If finance or business interests you, then probably you can relate to some movies that cover these topics. These Hollywood movies range from comedy to serious and depict how money can change lives.
1. Trading places: A rich guy and a poor guy end up swapping their positions in the game of finance. Watch Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykryod in this funny 1983 movie.
2. Office Space: This one brings the office to the movie theater. Tech programmers can relate most to this silicon valley comedy.
3. Wallstreet: This is about a WallStreet stockbroker who wants to get to the top by using both legal and illegal methods.
4. Rogue Trader: Ambitious, Nick Leeson finds himself as a futures option trader in this 1999 Hollywood movie. I have not yet watched this one. Any reviews?
5. Lost in America: Money Magazine brought this to my attention. Have not seen this movie yet . This 1985 movie depicts the life of a couple who start on a journey and lose their nest egg.
Do you have more to add to the list?
Showing posts with label finance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finance. Show all posts
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Personal Inflation - whats yours?
According to the wikipedia the definition of Inflation is "a rise in the general level of prices over time. It may also refer to a rise in the prices of a specific set of goods or services. In either case, it is measured as the percentage rate of change of a price index."
Inflation (to a certain degree) in general is useful for the economy as it forces spending and re-investing in the hope that prices will increase in the near future and helps one to lock down a price.
Inflation is one buzzword that one may be hearing a lot these days. The CPI (Consumer Price Index) or COLI (cost of living index) are some of the measures of inflation. COLI gives an estimated comparison between two regions and is useful when moving jobs or to different cities. Attached link provides one such comparison. Another example is CNNMoney's site.
How would you compare the inflation affecting you? One quick measure is comparing the grocery and other bills you paid vs. the one paid this year. Well, it really depends, can compare how much house prices and other things went up as well.
In general a rule of thumb would be to compare how much things that you require everyday went up. That would give you a sense of the net affect to you. Then there are indices - virtual which went up by a certain amount only if you counted them. One such example is housing cost. If you are not shifting to another house then the house price increases or decreases will not affect you directly.
I found such personal inflation calculators online as well. Taking into account one's personalized inflation one needs to observe that re-investing or salary increases are growing at atleast the same or better rate otherwise you are making a loss. vs a visual profit.
The main factor in inflation at least in the US is gasoline. So much depends on it. Often you will find just a single person driving a car unless of course one is making use of the HOV lanes. Public transport being such a scarcity people are forced using their automobiles. The real question is when will people seriously consider using the public transport more seriously and make their local cities think greener !
Inflation (to a certain degree) in general is useful for the economy as it forces spending and re-investing in the hope that prices will increase in the near future and helps one to lock down a price.
Inflation is one buzzword that one may be hearing a lot these days. The CPI (Consumer Price Index) or COLI (cost of living index) are some of the measures of inflation. COLI gives an estimated comparison between two regions and is useful when moving jobs or to different cities. Attached link provides one such comparison. Another example is CNNMoney's site.
How would you compare the inflation affecting you? One quick measure is comparing the grocery and other bills you paid vs. the one paid this year. Well, it really depends, can compare how much house prices and other things went up as well.
In general a rule of thumb would be to compare how much things that you require everyday went up. That would give you a sense of the net affect to you. Then there are indices - virtual which went up by a certain amount only if you counted them. One such example is housing cost. If you are not shifting to another house then the house price increases or decreases will not affect you directly.
I found such personal inflation calculators online as well. Taking into account one's personalized inflation one needs to observe that re-investing or salary increases are growing at atleast the same or better rate otherwise you are making a loss. vs a visual profit.
The main factor in inflation at least in the US is gasoline. So much depends on it. Often you will find just a single person driving a car unless of course one is making use of the HOV lanes. Public transport being such a scarcity people are forced using their automobiles. The real question is when will people seriously consider using the public transport more seriously and make their local cities think greener !
Thursday, December 27, 2007
taxable vs. tax advantaged accounts
I've been always thinking which one should one choose if they have money after tax with them.
Should one invest in Mutual Funds/stocks in IRA (Traditional for this calculation) or in a taxed account?
Assumptions to max some sense:
Traditional IRA contributions are after tax money contributions
Principal : $4000
Gain per year : 10%
No further investments
Tax bracket : 25%
Age: Atleast 20 years away from retirement
With a 25% tax bracket and no annual increase in contributions this value will grow to $8244 in a taxable account or $10375 in an IRA account. If one withdraws from an IRA prematurely with a 10% penalty the value of the IRA will be lesser than the taxable account at this stage.Assuming a linear increase in the yearly rate of return the average is $671.5 /year = $6715 for 10 years.
10% penalty on $6715 = $671.5
10 year analysis
Total value of IRA on early withdrawal
10375 minus 671.5 minus 1678.5 = $ 8025
Total value of the taxable account = $8244
An analysis after 20 years reveals that the taxable account is still better if one wants to withdraw money. Will you need the money until retirement is the question ?
If not then traditional IRA is certainly a good investment.
One can use the tax calculator here
Thoughts?
Should one invest in Mutual Funds/stocks in IRA (Traditional for this calculation) or in a taxed account?
Assumptions to max some sense:
Traditional IRA contributions are after tax money contributions
Principal : $4000
Gain per year : 10%
No further investments
Tax bracket : 25%
Age: Atleast 20 years away from retirement
With a 25% tax bracket and no annual increase in contributions this value will grow to $8244 in a taxable account or $10375 in an IRA account. If one withdraws from an IRA prematurely with a 10% penalty the value of the IRA will be lesser than the taxable account at this stage.Assuming a linear increase in the yearly rate of return the average is $671.5 /year = $6715 for 10 years.
10% penalty on $6715 = $671.5
10 year analysis
Total value of IRA on early withdrawal
10375 minus 671.5 minus 1678.5 = $ 8025
Total value of the taxable account = $8244
An analysis after 20 years reveals that the taxable account is still better if one wants to withdraw money. Will you need the money until retirement is the question ?
If not then traditional IRA is certainly a good investment.
One can use the tax calculator here
Thoughts?
Friday, December 21, 2007
Social security tax limit
SocialSecurity.gov has this information about social security tax limits.
The limits for social security go up every year. For employeed individuals it is 6.2% on earnings up to $97,500 for 2007 and will go up to 6.2% on earnings up to $102,000.
According to the Wiki in the US "Once that amount is earned for a given year, neither the employee nor the employer owe any additional social security tax for that year."
Please refer to IRS publication 15 for details.
More searches on this yielded the fact that individuals might see " Social security limit reached" in their paycheck.
The limits for social security go up every year. For employeed individuals it is 6.2% on earnings up to $97,500 for 2007 and will go up to 6.2% on earnings up to $102,000.
According to the Wiki in the US "Once that amount is earned for a given year, neither the employee nor the employer owe any additional social security tax for that year."
Please refer to IRS publication 15 for details.
More searches on this yielded the fact that individuals might see " Social security limit reached" in their paycheck.
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