sonny-dev/inters-qdu huggingface dataset:
Query: Simplifying money management

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> Track your spending and expected income -- on paper, or with a personal-finance program. If you know how much is committed, you know how much is available. Trivial with checks, requires a bit more discipline with credit cards.

 <=SEP=> Many banks will allow you to open multiple accounts.  Create a secondary checking account that has no automatic withdrawals and doesn't allow overdraft.  This is the account you'll use for you discretionary spending.  Get an account with a debit card and always use it as a debit card (never as a credit card, even if it allows that). Your employer may allow you to split your direct deposit so that a certain amount of money goes into this account each month.  When it gets to $0, you have to stop spending.  It will automatically refill when you get your paycheck.

 <=SEP=> Personally, I have a little checkbook program that I use to keep track of my spending and balance. Like you -- and I presume like most people -- I have certain recurring bills: the mortgage, insurance payments, car payment, etc. I simply enter these into the checkbook program about a month before the bill is due. Then I can run a transaction list that shows the date, amount, and remaining balance after each transaction. So if I want to know how much money I really have available to spend, I just look for the last transaction before my next payday, and see what the balance will be on that day. Personally, I always keep a certain amount of pad in my account so if I made a mistake and entered an incorrect amount for a check, or forgot to enter one completely, I don't overdraw the account. (I like to keep $1000 in such padding but that's way more than really necessary, it's very rare that I make a mistake of more than $100.) In my case, I don't enter electric bills or heating bills because I don't know the amount until I get the bill, and the amounts fall well within my padding, and for just two bills I can factor them in in my head. BTW I wrote this program myself but I'm sure there are similar products on the market. I used to use a spreadsheet and that worked pretty well. (Mainly I wrote the program because I have a tiny side business that I have to keep tax records for even though it makes almost no money.) You could in principle do it on paper, but the catch to that is that when you write payments on your paper ledger in advance of actually writing the check, you will often be writing down payments out of order, and so it becomes difficult to see what your balance is or was or will be on any given date. But a computer system can easily accept transactions out of order and then sort them and re-do the balance calculations in a fraction of a second.
Query: Best way to buy Japanese yen for travel?

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> Unless you need extremely large sums of money, I suggest you use an ATM or look for a credit card that has no foreign transaction fees (rare). AFAIK, it's not possible for a retail buyer to purchase currency at the current exchange rate quoted online.  You are always going to be paying some spread above that, and the ATM gets you the closest. You could also try to use a bank that has branches in your country and Japan (like HSBC) and do your banking there.  Then you likely wouldn't have to pay as much in fees (and possibly could draw on your account in Japan).

 <=SEP=> You don't.  When you get to Japan, use your ATM card to withdraw local currency.  My bank (ETrade) doesn't charge me int'l fees.

 <=SEP=> Have you tried calling a Forex broker and asking them if you can take  delivery on currency? Their spreads are likely to be much lower than  banks/ATMs.

 <=SEP=> "Check whether you're being charged a ""Cash advance"" fee with your withdrawals, because it's being withdrawn from your credit card account. If that's happening to you, then having a positive balance on your credit card account will dramatically reduce the fees. Quoting from my answer to a similar question on Travel Stack Exchange: It turns out that even though ""Cash advance fee - ATM"" has ""ATM"" in   it, it doesn't mean that it's being charged by the ATM you're   withdrawing from. It's still being charged by the bank of your home   country. And depending on your bank, that fee can be minimized by having a   positive balance in your credit card account. This isn't just for   cards specially marketed at globehoppers and globeshoppers   (mentioned in an answer to a similar question), but even for   ordinary credit cards: Help minimise and avoid fees An administrative charge of 2% of the value of the transaction will     apply to each cash advance made on your card account, where your     account has a negative (debit) balance after the transaction has been     posted to it. A minimum charge of $2.50 and a maximum charge of $150     will apply in these circumstances. Where your account has a positive     (credit) balance after the transaction has been posted to it, a charge     of $2.50 will apply to the transaction. Any such charge will appear on     your credit card statement directly below the relevant cash advance. A $2.50 charge if your account is positive, versus $20 if the account   is negative? That's a bit of a difference!"

 <=SEP=> When I went on vacation to London a few years ago, I looked around at banks with ATM deals with UK banks. I found that B of A had a deal with a UK bank that you could use their ATMs to take out money from your US account for practically no fees. So the week or so before I left, I opened an account at B of A, put a bunch of money in it, and used the B of A debit card during my trip as much as possible.

 <=SEP=> I already commented the best existing answers, however let me note a couple of other things.  Some of my friends in the past have wanted to do one of the following:
Query: What is the rough estimate of salary value for a taxpayer to pay AMT?

