- Cash Flow Statement: What Is It and How to Read It
In business, maintaining positive cash flow is vitally important. Cash flow refers to the movement of cash in and out of a business as it generates revenue while also covering its operating expenses. A cash flow statement is a way… read more…
- Does Private Equity Belong in Your 401(k)?
In 2020, the Trump administration announced that 401(k)s and other defined contribution retirement plans were not explicitly barred from offering private equity investments to participants. These alternative investments, which historically have been limited to wealthy and institutional investors, aren’t available as standalone options, but they could potentially be bundled with other investments in, for example,… read more…
- What Adjusted Earnings Tells Investors
When deciding whether to invest in a company, there are a variety of different metrics you can use. Those can include net income, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) or adjusted earnings. All of these are used to gauge… read more…
- How to Create a Personal Financial Statement
Assessing your financial situation can help you understand your options for creating a steadfast financial future. One tool that can assist in this assessment is a personal financial statement, which provides an overview of your financial circumstances. The process for how to create a personal financial statement first involves understanding the different components of one,… read more…
- How “Geographic Arbitrage” Can Make You Money
Geographic arbitrage is a term coined by the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early). FIRE advocates combine investments and a typically high-paying job to achieve the dream of retiring by the time they hit their early 40s or even late… read more…
- Using a Tax Deed to Invest in Real Estate
A tax deed is a legal document that gives a government body the right to sell a piece of real estate for non-payment of taxes. When a real estate owner gets behind on property taxes, the city or county may place… read more…
- What Is a Non-Disclosure Agreement?
Businesses use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to protect company secrets. These are legal contracts in which one or more persons agree to keep certain information secret. The agreements may also be referred to as confidentiality agreements or confidential disclosure agreements. Here’s… read more…
- What Is Real Estate Wholesaling?
Real estate wholesaling is a kind of arbitrage in which a party known as a wholesaler negotiates a contract for the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a property for a particular price. Rather than completing the purchase, however,… read more…
- What Is a Minimum Viable Product?
A minimum viable product (MVP) is an early version of a product with only basic features. The purpose of an MVP is to help a company or development team learn what will work without investing too much money or time… read more…
- Understanding Crummey Trusts and How to Use Them
Establishing a trust may be on your estate planning to-do list if you want to preserve your wealth for future generations while potentially enjoying some tax advantages. A Crummey trust is a specific type of trust that can be used… read more…
- What Is an In Kind Transfer?
Opening an investment account can help you grow wealth for retirement or other financial goals. Brokerage accounts can offer flexibility when it comes to choosing where to invest, and many online brokerages now offer low fees, a fact that can… read more…
- Guide to Microcap Stocks
There are different ways to classify stocks but one of the simplest is by market capitalization. Market capitalization means the total dollar market value of a company’s outstanding shares. For example, companies can be categorized as large-cap, mid-cap or small-cap.… read more…
- How Does an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) Work?
As part of your company’s benefits package, you may have access to an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or ESPP. These plans allow you to purchase shares in the company you work for, typically at a discount. An ESPP is separate from a 401(k) or similar workplace retirement plan, but both can be useful to growing… read more…
- How an Accelerated Death Benefit Works
When buying life insurance, you may be asked whether you’d like to add on various riders. Riders enhance the policy’s benefits and there are a number you can choose from, including an accelerated death benefit. Adding on this benefit may… read more…
- Self-Dealing: Definition and Examples
When choosing a financial professional to work with, it’s important to find someone who’s reputable and trustworthy. One thing to consider when vetting financial advisors or other professionals is whether they’ve ever been engaged in self-dealing. Self-dealing is a term… read more…
- How to Calculate Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Cost of goods sold (COGS) is the determination of how much it costs retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers to produce the goods they sell. For makers and resellers of products, COGS, sometimes also referred to as “cost of sales,” appears on an… read more…
- How to Get a Debt Consolidation Loan
If you have multiple debt balances from credit cards, high-interest loans and other forms of debt, you may want to merge them into one payment. You can use a debt consolidation loan to combine them into one lower-interest loan. There… read more…
- Permanent Life Insurance: Definition and Pros & Cons
Permanent life insurance can allow you to continue to support your family members and ensure that they are financially protected after you pass away. This is a life insurance policy that never expires and pays a benefit upon the policyholder’s… read more…
- How to Use the Price-to-Book Ratio for Stock Analysis
When analyzing stocks or companies to invest in, there are different ratios for gauging financial health. The price-to-book ratio (P/B) is one way to evaluate a stock’s value, something that may be important if you’re looking for ones that are… read more…
- How to Read a Form 10-K
A publicly traded company is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to disclose substantial information about its governance, business model and finances. This information allows investors to make an informed decision about whether or not to trust this company with their money. Traders in particular rely on disclosures like this when deciding whether to… read more…
- Quick Ratio: Definition, Formula and Usage
A quick ratio tests a company’s current liquidity and solvency. It is a measure of whether the company can pay its short-term obligations with its cash or cash-like assets on hand. (Short term obligations are generally defined as any liability… read more…
- Burn Rate: Definition and Calculation
The burn rate of a company is a measure of its negative cash flow in a set period of time, typically a month. Investors, especially venture capitalists, monitor this metric closely to gauge when the company will be self-sustaining or… read more…
- What Is Hyperinflation and Why Should You Care?
Changing economic conditions can trigger various side effects, including an uptick in inflation, as began to happen in 2021. When inflation leads to rising prices and a decline in the purchasing power of money, your dollars and cents don’t stretch… read more…
- Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT)
When creating an estate plan, one important question to consider is how to handle the transfer of personal property, including your home. A Qualified Personal Residence Trust, or QPRT, is something you may decide to create to minimize gift and… read more…
- What Is Mezzanine Financing?
Mezzanine financing is a type of corporate debt that includes an equity component. It offers advantages to both borrowers and lenders that are not available through issuing stock or conventional debt, such as bonds. Established companies often use mezzanine financing… read more…