I'm not a CPA, but I've received stock gifts from my parents over the years. My understanding is that the gift is totally tax-and-reporting free if it's under 14k (per year, per person, so one person could give 14k to each you and your spouse and each of your kids if desired .. .) Over 14k per person, your mom would have to report it at tax time, but unless it's over the current estate tax exemption maximum, no taxes on the gift would be required. This then gets deducted against her lifetime estate tax maximum, which is $5,490,000 dollars currently (subject to change, of course). That means she pays zero tax at the time of gift unless it is over that amount, but when she eventually dies the amount that is tax-free inheritance is reduced by the excess gift amount. So, if she gives you 100k in stock, then when she dies "only" the first 5,390,000 is tax free inheritance. (Note that some states tax inheritances also.) Many families avoid the need to report the estate tax deduction by spreading out the gifts among multiple family members over multiple years. But, if there is little risk of her estate being over 5,500,000, then there's no real need to do that. The actual reporting of the larger gift is a very simple part of your mother's tax return at year end. No biggie. Easy peasey. (The gift receiver does NOT have to report it or pay taxes on it.) When you receive the gifted stock, you get your mom's "basis", so, say it's worth 100k now, but she only paid 35k for it, your "basis" is now 35k, so WHEN YOU SELL IT, you'd pay federal capital gains taxes on the gain (65k). You capital gains rate varies from 0 to 20% to possibly 24% if you're very high income (in which case, I'd bet you have a CPA to answer these questions more accurately). Some states also tax capital gains. Note that if you INHERIT (vs being gifted) the stocks, you get a "stepped up basis", so if you sold that 100k of stock after inheriting it (instead of receiving it as a gift during life), your "basis" would be 100k (value at time of death), so you'd pay no capital gains taxes if it was sold before it appreciated more. Hope this is helpful. So, just be sure you get information on the current "basis" of the stocks when they are gifted. Her broker should be able to give you that info. Hold onto it, because whenever you sell it, you'll need that data to pay appropriate taxes (or you'd have to assume a $0 basis which could be very expensive.) If you are relatively low income, be sure to check the various tax brackets for capital gains before making sales, as you might benefit from selling the stock in chunks over a number of years, so you can pay the lower capital gains rates. Also, be sure your mom isn't likely to be claiming Medicaid in the next 5 years (or so -- check with an estate attorney) before accepting the gift. Otherwise, if she claims Medicaid in the next few years, they can (and will) do a "look back" and come after you for the money/gift! If this *might* be the case but isn't certain/likely, then, personally, I'd advise accepting the gift, but putting the gifted money in a separate account that you don't touch until after the Medicaid look back period (again, talk to an estate attorney), as if you go and spend that 100k, you might be in a world of hurt if the government comes back after you for reimbursement . . . I'd absolutely get a tax/estate attorney involved in this before proceeding if there's any chance of needing Medicaid in coming few years.

Miquon, Singapore (both, in parallel), and then AoPS. The elementary levels of AoPS weren't available when my kids were little, but if I were schooling a little now, I'm sure I'd use the AoPS Beast Academy materials, too.

You could try motherwort tincture. I get it locally, so I can't tell you exactly where to buy it, but Mountain Rose Herbs is very reputable. Also, for me, outside exercise is 1000x better for anxiety than indoor. So, if feasible, I'd suggest running, walking, or biking outside as often as possible. Something about moving over the earth is healing, IME. Oh, also, I am coming to believe that probiotics/prebiotics/etc can impact mental health. Go ahead and get your kid on some good probiotics and fermented foods, just in case it might help. Sure won't hurt. FWIW, I'm an "anxious person" and have dealt with anxiety issues for decades. Different phases in life result require different ways to deal with the anxiety. PERSONALLY, I'm glad not to be on SSRIs/etc long term. And, so far as I can tell, anxiety is a life time issue for me (and most of the other people I know who deal with it). You have to find ways to manage it. So, choose healthy ways (exercise, probiotics, sunshine, therapy, etc . . .) Of course, if there is a life threatening or other crisis, then sometimes you may need to use drugs. No hesitation, there, if there is a crisis . . . But, if things are relatively calm and manageable, keep sticking with healthy habits and learning self-soothing techniques, etc. Other things to try could be yoga, meditation, pet-therapy (formally or informally -- horses and dogs specifically), etc, etc. Learning to manage her anxiety will just be one more critical life skill, IMHO and IME. Oh, also, never hesitate to try a new therapist if you aren't getting good progress. It often takes a few tries to find a good match.

