I think it is sweet that he thinks of his brother that way. It's not something I've ever thought of before.

No ideas on gift ideas, but we have a charity here that collects the wish lists (3 wishes/kid I think) of the kids currently in the foster system and uses SignUpGenius for folks to sign up to bring them to various locations - marked with the number of the recipient. This is this year's list. So maybe there is something in your area where it might be an option for a charity that could use the gifts? https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4BAFAF23A1FC1-45147797-christmas

Trading in cars always results in low money offers (or has for us). We do private sale. You get much more money. Enough that it is worth the hassle and extra cost on your insurance.

Hulu has a special offer. $0.99/month for 12 months. If you want a streaming service and you like their offerings, that is a great deal. Only good through 11/28.

Not exactly cheap, but I think this is pretty enough to wear many times https://svahausa.com/products/chromatic-scales-twirl-skirt There are other less colorful options too: https://svahausa.com/search?q=music&type=product I guess my first thought of blue suede shoes isn't going to be a good suggestion. I can't imagine wearing those more than once!

If anyone is interested in a fitness tracker, the FitBit Inspire 3 is on sale for $69.95 (regularly $99) both at Amazon and FitBit. We ordered one for one of our kids (on their wish list!), and I picked up one for me as well.

Yes, this person lives in this house too. Except this person doesn't use alarm options for waking for going to work either. In therapy, the counselor reminded me this person is an adult and therefore capable of making sure they wake up on time for whatever they need to do. It is not my responsibility to wake them up. So, easy to say, harder to live. So I do wake this person up when there is something I need them to get up early for (driving me to colonoscopy, etc) But now I'm thinking, maybe I should just set my alarm and I get up and start getting ready but leave it going off until this person either gets up too or manages to figure out how to turn my phone alarm off (it would be easy for them to just get up!). I'd suggest you start doing something noisy and obnoxious. But that's just my weird sense of humor.

Do you keep all your CC receipts and check them off against your credit card statement? Online? Or when you get a paper bill (assuming you do)? Do you track the debits/credits in Quicken or some other program? I know the places we typically use our credit card, so anything outside that or outside our normal charge is something I notice when I review our bill. But, quite frankly, if someone had our card number and used it at our regular stores for reasonable amounts on an infrequent basis, I'm not sure I would notice. Trying to figure out the easiest/quickest way to check this. So far, I don't think it has been a problem only because when we've had numbers stolen, people seem to go to expensive stores and buy expensive stuff, so I'm assuming they aren't interested in just spending $47 at Target and $85 at the grocery store once a month.

My dh was the same way. He didn't think there was a problem, but I told him he would snore when sleeping, then stop breathing, wait many many seconds, and start breathing again - many times a night. It would wake me up and I would touch him to get him to breathing again. Kids reported the same thing to him if they found him napping during the day. Finally, at the end of one year when deductible and out of pocket had been met, he went. Moderate to severe sleep apnea. He doesn't love his Cpap but he uses it every night and now will only nap by his machine so he can use it during naps as well. I'm bad about going to the doctor with issues, but he is worse! So the horrible year we had all those medical expenses was good for finally convincing him to go get it checked ou.

I've never found anything non-aluminum based that worked for me. I've tried so many. My dh found a crystal spray deodorant that he used for a while. It worked for regular days, but not if he was out working/sweating hours in the yard. But for regular office work days, it was fine. But then something happened (??), and it stopped working. He now uses a regular stick deodorant with aluminum, but he also sprays with the no-smell hunter spray stuff.

Consider checking camelcamelcamel to make sure those deals are good deals.

I still do all the old-fashioned reconciling. I have found a couple of bank errors over the years, but mostly I find that I recorded something incorrectly or forgot to record something. The bank errors I would have found without reconciling though - one was somehow an AT&T bill was pulled from our account - which if I had looked I would have known at once it was an error since no bills were attached to that account. The other was a deposit that they forgot to actually deposit the checks (but did deposit the cash!) - easy recovery from that one. And I've wondered too. I do keep my records in Quicken, but often I forget to write down one of our auto-drafted bills, and sometimes I forget to enter an online bill I pay. So, I like to be able to look in Quicken and see what my balance really is (because I set up bill payments when I first get the bill - so for like property taxes, it is two months in advance of actually being paid). My online bank just shows what the actual amount currently in the bank is, and I find that somewhat misleading - especially since I currently have quite a sum ready to go out in December for those taxes!. So it does seem silly to keep reconciling statements (that I print from our online accounts) to our Quicken file, but it goes quickly, and I do get a general feel for how we are doing financially. But I have thought, and still regularly think, about giving it up.

Would helping them set up a budget app on their phone help? I know that isn't really financial literacy, but it is start to allow them to see where their money is and where it is going. Since it is all in their hands, maybe that helps them realize what is going on faster?

