U.S. more?

This post was originally published on this site

Published:

President Joe Biden has been correct to focus on China as the main challenge to U.S. national security and prosperity.

Trade is a key issue, and trade tariffs in particular will be a focus of the next U.S. president, whoever wins November’s election. But how big of a tariff will be enough to matter to China?

If there’s a nuclear renaissance, here are the stocks to watch, says UBS

This post was originally published on this site

Steven Goldstein is based in London and responsible for MarketWatch’s coverage of financial markets in Europe, with a particular focus on global macro and commodities. Previously, he was Washington bureau chief, directing MarketWatch’s economic, political and regulatory coverage. Follow Steve on Twitter: @MKTWgoldstein.

Chinese stocks soar on stimulus plan. Can the rally continue?

This post was originally published on this site

Jamie Chisholm is a markets reporter based in London.

‘I feel like a fool’: I loaned my friend and former lover $50,000 to help her buy a home — now she’s treating it as a gift

This post was originally published on this site

I had a fling with a very nice woman about two years ago, and we became friends. She was not interested in a relationship with me, which was disappointing at the time and, even though I loved her and wanted her to love me back, I respected her decision. A few years ago, she took advantage of the low interest rates and bought an apartment with a 3.5% 30-year rate. I gradually put $50,000 into her bank account so she would have that cash cushion ahead of her interview with the co-op board. They accepted her, and she moved in.

The problem: She has continued as if the money was a gift. I have brought up the fact that I would like her to repay the money — as agreed at the time — and she said she’s doing her best. But the more time that goes by, the more I have come to realize that she has no intention of ever paying me back. In a worst-case scenario, the loan will need to be written off as bad debt; assuming that happens, how do I account for that on my taxes? I feel like she had no intention of paying me back, although knowing her that’s hard to believe.

In the meantime, how can I persuade her to repay me the $50,000? 

Fool for Love & Money

Related: I lost $240,000 after a ‘friend’ I met on Instagram encouraged me to invest in crypto. Can I write off my loss?

Dear Love & Money,

People will do what comes easiest.

At this moment in time, having a bank balance that is $50,000 richer makes life easier for her. In some ways, it’s not personal, which makes the whole affair even more difficult to process. The first rule of loaning money to friends: Don’t do it. The second: If you do, don’t loan what you can’t afford to lose. The third: The relationship will rarely, if ever, be the same. And the golden rule for you: You made a decision to lend this woman money because you wanted something from her — her approval, respect, love, attention. You were and/or are in love with her, and she exploited that to get what she wanted.

The co-op board and lender are trying to ascertain that the person is financially stable. For that reason, you were helping her — in theory — commit fraud with this “phony money,” especially if she was presenting her bank account to the lender. If the building’s co-op board saw a sudden $50,000 deposit they would have wanted you to sign a document testifying that it was indeed a gift, rather than a loan. And many banks won’t allow such a gift, unless it comes from a family member. In some rare cases, for instance, a fiancé could qualify as a family member.

Before you loan money to a friend, know this: Whether you lend $5 or $50,000, assume that you will never see it again. About two-thirds of people who have borrowed money say it was never returned, according to a survey of nearly 3,000 adults released by CouponCodesPro. They owed an average of $522 each, which puts your generosity and, perhaps, naivety into perspective. Ex-partners were among those tapped for money most often. What’s most alarming about that particular study: 60% of those said they borrow money a couple of times a year and 27% said they hit friends and family up for money most months. Again, it’s a proximity problem.

Related: I fell victim to the ‘easiest banking scam in the world,’ and $20,000 was stolen from my account. How could I have been such a fool?

Proving to the IRS it’s not a gift

People who have bad debts are generally only able to write off part of the loan that was documented in a loan agreement or, in an ideal scenario, one drafted by an attorney. A legal loan agreement should have all of the terms and interest rates, how the loan will be repaid (in installments or a lump sum) and by what date. A solid loan agreement should also be witnessed and notarized, which would help if there was a legal dispute. Now for the bad news (even if you did have an official loan agreement): The Internal Revenue Service puts a limit on such capital losses at $3,000 a year.

“The debt must have been a bona fide loan—you gave the money with every expectation of being repaid,” says TurboTax. “If you charged interest, and the borrower signed a promissory note, this provides a good indication that you expected to get your money back. Otherwise, the IRS might consider the exchange to be a gift, particularly if the borrower is a friend or a family member. And gifts aren’t tax deductible. The unpaid debt must be 100% worthless before you can deduct it. There must be no chance that the borrower can or will ever pay you back the amount of the loan. It is important to make a documented effort to collect your money with letters, invoices [and] phone calls.”

It’s more complicated when it comes to dealing with an undocumented loan. You would need to get a written statement from the third party to acknowledge the bad debt, so you could at least show proof; a check or receipt would also help. This is more complicated and may require advice from a financial planner or attorney. The IRS typically considers gifts to immediate family members as gifts rather than loans and you must show that the loan to your friend wasn’t a gift — that is, there was no expectation that it would go unpaid — and stipulate your relationship to the third party. But a write-off of $3,000 is a drop in the ocean compared to the $50,000 you loaned this woman.

She won’t pay it back if there is no reason to do so. Like I told this man who had $100,000 he gave to a contractor for materials, furniture and appliances, the contractor broke down in tears not because he suddenly had a change of heart but because he believed he was going to be publicly exposed. If he had any qualms about stealing money from one of his clients – and was unable to go about his day-to-day life after spending his $100,000 — he would not have done it in the first place. The same is true for this woman. If she cared about you, she would have insisted on having a notarized loan agreement, if only to make sure you got your money back in case something happened to her before she repaid it. The best in you appealed to the worst in her.

It’s a devastating realization.

The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

Previous columns by Quentin Fottrell:

‘I don’t want anyone telling me what to do’: My second husband wants to put our $750,000 home in a trust for his children. Does he have the right?

‘I’m conflicted’: I have two sons — one is a hard worker with kids and the other is a ‘carefree’ actor. Should I leave the ‘family man’ more money in my will?

‘We don’t want his daughter to lose out’: My late son named his brother, who is a minor, as beneficiary on his life-insurance policy. How do we rectify this?

Check out The Moneyist’s private Facebook group, where members help answer life’s thorniest money issues. Post your questions, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.

By emailing your questions to The Moneyist or posting your dilemmas on The Moneyist Facebook group, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch.

By submitting your story to Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of MarketWatch, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

Cisco to cut 7% of workforce, stock pops as AI spurs order growth

This post was originally published on this site

Last Updated:
First Published:

Cisco Systems Inc. exceeded expectations with its latest quarterly results, calling out demand related to artificial intelligence but also disclosing a restructuring program.

The software and networking company on Wednesday posted fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $2.2 billion, or 54 cents a share, down from $4.0 billion, or 97 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. On an adjusted basis, Cisco CSCO earned 87 cents a share, above the 85 cents that analysts tracked by FactSet were modeling.

Compare