Hello all! Im 22 and I’m now starting to look into my finances, so I’m pretty knew here. I recently started budgeting and now I’m looking to get a credit card to build my credit score. If I use my credit card to pay my rent and car insurance then create a direct debt will that build my credit score?
I also occasionally travel with work so would like to have a card where I can use it abroad, any suggestions on which card to get? I claim back what I spend abroad on expensive so that would also be getting paid off!
Any other advise is welcome!

Hi
 
I will need to be able to withdraw (transfer) money from my brokerage account in the US to my UK bank account. And sadly neither of my bank accounts allow US dollars deposits.
The brokerage allows international bank wire transfers and CurrencyFair (TransferWise is not supported).
My concern with CF is that as part of wire transfer request I'll have to agree to not hold responsible anyone if my money vanishes.
At least that is what I understand from it. See pdf at https://tastyworks.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/43000540765-how-can-i-withdraw-money-from-my-account-international-accounts-
 
So which would be the best bank to open an account where I can receive dollars from the USA, with minimal transfer fees and zero maintenance fees? There is also the forex aspect, but worst case I can send it to TW or CF then.
I guessing maybe HSBC or Halifax or Barclays. But I don't know what are their requirements to open an account that includes an US account.
Two possible setbacks in opening the account: 1) I'm unemployed at the moment and 2) banks are closed.
 
Thanks

I would like to invest in some ETFs/indexes not available via Invest Now (who I currently use). Both Stake and Hatch have access to these funds. What is the relative safety of each (or how do I assess this?). I do not want to end up with a disaster like Halifax created. Is there any additional safety with Hatch being an NZ company via Kiwibank? I have AUD and NZD bank accounts so I am not too worried about extra currency conversion step on Stake. These will be invest and hold, so unlikely to make large numbers of trades, so brokerage fees also not a big issue.
Any advice most appreciated, Thanks.

I had an account with ANZ Securities, but they no longer trade with USA stocks. Which would be the best company to do this from NZ, and are there any that do live trading? I'm liking at some fortune 500 companies. Thanks.

As the news-reels about Brexit and deals (or lack there-of) continue to roll on, a timely reminder is needed that market timing questions are banned on this subreddit.
We have already spent the time and effort to write a wiki article explaining why, which I will copy below for your convenience.
For the avoidance of doubt, the following are examples of market timing questions that have been removed in the last few days:

• "Should I buy a house pre or post Brexit?"
• "Should I be timing the market?"
• "Aware that BREXIT is likely to affect house prices, rental revenue and the stock market so is now the best time to change things up?"
• " I'm looking at selling my flat and buying a house at some point this year. When do stamp duty changes normally happen? I seem to remember someone saying November but I can't find any mention of it." *(edit: Potentially questionable - see discussion below)
• "Is anybody else waiting for the next recession b*efore buying or investing. Id love to hear your thoughts."

This is currently the most-removed topic of discussion. Please continue to be vigilant and report rule-breaking threads. If in doubt, report them anyway and the mods can decide.
Thanks!

Wiki

Exchange Rate Questions

Since Brexit (and before but less frequently) we have had a slew of questions asking when the right time to exchange money to/from USD/CAD/EUR etc.
It is impossible to provide a meaningful answer to this. The exchange rate could get better, or worse, or neither. Nobody has a crystal ball of knows enough to predict the changes an hour, day, month, or year ahead.
For this reason, the mods have taken the decision to ban these questions, and threads will be locked and/or removed. Please refer to Rule 2 in the rules.
Regular poster pflurklurk summarised the issues concisely:

Essentially you can't predict the rate, so really it is up to your risk tolerance. You can transfer it now to ensure you have the sufficient number of pounds to satisfy your liability, or you can take a gamble (or a mixture of both by making multiple transfers).