If the reading material was about illegal/evil acts (child abuse or rape for instance), then I'd get the kid to a child psychologist ASAP. If the materials indicate a type of sexuality that is likely to be traumatic to the child (i.e., gay sex when the family is part of an anti-gay church), then I'd get the kid to a child psychologist and the entire family to a family therapist. AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE SECULAR and not anti-gay, if that obvious fact needs stating. In *that* situation, the thing that matters most is that the parents/family get a grip and support their child and don't feed into the shame and trauma they are already likely experiencing. Otherwise, if the materials are "just" raunchy porn of the typical (if not horrifying) group sex/random sex/rough/kinky/etc stuff that is pretty much ubiquitous, then I would leave it alone, unless the child seems traumatized (perhaps by the parent's reaction) and might therefore benefit from a support person (therapist) outside the family and/or a family therapist to help heal the wounds caused by the parent(s)' reactions. Meanwhile, the family can put stronger/better internet filters/nannyware on the electronics the kid(s) have access to. I totally agree that it's not ideal or healthy for young people to be exposed to the unrealistic and largely horrifying porn that is out there . . . (nor to feed into an industry that is largely abusive and many times criminal). I'd be upset, too, if I were in the mom's shoes. It's horrifying to think that your innocent baby who hasn't even yet had wonderful, fun, healthy sex with a real life partner . . . is "poisoning" their mind with unrealistic and damaging images/thoughts about sex. It's pretty hard to avoid that stuff in this day and age . . . but nonetheless it is horrifying. I'd urge my friend not to make the harm worse by shaming or hurting her child. The curiosity and sexual urges are normal. The parents' reactions can make it worse or can moderate the damaging effects.

Subaru Outback. That's the car you want. Trust me.

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1. Go to the group. Search for your name, and delete every post you've ever made. 2. Once you've deleted all your posts, block any of the individuals who are hateful towards you. 3. "Leave" the group. 4. Carry on. Life will be more pleasant. The hateful people will soon forget you and pick fights with others. 5. Choose your battles more wisely in the future. Crazy or hateful people are not worth your time.

Generally, yes, I believe, especially if you'd merged your finances in general. I think in general, either the house would totally become community property after some time, or the original owner might have *more* interest in it, but, for sure, the growth in value during the marriage would be community property unless there was a prenup that prevented that. (I'm not a lawyer.)

Sure do! My 14 yo, who has never had an allergy to anything . . . had a severe reaction to cherries Saturday (which she has eaten all her life, although it'd probably been 6 months since they are just coming into season). Full blown allergic reaction, anaphylaxis averted by timely doses of benadryl and prednisone . . . If we hadn't had prednisone on hand, I'm sure we'd have been in the ER (full body hives, stomach pain, etc).

I list it both places. Just like music . . . Just because a kid takes orchestra at school (and gets credit for it) doesn't change the fact that they spend 100s of more hours on it outside of school. I know it's messy as a homeschooler, but I don't believe that all activities must be one or the other . . . That said, my kids have tons of other extracurriculars (1000s of volunteer hours over many years to a local environmental education group, TONS of music, etc), and have been *very* easy admits to the schools they've applied to (National Merit Scholars applying to big state schools where they are guaranteed huge merit scholarships, and admission itself is a given), so I'm not particularly worked up about the details. I'm sure if my last kiddo were applying to Ivies/similar where admission wasn't assured, I'd be more worked up about tweaking the resume just right.

EE -- get a job. Make bank. Swing over to another ENGR field pretty easily if interests or job prospects lead. ES -- don't get a job. Make nada. Work for minimum wage or wait tables. Google up data on the job fields / salaries / etc, and you'll see the differences quite quickly. So far as what you study in school . . . ES will mostly be biology, geology, etc. EE will be lots of hard core engineering classes. ES will be MUCH easier. Filled with mostly environmental idealists and earthy hikers/rock climbers/Sierra Clubbers. (I was one, so that's not an insult.) EE will be hard core engineering classes (math/physics/engineering in addition to the bio and chem and geology). If the kid isn't decided by a little googling on job prospects and salaries and looking at the course plans (Can she handle the EE track? Lots of kids can't.), then I'd suggest choosing a school that has both, getting into the ENGR school and taking classes first year that keep all the options open. It'd be EASY to go from EE to ES, but start in ES and go to EE, and she'll likely be well behind the track and may have lost a "wasted" semester or two. FWIW, I have a BS in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. In my day, 25 years ago, that was the "hardest science" of the earth/ecology type degrees at my university. There were 5 bio degrees offered plus ES. ES was the incredibly easy major ... no hard science classes (the "easy" nursing bio/chem instead of the "hard" pre-med ones . . . no calculus or other advanced math . . .) Things might have changed, but "in my day" ES was a junk degree. I'd look closely at the course requirements at the schools you consider, and make sure that the degree plan requires the "hard" science classes, etc, or else it'd definitely be in the junk category, so far as I'm concerned. (I also have a MS in Ecology/Forestry and had similar negative impressions of the ES students I TA'ed for as a teaching assistant. Dumb as dirt, for the most part. And, for the record, I know a BRILLIANT girl (friend of my dd's) who is majoring in ES . . . so I know some really smart kids choose it. I think it's a crying shame, and I fear for her job prospects and future. Also, I'm super crunchy and a huge fan of the environment. I just wouldn't major in ES, at least not at the schools I'm familiar with and not with the job prospects I'm familiar with.

