Current accounts reward schemes and reciprocal standing orders?
"I don't think it would be counted as income, and if it's a short-term loan it doesn't really matter as the notional interest on the loan would be negligible. But you can avoid any possible complications by just having two accounts in the name of the person trying to get the account benefits, particularly if you're willing to just provide the ""seed"" money to get the loop started."
For all the Canadians out there, that's about 6.3% to 6.8% when measured on the Canadian scale (which takes into account different metrics, such as at what point someone is considered to have dropped out of the job market).  The current Canadian unemployment rates stands at 6.8% nationally (on the Canadian scale). "(Congrats on earning/saving $3K and not wanting to blow it all on immediate gratification!) I currently have it invested in sector mutual funds but with the rise and fall of the stock market, is this really the best way to prepare long-term? Long-term?  Yes! However... four years is not long term.  It is, in fact, borderline short term.  (When I was your age, that was incomprehensible too, but trust me: it's true.) The problem is that there's an inverse relationship between reward and risk: the higher the possible reward, the greater the risk that you'll lose a big chunk of it. I invest that middle-term money in a mix of junk high yield bond funds and ""high"" yield savings accounts at an online bank.  My preferences are HYG purchased at Fidelity (EDIT: because it's commission-free and I buy a few hundred dollars worth every month), and Ally Bank." "Two factors that positively your credit score are the number of open accounts you have in good standing, and the average age of the accounts. The more accounts you have in good standing, the more likely you seem to pay back what you borrow from new creditors. The older the average age of the accounts, the more you seem like an experienced borrower who has had many years of successful credit activity. Closing them would lower the total number of accounts in good standing you have, and would also likely lower the average account age (unless you've recently opened them). To ""simplify the number of cards you have"", pick the one or two you would consider cancelling (worst rewards/benefits, highest yearly fee, etc.) and just don't keep them in your wallet anymore. You don't have to worry about paying them off every month (because you don't buy anything with them) and you still get the credit score benefits of having the accounts open." "Why? Simply: because it has been mandated as law, and so you may have no choice in the matter whether to contribute or not. Quoting from GOV.UK – Workplace pensions: ‘Automatic enrolment’  A new law means that every employer must automatically enrol workers   into a workplace pension scheme if they: Next: even if you think you will work ""until you die"", you can still access the money saved in the pension scheme when you attain the required minimum age for withdrawals under your scheme. For instance, that may be age 55, but it may also vary by scheme. Becoming fully retired — as in stopping all work — is not a requirement to access retirement income from your pension scheme. In the eyes of a pension scheme, retirement is typically when you elect to take your income benefits according to the established rules of the scheme. Quoting from nidirect – Working past State Pension age: Continuing in work and your workplace pension  If you reached the age at which you can start claiming your workplace   pension scheme, you don't need to stop work in order to claim. You have   a number of options, including taking some of the pension you've built   up while continuing to work for the same employer. As to why things are set up this way: While some younger folk may, today, expect to continue working until death, for a variety of reasons that isn't always possible. Two typical such reasons are: disability, and involuntary unemployment (i.e. willing and able but still can't land the next job). Moreover, plans change. Young workers with health and vitality may expect they'll always feel invincible, but end up learning otherwise over time, and may come to appreciate the savings that were forced upon them. The ""forced savings"" aspect of state and state-sponsored pension schemes are meant to provide some safety net for those later years when it is a strong possibility that one can't continue to work. The alternative is to be a 100% burden on family and/or society." I am currently a non-voluntary member of four different retirement plans in two different countries. There are a few aspects to this (Caveat: this may be different for each country and change over time) I would consider the following strategy When you get into reading Revenue Rulings and Treasury Regulations - I'd suggest hiring a professional to do that for you. Especially since you also need to assure that the new stock does indeed qualify as QSBS. However, from the revenue ruling you quoted it doesn't sound like there's any other requirement other than reporting the subsequent purchase as a loss on your schedule D. I wouldn't know, however, if there are subsequent/superseding revenue rulings on the matter since 1998. Professional tax adviser (EA/CPA licensed in your State) would have the means and the ability to research this and give you a proper advice. "US Sanctions are usually very nuanced and you should look them up yourself.  It may be widely reported that ""US sanctions X-country"" and it may be widely understood that it means all funds from anybody in that country are blocked, that USUALLY isn't the case (or ""many times"" isn't the case, I'm not going to bother quantifying that) Many times it is a comprehensive list of certain individuals and businesses that are blocked. The US Treasury publishes a list of these organizations. This misinterpretation can trickle down to companies. You would think big financial companies understand regulations, but they typically just react to how things are reported and have no uniform understanding of the financial regulations they are subject to. Private companies create unique and arbitrary company policies in reaction to the spirit of a regulation. So could it be that all Iranians cannot interact with the US financial system? Sure, thats possible. Could it be a lot more nuanced? Sure. Does it matter if the broker will actually investigate your SSN with USCIS? Maybe, maybe not. Does it matter if you disclose you are a dual citizen if they claim they can just check your SSN?  The financial institution is the one liable for misinterpreting sanctions. Let the consequences guide your actions." I can make withdrawals immediately, 2x per month. I wasn't told the money would be tied up. And also, although it doesn't count for much, I'd like to trade under a formal prop firm just so I could put it on my resume, people wouldn't put much weight on performance in a retail account. Atleast, I don't believe so, I could be wrong