.

This was my thinking, too. It sounds like it could be Original Price less Restocking Fee less Return Shipping. I would call Amazon to be sure, though.

No problem. I don't know how much help I was/will be, but hopefully your ds can get some info from reddit. There actually may be a wiki/Q&A on the sarasota page for newcomers, so he should look there before asking. I feel ya on the 21 y/o still learning stuff. My kids are also only a few years in to adulting, as they used to say. It's both interesting and scary to watch!

Deleted. I shared too much and it brought back awful memories that I can't shake.

Deleted. This thread has reopened some old wounds that I should have left alone. Sorry.

I'm not super familiar with the area so I can't help with specific areas but he might have luck asking on the Reddit/r/Sarasota forum or on the City-Data forum. I'd try Reddit first since they tend to skew younger than the City-Data folk and would know better what a young adult might be comfortable with. What I can say is that his commute can vary greatly depending on where in SRQ (the abbreviation for Sarasota) he lives, so I'd consider that. Bradenton is 'bleh'. Traffic is either freaking awful or bloody freaking awful and I'm not sure there are nice/safe apartments. I wouldn't recommend it. I won't say to stay away, but I definitely don't recommend it, if that makes sense. If it was my son, I'd tell him to look elsewhere as I know he wouldn't like it there. At all. There *might* be something in S Bradenton closer to SRQ, but at that point, I'd probably just check for northern SRQ, though your ds will want to ask on the Reddit forum about commute time if his job is in southern SRQ. There is a Bradenton subreddit, too, but I don't know how many people post there. It couldn't hurt to ask on both forums. Also, Bradenton is hard to get in/out of thanks to a lack of main roads and heavy year-round beach traffic. Traffic is often at a standstill throughout the city during the winter. I'd look in Lakewood Ranch as it's east of Bradenton, but close to SRQ. Again, it depends on where in SRQ he will be working, but LWR is a huge area, and the southern end is close to mid-Sarasota, I think. I was going to say that LWR is pricey (lots of young professionals there), but the whole area is pricey, so it might not be worse than what he would find in SRQ. If he can handle a tiny place (less $$) for a year while he gets his bearings, that's where I would start, to be honest. It's a beautiful area, very safe, and the location is excellent. If he doesn't already have a SunPass, he needs to get one. The drive to/from St Pete involves the Sunshine Skyway, which is a toll road and the Sunpass not only makes that easier since he won't have to stop to pay, but gives a small discount over the cash/pay-per-tag amount. Also, he will love it there. If he went to school in Tampa, he knows the weather and has a feel for the people, so he knows what he's getting into. SRQ is a lot like Tampa/St Pete and has a lot to offer a young adult!

Those are horrific and should be outlawed. We had luck with one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Release-Outdoor-Mousetrap-Catcher-Capture/dp/B07PDPVZBP/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2QO1L56EGM3ST&dchild=1&keywords=humane+mouse+trap&qid=1633871179&sprefix=humane+mouse+trap%2Caps%2C525&sr=8-7 As mentioned upthread, they are smart. We had a mouse who had babies (ugh) and were only able to catch three or four mice in the humane traps before they learned to avoid it, so we had to resort to the snap & kill ones for the last few, which we hated but was necessary. I also agree with using PB on a cracker. Not a single mouse went after the various cheeses we tried (cheddar, Swiss, brie, and a couple more), but once I put PB on the cracker, we had a 'customer' within an hour or so.

If you figure it out, report back. The best I came up with would be "I'd rather take a long walk off a short pier" but more dangerous/deadly.

You too??! I thought I was the only one. LOL.

I found a few sets on Amazon that I'll link here for you. I don't know about 'reasonably affordable', so you'll have to decide that but this should get you started in your search. I will say that I didn't see any Basset Hounds or Havanese, though. I suspect those two will be the most difficult to find. This one has a pug & French Bulldog, and a yellow lab. Maybe one could pass for a terrier. $16 https://www.amazon.com/WIOR-Figurines-Realistic-Christmas-Educational/dp/B095X3ZP78/ref=pb_allspark_dp_sims_pao_desktop_session_based_5/139-2247412-4364454?pd_rd_w=pBLbc&pf_rd_p=e896123b-6614-49c5-873e-d532e726c2f0&pf_rd_r=5G0FA2VMA6SXJK4J50AD&pd_rd_r=51587ea2-61f1-4b3c-8c85-6a2ae1384d39&pd_rd_wg=8Pz6b&pd_rd_i=B095X3ZP78&psc=1 I think this is the same set by a different seller. Same price. https://www.amazon.com/TOYMANY-Figurines-Realistic-Detailed-Christmas/dp/B087P7Z5PT/ref=sr_1_19?dchild=1&keywords=french+bulldog+miniature&qid=1633275517&sr=8-19 Also, The Littlest Pet Shop has many of these (like little bobbleheads), but those might be hard to find and I don't remember ever seeing a Havanese in there collections. It has been ages since I looked at them, so maybe they have one out now. I know they have a Basset Hound and the others, so the Havanese is the tricky one. Those are mostly used, though, but ebay might have some bulk purchases. They do have a Maltese that *might* pass. I do suggest you checking ebay to see what's there. There used to be some little felt-covered ones (like Calico Critters) at Target & Walmart but I have no idea what breeds they had. If you're crafty, here is a How-to to felt some. https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/needlefelt-miniature-of-your-dog-2365956 You could probably get some felt and make your own with pillow stuffing, too. I wish you luck!

