The table of contents to articles on the fundamentals of consumer finance and investments — supplemented with illustrations, charts, and examples, and formatted for quick comprehension. Find more specific information fast by using the search engine at the top-left of every page (or near the bottom when viewing on a mobile, tablet, or other small-screen device).
Credit and Debt If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey. — Bo Diddley
Topics Debt Collection Creditors have better memories than debtors. — Benjamin Franklin
Debt and Taxes I've got all the money I'll ever need if I die by four o'clock this afternoon. — Henny Youngman
Taxation of Canceled Debt - Taxes may be due on the canceled debt in a foreclosure or a short sale. This article explains what canceled debt is taxable, how to figure the tax, and how to possibly avoid it.
Bankruptcy Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. — Woody Allen
Bankruptcy Fundamentals I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something. — Jackie Mason
Pre-Bankruptcy Period Special Topics
Though it has oft been said that money can't buy happiness, it can certainly prevent a lot of unhappiness. — wcs
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy I'm living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart. — e.e. cummings
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Insurance Insurance Fundamentals Risk - A tutorial about risk and insurance.Risks, Perils, And Hazards Handling Risk Insurance; Insurable Risks; Underwriting And Adverse Selection - A tutorial about the basics of insurance companies, underwriting and adverse selection, and what constitutes an insurable risk.Legal Liability and Negligence Law of Large Numbers - Using the Law of Large Numbers to determine underwriting risk and insurance premiums.Indemnity - How property insurance pays for losses.Insurable Interest - What constitutes an insurable interest, and when must it exist?Subrogation Utmost Good Faith—Representations, Concealments, And Warranties - Why honesty is the best policy in insurance.Insurance Contracts Standard Insurance Policies Insurance Deductibles - The different types of deductibles and how they reduce insurance premiums.Coinsurance - How coinsurance reduces health insurance premiums, and equalizes rates for property insurance.Multiple Insurance Coverage: Pro Rata Liability, Contribution Of Equal Shares, And Primary And Excess Insurance - What determines how much each insurance policy pays when multiple policies cover the same loss.Credit-Based Insurance Scores - How and why personal credit scores affect insurance rates.Insurance Companies Types of Insurance Homeowners Insurance Life Insurance Life Insurance Contracts Health Insurance Commercial Insurance Special Insurance Insurance Resources
Real Estate
Buy land. They ain't making any more of the stuff. — Will Rogers
Real Estate Fundamentals Real Estate, Real Property, And Land—Basic Definitions And Concepts Legal Descriptions Of Real Estate Real Estate Encumbrances: Liens, Deed Restrictions, Easements, and Encroachments Estates in Land: The Fee Simple Estate and the Life Estate Forms of Real Estate Ownership - A tutorial about the different forms of real estate ownership, including ownership in severalty, tenancy in common, joint tenancy, tenancy in the entirety, common property, trusts, and business entities, such as corporations, partnerships, and real estate syndicates.Types of Deeds: General and Special Warranty Deeds, Bargain and Sale Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, Trust Deeds, and Court-Order Deeds Title Records Real Estate Title Insurance Real Estate Title Transfer Real Estate Agency Listing Agreements and Buyer Agency Agreements Real Estate Appraisal: Sales Comparison Approach, Cost Approach, Income Approach Real Estate Closing; Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Real Estate Types Rentals
Mortgages Mortgage Calculator — Mortgage calculator that shows, in a table, monthly payment, total interest paid, and total payment for 5 to 50 year mortgages. For a specified interest rate, calculate the monthly payment for a given loan, or calculate the loan amount for a monthly payment.Mortgage Fundamentals - A complete, but concise, tutorial about mortgages, with illustrative examples and real world data for better comprehension.Reverse Mortgages Special Topics in Real Estate
Real Estate Resources Real Estate Blog — This document contains entries about real estate, organized chronologically.Real Estate Links — Organized by category. Links, about buying a home or investing in real estate, organized into subtopics, including real estate news, tutorials, articles, listings, buying, financing, and mortgage calculators, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and major real estate websites. Includes blog entries, and summaries of good articles.
