Investments & Capital

Time to Exercise Your Option to Buy Out a Partner?

There’s no doubt business profits are down so now might be a good time to buy a shareholder out and increase your ownership percentage. Just hope that shareholder doesn’t have the same idea.

Q&A: The New SBA Loan Programs

Tanner Eckler, assistant vice president for Bank of Oklahoma, answers some key questions about the SBA’s new loan programs.

Credit Cards More Expensive, Riskier as Source of Funds

Credit cards are a significant source of capital for small businesses. In fact, The National Small Business Association (NSBA) recently surveyed 288 small businesses and found 86 percent use credit cards as either their primary or sole source of funds! Nearly a quarter reported juggling more than four credit cards used for business purposes.

Pretty shocking, given the punishingly high cost. And since respondents reported using their credit cards as sources of funding, we can safely assume they carry balances. Add to this the turmoil in the credit card market today and we have at hand a real challenge for small companies.

Need to Refinance? Simply Incredible New SBA Programs

The U.S. Small Business Administration is trying to make it easier on small businesses with loan programs that go beyond the norm. The SBA has hiked the guarantee percentage to lenders and waived the annual fees. In addition, the SBA has started an interest-free, 100 percent loan guarantee program that benefits business owners and lenders.

Know Your Net Worth

Certain terms are important to know when calculating your net worth. The terms will help you better understand your overall financial picture as you push forward with your business.

A Fool and His Money Are Soon Parted (Investing vs. Gambling)

The savvy investor - or, more aptly, the investor who survives and earns a fair return over the long term - knows the difference between investing and gambling.

S&P 500 Annual Rate of Return (1929 to Present)

Now’s the Time to Convert Your Retirement Account to a Roth!

Money held in a Roth IRA can be withdrawn tax-free. Money held in and withdrawn from other types of retirement accounts (regular IRA, SEP, 401(k), etc.) is taxed at ordinary income rates at the time of withdrawal.

Think about it. Income without taxation. How wonderful life would be!

13 Rock-Solid Reasons It’s Time to Buy, Not Sell Public Equities (i.e. Stocks)

1. Buy Low, Sell High. When we boil it down, life is not that complex. Just adhere to a few simple rules and we'll do pretty darn well. One simple rule of investing is "buy low, sell high." So why are you considering selling now when equities values are low? You should be buying.

Investment Losses: Use Them to Reduce Taxes

We know that investments go up and down, and that different types of investments tend to go up and down at different times. We also know that the IRS provides us with a couple of avenues for using our investment losses to lower our tax bill. The trick is to know the rules and then manage our investments in a way that gives us maximum tax advantage.

Here are the avenues for using investment losses: