Search found 127 matches

by welldone
Sun Mar 10, 2024 10:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Have any BH's seen the Roman exhibit at the British Museum?
Replies: 12
Views: 1230

Re: Have any BH's seen the Roman exhibit at the British Museum?

We've had very good luck with booking an "out of hours" tour, getting into the museum early and then at the end of our early tour, going to the exhibits we most want to see when crowds are at their lowest. Yes, that would mean you are paying even more money but if you want the fewest possible people when touring the exhibit, it is what we've found to be most efficient and enjoyable.
by welldone
Fri Mar 01, 2024 11:43 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Real Stories of College Savings: what was your plan, and what happened?
Replies: 98
Views: 7341

Re: Real Stories of College Savings: what was your plan, and what happened?

We just finished paying for our oldest child's college education. About 85% of it was paid through the 529 account, we then paid the rest out of cash flow (part of this semester's last payment). She received a large merit award from her school - about 60% of the total cost over 4 years. We have two more children to get through college (college freshman and high school senior). Middle child's 529 should cover all 4 years undergrad...might even cover some of grad school (planning on DPT). Youngest child's 529 mostly likely will cover all of undergrad, dependent upon COA increases. They both, like oldest, chose schools that gave them merit aid. We contributed up to the max amount that qualified for our state tax credit (Illinois - 5% credit on...
by welldone
Sat Jan 27, 2024 3:35 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is paying off a 2.99% mortgage always a bad idea?
Replies: 332
Views: 24667

Re: Is paying off a 2.99% mortgage always a bad idea?

Having read this thread, there were a couple of things I thought of that I didn't see others pointing out. I know you've already decided to not pay the house off, hopefully these points will make you feel even better about that choice. 1. Your house is not guaranteed to maintain or increase in value. How upsetting would it be to pay your house off, need to sell it in the future and get less than the amount you paid off? How hard would that loss hit you? 2. Until your child is out of the house, you won't really have an idea of whether this is the forever home for you and your spouse. You may well decide you want to downsize or relocate. Locking in that much equity might make those plans more complicated. 3. While you may feel your risk toler...
by welldone
Tue Jan 23, 2024 7:53 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Kids of wealthy parents, do they work?
Replies: 69
Views: 4740

Re: Kids of wealthy parents, do they work?

What 17 year old receives an allowance? Allowances are for kids who are too young to earn some money. A 17 year old certainly doesn’t meet that requirement unless he is some type of athletic, musical, or academic prodigy. Should he have a job during the school year if he is very busy with school, music, sports, etc? Probably not, but at the minimum he should have had a job last summer and next summer. All of our children were paid an allowance while they lived in our home all the way until they graduated high school. We gave them an allowance because we felt that every person needs to have money to learn how to manage money. The amount gave them some leeway in how they allocated their needs/wants but was not overly generous by any means. W...
by welldone
Wed Jan 03, 2024 12:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Thoughts on family budget
Replies: 77
Views: 10826

Re: Thoughts on family budget

Ec1990 wrote: Wed Jan 03, 2024 11:39 am
Correct that I have not included budgeting for college, will get going on a 529 plan. I don't think it is realistic to expect that I will be able to finance private college for 4 kids but will contribute what I can.

BTW the kids are 9,7,5,3
You could more than adequately fund private college for all 4 kids if you saved the $84k per years you are currently spending on private school now. Not saying you should do that (I agree everyone spends via their own priorities) but it is always good to have clear awareness of what is and isn't being traded off through those priorities.
by welldone
Wed Jan 03, 2024 11:29 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Scholarship/FAFSA Experience for Higher Income Families?
Replies: 60
Views: 8439

Re: Scholarship/FAFSA Experience for Higher Income Families?

A lot of the schools with the most generous aid policies are ALREADY OVER $90K PER YEAR when you add items like mandatory health insurance and other costs beyond just tuition.
by welldone
Thu Dec 28, 2023 11:51 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Robotics focused colleges (tier 2 + co op preferred)
Replies: 65
Views: 7634

Re: Robotics focused colleges (tier 2 + co op preferred)

dale77 wrote: Thu Dec 28, 2023 11:09 pm Of the 21(!) schools my son applied to -- and applying with merit in mind -- only three got below $30k/year with tuition plus R&B (again, excluding National Merit scholarships.
This follows what we've seen in the past few years as well.