Keep working your sponsors. We get local businesses (vet hospital, medical practices, hardware stores, etc.) Previously, we had a pretty big sponsorship from NASA (regional facility) -- which we are very hopeful to maintain unless the Trump budget eliminating all educational funding from NASA is adopted, and the team's big win at World's should bring in some more . . . It took a lot of leg work from incredibly dedicated mentors to take MARS where it is . . . And, yes, it's 50k+/yr budget . . . Also, our team is for the entire region, not a specific school, so we're able to draw from a wide pool of sponsors. I think that's ideal. Certainly works great for us.

Our oldest is 20, so we still pay all medical bills. I would, personally, intend to do my utmost to cover their medical bills as long as they need help. I surely hope we can keep them on our insurance until they have good insurance through a job and have the resources to cover their own bills. But, as long as they need help, we'll be helping. I sure hope our country's health insurance system gets fixed (UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE AS A RIGHT) before any of us in our family are bankrupted or otherwise killed. I'm glad I own a business and can choose our own plan . . . and that at this moment, there is still one decent insurer with decent plans selling in our local small business market (thank goodness for the ACA SHOP Exchange, which is on the chopping block . . .) . . . and that we happen to have $$$ to pay the premiums $$$. We'll keep working hard and hoarding our $$$ until our country's disastrous health care industry is taken over by a competent government body. Or, we'll move to New Zealand in the next couple years. They have universal health care there. One way or another, we'll do our best to take care of our family.

ps. Note that not all FIRST FRC teams are $$$$. Our local team (that is open to all sorts of schoolers including homeschoolers), that just won Chairman's at WORLD's and is now a Hall of Fame team . . . charges exactly $0 to team members. The only thing we pay for are meals when traveling and a few t-shirts. And help is readily available even for those minimal expenses upon request. We get sponsors to cover all those costs. Our area is too poor to require $$$ from kids . . . So we get sponsors instead. We have incredible mentors, so that's key, clearly. We are MARS -- MARS First Robotics, Morgantown, WV. <3 <3 <3 We are SO blessed to have this team!

I gave 1/2 credit of "Robotics" each year for my son participated in FIRST FRC Robotics. He put in probably 400+ hours per year (5 hrs every Wednesday all year, plus another 20+ hrs every weekend during build and competition season, plus 3-5 travel weekends of 40+ hours . . . plus extra outreach events, etc.), and I have no qualms about the credits. My daughter just joined the team, and I'll do the same for her.

