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Lanny

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Everything posted by Lanny

  1. I read this article on my phone this morning https://www.foxnews.com/media/parents-biggest-misconceptions-homeschooling
  2. Yes. That is not an exaggeration. At this time (April 2022) I am delighted to report that very recently we have received several envelopes from U.S. Government agencies that arrived within 2 or 3 months. That seems amazing now. I remember after DD began attending "Carolina" that for a year or 2, she would receive envelopes from schools inviting her to seminars or other activities or with information about their schools.
  3. Verizon and T-Mobile do not have 5G service in the USA at this time but both of them will add 5G service during 2022.
  4. DD was able to make it through her "Semester Abroad" program in Berlin with her (very) old Motorola Moto G4. In January she bought a Samsung 5G phone to replace it. She has continued on her Red Pocket Mobile (An MVNO provider that runs on the AT&T Netowrk in her case and is Prepaid. She had been with them running on AT&T and is still on AT&T with them). AT&T now has a much longer list of 5G phones that can run on their 5G Network.
  5. I suggested this Free Coursera MOOC somewhere on WTM a year or so ago. It is one of their most popular courses. I took it about 2 years ago. I forget the title but it was something like "Learning How to Learn". For me it was awesome. It isn't what the OP said she is looking for but might fill in some gaps from other courses.
  6. We live overseas and there is a big issue with mail sent via USPS that we do not receive or arrives here 1 or 2 years after being sent. I suggested to my DD that she sign up for everything and be ready to hit the "Delete Key" on her Keyboard with frequency, but, to have an open mind and look at each email.
  7. In general, I believe this student should attend the local school, for many different reasons. However, I am curious about his interest in OU. What interested him about OU? A Major or something else?
  8. Yes. Years ago, I watched a video about a College Consultant in the NYC area who does that.
  9. @ArcadiaThis was many years ago when DD was in pre-primary here. When we had more income. One of the men who worked there (I will leave off his exact job at that time in case he is still there) would fly up to Miami once a year to grade AP Exams. I think it was AP Exams or AP Essays. They paid him about $5 USD for each one that he graded? Something like what you wrote UC says they paid their temporary application processors.
  10. Please check and double check everything! IMO, if a 1098-T, or any other form, is in the name of the student, and, with their SSN, that goes onto their income tax return for that tax year. I don't believe it has anything to do with anyone else's tax return. Although the past few years I had access to the full-blown version of TurboTax, I didn't have that access for the 2021 tax returns and I did use TaxAct, which I had used for a number of years, which has something special for the FAFSA. TaxACT helped me with an error I made, with the 1098-T form on the 2020 return for my DD. On the 2020 return (I think it was ours and not the one for DD) I discovered awesome help on the TurboTax Forum and recommend getting a Free account on it so you can read some questions and answers and ask questions. If you need to pay for help, I suggest looking for an IRS "Enrolled Agent"
  11. @Grace HopperI suggest that when a person is ready to book that they book. Don't try to play games. Book when you are ready to book. I subscribe to the free email list from ScottsCheapFlights and I have Google Flights Fare Trackers for my DD for 5 different dates in May for her to come home. DW suggested to her that she book as soon as she pins down the date. Also, avoid the difficult travel dates which are Sundays, Mondays (worst case) and Tuesdays if a PCR exam will be required for the flight. Easiest days are Wednesdays and Thursdays and Fridays. And, I suggest that people buy their airline tickets directly from the airline involved. If one buys from an OTA they are not the customer of the airline and must go to the OTA for help if they need help. That can be very problematic.
  12. San Francisco is the last place in the USA I would want my daughter to go to, because of the crime and drugs and other things there. I read the news and know what goes on there. She has no interest and you have no interest so that should be a dead issue.
