plansrme
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Posts posted by plansrme
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1 hour ago, itsheresomewhere said:
My 20 year old still can’t. I even paid for an OT to teach him and they tried for a year. It is just one of those things that doesn’t compute for him. He does his own version of “tie his shoes” that is just a way of wrapping the laces on his sneakers uniquely so they are “tied”.
This is so interesting to me. When my son was shoe-tying age, I couldn't make it stick with him, so I put my then-8-yo left-handed daughter in charge. She had him tying his shoes in no time flat. I put it down to her being a lefty, so when she sat in front of him, the steps were mirrored. But she is now 22 and in OT school. Maybe this experience inspired her career choice!
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Part of the reason you are getting hit so hard on your 1099 income is that you are paying both halves of FICA and Medicare tax on it. Elective contributions to a 401(k) plan are still subject to FICA and Medicare tax. EmployER contributions are not, and with an incorporated business, there is no reason I can't make all of my retirement contributions as employer contributions and skip the FICA and Medicare. I do not know how that works with an unincorporated employer with a solo 401(k). I could find out, but that would be a good thing to run by an accountant.
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41 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:
Yes, this is why I want the solo 401k instead? I think beginning next year I would like to put almost all (or maybe even all) of my income into the 401k. Will requesting an EIN trigger some sort of complication in my taxes or require me to have a business license?
Having the EIN is not what causes you to need a business license, but if you need a license, you need a license. They are independent of each other. A business license in my state is $100/year and easy to obtain, but I am in a business-friendly state.
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You can get an EIN through the IRS website (not a knock-off that looks like it but is not-look for the .gov). It takes 15 minutes, tops. If you are looking to put aside more than the IRA limits, the solo 401(k) is the way to go.
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We have had a health share for 2+ years and have never filed a claim, so I can't speak to how well they actually work. But if you consider them, read the coverage limitations carefully. The ones we looked at did not cover pre-existing conditions for a long time. That was fine with us as we do not have any, but obviously it will matter to a lot of people. I work with someone who has a health share after being on a big law firm's plan as a partner, where he would have had a high deductible and OOP. He says they come out ahead with the health share even paying for his wife's RA medication OOP. So even with a PEC, it might be better.
My daughter is on a Marketplace plan, and the issue with them is that many of their networks are very narrow, and they pay nothing out-of-network. That might not work for a complicated health condition. The health.gov website is not great, so plan to spend some time comparing plans. You can search by provider, but that functionality is clunky.
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I don't have any advice for a transferring student, but I have to say, if I were the president of a college with limited resources, I would NOT cut back on food. Almost nothing has frustrated my kids more about their colleges than food offerings. They have managed to work it out, but geez, higher ed administrators: fix your food service issues.
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If you can reach it, cleaning is no big deal. You just dust the crystals with a cloth, maybe with a little ammonia or similar. It can be one of the more rewarding cleaning jobs, since it will sparkle when you are finished.
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Your state's department of agriculture may have a list of producers. Georgia, for instance, has Georgia Grown. Alabama has something similar.
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13 minutes ago, Lecka said:
My good friend’s daughter spent one year at a D3 private school with an athletic scholarship. Then she transferred to a D1 state school (in the town where we lived at the time).
It turned out great for her. It was a wash (or so) financially.
She got to try her soccer dreams but the school wasn’t a good fit for her, and playing soccer in college wasn’t a good fit for her, either.
It was the daughter’s decision, but the mom at least was always skeptical that the D1 private school would be a good fit for her. But both parents were very supportive of the soccer part.
D3 schools can't offer athletic scholarships. That is probably irrelevant to her experience, but any scholarship she received was for other reasons.
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Athletes even in non-rev sports can enter the NCAA's transfer portal and potentially still compete for a different school. My daughter did that for her sport; she went from a D1 full ride to another D1 full ride. She had coaches reaching out to her within an hour of entering the portal. I don't know if athletes transfer more often than non-athletes (not in my experience), but being an athlete doesn't mean you are stuck at a school that is a bad fit.
ETA: My daughter transferred because of issues with the coach. She loved her teammates and is still friends with several of them. She finished her freshman year, including her conference meet, and entered the portal a couple of weeks later, which would have been spring of her second semester. She also reached out to coaches who had made her offers out of high school and had significant interest there, but she ended up in a completely different school.
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I don't know what your legal position would be, but if you put it on Craigslist that the scaffolding is free if you dismantle it and take everything else, someone will take it. The promise of free tools will get someone out there quickly.