For me some days are good and I get lots done. Those days start with a list - the urgent must-do things (groceries, laundry, clean this & that), and things that are should-be-done (but it's okay if these all don't get done), and then things I want to do. I'm not someone who can spend 6 hours on something, so I will spend a reasonable amount of time (for me) on that thing (reading, sewing, decluttering my closet yet again, etc). I try to include staying in touch with relatives, family friends, local friends (list of should-be-done!) and make sure that I do at least a little of that every day - not that I am successful - but some take just a few minutes (messaging someone), a little longer (phone call), and even longer (personal visit). It's important to me to try to maintain these relationships. There are other days without lists where little gets done (I'll blame the interesting book I'm reading! but it could also be that the weather is just perfect so let's do something outside instead of useful stuff!). Overall, I think I'm slowly moving towards a better system (daily lists made that day). I've also found that if I make those lists, I actually get more done (both things that need to be done as well as things I want to do!) than when I just drift through the day. Good luck as you find what works for you!

I think possibly. One of mine (now adult) is considering doing so in order to get some relatively minor accommodations (but big for her) in her job. So, I'd have dd do a little research into what sort of accommodations would be available - both in academic and work positions - and see if these are any that would be of interest/aid to her. I'm sorry I can't be more help. I'm actually the one who decided many years ago not to get a formal diagnosis, just treat the issues she was having trouble dealing with. That may well have not been the correct decision, but I can't go back to change it!

One of mine did something similar for Christmas photos. She rolled her eyes in EVERY picture I took. I told her if she kept doing that, I would send pictures of her rolling her eyes. She did not believe me. She was wrong. I think everyone who had a tween/teen probably laughed and laughed. After that she behaved. But she somewhat cared. Not much, but some.

I'd suggest floral arrangement too. Fresh. The amaryllis is a good idea as well.

We've always had basically the same thing. I'd like to branch out, but the kids (now adults) are not in favor: So turkey (smoked, we are trying Greenberg's smoked turkey this year) Sweet potato casserole Mac-n-cheese Green Bean casserole (adventurous cooking dd preparing, so I'm sure it will be unique!) Dressing Cranberry something Rolls This year I bought a smaller turkey because one invitee said they were bringing tamales, but they have changed their mind, so I'm trying to come up with something to replace it. No one here is big on ham, and I purchased a smaller turkey than I would have normally, and we aren't that fond of turkey, so I'm not getting another one! A local Filipino restaurant does very tasty lumpia, so I'm considering getting a dozen or so of those. I've reheated them in the air fryer and they are super yummy still.

Is cranberry salad a main dish? I don't think so, but so easy. Otherwise I would do the spiral ham or small smoked turkey. Is there a Sam's/Costco close so you can pick up a chicken? If you have a crock pot, would a soup do? If it is warm and you wrap it in a blanket and plug it in upon arrival and turn it on warm, would that be good enough? Or you could do pulled pork this way.

Does he have any relatives that you know? Would it be appropriate to just pass the bags off to them? Do you have his contact info? Maybe text him that you have bagged this stuff up and it will be on the street side at 9 am on Saturday? Can you contact Lawyer's office (who sent the letter) and ask them what to do with it?

Not fluffy but easy and super yummy. Cut up whatever fruit you want, toss in a can of pie filling - apple, peach, whatever (but probably not pumpkin!). Stir and you are done.

I'd do a taco bar. They can bring shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, maybe flour tortillas or taco shells? All of those are relatively inexpensive and there is no need to cook. I typically do chicken tacos in the instant pot or crock pot and lentil tacos if we have any vegetarians. But I also cheat and just do Mexican bowls/taco salad (throw everything in a bowl!). They could bring pinto or black beans too and possibly rice. We like shredded cabbage on our tacos too. And guacamole! If you want something fun, our grocery stores have Jarritos sodas fairly inexpensively. A selection of those is fun (caution - they are all pretty sweet though!) https://jarritos.com/

We've made this pumpkin bread before, and everyone likes it. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6820/downeast-maine-pumpkin-bread/ We do cut the sugar a bit and use half applesauce, half oil. We've also made savory kolaches. These are a big hit, but they are also a lot of work. The dough is basically this recipe, but we make scrambled eggs/bacon/cheese/ham combos, but close up the dough so the contents are surrounded by the bread. https://www.homesicktexan.com/sweet-escape-kolaches/ These are like the ones from the Kolache Factory - https://kolachefactory.com/menu/savory

I would. I would prefer the open houses the colleges have here vs. a specific tour set up for us - just because that is more low key, you aren't singled out for any one-on-one conversation. you are just part of a large group. My youngest, 3 years younger, tagged along when we started taking her older sister. It was useful to her to start to get an idea of things. We started when oldest was in 10th grade - mostly because we were busy and it was a convenient time and as they get older, they typically get busier, so it was going to be harder to find the time to visit. But I would also let kid know that (assuming it is true), he doesn't have to go to college. There are trade schools (never been to one even though there is a good one in the town next to us - and they do open houses in the fall and spring too). And there are other options for what to do post-high school.

We have a pre-lit tree. We had to cut the lights off when they stopped working after 3-4 years. It wasn't a super cheap tree - more mid-range, but it was nice when all the lights worked. I do not wish to purchase a new tree every 3-4 years, so if we ever replace this one, it will be a light-free tree. We will end up putting lights on it anyway, so I am not willing to pay the extra money for pre-lit.