Martin Lewis (of Moneysavingexpert fame) had the following to say (see his full blog here) This was before Brexit but the points are all still valid:

Ask yourself what rate is good for you?
Whatever happens to the euro rate, the future is out of your control. So forget trying to guess the market and instead ask yourself:
‘Would I be happy to get a rate of €1.26 for my holiday money…?’
If your answer is: “It’s a decent rate, I could have a reasonable holiday on that, and my real fear is it getting worse because that’d make things unaffordable” – then go safe and buy now. However if you do that and the pound strengthens, and in hindsight you’d have been better off waiting, don’t let the bitterness ruin your holiday.
For those stuck on what to do, there are a couple of halfway houses. To hedge your bets, simply buy half of what you’ll need now (using the methods below) and leave half until after the referendum. For another possible alternative, see the trick I’ve added at the end of this blog. (Or see the trick below for another halfway house.)
Personally I don’t do speculation. Instead, I just ensure I always get the best rates on the day.
The easy way to do this is with bureau busting, specialist travel credit cards. The two top picks right now are Halifax Clarity and Creation Everyday, which give near perfect exchange rates in every country, so just pocketing one means you know you’re getting a good deal. Though you do need to pay them off IN FULL each month to minimise interest.
Then if you’re really cool, funky and, ahem, down with the kids, like me, you can put them in your overseas wallet.

Another article here:

• Why Forex (Foreign Currency Trading) Is Useless and Dangerous for Most Investors

Market Timing Questions

Following major world events we have historically had a flurry of questions asking if this is a good/bad time to invest/disinvest/change allocations. The answer, as above, is that nobody knows.
When it comes to planning your personal finances and investing, you should remember this proverb:

The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

For a great resource on why market timing is A Bad Idea, there is a great Wiki page on Bogleheads
If that doesn't convince you, have a look at the CBS article "The Smartest Things Ever Said About Market Timing"
Here are some choice excerpts:
Peter Lynch, one-time Wall Street darling:

"I can't recall ever once having seen the name of a market timer on Forbes' annual list of the richest people in the world. If it were truly possible to predict corrections, you'd think somebody would have made billions by doing it."

Warren Buffett, the sage of Omaha:

"We continue to make more money when snoring than when active."
"The only value of stock forecasters is to make fortune-tellers look good."

I thought I'd make a post about my experience with Gemini.
TL;DR If I'd had the info I'm posting here, it would have been very smooth, so hopefully it'll help someone.

• Choose a bank account to accept the transfer. I chose Halifax because its FOREX rates were the most transparent, and I already had some accounts with them. Bear in mind that fees are smaller with larger transactions, so do some research first.
  
• Gemini - Two-factor access is with Authy and works well. NB, they won't let you withdraw for 24 hours if you log-in from a new PC, so bear that in mind if you're in a hurry.
  
• Verification was straightforward. They needed a scan of your passport and a bank statement for proof of address. I verified before the recent madness and I think it took about 2-3 working days. Might be longer these days
  
• Transferring bitcoins in was straightforward. I did so before the recent fee madness, but used Electrum with my Nano S to select just one address from my HD wallet to minimise the transaction size and hence the fee. I think I paid around 0.001% in fiat fees.
  
• The trade - I think they took 0.25% fee for BTC to USD in the trade.
  
• Linking bank accounts - this is where I had problems, and wasted £9.50 in the process. Gemini support was very slow to respond, so I had a stab at trying to set this up, but it failed. It worked fine second time lucky. What you need to do is ignore the IBAN number and the intermediary bank info and set up a transfer using just the following info (the bank website should give you the option of just using ABA numbers):
  

Beneficiary Bank Information Silvergate Bank ABA routing number: 322286803 Attn: Treasury Department 4275 Executive Square, Suite 300 La Jolla, CA 92037 United States of America
For Further Credit to Account number: 1000808012 Gemini Trust Company LLC 600 Third Avenue, 2nd Fl New York, NY 10016 United States Of America

But don't take my word for it, ask Gemini for clarification before linking accounts. It might be different for your bank. It went through very quickly, maybe it would've been even quicker if I'd initiated the transfer earlier in the day.

• I was worried about a relatively large amount of money triggering an account freeze, so I phoned Halifax to explain my situation, but the support guy said there was no need to forewarn them.
  
• Once the accounts were linked I initiated the transfer - this was quick too. I think I initiated at around 4pm NY time, so I didn't check my UK account until the next day. It's possible that an initiation early in the day might give same-day settlement.
  
• So to my great relief, the money arrived in my account and I could still log in. I then decided to transfer some money out to another account in my name using a FASTER payment. This is when the transfer failed and I was locked out of my account. The web-page gave me an 0800 number to phone, so I did. The support guy took loads of security info and helped me log back in. I had to re-enter the bank account details again, but it the transfer went through smoothly this time.
  

The End.

Hey everyone! We have a credit card with no forex fees but we're looking for spare chance (Couple hundred of each currency). Where is the best place to get currency in Halifax?