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> "Alternative Minimum Tax is based not just on your income, but moreso on the deductions you use. In short, if you have above the minimum AMT threshold of income (54k per your link), and pay a tiny amount of tax, you will pay AMT. AMT is used as an overall protection for the government to say ""okay, you can use these deductions from your taxable income, but if you're making a lot of money, you should pay something, no matter what your deductions are"". This extra AMT can be used to reduce your tax payment in a future year, if you pay regular tax again. For example - if you have 60k in income, but have 60k in specific deductions from your income, you will pay zero regular tax [because your taxable income will be zero]. AMT would require you to pay some tax on your income above the minimum 54k threshold, which might work out to a few thousand bucks. Next year, if you have 60k in income, but only 15k in deductions, then you would pay some regular tax, and would be able to offset that regular tax by claiming a credit from your AMT already paid.  AMT is really a pre-payment of tax paid in years when you have a lot of deductions. Unless you have a lot of deductions every single year, in which case you might not be able to get all of your AMT refunded in the end. Wikipedia has a pretty good summary of AMT in the US, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_minimum_tax.  If you think AMT is unfair (and maybe in some cases you might pay it when you think it's ""unfair""), look at the root causes of paying AMT listed in that Wikipedia article: I am not trying to convince you that AMT is fair, just that it applies only when someone already has a very low tax rate due to deductions. If you have straight salary income, it would only apply in rare scenarios."

 <=SEP=> "Turbox Tax states the following:  ""For 2015, the AMT exemption amounts are $53,600 for individual taxpayers, $83,400 for married taxpayers filing jointly and surviving spouses, and $41,700 for married persons filing separately. This is the amount you're allowed to deduct from your taxable income before applying the AMT."""
Query: Can a bunch of wealthy people force Facebook to go public?

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> "In the US, a private company with less than 500 owners can dictate who can or can't become a shareholder (this is true in general, but I'm sure there are loopholes).   Prior to Google's IPO I could not buy shares in Google at any price.   The reason Google was ""forced"" to go public is the 500 shareholder rule.   At a high level, with 500 shareholders the company is forced to do some extra financial accounting and they no longer can control who owns a share of the company, allowing me to purchase shares of google at that point.  At that point, it typically becomes in the companies best interest to go public. See this article about Google approaching the 500 shareholder limit in 2003. Further, Sorkin is not quite correct that ""securities laws mandate that the company go public"" if by ""go public"" we mean list on a stock exchange, available for general purchase.   Securities laws mandate what has to be reported in financial reporting and when you have to report it. Securities laws also can dictate restrictions on ownership of stock and if a company can impose their own restrictions. A group of investors cannot force a company onto a stock exchange.   If shares of Facebook are already for sale to anyone, then having >500 shareholders will force Facebook to file more paperwork with the SEC, it won't force Facebook onto the NYSE or NASDAQ.   When that point is reached, it may be in Facebook's best interest to have an IPO, but they will not be required by law to do so. Update:  CNN article discusses likely Facebook IPO in 2012. When companies have more than 500   shareholders, they're required to make   significant financial disclosures --   though they can choose to remain   private and keep their stock from   trading publicly. However, most   companies facing mandatory disclosures   opt to go public. The Securities and Exchange Commission   gives businesses lots of time to   prepare for that milestone. Companies   have until 120 days after the end of   the fiscal year in which they cross   the 500-shareholder line to begin   making their disclosures. If Facebook   tips the scale this year, that gives   it until April 2012 to start filing   financial reports."

 <=SEP=> "@Alex B's answer hits most of it, but leaves out one thing: most companies control who can own their non-public shares, and prohibit transfers, sales, or in some cases, even ongoing ownership by ex-employees. So it's not that hard to ensure you stay under 500 investors.   Remember that Sharespost isn't an exchange or clearinghouse; it's basically a bulletin board with some light contract services and third-party escrow services.   I'd guess that many of the companies on their ""hot"" list explicitly prohibit the sale of their non-public shares."
Query: Are all VISA cards connected with bank accounts?

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> In the United States there are 3 main types of cards. There are organizations that push a credit card with their branding. They aren't a bank so they partner with a bank to offer the card. In the US many colleges and professional sports teams will market a credit card with the team or universities colors and logo. The bank handles the details and the team/university gets a flat fee or a portion of the fees. Many even have annual fees. They market to people who want to show their favorite team colors on their credit card, and are willing to pay extra. Some of these branded cards do come with extra perks: Free shipping, discounts on tickets, being able to buy tickets earlier.  There are 4 other types of cards that have limited usage: What makes it confusing is that large business can actually turn a portion of the corporation into a bank. Walmart has been doing this, and so have casinos.