Taxes The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf. — Will Rogers
Income Taxation
Gross Income, Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), and
Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)
Tax Formula to Determine Taxable Income from Gross Income
Itemized Deductions
Standard Deduction Personal and Dependency Exemptions Qualifying Child and Qualifying Relative Filing Status Wages, Salary, And Other Compensation Taxation of Fringe Benefits Fringe Benefits: Health And Accident Coverage, Flexible Spending Arrangements, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Access Rules And COBRA Coverage Additional Medicare Tax Kiddie Tax Taxation of Alimony, Separate Maintenance Payments, and Child Support Imputed Interest On Below-Market Loans Taxation Of Social Security Benefits and Tier 1 Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits Tax Savings on Capital Gain of a Principal Residence Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for Individuals Taxation of Employee Stock Options Taxation Of Restricted Stock Compensation Taxation of Canceled Debt, Including Foreclosures and Short Sales Tax Consequences of Abandonments, Foreclosures, Repossessions, Voluntary Conveyances, and Bad Debts for the Lender Foreign Income Foreign Earned Income
Exclusion Foreign Tax Credit Tax Attributes If Patrick Henry thought that taxation without representation was bad, he should see how bad it is with representation. — Old Farmer's Almanac
Personal Deductions
Tax Credits Educational Tax Benefits
Other Tax Topics Retirement Plans
Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. — Herbert Hoover
Taxation of Investments
Business Taxes
Accounting Methods: Cash, Accrual, and Hybrid Accounting Methods for Long-Term
Contracts: Completed Contract Method, Percentage of Completion Method Self-Employment Tax Home Office Deduction New Safe Harbor for
Claiming the Home Office Deduction Tax Classifications For Workers: Employees, Independent Contractors, Statutory Employees, And Statutory Nonemployees Misclassifying Workers as Independent Contractors Household Employment Taxes
(Nanny Tax) Employee Expense Reimbursements: Accountable and Nonaccountable Plans Travel Expense Deductions Meals and Entertainment Deductions Net Operating Losses (NOLs) Cost Recovery Methods: Depreciation, Amortization, and Depletion Depreciation Amortization Section 179 Deduction Listed Property Section 1231 Assets Taxation of Real Estate Rights Transactions: Lease Cancellations, Real Estate Options, Easements, And Covenants Low-Income Housing and Rehabilitation Tax Credits Partnerships Partnership Distributions Partnership Interest Sale Limited Liability Companies S Corporations S Corporation Distributions Suspended Losses from the Disposition of
an Interest in a Pass-Through Entity Family Businesses C Corporations Personal Service Corporations Corporate Distributions Corporate
Accumulation Penalty Taxes Controlled Corporate Groups Consolidated Corporate
Tax Returns Permanent and Temporary Differences between Book Income and Taxable Income for Partnerships and Corporations Corporate Acquisitions and
Mergers Multistate-Business Taxation International Business
Taxation Subpart F Income of Controlled Foreign
Corporations Transfer Pricing Sourcing Of Income And
Deductions In International Business And Investment Transactions United States Taxation of
Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Corporations Tax Consequences of
Foreign Currency Transactions
Gratuitous Transfer Taxes The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets. — Will Rogers
Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt. — Herbert Hoover
Did you ever notice that when you put the words “The” and “IRS” together, it spells "THEIRS”? — Author Unknown
Wills, Estates, and Trusts I have nothing, I owe a great deal; the rest I give to the poor. — the purported will of Rabelais
Wills and Estates Intestate Distribution Limits to Testamentary Freedom Inheritance Appointing a Personal Guardian and Leaving Property for Minor Children: Property Guardianships, Uniform Transfer to Minors Act Custodianships, Child's Trust and Family Pot Trusts, 529 and Coverdell Accounts, and Handling Life Insurance Proceeds for Minors Gifts to Children: Advancements, Guardianships, Conservatorships, Custodianships, and Trusts Disclaimers Lapsed Gifts And Anti-Lapse Statutes Class Gifts Ademption, Avoidance Of Ademption, And Abatement Bars To Inheritance: Homicide, Abuse, Or Abandonment Wills: Execution and Probate Gift and Estate Taxes Trusts
Investment Fundamentals
What's the use of happiness? It can't buy you money. — Henny Youngman
Banking and Financial Institutions
If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a
large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank. — Woody Allen
Central Banking
Foreign Exchange
Banking History
A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining,
but wants it back the minute it begins to rain. — Mark Twain
Topics
Mutual Funds, Exchange-Traded Funds, Hedge Funds, and Limited Partnerships Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy. — Groucho Marx
Other Types of Funds Direct Participation Programs (DPPs)
Bonds and Other Fixed Income Securities Bond Fundamentals Types of Bonds Money Market Instruments Government Securities Corporate Bonds Asset-Backed Securities Derivatives Special Topics Bond Resources
Stocks Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it. — Will Rogers
Stock Fundamentals Primary and Secondary Stock Market Stock Valuation Financial Ratios Stock Indexes Specialized Topics Stock Resources
Options Stock Options and Index Options, an Illustrated Introduction with Examples. Option Strategies—Investment Strategies using Options, illustrated with Graphs and Examples. The Mechanics of Option Trading, Exercise, and Assignment; Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) Option-like Securities — Callable Bonds, Convertible Securities, and Warrants Theoretical Pricing Models: Binomial Option Pricing And The Black-Scholes Formula Put-Call Parity The Greeks: Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega, and Rho Employee Stock Options; Back-dated Options Exotic Options Special Option Topics
Futures Commodities Forex They say that money can't buy love, but it can greatly increase your prospects. — wcs
Topics Forex Resources Technical Analysis If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars. — J. Paul Getty
Special Topics