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I have so much to learn about not spending money (and wish I'd implemented some of what I do now, earlier), but one thing that has really surprised me is how much I have been able to affect our utility bills. I used to think of them as fixed expenses, and they are not. My utility expenses have gone down 30-50% since I've started harping on them. What we do: (1) we bundle up inside when it's cold and run the heat only when it's crazy-cold outside, and almost never at night; (2) I shower at my gym 4 mornings a week, which seems to have affected our water bill; (3) we had some leaks in our irrigation system repaired; (4) I have no idea if it helps, but I started unplugging stuff that is not being used; (5) I blew some additional insulation into our attic; it was leftover from what I blew into my daughter's attic, so it really cost me nothing but had an immediate effect on our electric bill; it is completely doable as a DIY project; (6) I changed our natural gas rate plan (I know not an option everywhere); (7) we moved our internet from Comcast to T Mobile ($40+/month difference); and (8) if you count cell phones as utilities, I revisited our cell phone plan and cut that bill by about $70/month. I also canceled several of our streaming services. The couple of months that I worked on hacking our monthly bills was quite empowering. My husband probably gets tired of hearing me tell him how much our power/gas/water bill is compared this month last year, but it is a little "atta girl" every time I open one and see lower year-over-year usage.
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There's something similar in a Western town where we've vacationed called Go Go Espresso. The name is not mountain-related (although the entire town is at about 5K feet), but we have very fond memories of it and the very friendly ladies who run it, so I think it's a great name.
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Please keep in mind that it might NOT be EDS. It might just be that she is very flexible. A lot of young gymnasts are flexible (she more so than most, certainly-oversplits are hard for nearly everyone) and tighten up as they get older. In her case, a little tightening-up would probably keep her from getting injured as easily regardless of the activity she pursues.
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10 hours ago, Katy said:
I recommend Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s after Christmas.
We have a super convenient Cabela's, so we will definitely hit that up when he's here. I only have a couple of days with him in January before we have to hit the road to Iowa, so these tips are very, very helpful.
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10 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:
Just an FYI - temps in Iowa are going to be in the mid -20s (possibly colder) this weekend. This weather is expected to continue into January.
I am following the weather on my weather app and sending him screen shots to peruse while he lounges on the beach. I laugh because they are headed towards single digits, and he is so anti-cold, but -20s are definitely not something to laugh at.
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1 hour ago, BlsdMama said:
DS works outside a lot and layers are key, along with a good hat, warm boots, and gloves. I want him to love it too, but even Iowans hate Iowa in January and February. ♥️
Ha, I will let him know.
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2 hours ago, HomeAgain said:
Oh, also in terms of boots - have him make sure they're slightly too big, like a half or full size. He wants them to trap warmth and give enough room for thicker socks.
My kid is a skater and whenever he complains his feet are cold, that's the first sign he's outgrowing the boot. There has to be enough room for a thin layer of air.
This kind of wisdom is exactly why I am here. I had no idea.
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11 hours ago, LifeLovePassion said:
Or they get wet and need to dry out.
You have many great suggestions here.
Yes, I do! He will roll his eyes when I foist all this upon him but will very much appreciate it very soon.
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11 hours ago, ScoutTN said:
Yes, several good sets of base layer. He may wear them a lot and cannot always be doing laundry.
Smartwool type socks
Kids, even college age kids, lose things. Two hats, two pairs of gloves.
He lived with me for 2 years. Can confirm that he will not always be doing laundry.
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17 minutes ago, Starr said:
We found that students from warm climates never had proper footwear or warm socks. Even sneakers get you up off the ground compared to leather shoes. And boots of some sort when needed. A hat, gloves, my kids even use fingerless gloves inside when it’s really cold.
Do boots need to be waterproof?
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20 minutes ago, Lecka said:
My son loves a neck gaiter. Some of this is his preference, though.
Never would have thought of that. Will get him one.
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I have sent kids to college in northern climes before, so you would think I'd know how to do this. But my long-term Central American exchange student is getting ready to start college in extreme northern Iowa. In January. He does not like the cold. He is going to be so, so cold. He is home now for Christmas (with his actual parents), and his home country does not even sell winter clothes. The plan is for him to fly back here to me in Atlanta after Christmas, and I will outfit him here and drive him to Iowa. 13 hours! Anyway, please tell me all the stay-warm gear a male college athlete needs. My actual son is slightly farther north, but he is pretty impervious to cold and just took his ski jacket. This one seems harder. Please tell me all the warmest versions of college boy clothes. I want him to love Iowa!
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How about a garlic press? I have one from Pampered Chef that would do what you need. It will pulverize 2 or 3 small garlic cloves at a time. Otherwise, i agree with a mortar and pestle.
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Can we talk about adoption?
in The Chat Board
Posted
I would like to thank Correlano and SKL for their contributions to this thread, which has included some pretty nasty (subtle, but nasty) things about adoption and adoptive parents. The premise of this thread, that DNA matters above all else and that a DNA-free parent-child bond is inherently inferior, either for the child or the parent, is preposterous. If DNA is that important to you, please don't adopt.