The DH and I are considerably older than that, but we have some Vanguard funds and have been very pleased with them. We've been considering another Vanguard fund for some money that we need to reinvest soon. Their website has a lot of helpful tools. And ditto everything Mrs. Mungo said about Roth IRAs. For years we subscribed to Money magazine, and I found it very helpful.

I would have taken them for making banana bread.

That was my understanding. That because we had a third car it was assumed he had constant access to a vehicle and therefore would be driving more than a teen in a two-parent home where there were just two vehicles.

It depends on what state you're in since insurance rates in general vary so much from state to state. Also, when we added DS to our State Farm insurance we found that it matters if you have a third vehicle. Because we do have a third vehicle, and he is the third licensed driver in the family, they automatically assume he has full time access to that vehicle. In our case it's true, but of course it might not be true in all families. For him it's costing us about $1200 the first year. State Farm assumes the vehicle he has access to is 10 years old. If he remains accident free for the first year (we're two months away from that) then the cost will drop by about fifty percent. If he remains accident free the following year the rate will drop again so that by the time he's 18 we'll be paying the same rate for him as we do for DH and me. As said above, the first two years are expensive.

Boomerang Tags -- Here Best tags ever. By far. And outstanding customer service. Don't waste your money on the junk from Petsmart.

Grooming costs generally depend on the size of the dog, the condition of the coat and how much detailed grooming is needed. And of course it varies by geographic area. I have a Shih Tzu and I do all his grooming myself. But the going rate around here at grooming shops for Shih Tzus is between $45 and $50. That's for the whole works -- bath, drying, clipping and nails. To keep him looking as nice as I want he'd have to go every three weeks. I choose to do it myself because I've seen too many really bad (almost cruel) groomers in action, and way too many absolutely terrified dogs on grooming tables. My Shih Tzu is so relaxed when I groom him at home that my biggest problem is keeping him awake!

I'm so sorry about your friend's dog. The suspected problem with jerky treats made in China has been going on for several years now. Unbelievably, I know several people who say that until the FDA (or somebody) finds something conclusive that's causing the illnesses and deaths they'll continue to give them to their dogs. I don't understand that attitude at all.

There is no "end of the shopping week" for me. I shop on average three times a week. I don't like an empty fridge (or pantry) and I don't like buying huge amounts of groceries at one time. There are four grocery stores within three miles of our house, so it's no big deal to go often.

:iagree: Oldest DS's front teeth were (and are) absolutely beautiful. The orthodontist said "A smile doesn't get any better than that." But his bite on his left side was way off. The orthodontist told us, and my research corroborated it, that he'd be very likely to have serious dental and potential bone issues by the time he reached middle age. So he definitely needed braces, even though his smile was already gorgeous. The moral of that story is don't make the mistake of thinking braces are just a cosmetic thing, and that if your child's smile looks good enough then everything's okay.

I'm not a groomer (or at least not a professional one), but I can tell you how to pluck ear hair. It's really easy, although getting the dog to hold still for it may not be! Go to a pet store and buy some ear powder. Something like this. Sprinkle just a tiny bit in and around the dog's ear canal. It will make the hair kind of dry and tacky, and make it easy to grasp with your fingers or a hemostat. Pluck just a few hairs at a time, and only the ones in the ear canal. It shouldn't hurt, but if you try to pluck too many at a time, or hair that's on the outside of the canal, it will hurt. There are videos on YouTube that demonstrate how to do it. If you can't get the dog to let you pluck the hair, you can take a pair of small round-tipped scissors and just trim it up a bit. There's actually a lot of debate among vets and groomers about whether or not ear hair plucking should be done at all. Some say it does more harm than good, especially on dogs who don't have a history of ear problems.

Our Brittany gets a bath about four times a year. Our Shih Tzu gets a bath about every ten days, and he gets clipped at every other bath. I do both of them myself.

We're pretty much the same. 13-yo homeschooled DS usually goes to bed around 11:00 (except sometimes he stays up to watch Jon Stewart). He gets up around 8:30. 16-yo DS in public school tries to go to bed between 10:00 and 10:30. He has to get up around 6:15.

Sheets/pillowcases -- weekly Blankets/bedspreads -- about every two to three months Pillows -- twice a year

No, it isn't. Small Business Administration's chart of what qualifies as a "small" business

Keeping up with it on an almost daily basis is what works for me. It's a very rare day that I don't do at least one load. Towels are done on Tuesday and Friday. Sheets get washed on Wednesday. And then throughout the week I do loads of clothing as needed. As soon as there's enough to do a load of any type I go ahead and do it.

We have a wooden four-peg hat rack type thingie mounted on our inside wall by the garage door. All the collars and leashes and dog towels hang on it.

My DH's employer, the sole owner of a large (400+ employees) and very profitable "small" business, would vehemently disagree with you. However, I tend to agree with those who think people over-estimate the power of any president (or Congress) to fix things. I tend to think people are adjusting more and more to a new normal and that things are already improving.

You likely won't see her real personality emerge for a couple of weeks or more, until she starts to feel secure. Now that doesn't mean she absolutely will change--I had one dog who really never went through a honeymoon period, she was the same on day 1,000 as she was on day one. But most likely you will see her true personality emerge with time.

Batteries Plus (if you have one in your area).

DH was born in 1960 and I was born in 1963. We've always considered ourselves on the tail end of the Baby Boomers. I *think* we'll be okay in retirement. Maybe not as comfortable as we'd like, but okay. Both of us always made saving for retirement a priority from the time we started working, and we had our kids later than many. By the time I became a SAHM DH was well established in his career and we were able to continue saving at a decent rate even after I "retired."

Chili Baked potatoes Pineapple

Me, either. Not interested in the least.

DS's coaches say it's too sugary and doesn't hydrate any better than plain old water.

We don't like clutter, either. But I believe what defines "clutter" can vary a lot from one person to another. My personal definition of "clutter" is knick knacks and other things that serve no purpose other than decoration, or magazines, mail or other paperwork scattered all around. To me "clutter" doesn't mean useful things that are used on a daily basis. On our kitchen counters we have prescription medicines and supplements in a corner, cans of nuts and jars of sunflower seeds (because those are frequently grabbed snacks), the toaster, dish drainer, a basket for keys, etc. Remotes for the TVs live on end tables and night stands, and toiletries on the bathroom counters. To my mind none of those constitutes clutter because they're all needed and useful.

My son's cross country coaches recommend fruit, granola bars, yogurt, cheese, pretzels -- things like that. They won't let their runners touch Gatorade. Only water.