Investment and Finance

GAAP is the abbreviation for "generally accepted accounting principles". They are the U.S. practice and procedure guidelines used to prepare and maintain financial records and reports and statements. They are authorized by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Officially established accounting principles consist of FASAB Statements of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (Standards) and Interpretations. FASAB Standards and Interpretations will be periodically incorporated in a publication by the FASAB.

The SEC is the abbreviation for the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is the federal regulatory body that governs the sale and listing of securities.

A publically-held corporation is a corporation whose stock is traded on either an organized securities exchange or on the over-the-counter exchange, or those with more than $5 million in assets and 500 or more stockholders.

When you make a down payment on your home, you are losing the interest or dividends that an alternative investment could have earned on those funds. This is your "opportunity cost" of money.

With an unleveraged investment such as a mutual fund, your investment return is limited to the amount invested.
For example, if you invest $100,000, and it earns 11% then you earn $11,000. However, with a leveraged investment such as a home or real estate investment, your investment return represents the gross return less the cost of the borrowed money.
For example, if you make a $100,000 down payment on a home costing $500,000 you would earn zero on the $100,000 and $12,000 on the borrowed amount of $400,000, assuming a 11% gross return less an interest expense of 8%.
The higher your expected return, the greater additional benefit of leveraging.
Exercise caution, because if your leveraged investment does not perform as well as expected, you will do worse, and in fact you might lose money if the return falls below the interest cost.

Yes if the amount of credit card debt is significant and you do not have sufficient investments you can sell to raise the needed cash. Home equity loans often have much lower interest rates, and home equity loans up to $100,000 are fully deductible as interest expense. On the other hand, interest expense on credit card debt is not deductible, unless it can be tied to a business expense.

An IRA is an Individual Retirement Account. It is a type of investment account to provide retirement security for the individual. It was created in 1974 by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Contributions to your IRA may be deductible, and generally, investments in your IRA, including earnings and gains are not taxed until distributed to you. A contribution to either saves taxes, but contribution to the 401K probably has more benefits such as (1) company matching of contributions and (2) the ability to borrow from it in certain cases.

Yes, depending upon the amount of your income and filing status. Deferred annuity income is not calculated as part of the amount of Social Security benefits subject to income tax, whereas taxable and tax-free interest and dividends are.

The answer depends upon the size of your living expenses and your financial objectives, but a reasonable rule of thumb is 6 months.