My best (educated) guess is that he's afraid of pooping when you're watching, so he stealth pooping. Sometimes dogs get afraid of pooping when their people can see them, typically because someone yelled at them while/after/when pooping in a "bad" place. Other times, they just got afraid of pooping because, say, someone turned on the lawnmower while he was crapping. So, now he thinks it's dangerous to poop outside. Or, someone dropped a glass of water and screamed .... while he as crapping, so now he's afraid to crap, period. Most commonly, someone yells at the dog while they are (or shortly after they) crapping on the carpet. So, now the dog is simply afraid of pooping wherever that human (or all humans) can see them. So, they hide. It's usually easier to hide inside a house than in a yard . . . So, maybe he only craps when he HAS to go and holds some in, meaning, the next time he feels safe, he'll poop a little more . . . I.e., you saw his shit on the floor a few seconds after he pooped. You (understandably) exclaimed in a scary tone. He now thinks, "Person around poop = bad, so I better poop when she can't see me." Then, when you are outside, and can see him, he holds it . . . but inside, when you turn your back, POOP NOW BEFORE CRAZY MEAN PERSON SCREAMS. Also, dogs memories are REALLY REALLY short. You scream when you see shit on the floor. But, he shit 5 minutes ago, so he knows nothing about it being HIS SHIT. All he knows is that "crazy lady screams when she sees shit!! There's shit on the floor! Crazy lady is gonna start screaming!!" He does NOT connect that fact with the fact that he shit 5 minutes ago . . . There are good studies on this. I don't recall the exact number of seconds or minutes, but it's REALLY SHORT -- measured in seconds, not minutes. (This is why clicker training is so effective, because you can reward the behavior with an instantaneous click, even if the dog is 50 yards away . . .) So, what you need to do is find every chance to praise him while pooping in the good spots. So, leash/crate/etc him inside . . . take him outside, watch close (or have him leashed) and praise/give treat/praise like crazy. Food treats are awesome reinforcers, so go ahead and use them, along with your special words like "good boy". When he makes (or you find) a "bad" poop, DO NOT MAKE A SOUND OR AN ANGRY FACE. If you catch him in the act, scoop him up gently, with a sweet, "Oops." and carry him to the yard. Keep sweet and calm. When/if he poops out there, do your enthusiastic praise/treat routine. Rinse, repeat. You need to reinforce the GOOD behavior and MAKE IMPOSSIBLE (by crating/leashing/restricting access/etc) and IGNORE the bad behavior you can't prevent. THAT is how to untrain/retrain fear-based and/or ignorance-based misbehavior, which surely this is. (Aggression-aggression is a different beast, but pooping in the wrong place is never aggression-aggression.) In very specific situations, "punishments" such as yelling, smacking, shaking a can of noisy coins, etc can be useful for inhibiting bad behaviors. Inappropriate pooping is never in that category, though. (For instance, it can be productive to sharply yell and gently but firmly smack a young dog/pup that snaps at you . . . IF you know what you are doing and know the history of the pup ... We've done this with the dogs we've raised from puppyhood to teach them NEVER to bite a human, and it takes maybe 1-5 incidents that result in very slight smacks but noticeable and sharp "NO"s over a few weeks/months of time and then they never, ever bite again . . . Essentially, we are playing "mommy dog" and teaching the pup manners in doggy language. . . BUT, 99% of the time, humans use punishment entirely wrong, and usually cause WAY more problems than totally ignoring the problem behavior would have caused . . . SO, as a rule, I advise people NEVER to punish. ONLY redirect/ignore and REWARD REWARD REWARD. You have to create a situation that will cause the dog to do the wanted behavior so you can reinforce THAT. REWARD is what will cement the behavior. The VAST majority of time, problem behaviors are caused by humans accidentally reinforcing bad behaviors and/or accidentally inhibiting good behaviors. (This is poorly re-phrased from what I learned from a PhD level canine behaviorist, so I'm not actually talking out my ass, lol.) If this doesn't make sense to you and/or doesn't work in a few weeks, then I'd highly advise consulting 1) a good vet for a physical workup and then 2) a good animal behaviorist (ask vet for a referral . .. NOT A DOG TRAINER . . .) I can almost guarantee that a behaviorist can help you fix this in a handful of consultations. They are crazy smart and can quickly figure out what your dog is thinking and how you can fix it. :) Oh, also, eye contact is highly rewarding to dogs. Make eye contact when you praise!! (And breaking eye contact is a VERY effective way to "punish". For instance, breaking eye contact by turning your head is a GREAT way to discourage things like jumping up on guests, etc. Which is why so many dogs are terrible about jumping up, because when they do it, we look at them in the face, put our hands on their chest . . . which they read as love!! Turn your head instantly and turn your back, and the dog will quickly stop, especially if paired with a "NO JUMP" and then with a rewarding pat/eye contact once the butt is on the floor.) Oh, also, do you free feed? Maybe go to one feeding a day (or no more than two), which will result in more predictable poop schedules so you can more predictably time his outdoor time and your laser-focus on him so you can praise him like crazy for his brilliance of pooping in the grass . .. These ideas, and a million other better ones, would be quickly suggested by a smart animal behaviorist. Pick one of these guys if you are willing to do it. This is the "top shelf" of animal behaviorists, so far as I am concerned. (And the brilliant behaviorist whose teachings I've mangled in this post is on the list, lol.) http://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/web/applied-behavior-caab-directory.php If none of those are in your region, look for a DVM animal behaviorist (call your nearest vet school for a referral if your own vet can't refer you.) Just don't waste your time on a "dog trainer". That's fine for sit/heel/stay stuff, but for problem behaviors, you'll most likely cause more harm than good working with a trainer. They really are smart as hell, and should be able to fix you up quickly. Canine behavior isn't rocket science, but it's more subtle than we mortals can figure out most of the time.