Another big expense that often gets overlooked is mandatory health insurance schools are requiring all students to have. Can be waived if your insurance is deemed acceptable by the college, but look at adding $2-5k to the yearly college bill for health insurance if yours isn't deemed acceptable.
by welldone
Thu Dec 28, 2023 2:52 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Turning 50 mid year 2024 - IRA question
Replies: 5
Views: 779

Re: Turning 50 mid year 2024 - IRA question

Thank you, I couldn't find the exact wording in the publications!
by welldone
Thu Dec 28, 2023 2:37 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Turning 50 mid year 2024 - IRA question
Replies: 5
Views: 779

Turning 50 mid year 2024 - IRA question

DH is turning 50 summer 2024. I usually front load IRA contributions at the beginning of the year, will we be able to contribute the higher limit in January 2024 or do we have to wait until he turns 50 in the summer?
by welldone
Wed Dec 20, 2023 2:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: High school graduation gift amount?
Replies: 43
Views: 4491

Re: High school graduation gift amount?

High school graduation parties are common enough around our parts (Chicago suburb) that our three children had two full weekends in May where they did the party circuit. 6-8 parties each day, both Saturdays and Sundays the week before and the week after graduation. Mostly informal bbqs the kids went around to in packs, taking pics, eating a bit and going on to the next one. Class friends, sport team friends, boy/girl friends....it adds up quickly. As parents, we sent along a congratulations card with a check for $20.23 to each celebrant whose party our child(ran) attended. A lot of fun for all the kids. All together ~$450 given as graduation gifts over the two weekends. We did smaller celebrations for our children with their close friends a...
by welldone
Fri Dec 08, 2023 9:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Parents of recent college applicants: How did it play out?
Replies: 115
Views: 20258

Re: Parents of recent college applicants: How did it play out?

@RetireWhen - love your daughter's story! And agree with your entire post.

I forgot to write about a specific money issue with merit up above. All three of mine went merit searching. The net price for each of them was around 40-45% of list price at the colleges they attended via merit money.

The big thing to remember about merit money is that it doesn't increase after the first year but the cost of attendance continues to rise (4-5% a year). Make sure to account for that in any calculation. My oldest did receive a departmental scholarship her senior year of college but I wouldn't count on extra merit money after the first year.
by welldone
Thu Dec 07, 2023 7:26 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Christmas present = forced retirement
Replies: 128
Views: 20216

Re: Christmas present = forced retirement

Bmac wrote: Thu Dec 07, 2023 7:07 pm Hmm. $70k expenses NOT including $49k housing costs or health insurance (if I understand correctly) with annual investment income of $68k and earned income of $42k seems tight. You can’t take traditional IRA distributions penalty free for 7 years. And your SS benefit estimates are probably too high as they are likely assuming that you continue working to FRA at your current income (both of you). Also, the rentals could turn upside down in a heartbeat depending on the economy and tenant situation. So to make it work I would think you would need to really look at cutting down your expenses.
You missed the $24k in car payments each year as well.
by welldone
Thu Dec 07, 2023 1:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Parents of recent college applicants: How did it play out?
Replies: 115
Views: 20258

Re: Parents of recent college applicants: How did it play out?

Would also recommend The Price You Pay for College by Ron Lieber. NYtimes YourMoney columnist who now is offering webinars about how to find merit aid at colleges and how to choose colleges. His book along with Jeff Selingo's are two of the best books out there right now on college admission and financial aid. Would recommend reading both asap. We've gone through this process three times now. All three in the last 5 years. One big piece of advice is to not assume you understand the admission landscape because you've heard friends and family talking, or from what you remember from back in the day. Much of what you'll hear (even on boards like College Confidential) is misleading or erroneous. If you have questions, contact the specific colleg...
by welldone
Tue Dec 05, 2023 7:10 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Funding college late
Replies: 58
Views: 5708

Re: Funding college late

Women's gymnastics is a headcount sport, meaning it is a full ride scholarship for those who are good enough to be recruited Division I.

Now, doubtful this person's daughter is heading towards that route with the low amount of money being paid toward his daughter's sport. High level training costs upwards of >$20k a year, not counting all the travel expenses with necessary meets and competitions etc.
by welldone
Sun Aug 13, 2023 2:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Expert Lawyer Cost/Hr and no upper limit? Special Needs Trust
Replies: 53
Views: 4949