 <=SEP=> Not necessarily. You can issue credit cards without a bank involved, although companies which do so may have additional legal complications, such as usury regulations. As an example, AmEx is a network which also issues cards themselves. The company is not a bank; they sold their banking subsidiary in 2007. It's also possible to get a bank-issued credit card without banking with that same company.
Query: US citizen transferring money to Indian fiance to buy property

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> A. Kindly avoid taking dollars in form of cash to india unless and until it is an emergency. Once the dollar value is in excess of $10,000, you need to declare the same with Indian customs at the destination. Even though it is not a cumbersome procedure, why unnecessarily undergo all sort of documentation and most importantly at all security checks, you will be asked questions on dollars and you need to keep answering.   Finally safety issue is always there during the journey.  B.There is no Tax on the amount you declare. You can bring in any amount. All you need is to declare the same.  C. It is always better to do a wire transfer.  D. Any transfer in excess of $14,000 from US, will atract gift tax as per IRS guidelines. You need to declare the same while filing your Income Tax in US and pay the gift tax accordingly.  E. Once your fiance receives the money , any amount in excess of Rs 50,000 would be treated as individual income and he has to show the same under Income from other sources while filing the taxes. Taxes will be as per the slab he falls under.  F.Only for blood relatives , this limit of 50,000 does not apply.  G. Reg the Loan option, suggest do not opt for the same. Incase you want to go ahead, then pl ensure that you fully comply with IRS rules on Loans made to a foreign person from a US citizen or resident. The person lending the money must report the interest payment as income on his or her yearly tax return provided the loan has interest element. No deduction is allowed if the proceeds are used for personal or non-business purposes.In the case of no-interest loans, most people believe there is no taxable income because no interest is paid.  The IRS views this seriously and the tax rules are astonishingly complex  when it comes to no-interest loans.  Even though no interest is paid to the lender, the IRS will treat the transaction as if the borrower paid interest at the applicable federal rate to the lender and the lender subsequently gifted the interest back to the borrower.The lender is taxed on the imaginary interest income and, depending on the amount, may also be liable for gift tax on the imaginary payment made back to the borrower. Hope the above claryfies your query. Since this involves taxation suggest you take an opinion from a Tax attorney and also ask your fiance to consult a Charted Accountant on the same. Regards
Query: Opening a Roth IRA account, what is the fee structure for Vanguard, Scottrade and TIAA-CREF

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> "This answer is somewhat incomplete as I don't have definitive conclusions about some parts of your question.  Your question includes some very specific subquestions that may best be answered by contacting the investment companies you're considering. I don't see any explicit statement of fees for TIAA-CREF either.  I suggest you contact them and ask. There is mention on the site of no-transaction-fee funds (NTF), but I wasn't able to find a list of such funds.  Again, you might have to ask. Vanguard also offers some non-Vanguard funds without transaction fees.  If you go the Vanguard page on other mutual funds you can use the dropdown on the right to select other fund companies.  Those with ""NTF"" by the name have no transaction fees. Scottrade also offers NTF funds.  You can use their screener and select ""no load"" and ""no transaction fee"" as some of your filters. You are correct that you want to choose an option that will offer a good lineup of funds that you can buy without transaction fees.  However, as the links above show, Vanguard and TIAA-CREF are not the only such options.  My impression is that almost any firm that has their own funds will sell them (or at least some of them) to you without a transaction fee.  Also, as shown above, many places will sell you other companies' funds for free too.  You have plenty of options as far as free trades, so it really depends on what funds you like. If you google for IRA providers you will find more than you can shake a stick at.  If you're interested in low-cost index funds, Vanguard is pretty clearly the leader in that area as their entire business is built around that concept.  TIAA-CREF is another option, as is Fideltiy (which you didn't mention), and innumerable others.  Realistically, though, you probably don't need a gigantic lineup of funds.  If you're juggling money between more than a handful of funds, your investment scheme is probably needlessly complex.  The standard advice is to decide on a broad allocation of money into different asset classes (e.g., US stocks, US bonds, international stocks, international bonds), find a place that offers funds in those areas with low fees and forget about all the other funds."
Query: Buying an investment property in Australia - what are the advantages and disadvantages of building a house vs buying an existing one?