I feel your pain. I went through this for a few years! We live about 15-20 miles away from anything, so it's easy to burn LOTS of gas piddling around. Last summer, we totally went to "kids pay their own gas" and we made them "earn" gas for their cars . . . We made it very easy to earn enough to cover essential gas (work/approved school and extracurriculars). Specifically, for our college girl who was doing an unpaid internship with our encouragement (she has massive merit scholarships for college, so we were happy for her to earn little last summer), we paid her $3/hr for all volunteer hours (this money was to cover gas plus all "blow money" all summer). For our high school kid, who was not working, we also paid $3/hr for volunteer hours (more limited, maybe 100 hours all summer) AND we paid cash bonuses for a clean room and/or clean car on Sundays. We noticed an IMMEDIATE and DRAMATIC reduction in the wasted mileage. They ended the random "let's go to Walmart to pick up chocolate chips. . . 30 miles . .. and an hour later, "let's go back to Walmart for sour patch candy" . .. another 30 miles . . . They had never bothered to carpool or to consolidate errands because they ENJOY driving around randomly, lol. TOTAL AND DRAMATIC reduction!!! So, I'd say that one way or another, give the kid(s) a set amount of money or a way to "earn it" from you. No more just filling up the tank over and over again. Also, it helps the kid get a more realistic understanding of the true cost of driving. I have also repeatedly pointed out to them that gas money is less than half of the true, total cost of driven miles (insurance, wear and tear, etc.) . . . I don't know if they "get that" part, but just paying the gas themselves made a HUGE dent in wasted miles. If you don't want to "pay them" them for tasks/etc, then I'd just calculate the "approved" miles for school/whatever, give them a set allowance to cover that much gas plus about 10%, and then the rest is on them. (I have always clarified that one of the prices of driving family cars is that you're expected to grab milk if I ask or pick up a sibling, etc. . . The 10% extra covers the occasional extra mile or two to swing by the grocery or whatever. . .) Oh, and I also have given an extra $10 here or there if I ask a teen to drive substantially out of the way to drive around a younger sibling, etc. I.e., if they are saving ME 2 hours and 30 miles of driving, I'm happy to round up on the gas money for that trip, so I might give my kid $10 to cover that trip (even though the actual gas would be more like $5). That way, they get "extra" money and it avoided resentment at being asked to do driving "for me" or "for a younger sibling". That works really well, and has led to my generally cranky son being cheerful about giving rides to his younger sister, since then those miles are "free" for him, lol. Another bonus. . . On occasion, if we're at the gas station at the same time as a driver-teen, and we randomly fill up their car, the kid is over-the-top grateful!! Yay!! It's super sweet. :)

I know some kids take the AP exam a year later than the class. I know of one kid who got a 3 or 4 on the AP Lang exam his 10th grade year, so he retook it in 11th grade (along with AP Lit, which he took in 11th) and got 5s. (He was applying to Ivies, so he wanted top scores.) Assuming your kids are not seniors this year, I'd have them test next year. With a few hours of targeting prep leading up to the exam, they'll likely nail the exam, especially if they take any decent english course next year. I'm so sorry this happened!

I've taught Miller & Levine biology ("honors high school biology") to a small group (2 of my students + one spare) and am doing it again this coming year (last of my students, plus another spare). It could be done well in a co-op group. Likewise, Spectrum Chemistry ("honors high school chemistry").

Of course you have a choice. Just give notice (per your lease) and move out. Alternatively, tell him that although you'd like to stay, you only want to do so if he actually does x/y/z, and since previously, he'd promised to do m/n/o and never did, you're not comfortable re-signing until m/n/o/x/y/z are complete. If you do re-sign a lease w/ a "commitment" for him to do things . . . I'd have the lease written such that a) there is a "due date" and b) there is a 50% rent reduction automatically for every month if the required repair(s) aren't completed by that date. I.e., "Landlord agrees to complete deck replacement (with a deck of comparable size and design to the existing deck) and a full bathroom remodel (including all new fixtures and professionally finished surfaces) no later than August 25, 2017. In the event that these repairs are not completed by this date, rent shall be reduced to $300/month until such time that all listed repairs and improvements are complete. Additionally, if the repairs are not complete by August 25, 2017, Tenant has the right to cancel this lease by giving at least 15 days written notice." If you don't have a penalty that includes an automatic large rent reduction along with your right to cancel the lease, then any enforcement of the agreement will be "on you" to sue him, which would not be worth your time. (I'm not a lawyer!)

