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You love your site and we love your site, but there is a whole world of people out there who might not even know it exists. When they do find it, their first impression will either scare them away or keep them around. Given this, let's take a hard look at the questions and answers here and make sure newcomers see the site at its best!

Below you'll find ten questions randomly selected from this site. What do you think about each of them and their answers? Are they the best they can be or can they be improved? Would they look interesting and inviting to an outsider or are they a little embarrassing?

Upvote the corresponding post here on meta when we're awesome. Downvote when our content just isn't quite up to par.

Oh, and do comment to let everyone know your thoughts and take part in this conversation. :D

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  • The conversation has extended to another meta post. Please check it out! meta.money.stackexchange.com/questions/554/…
    – Aarthi Staff
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 21:22
  • just to clarify, do we downvote the answers below if we think the question they reference is lousy?
    – Jaydles
    Commented Jun 24, 2012 at 21:06
  • @Jaydles Yes. If the question is bad, reflects poorly on the site, is answered badly, or would otherwise be a negative potential "first time" experience, then downvote the answer below.
    – Aarthi Staff
    Commented Jun 25, 2012 at 3:04
  • Thanks for all your help, everyone! Be sure to check out the overflow post for more community-driven conversation. :)
    – Aarthi Staff
    Commented Jun 28, 2012 at 15:25

10 Answers 10

Reset to default
6

Are there things I can be doing while waiting for an investment to mature?

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

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  • 2
    This is good, and a common problem. As people start to care about their personal finance, one of the first things they do is obsess. My advice is one approach, a competing answer would be nice if somebody disagrees.
    – MrChrister
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 16:28
  • 1
    I was the original poster of this question and I think the answers are very good but was hoping for a little bit more discussion around the matter. That is why I haven't marked the question as answered.
    – Eric
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 17:44
  • Very interesting question.
    – Marco Demaio
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 18:41
5

How does the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) divisor change to account for dividends?

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

4
  • It could be interesting to know about this financial ralated technicalities.
    – Marco Demaio
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 18:21
  • There's only one answer, bad enough it has no votes. :(
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica Mod
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 21:34
  • 1
    There will only ever be one good answer. It will make reference to documents on the Dow Jones website.
    – mhoran_psprep
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 1:56
  • This question was missing some tags; I made some minor edits. Otherwise, a good question and answer.
    – Chris W. Rea Mod
    Commented Jun 22, 2012 at 12:53
5

Transfer money from Canadian bank account to US bank account while living in the US

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

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  • 1
    The answers are all pretty close, with some specific advice that will solve the issue. A good clear question and clear answers.
    – MrChrister
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 16:30
  • It's a day by day money chores, but it could be useful.
    – Marco Demaio
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 18:16
5

How to calculate stock price (value) based on given values for equity and debt?

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

4
  • The intent of OP is know very clear.
    – Dheer
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 6:07
  • Very interesting question that could be of some value to whoever decides to do stock picking using other indexes and not only the Price/Earning.
    – Marco Demaio
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 18:27
  • This question could benefit from a bit of cleanup. I've made some edits to the question text and added some tags.
    – Chris W. Rea Mod
    Commented Jun 22, 2012 at 12:56
  • This is still a problematic question. Part of the issue, as @ChrisW.Rea points out, is a clarity problem, but part is that there seems to be some inaccuracy in the premise - whatever it is we mean by a company's value, debt doesn't add to it; it subtracts from it.
    – Jaydles
    Commented Jun 24, 2012 at 21:08
4

Expensive Pre-Tax Health Plan or Cheaper After Taxes Private Insurance

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

2
  • 1
    I don't have the math to answer, but this is a great question and well formed.
    – MrChrister
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 16:00
  • Valid and seems to be answered pretty well
    – Kirill Fuchs
    Commented Jun 26, 2012 at 13:59
3

W4 withholding for "Married filing joint" filing seems higher? Why?

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

4
  • As already commented meta.money.stackexchange.com/a/541/2120 , this is a questions for accountants, it should be out of topic.
    – Marco Demaio
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 18:28
  • 2
    Marco - Ok, I see you feel this way about 3 of the listed questions here. But tax-related questions are on-topic. The ones from countries outside our own should be ignored if you wish, or read if you want to learn.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica Mod
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 0:49
  • 2
    @MarcoDemaio Ideally, we would like accountants / tax professionals to visit our site and start answering questions. We don't want these questions to be off-topic! This site is not just for self-taught people to answer questions .. we want to attract the professionals in the field as well.
    – Chris W. Rea Mod
    Commented Jun 22, 2012 at 13:14
  • +1 It's defiantly on-topic from my point of view, so I would have to agree with Joe and Chris.
    – Kirill Fuchs
    Commented Jun 23, 2012 at 18:11
2

How to change a large quantity of U.S. dollars into Euros?

