Here’s an overview of the how, why, and who of business valuations. What Is Business Valuation? Business valuation can be described as the process or result of determining the economic value of a company. All businesses have one thing in common: The goal is to generate profits for shareholders. Time frames, methods, and expectations differ, but the goal is the same. All business valuations are estimates. The objective of the valuation, and who does the analysis, heavily influences the end result....

Buying a Money Order With a Credit Card You can buy a money order with a credit card, but it’s not the smartest or least expensive option. Even though credit card issuers allow you to purchase money orders, there are some drawbacks that are important to consider. Money Order Purchases Are Treated as Cash Advances Because money orders are a type of guaranteed payment instrument that requires upfront cash, credit card issuers treat them as a cash equivalent transaction....

How much of a profit or loss a pip of movement produces depends on both the currency pair you are trading and the currency you funded your trading account with. Pip value matters because it affects risk. If you don’t know how much a pip is worth, you can’t precisely calculate the ideal position size for a trade, and you may end up risking too much or too little on a trade....

This would leave you with a sizable chunk of money as you enter adulthood. And for many policy wonks and politicians, this would go a long way toward addressing wealth inequality. Many of these proposals call for a child to receive funds in the form of a bond from the U.S. Treasury Department. Others refer to the money as sitting in a “trust fund.” These bonds are often referred to as “baby bonds” because they are provided at a person’s birth....

Paying Back Student Loans Using a personal loan to pay off your student loans just means swapping one kind of debt for another. You may get a different interest rate and loan term, but that’s pretty much it. You’ll still be locked into monthly payments until the debt is paid off. Before applying for a personal loan, consider all of your options for paying back your student loans. There are ways to compromise with your loan servicer while staying in good standing....

Before you do anything, pause and reconsider dipping into your retirement savings. Those funds can be a significant source of money, but you’ll thank yourself later if you can leave the money alone and find funding elsewhere. Things are not necessarily going to get any easier when you’re older and have stopped earning an income. When Can You Borrow From Your IRA? IRS rules dictate what you can do with IRAs, and those rules allow only distributions from IRAs....

Financial planners often suggest that you aim to replace about 80% of your pre-retirement income. But the actual amount you’ll need will depend on your standard of living, your life goals, and whether you’re still paying off debt. An amount of income in line with the U.S. average could do the trick, or you might have to work and save more to meet your lifestyle goals. Average Retirement Income in America According to the U....

Learn about the pros and cons of refinancing a reverse mortgage, when you might consider doing it, and how the process works so you can decide if it’s the right option for you. Can You Refinance a Reverse Mortgage? A reverse mortgage is an option for people who are over the age of 62, and on a fixed income, who want to tap into their home equity. In most cases, the person already has paid off all or most of their home, but they are looking for some additional cash flow....

But you can negate the benefits of a capital loss if you aren’t careful. You’ll delay your ability to deduct your capital losses and you could lose out on the deduction forever if you violate the “wash sale rule.” The Wash Sale Rule Defined A wash sale consists of two transactions. The first occurs when a trader closes a position at a loss. You might have bought a stock for $10, then you later sold it for $5....

Learn more about this way of assessing a business’s finances, and some of the factors that business leaders consider as they construct their capital structure. What Is Capital Structure? “Capital,” in the business world, is simply money. Therefore, capital structure is the way that a business finances its operations—the money used to buy inventory, pay rent, and other things that keep the business’s doors open. Specifically, capital structure details a business’s composition of debt and equity, including long-term debt, specific short-term liabilities (like banknotes), common equity, and preferred equity....

The two differ in the timing of when revenue and expenses are reflected in your accounts. Cash accounting recognizes expenses and revenue when the funds change hands, while accrual accounting recognizes them when they are incurred. The cash method of accounting is generally suitable for very small businesses without any inventory. The accrual method is more popular and conforms to the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Learn more about how cash accounting and accrual accounting work and which method may be best for you....

Be sure you notify the federal, state, and local taxing authorities and departments when you change your business address. In some cases, you will need to notify both the officials in the location you are leaving and those in the new jurisdiction where you will be relocating. For All Business Changes of Address If you have any federal, state or local licenses or permits, you will need to change these with the appropriate agency....

Do you need to write a character reference or ask someone to write one for you? If it’s something you haven’t done before, getting some pointers and looking at sample letters may help. Review sample reference letters and tips for writing and requesting character references. What Is a Character Reference? A character reference (also known as a personal reference) is a letter written by someone who knows the candidate and can speak to their character and abilities....

Large Banks A large bank offers several advantages. One of the best advantages is that you can move your account with you when you are transferred to a new area. You may also be able to find the bank’s ATMs when you travel. Larger banks offer a wide variety of account options and services. One of the biggest disadvantages is that you are simply an account number to them. You may build a good relationship with a particular branch, but the corporate officers make most of the decisions when it comes to handling your account....

Both of these types of mergers involve companies that are combining their related business operations. Congeneric mergers also involve companies in related lines of business, while conglomerate mergers do not. Congeneric Mergers Congeneric mergers involve companies in the same industry, but with different business lines. Both companies involved in the merger may have common technology, markets, or production processes. The acquired firm in a congeneric merger is either an extension of a product line or a market related to the acquiring firm....

What Goes Into Cost of Goods Sold COGS includes everything from the purchase price of the raw material to the expenses of transforming it into a product and packaging it, to the freight charges paid to have it delivered to store shelves. It also includes the cost of paying the workers who make the product. In some circles, the cost of goods sold is also known as cost of revenue or cost of sales....

That’s because for the first time in over a year, more people surveyed by Morning Consult planned to sell than buy a home in the next 12 months. As the chart below shows, until February, prospective homebuyers outnumbered prospective sellers every month since the polling company first asked the question in January 2021, though by varying margins depending on the month. Then last month, 14.1% said they planned to sell and 14% said they planned to buy....

Why Your Landlord Requires Coverage When a property owner leases all or a portion of a building to a tenant, the owner bears a risk that the tenant might inadvertently cause an accident that injures someone visiting the property. The injured party might seek compensation by suing both the tenant and the landlord for damages. For example, suppose you operate an accounting business in office space you lease from Prime Properties, the building owner....

Total revolving credit balances, which are primarily from credit cards, rose 10.1% in February to $974.4 billion, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. The first increase since September 2020 and only the second increase in a year, the jump erased nearly all of the decline in January, when many consumers used $600-per-person stimulus checks to pay debt down to its lowest level in nearly four years....

Rental Insurance Generally Still Applies to Rewards Bookings The good news is that in most cases, a rental you book with points is covered if your card comes with a collision damage waiver (CDW). For example, if you use points from your Chase Sapphire Preferred card to book a car rental for your next Hawaiian vacation, you’re covered by your card’s CDW policy as long as you meet the coverage requirements....