Explain what is meant by tax-sheltered investment growth on money invested through qualified retirement accounts.
> Summarize how interest is calculated on a consumer loan that uses the add-on method.
> Explain how the interest is calculated on a consumer loan that uses the declining balance method.
> What percentage of your portfolio, if any, do you think should be invested in high-risk investments? Explain.
> Comment on why real estate investors often have time-consuming management demands.
> Briefly comment on why interest rate risk is dangerous to real estate investors.
> Summarize why foreclosures and illiquidity are disadvantages in real estate investing.
> How might you go about monitoring your mutual fund investments?
> Explain how you would eliminate funds inappropriate for your investment goals.
> Explain why it is important to review your investment philosophy and goals when selecting mutual fund investments.
> Explain what selling short is and how it can go wrong for an investor.
> What is buying on margin and how it can go wrong for an investor?
> Summarize the differences among types of stock orders: market, limit, and stop order.
> Summarize the differences among discount, online, and full-service brokers.
> What experiences have you or a family member had with the automobile insurance claims process? What if anything might have been done differently or better?
> Julia has been thinking about how she uses credit cards. She has two bank cards and three store cards. The APRs on the cards range from 10.5 to 24.9 percent, with the store cards being among the highest. She uses the cards often and picks whatever card s
> Summarize how herd behavior sometimes leads to a stock market bubble.
> Identify three trading mistakes that can be avoided by long-term investors.
> What should long-term investors do about market volatility?
> Distinguish between bull and bear markets.
> Give three signs of an unethical life insurance agent.
> List the benefits of buying term and investing the rest.
> Give some examples of fair prices for life insurance and one example of why some people must pay higher premiums than others.
> What is meant by integrating your life insurance into your financial plan over the life cycle?
> Distinguish between the benefit period and the waiting period for a long-term care policy.
> Distinguish among the three levels of care in long-term insurance.
> Many people complain that property insurance policies should pay more than what the insurance companies say is the actual cash value of the property, such as for a used motor vehicle with low mileage that is in near-perfect condition. How do you feel abo
> What are activities of daily living?
> Explain why selecting a policy with a high deductible and high liability limits is better than one with a low deductible and low liability limits.
> Distinguish between collision and comprehensive insurance.
> Identify who is protected by medical payments coverage.
> Explain the meaning of the numbers 100/200/75.
> Identify the four types of automobile insurance coverage.
> Identify the two ways that homebuyers build equity in their property.
> Distinguish between a conventional mortgage loan and an adjustable-rate loan.
> Explain why the portions of a monthly mortgage payment that are allocated toward interest and toward principal will vary as the loan is repaid.
> Summarize how a small claims court work.
> Are prepayment penalties such as that applied with the rule of 78s justified? Why or why not?
> How do lemon laws work?
> Distinguish between mediation and arbitration.
> Summarize the FTC’s cooling-off rule to cancel a contract.
> Which alternative lender probably charges the highest interest rate?
> What is an acceleration clause?
> What reasons do some people offer for not having a relative co sign a student loan?
> What is the difference between a secured and an unsecured loan?
> Distinguish between a single-payment and an installment loan.
> Offer your impressions of working for an employer that offers a sizable matching contribution compared with one that does not.
> Explain why defined-contribution retirement plans are called self-directed.
> If you were the borrower, how would you feel about the fact that interest costs are higher in the early months of a declining balance loan than they are in the later months?
> Summarize the main differences between defined-contribution and defined-benefit pension plans.
> Distinguish among after-tax money put into investments, pretax money, and vesting.
> List two ways to finance a real estate investment.
> Comment on the wisdom of buying a timeshare as an investment.
> Summarize how the discounted cash-flow method helps determine the right price to pay for a real estate investment.
> Summarize the effects of loads and fees on investment returns.
> Which is better for most investors, load or no-load funds? Why?
> Give three examples of fees or charges associated with load funds.
> Where can you go to look up stock symbols and prices?
> Some credit cards offer rewards points or a cash back reward for all purchases made on the card. Which rewards card would you prefer and why?
> Distinguish between the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500.
> Name two places where you can go to find information about a company?
> How does one use a stock screening tool?
> Explain how transactions costs and leverage may increase or decrease investment returns.
> Summarize three other types of investment risks that seem important to you.
> Explain market risk, what causes it, and how it fits in one’s portfolio.
> What is random risk, and how does it get reduced?
> Explain how guaranteed renewability for term life insurance and guaranteed insurability for cash-value insurance protect insured people who develop serious health conditions.
> Distinguish between an automatic premium loan and a waiver-of-premium option in a life insurance policy.
> Identify three of the five settlement options for the payment of the proceeds of a life insurance policy to its beneficiary.
> What benefits do you see in leasing a vehicle? What negatives exist when leasing?
> What are nonforfeiture values and why are they important?
> Distinguish between an incontestability clause and a suicide clause in a life insurance contract.
> Distinguish among the owner, the insured, the beneficiary, and the contingent beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
> What is meant by the out-of-pocket maximum?
> Distinguish among an exclusion, deductible, coinsurance, and a copay.
> List the three questions you should ask yourself when determining the policy limits for a homeowner’s insurance policy.
> Identify four types of personal property for which the covered loss is limited to a specific dollar amount under standard homeowner’s insurance policies (see Table 10-1). Table 10-1: Table 10-1 Summary of Homeowner's Insurance Poli
> Name the three types of homeowner’s insurance policies for most residences: HO-3, HO-4, and HO-6.
> Give three examples of liability protection under homeowner’s insurance policies
> List the four types of losses covered under the property insurance portion of a homeowner’s policy.
> Do you think all of the steps in the planned buying process are used when buying simple everyday products (such as a loaf of bread or a half-gallon of milk), or are they used only when buying big-ticket items? Why, or why not?
> Distinguish among loan estimate, closing disclosure, and uniform settlement statement.
> What steps are involved with agreeing to terms with a seller?
> When using a Realtor® why should you be cautious when working with a seller’s agent?
> Distinguish between the two rules of thumb that lenders use to assess housing affordability.
> What is involved in cleaning up your credit to buy a home?
> What is dealer holdback and why is it important?
> Why should a shopper negotiate?
> Why should you make major purchase decisions at home using a decision-making matrix?
> What three aspects of a vehicle purchase should be negotiated? In what order?
> Where would to go to obtain an installment loan to finance a vehicle if you had a good credit rating and wanted to pay a low interest rate?
> Identify topics that you would cover in your letter of last instructions.
> What is a sales finance company and how does it work?
> In the text example, what can Erik do to save more for his retirement?
> List the steps in the process of estimating your retirement savings goal in today’s dollars.
> Summarize the special income tax regulations on renting out vacation homes.
> Briefly explain how the interest paid on the mortgage of a real estate investment reduces one’s income taxes.
> Summarize how depreciation is used to reduce the taxable income from a real estate investment.
> Explain why investors like index mutual funds and exchange traded funds.
> Distinguish among mutual funds with an income objective, growth objective, and growth and income objective.
> Distinguish between a managed mutual fund and an unmanaged mutual fund.