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

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  • 1
    This is a poorly written question without giving details.
    – Dheer
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 6:06
  • Day by day money chores, but it could be interesting to know. Anyay it's true it's poorly written.
    – Marco Demaio
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 18:31
  • As Dheer said the wording is poor but you can still understand it and the question is pretty valid.
    – Kirill Fuchs
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 5:32
  • @MarcoDemaio, Dheer, Kirill Can we get it editted? If it's bad, lets make it better!
    – C. Ross
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 12:59
  • 2
    This question makes me wonder if our FAQ should state that while asking your question, it would be pretty handy to throw up a blurb as to WHY you want to know. Context could have made this a better question. As it stands, it is super basic and google can answer it.
    – MrChrister
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 15:26
  • @MrChrister +1 Good idea, I have come across a few questions that could have been better if you knew more about why they would like to know or in what context. Maybe something along the lines of "While asking your question, it is recommended you state why you want to know, as context plays a big role in how well your question can be answered." -- Or something to that extent.
    – Kirill Fuchs
    Commented Jun 22, 2012 at 5:13
  • I think the edits are legit improvements (amount, etc.) and make this a decent question - there are many ways to do this, but some are better than others (the rate varies enormously between methods), and they're not easily found with a traditional search.
    – Jaydles
    Commented Jun 24, 2012 at 21:14
2

W-4: Is the "Estimate of State and Local Taxes" just for myself, or for me and my spouse?

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

5
  • This to me is a questions for accountants nothing to do with personal finance. Moreover it's a question only for US tax payers. It's like if I ask you how to pay an F24 (that is the tax form in Italy) you would not probably even know what an F24 is, same things for all other countries in the worlds they all have different ways and forms to pay for taxes.
    – Marco Demaio
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 18:24
  • 4
    Marco - Personal finance includes the considerations regarding one's taxes and their country's tax structure. For example, most of the questions about US retirement accounts wont apply to other countries (although Canada comes close), but the details are important, and not just for "accountants."
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica Mod
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 21:42
  • @Marco We use country tags to mark questions as jurisdiction-specific. You're welcome to ask questions about Italy, for instance. However, whether you'll get a good answer will be a function of whether we have users knowledgeable about that country's rules. We do have folks knowledgeable about the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, etc. just to name a few so far.
    – Chris W. Rea Mod
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 13:31
  • Agreed with everyone above except for Marco(sorry Marco). It's defiantly a question that pertains to personal money, its well put together and gives enough detail.
    – Kirill Fuchs
    Commented Jun 21, 2012 at 5:35
  • It's impossible to completely address many personal finance questions if you cant' speak to tax consequences. The whole idea of Municipal Bonds is inexplicable if you can't speak to the tax treatment they get...
    – Jaydles
    Commented Jun 24, 2012 at 21:12
2

How do I calculate net monthly salary (after taxes) in Germany?

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

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  • The question had some meta stuff where the poster apologized for asking the question. I dropped all that a distilled it down to the question. I can't comment on the answers as I am not German.
    – MrChrister
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 16:26
  • As already commented meta.money.stackexchange.com/a/541/2120 , this is a questions for accountants, it should be out of topic.
    – Marco Demaio
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 18:29
  • @marco That's a very valid question for someone interested in their personal finances.
    – George Marian Mod
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 1:43
  • Since the calculator the OP had linked to turned out to be inaccurate (see DJClayworth's answer), I added a note in the question itself pointing this out. Wouldn't want a drive-by user to see the question and blindly follow the link without reading the answers.
    – Chris W. Rea Mod
    Commented Jun 22, 2012 at 13:12
  • I feel this is a pretty good question, unfortunately for the poor site link it suffered. Can we get that fixed? Maybe one of the guys more proficient with tax based questions? Perhaps @joetaxpayer or @littleadv? And then the answers might be changed as well?
    – Kirill Fuchs
    Commented Jun 23, 2012 at 18:18
-3

Why are some health insurances marked as not HSA eligible but meet the IRS's requirements?

What do you think about this question and its answers? Vote and comment to let everyone know.

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  • 4
    This is an example of some of the tough question we see on this site. "I have piece of paper in front of me with words and numbers I don't understand and will not tell you what they are. Guess what is on the page."
    – mhoran_psprep
    Commented Jun 20, 2012 at 2:05

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