Re: Expert Lawyer Cost/Hr and no upper limit? Special Needs Trust

I think your time might be better spent making appts with 3-4 lawyers (different firms) known for trust&estate work. Give them the brief overview of what your estate entails and what you are looking for a trust to accomplish. Find out what each lawyer suggests should happen/what they would do. Ask them to estimate what they think the work would entail, how long it would take, and get an estimate at that point. You may have to pay each lawyer for 30-60 minutes of their time or they may very well offer a free consultation. Knowing lots of lawyers, I cannot imagine any of the ones I know giving an estimate for work without knowing much more about the situation than has been shared here...most honest ones wouldn't do that or if they did the...
by welldone
Fri Aug 11, 2023 11:44 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: If/when to fly business class? (Length of flight vs. cost)
Replies: 207
Views: 26616

Re: If/when to fly business class? (Length of flight vs. cost)

Flying coach is more painful than sitting in a chair and reading. Agree. And also think the difference isn't just in the seating. I flew international business class this past spring and found it well worth the money for all the 'extras' included. Short check in line with exceptionally pleasant agent. Short TSA line (yes you can get this if you have TSA Pre-check, CLEAR or Global Entry) Business class lounge to spend the 3 hours I had until boarding - containing private large clean showers to use, private beds to take a nap, ample seating and power available, decent to good food selections (including produce), made to order meals and drinks also available. Short line for boarding Ample storage space at my seat both above and in the seat it...
by welldone
Thu Jul 20, 2023 8:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Are we buying too much house?
Replies: 216
Views: 17536

Re: Are we buying too much house?

There is no way $25k was spent on the furniture shown in the zillow listing. If you pay that for used furniture, you are going to be giving the owners a handsome profit.

We purchased a 75" TV last year for less than $800. Brand new. Not sure 80" TVs are somehow way better.
by welldone
Sat Jul 08, 2023 3:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Gym accessory Gift suggestions for college girl
Replies: 18
Views: 1860

Re: Gym accessory Gift suggestions for college girl

How about cash and a thoughtfully written card?
by welldone
Wed Jun 28, 2023 7:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Out of state college health insurance.
Replies: 10
Views: 1020

Re: Out of state college health insurance.

The school plans aren't waivable at my children's colleges unless you can prove adequate insurance already held which covers student at college. Looks like your smartest bet would be to take the school offered health care plan.
by welldone
Mon Jun 26, 2023 2:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 Plan during the college years
Replies: 7
Views: 884

Re: 529 Plan during the college years

We are in Illinois and we've continued to contribute to our 529s for the tax credit (up to the limit) even as our children started college.You can definitely use the pass through maneuver to get the credit and immediately use the same money to pay qualified expenses.
by welldone
Sat Jun 24, 2023 7:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cheated out of advance seat assignments?
Replies: 124
Views: 13878

Re: Cheated out of advance seat assignments?

Agree with @afan about the utility of booking flights directly with airlines. Also have only used Chase site to occasionally book hotel rooms when they have good/great deal.

Have flown on Swiss Air within the last 18 months and, unless you are willing to wait until check-in, it costs money to select your seat.

Maybe I'm just old, but I now look at pricing on airlines as deciding on how you want to pay. Do you want to pay in dollars? Prepare to know how much your time and a selected seat is worth to you. If you want to pay in time/comfort (or lack thereof), well... feel free to look for the bargains. But either way - you are going to pay. Just depends on what currency you prefer.
by welldone
Sat May 13, 2023 12:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Overzealous Capital One "consumer protection"?
Replies: 31
Views: 9482

Re: Overzealous Capital One "consumer protection"?

I get a fraud check on my Capital One account every few months or so. Usually just an email asking me to verify a charge (and email tells me if charge was accepted or rejected). Super clear, and fast and easy to resolve.

If you aren't happy with a bank, there are plenty more to choose from. Don't ever feel like you have to stay with one.
by welldone
Wed Apr 19, 2023 9:46 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: College for international relations major (or poly sci)
Replies: 32
Views: 3168

Re: College for international relations major (or poly sci)

If she is interested in IR, you might want her to look into the NSYL-I program: National Security Language Initiative for Youth

https://www.nsliforyouth.org

Gaining foreign language experience can be crucial (and expected). This is a fully funded, highly competitive program - she might really like to investigate it further.
by welldone
Wed Mar 08, 2023 11:04 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: European vacation suggestions, DW/family
Replies: 43
Views: 3937

Re: European vacation suggestions, DW/family

halfnine wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 8:33 am
theplayer11 wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2023 6:12 am why all the London hate? I would chose London over most every other city mentioned here, including Paris.
Well, if the main purpose is for food and culture...then skip London.

Personally, for food and culture, I'd skip Europe altogether but, then again, that is not what the OP asked.
I disagree. If you love Indian, Middle Eastern and Chinese food, London is amazing for food.
by welldone
Tue Feb 14, 2023 2:40 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Personal Finance "Gems" -- What's Yours?
Replies: 49
Views: 8482

Re: Personal Finance "Gems" -- What's Yours?