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> When buying investment properties there are different levels of passive investment involved.  At one end you have those that will buy an investment property and give it to a real estate agent to manage and don't want to think of it again (apart from watching the rent come in every week). At the other end there are those that will do everything themselves including knocking on the door to collect the rent. Where is the best place to be - well somewhere in the middle. The most successful property investors treat their investment properties like a business. They handle the overall management of the properties and then have a team taking care of the day-to-day nitty gritty of the properties. Regarding the brand new or 5 to 10 year old property, you are going to pay a premium for the brand new. A property that is 5 years old will be like new but without the premium. I once bought a unit which was 2 to 3 years old for less than the original buyer bought it at brand new. Also you will still get the majority of the depreciation benefits on a 5 year old property. You also should not expect too much maintenance on a 5 to 10 year old property. Another option you may want to look at is Defence Housing. They are managed by the Department of Defence and you can be guaranteed rent for 10 years or more, whether they have a tenant in the property or not. They also carry out all the maintenance on the property and restore it to original condition once their contract is over. The pitfall is that you will pay a lot more for the management of these properties (up to 15% or more). Personally, I would not go for a Defence Housing property as I consider the fees too high and would not agree with some of their terms and conditions. However, considering your emphasis on a passive investment, this may be an option for you.
Query: How can I deal with a spouse who compulsively spends?

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> "compulsive eating, and other compulsions, are also an issue If this is true, then this is not a money problem.  This is a psychological problem that manifests itself in overspending. I would make an appointment with a counselor or therapist ASAP to start dealing with this problem before the symptoms get any worse.   That said, here are some practical things that you can do to reduce overspending: The most important thing is that this be done TOGETHER.  You cannot dictate to him how yo spend your (plural) money, you cannot take away credit cards and give him an ""allowance"", etc. It mush be something that you both agree is important. If you cannot agree on a plan to get on a budget, then counseling would be in order."

 <=SEP=> "Based on the conversations in the comments, I believe a pragmatic solution would be the best immediate course of action, while still working on the long term addiction issues. The first step is to get your husband to agree to give you all of his credit cards and let you manage the money for a set period of time, say 3 months, to see how it goes. (In my experience people are more likely to agree to being uncomfortable for a finite period of time, rather than indefinitely.) Step 2 is to provide him a means for making purchases on his own, but with a limited budget. Here are some examples: Perhaps a combination of the above options would work best. Another thing to consider is to set up alerts with your bank so that you are notified of certain purchases (or all) that are made by your husband. This varies by bank, but nowadays most will allow you to receive text/email immediately when the purchase happens, and can be set to certain amounts or categories. There is a definite psychological difference between, ""If I buy this, my spouse will find out at the end of the month and berate me."" and ""If I buy this, my spouse is going to run in here in 30 seconds and berate me."" The latter might actually be a deterrent on its own, and you may likely have the opportunity to undo the purchase if you wish to. As a side note, it's important to realize that the above suggestions are still allowing for some limited amount of enabling and temptation to occur. If the addiction is such that it is hazardous to one's health (for example drugs or alcohol addiction), then I don't believe this would be the best course of action. These suggestions are based on my impression that the biggest concern at the moment is financial, and I believe these ideas help to mitigate that. Good luck."

 <=SEP=> Perhaps it seems harsh, but I would get separate accounts: credit cards, savings, retirement, all the way down the line.  Your only joint account should be for paying mortgage/rent and other bills.  And as another poster said, delete all your saved info from browsers &c.  Perhaps you even need to set up separate user ids. If this really is a case of compulsive spending, curing it is likely to be a long, hard process, if it's even possible.  You need to put yourself in a position where you won't be dragged down with him.
Query: How separate individual expenses from family expenses in Gnucash?

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> "In your words, you want to ""easily determine whether an item was purchased as part of our individual accounts, or our combined family account."" It's not clear exactly to me what kind of reporting you're trying to get. (I find a useful approach here to be to start with the output you're trying to get from a system, and then see how that maps to the input you want to give the system.) Here's some possibilities:"

 <=SEP=> "These sort of issues in structuring your personal finances relative to expenses can get complicated quickly, as your example demonstrates.  I would recommend a solution that reduces duplication as much as possible- and depending on what information you're interested in tracking you could set it up in very different ways. One solution would be to create virtual sub accounts of your assets, and to record the source of money rather than the destination.  Thus, when you do an expense report, you can limit on the ""his"" or ""hers"" asset accounts, and see only the expenses which pertain to those accounts (likewise for liabilities/credit cards). If, on the other hand, you're more interested in a running sum of expenses- rather than create ""Me"" and ""Spouse"" accounts at every leaf of the expense tree, it would make much more sense to create top level accounts for Expenses:His:etc and Expenses:Hers:etc.  Using this model, you could create only the sub expense accounts that apply for each of your spending (with matching account structures for common accounts)."
Query: If our economy crashes, and cash is worthless, should i buy gold or silver

Relevant passages:
 <=SEP=> Neither. Food, fuel, and tools. Books on how to make and use basic tools -- the books published for farmers who want to kluge their own solutions might be helpful. Heck, help defend a library; it will be beyond price as soon as things settle out a bit. Having skills like blacksmithing and knowing how to teach could go a long way. SF really has explored this in better detail than we could possibly cover here.