  13. @TapI have several comments for you: (1) File now for an Automatic Extension. You have ,multiple Concurrent Issues. If you file for an Extension, now, you can relax and work on one issue at a time. If it takes you one day per issue or one week per issue, you will get it done. You can file for an Automatic Extension Online using TurboTax or another online tax service. (2) Instead of using a C.P.A. I suggest that you use an "I.R.S. Enrolled Agent". You will probably save a LOT of money and the end result may be better with an "I.R.S. Enrolled Agent" (3) I had the pleasure of using the full-blown version of TurboTax for several years, via IRS FreeFile. TurboTax is, IMO and IME extremely good. The last tax year I used it for was 2020. I had a question and started a thread for my question or added it to another thread. I went to the forum about an hour later and was very surprised that a TurboTax employee (C.P.A.?) had answered my question, approximately 20 minutes after I submitted it to the forum. (That was during the tax season and during the week). If an I.R.S. Enrolled Agent is not available, I would pay for the full-blown version of TurboTax and request an Automatic Extension and begin working on my return. One issue at a time...
  14. This is critical: He moved from one state (AZ?) to another state which is NC. His old will from AZ is worthless. He needs a new Will that conforms with NC state laws. If he does not have a Will that conforms with NC State laws the court will write one for him. The state has already done that. Probably it would not do what the Father of the OP would like to be done.
  15. I would NEVER expect an insurance company or bank or other financial services company to accept a Notarized Statement. I suggest that you contact all of the companies he has investments with and request change of Beneficiary forms be sent to him. Then after they are filled out return them to each company. Request that they acknowledge that they have updated the Beneficiary by sending you confirmation for your files.
  16. My DD has gotten a number of solicitations from other societies and she has asked me about them. Each time I have investigated them and then I suggested to her that she save her money. I have also suggested to her that if and when she is invited to join Phi Beta Kappa that she send them money.
  17. I always begin on Google Flights. NOTE: It is always safest for the passenger to book directly with the airline. If you book via an OTA (Online Travel Agency) or a regular travel agency (brick and mortar) and there is an issue you must not contact the airline. They will tell you to contact your OTA or your travel agency. That is because if you do not buy directly from the airline you are NOT the customer of the airline, you are the customer of the OTA or Travel Agency and need to go to them if you need help. That is true. NOTE: Something I ran into for DD a few months ago when she was going to return from Germany to NC. In Google Flights... When I checked to select the flight and check out, it showed different ways to pay and the cost. The flight was a CodeShare operated by KLM mostly (2 of 3 flights) but also had a Delta flight number. By buying her ticket from Delta Airlines, the savings on the one way ticket was more than 100 USD. And she doesn't have a KLM Frequent Flyer number but she does have a Delta Frequent Flyer number. DD ended up coming home on American, which is a low cost no frills airline (assuming you are in Coach) but they will get you where you are going safely. They are not known here for food and DD said their B737 MAX aircraft don't have Entertainment systems (despite what their web site shows) but again it is inexpensive and it is safe. I don't know about you getting a ticket that is fully refundable. Normally that will cost an arm and a leg, but sometimes the airlines sell inexpensive insurance for that during the check out and payment process. Note: DD said that it doesn't seem possible but that the American terminal where she changed planes in Heathrow was worse than the KLM terminal in Schipol where she had changed planes before. Hopefully you will not be there a long time. NOTE: DD said the food on AA from Heathrow to JFK was very good. Congrats on your continued education and on your time in the UK! You need to buy a set of plug adapters to fit into the wall plugs in other countries and then plug your U.S. style plugs into the adaptor. Also you need to read the tiny print on the AC chargers for your cell phone and your laptop and be sure that the AC Voltage Input range is approximately 100 to 240 volts.