I'd suggest expecting 2 years for PreA (probably, at that age) and 2 years (nearly definitely, especially for a younger student) for Intro to Alg. (That book covers both Alg 1 and 2, so it truly is a 2 year course/text). And, I'd suggest a semester for each Intro to C&P and Intro to NT. Alternately, if you need just 2 or 3 semesters for either PreA and/or Intro to Algebra, you can add one of these Intro to C&P or Intro to NT books for the second half of a year sometime (after at least the first half of Intro to Algebra). I haven't yet seen the Intermediate C&P and NT books, so I'm not sure if they, too are semester long books or year long. You can/should skip some or all of the C&P or NT books to keep on track to get to Calc around 11th or 12th grade. I think it'd be very unusual to cover all the books unless the student is both very motivated, very talented, and probably also willing to double up and/or work through summers to cover it all. Hope this helps.

I think that we make choices of who to marry, and by doing that, we ask/require our family to accept the new person as family. Then, we and the person we chose to marry make choices to stay together or not. It's not fair to expect others to dump their "family" (who WE brought into the family) if we split. As far as I'm concerned, the "ex" remains family as much as the blood relative. Now, like most families, we've had some ex-ing in our family, and I certainly have rejected some of the exes. These are exes who I knew were cheating, gas-lighting, taking terrible advantage, and IMHO abusive emotionally/psychologically if not physically. I want nothing to do with them. But, there're other spouses who I respect and care for as much as the blood relative, and unless something bizarre or evil happened with them, then if they did divorce, I wouldn't side with the blood relative by side-lining the spouse. There was one "ex" who was dh's aunt (by marriage). Her husband (dh's uncle by blood) cheated and then left her for a much younger woman after 25-35 years of marriage. . . The cheater's siblings (many) continued to treat the "ex" as close family for many years, up through her death this year. They had a mass, came in from distant parts, called all the extended relatives . . . They were ALSO close to the blood family member (after a couple years of freezing him and his hussy out . . . ). Anyway, I think that was likely the right way to handle that situation . . . So, if the ex is abusive, violent, or otherwise clearly an awful, evil person, then of course our friends and relatives should stand by us and reject the awful person. I'd expect this whether they were blood family or by marriage. So, at the end of the day, unless Dan was abusive/evil and your family knows this, then, sorry, you get to be the one who is uncomfortable and awkward. Sucks, but it is what it is. Additionally, this event is about your nieces and their parents. It's their special event, and you should do nothing to mar it or cause stress or disharmony. If you don't want to ride with Dan, that's totally fine. Just mention to your brother that you decided it'd be more comfortable to drive yourself, whatever. He should understand that and accept it graciously.

I wouldn't discount the rent unasked. (If they asked, I'd likely comply with such a modest amount.) The cost of moving is large, and I can't imagine someone moving out over that small a rental difference. What I would do is to be quick to replace needed items (flooring, appliances, etc) and to encourage the renter to have input into what you select. Or to occasionally do some pleasant upgrade. We do this with our long term tenants. I have even given the renter full authority in choosing replacement appliances when they need to be replaced (within a set budget and with occasional limitations as the specs.) I let them paint the interior of the house in custom colors, just assuming the cost of likely repainting upon a tenant change . . . We let them put up a fence, etc. These sorts of things allow the tenant some of the perks of ownership, which I think is likely encouraging them to be happy longterm in our rental. Having a nice wood floor in the living areas of the house instead of old carpet, or nice ceiling fans or a step-up fridge . .. or some other similar perks, can really make a tenant happy, IMHO.

Another vote for Ninja. Hold up well, very versatile, very powerful. Sam's or Costco usually have sets that are good prices.

Did you own a small business that your family RELIED on to survive? Was its value close to your entire retirement needs? If you'd lost it, would you have lost most of your working years' work and value? And you'd risk it on busting a pair of stranger teenagers for truancy and idiocy? If so, then you are a lot more comfortable with risk than I am. Dh and I have worked way too hard for too long to risk it all on parenting someone else's kids who are suffering from senioritis and special snowflake syndrome. I've got my own circuses and my own monkeys. I'll focus on those -- the ones that are my problem.