Not so much foklsy or easy listening, but I find them mellow: Air Supply Jefferson Starship (at least some of their hits-- I don't know about their lesser-known stuff but I had their album with the "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us" song and loved it) You can also search for those "easy listening" mixes they used to sell on TV. I came across a whole slew of them on Youtube just a few months ago and it was a fabulous walk down memory lane. ETA The BeeGees. I can't believe I forgot about the BeeGees. Again, not folksy, but definitely fabulous music for someone who loves that era... even the stuff they did in the 90s is great.

Yay! I'm so happy for you!!

I'm sorry, but it's time. My experience in the last several years is that vets no longer say it's time because so many owners want them to perform miracles and keep their pets alive and freak out at the suggestion of putting the pet down. One vet who was more of a friend told me this himself when I was talking about quality of life vs longevity and he said he hated when people pushed him to do everything possible and that it was a thing that he had been seeing for years now and hearing from other vets the same thing. Fast forward a few years and we've had to put down a couple of animals with two different vets and both vets offered treatment but the moment we shook our heads and said no and that it was time to say goodbye, they both seemed to relax. It was as if they knew it was time but were prepared to do whatever the treatment was. I could swear that I saw one's shoulders drop a bit like "thank goodness". So, it seems that unless we, the owner, brings it up, the vets won't. That troubles me because we pet owners look to our vets to be the voice of our pets and want to know when it's time, so I feel like their silence is actually harming animals by not only prolonging their illnesses, but putting them through treatments that cause them stress & pain. I'm sorry, Dawn. It is so hard.

Oh my. I'm dying!! 🤣

I'm actually fighting off a funk because I'm just so over all of this.

That's probably a lot safer than saying "all of my lady friends...."

Same. When I talk about things on this forum, I say "the homeschool ladies said..." unless it's something you or @Lanny have posted and then it's "Bill or Lanny on the homeschool forum said..." As for the topic of friends, I figure friends help each other out. Friends wish each other well. Friends will cry with you. Friends are there for each in times of need. I have seen all of that here on the forum over the years. This place is full of wonderful people and I have no qualms about calling you all my friends.

This. In making a budget, whether for today's bills or for what retirement might cost you, be sure to have line items for clothes, car repairs, car replacement, new furniture, etc, etc. Also, OP, you mentioned that looked at calculators saying you should have X years of income saved. Those are not that great of a way to plan for retirement. Those are oftentimes way off (too low for low-income earners or too high for high-income earners). You should focus on X times your projected EXPENSES in retirement. The income-focused numbers don't take into consideration income brackets, deductions for kids, the fact that you're putting into 401k, SS, etc. I find it much easier to wrap my head around what we spend and what we will plan to spend and back into a target retirement number.

If you've run some calculators and they say you're good, that's a good thing. Keep running them, find some different ones, etc, and keep checking. Firecalc is a good one to play around with. Most folks aim for a 90% success rate to 'retire early' (before one's Full Retirement Age) while some want a 95% - 100% success rate. I agree that saying you're paycheck to paycheck indicates a money flow problem and panic each month that regular bills won't get paid. If it's more a case of not having a lot left over, that's a little bit different. One thing for sure, if you aren't saving extra cash (outside of your dh's work contributions), your debt is harming you, even at that low interest rate in that the monthly payment you make on those accounts could otherwise be going to investing. If you are not investing money now, I'd get to work paying off those loans, then once they are paid off, you can throw that money at investing outside of an IRS limited plan. If you *are* investing money and making those payments on your loans, you might be fine with the status quo. In your shoes, I'd probably look at the amount of payments you make every month and see how your lif might change if you no longer have to make them. Honestly, though, it sounds like you're doing great. As long as helping your kids isn't *hurting* your retirement plans, I wouldn't sweat it. You mentioned finding a therapist to maybe help with your money issues. That may not be a bad idea, but I wonder if talking to other people might do the same thing for you? I'm thinking about making posts on reddit/r/personalfinance (there is also /r/frugal, etc) and/or bogleheads.org Bogleheads is a huge forum and the majority of the folks on there are followers of John Bogle who started Vanguard so "the little guy" could invest without needing advisors, but you could chat about money issues/hang ups, etc. Sometimes, I find more value in just talking to others like me... like on this forum. On Bogleheads, you can share as much or as little personal finance info as you want, even making up some numbers as sometimes having numbers to work with is helpful when someone asks "how am I doing?" There is something to be said for just chatting with others who are either walking the same walk as you or who have been there. Oh, and I completely agree with the comment upthread about you being in the stressful time --- not empty nesters, yet retirement age seems to be coming faster and faster. I'd be willing to bet that adds to your already-present money hang ups.

Spryte, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom!! I fear for my elderly parents, especially the one with balance issues, as ERs here are also horribly crowded. Your experience is one of the nightmares I keep having. I'm thinking of you and your mom. Hugs.

Thank you! I've read so much over the last several months that it all runs together and I did start to doubt myself.

No, it wasn't a whistleblower thing. I have no idea what I read, then. Publix is a grocery store in the southeast.

I also read through everything when our plan changed to them and Dh's employer said they were "pleased to contract with CVS to provide a prescription plan" yadda yadda and it sure as heck sounded like we had to use them or go elsewhere and forego any price discounts! I'm so ticked to know that all these years I could have gone elsewhere and yet happy to now know that we are free. 🤣

Huh. I probably misunderstood something you wrote about looking up insurance stuff on your system, then. It was a several months ago so there is no way for me to find it. I just remember thinking that Publix might have been able to find our insurance in their system through this magical database that I thought you had mentioned and even mentioned it to my dh. LOL. Apologies.

That makes sense. Thanks!