  18. I have been reading about the elimination of 3G service in the USA. Apparently 3G is CDMA and the 5G networks are completely different. The carriers (AT&T and T-Mobile and Verizon) need to completely replace their old 3G networks. There is another factor to this in that probably huge numbers of cars and other things have 3G in them. I wonder if they can be converted from 3G to 5G without breaking the bank? NOTE: The date(s) I've read in the past day or 2 about when T-Mobile will shutdown their 3G network isn't now but I think it is during the first half of 2022? OT: I had been looking for an alternative for DD in case her MVNO service, which runs on AT&T USA, goes to pot. T-Mobile has a super deal starting at $15 per month (plus taxes and service charges so possibly 18 or 20 a month?) called T-Mobile Connect. It is Prepaid, Super price IMO. As I recall it begins with 2.5 (?) GB of Data but my DD said that even when she was in Europe she didn't use more than 2 GB of Data in one month. So she is sticking with her $99 per 360 days plan on Red Pocket Mobile (an MVNO) which allows up to 1 GB of Data each 30 days. Hopefully she can stay on AT&T which has until now had some advantages. There are about 10 million phones in the USA that have been on 3G?
  19. I'd read about this approximately 10 months ago and have been interested because my DD is on an MVNO (virtual carrier) that runs on the AT&T USA network. Today (22FEB2022) is the day AT&T will shutdown their 3G network in the USA. Please note that this has other implications in addition to cell phone service. This URL has some information about other services that run on 3G and will begin to be phased out starting with the AT&T USA shutdown: https://www.al.com/news/2022/02/3g-network-shutdown-starts-tomorrow-with-att-will-your-phone-still-work.html In the past there have been people on WTM wanting simple older phones for Voice and Text. If those are only capable of 3G, starting with AT&T USA today they will not work for that. T-Mobile and Verizon will also shutdown their 3G networks in the USA this year.
  20. One last comment on TurboTax (per my memory which may not be accurate) vs TaxSlayer. Yesterday, I had TaxSlayer eFile the Federal return for 2021 for DD. And the NC Non-Resident return. The Federal return was accepted by the IRS and the NC Non-Resident return was sent to NC. Thank God for the very fast cursory check that the IRS does when returns are eFiled, looking for common simple errors. I do not remember having had this issue in the past tax years with her returns, so I suspect that TurboTax allowed me to Import her W-2 forms into the return I was working on. TaxSlayer did not permit me to do that and I copied the information from her W-2 into the TaxSlayer form for the W-2 form. And then, when I eFiled, the IRS immediately caught my incredibly stupid mistake. TaxSlayer had asked for the Federal EIN of the wage payer (in this case UNC) and instead of giving them that number, I gave them the NC State Employer Number for UNC. The explanation of what was wrong was very simple and they explained how to fix it. (probably from the IRS?) I ended up submitting it with the wrong number, twice, before I read the explanation correctly and fixed the issue. I am having a very good time laughing at myself for this stupid error. Without the IRS checking that, and the guidance from TaxSlayer, it might have taken me many hours to find that I had copied the wrong employer number where I should have put the Federal EIN. Based on previous years with the full-blown TurboTax Online service via IRS FreeFile, which I would rate at a 9 out of 10, I think I would give TaxSlayer a 7 or an 8, considering that I am doing the same return, for a different tax year. The fact that TurboTax had suggested the Earned Income Credit, which DD didn't qualify for, in recent years, was in the back of my mind and then TaxSlayer suggested the American Opportunity Tax Credit. I didn't think DD was eligible, but it was new to me and I spent a long time researching that, before checking the box that DD isn't eligible for that. There are things that cause those programs to think someone can claim a Credit, when in fact they can't and I think if one claims them the IRS is sure to take an extremely close look at their return, to confirm everything is OK. They have at least one warning for the American Opportunity Tax Credit, so be careful before claiming it. My thanks to God and the IRS FreeFile for giving me the opportunity to use these tax preparation services for free.
  21. My DD applied as undeclared or undecided or something like that. I believe that reduced her options. However, I believe when we went to the "School Fair" in Bogota in May 2018 that one or more of the 4 (private) universities that sent Admissions people there required applicants to apply undeclared?
  22. Follow-on to my previous responses. My DD has been swamped (18 Credits and other things). Yesterday she sent the IRS Form 1098-T form to me in an email. I'd searched previously on TaxSlayer.com for information about how to input that into the online return, which was simple, the instructions were in Spanish, but I can read Spanish and that was the first thing in the Google SERPs, and after I got logged into the proper email account and then into TaxSlayer it was easy.. In the past few years, as I have explained, I had the pleasure (via IRS FreeFile) of using the full blown TurboTax online preparation software. I had noticed, that they would always say her return looked like it qualified for the Earned Income Credit, but, in fact, it didn't qualify for the Credit. Yesterday, after I input the information on the IRS Form 1098-T into her developing return for 2021, TaxSlayer then resumed leading me through the process of creating the return and then, surprise, a Credit popped up. This Credit has changed name and regulations for 2022. Previously the "Hope" credit? It is the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). I began doing the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant. She is not eligible for a Refund because of her age last year (between 18 and 24) and being a full-time student, etc. She could use the Credit if she owed income tax for the 2021 tax year. Complicated. The IRS Interactive Tax Assistant was very helpful
  23. Two things that my DD has discovered: The first is that it is NOT a good idea to prepay for optional services when buying your ticket. She had paid for a Seat Assignment on a Delta Airlines flight (actually it was on a "CodeShare" operated by KLM) from Amsterdam (AMS) to Atlanta (ATL). She paid almost 30 Euros for that seat assignment. Because of the COVID issues in Europe, she decided to come home to Colombia instead of going from Germany to NC, so she cancelled her flight. Delta gave her a Credit for the 900 Euros she paid for the ticket, but they did not give her a Credit for the 30 Euros for the Seat Assignment. Had she paid for extra Checked baggage or something, we assume, but are not positive, she would have lost that money too. I believe that it is a good idea to select a seat assignment that one likes, especially on a long westbound trans Atlantic flight like that, and that paying for a Seat Assignment on those flights is a good idea. But not paying in advance of departure for other things. Better to pay more at the check-in counter and have less chance of losing your money. Suggestion for people traveling alone: DD has been doing this since August 2019. She asks the airline person who checks her in if s/he can change the "Carry On" bag to a 2nd Checked Bag. Sometimes, they will do it free. Most of the time she needs to pay, which is well worth it, but sometimes they do it free. . Makes connections, especially long ones, much more relaxing. And, if someone needs to go into a restroom it is much easier to navigate...
  24. No. My friend who does that does not have a Transformer. He said that in many hotels the AC outlet is hidden behind the bed or somewhere and the cables that come on laptops and cell phones are usually very short. He has an extension cable that has the 2 prongs for U.S. style AC plugs (no Ground Pin). If he is overseas he uses a Plug Adapter so he can plug in the U.S. style plug. He said for example if he wants to take his laptop into the bed to use it there, or, on top of the bed (better idea), with the extension cable he has "wiggle room" to do that and be much more comfortable than with the cable that comes with his laptop or cell phone.
  25. One thing I had my DD do before she went to the "Semester Abroad" program in Germany last August was to check (very hard to read) the specifications on the Chargers for your Laptop and Cell phones. Very high probability they will work on the AC Line Voltage in Europe or the UK, as long as you have a set of Adapter plugs for the wall outlet. DD bought a Set of Adapter Plugs which included a Charger, which was nice because the Charger for her very old cell phone had died. It was about $15 including shipping in the USA on eBay and she was happy because she had no issues in various EU countries. I'm not sure if she used it during a connection in Heathrow Airport on the way home in December but it worked in the EU countries she was in. Oh. A childhood friend who travels frequently (pre COVID) said that he takes an electric extension cable. I think about 5 meters in length. He said he takes it on trips within the USA too. That could prove to be VERY helpful... If you have a recent phone with lots of LTE Bands it will probably work fine. DD has an old Moto G4 and she has used it here in Colombia and in Europe (she bought a Telekom Prepaid SIM in Germany) and she uses it in the USA. On the other hand, my low end Motorola phone would not work in the USA or in Europe. It doesn't have the technology they use for LTE and I'm not sure it has the technology for the old fashioned Voice calls. (Hint, AT&T in the USA will phase out 3G service this month if they stick to their schedule because they are moving to 5G) You can check your phone (and the sub-model) on a web site. I think FrequencyCheck.com can do that.
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