If you find yourself deliberately parking in outer Siberia when you go to the mall, you bought too much car.
by welldone
Thu Feb 09, 2023 10:44 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1512
Views: 167400

Re: Vanguard Customer Service Win

So your example of great Vanguard customer service is…a case where you didn’t need to contact customer service? As I said, I've read countless threads where people complain about the website or customer service problems. I found the website to be easy to use, the forms I needed easy to find, and the process of opening the type of account I was opening to have been streamlined since I last opened that type of account to make it easier to complete and faster to actually be up and running. Yeah, I'm calling that a win. When a customer who doesn't want to interact with a human is able to complete their tasks without unwanted contact/assistance, that is a huge win for how a website and platform has been developed. Which is all about customer se...
by welldone
Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:52 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard Customer Service Mega-thread
Replies: 1512
Views: 167400

Vanguard Customer Service Win

[merged into existing VG customer service topic - moderator ClaycordJCA] I've read so many stories about Vanguard being difficult and/or problems with Vanguard service on the Bogleheads forum and I wanted to present a differing view from a recent interaction. So often we only hear when things go wrong, I wanted to highlight a time when things went right. My youngest started at their first job last month and needed my help to open a Custodial Roth IRA. Having done this for both older siblings, I remembered it being kind of a pain, with having to fill out paperwork, print it out and then mail it in and wait. Imagine my surprise to find that Vanguard has streamlined the process significantly! Once we filled out the appropriate forms online (e...
by welldone
Sat Dec 10, 2022 12:07 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Is a 529 the right path?
Replies: 162
Views: 14862

Re: Is a 529 the right path?

Before counting on the tuition benefit offered through your wife's employment, I would definitely spend some time learning the ins and outs of the program. Most Tuition Exchange programs with other schools are now highly competitive with relatively few spots available at each school, so just because your wife's employer is part of the exchange group doesn't mean your child will necessarily have access to those other schools. If you are fully funding all tax advantaged accounts to which you have access and you still have remaining funds you are looking to invest - then perhaps a 529 would make sense. For all the sturm un drang regarding worries about overfunding a 529, I've seen precious little evidence of that actually being a problem. I wo...
by welldone
Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:37 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Disneyland Hotels
Replies: 15
Views: 1335

Re: Disneyland Hotels

We stayed at the Fairfield by Marriott on Harbor Blvd when we went to Disneyland. About a 10 min walk to the park entrance, very reasonable cost. Modern, clean rooms.
by welldone
Mon Jul 18, 2022 12:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Do I have to pre-purchase seats for travel to Europe on Delta?
Replies: 32
Views: 3130

Re: Do I have to pre-purchase seats for travel to Europe on Delta?

You say your tickets show seat assignments. If your tickets show seat assignments (and they are next to one another) then there shouldn't be a problem. If your seat assignments aren't next to one another and you need to pay $40 to get seats together, I would highly recommend paying the $40 per seat. You're flying to Europe, $40 seems like it should be within your bailiwick. You can always try to just move each child next to an adult rather than everyone together if you want to save some money. If you don't have specific seat assignments, I would highly recommend paying the $40 per person to confirm seat assignments. Passengers with a confirmed ticket (without seat assignment) are lowest on the totem pole during overbooked flight situations ...
by welldone
Sun Jul 17, 2022 9:11 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Morocco or New Zealand
Replies: 23
Views: 2527

Re: Morocco or New Zealand

If money is no object, I would say just chose the one that sounds better to you. However you are going to be able to have a much more luxurious vacation in Morocco than you would in New Zealand for the same amount of money. So part of the calculation should be how much you want to spend and the experience you want to have. What level of accommodation? What class for your flights? What kind of eater are you, and what kind of food do you like to eat (Morocco definitely geared toward meat eaters, harder to eat vegetarian there than in New Zealand). I think North Africa is gorgeous but trying to compare Morocco and New Zealand is very much apples v oranges. December won't be too cold in Morocco unless you are planning on doing a lot of touring ...
by welldone
Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way
Replies: 163
Views: 14560

Re: Applying to CS colleges the Boglehead way

I’m not suggesting that OP’s son would be accepted to Yale. But, my son’s acceptance was all of 7 years ago, so not ancient history. In college admissions, 7 years is ancient history. Yale's acceptance rate went from around 8% when your son was applying to just over 4% accepted this year. My daughter went through the admission cycle very successfully in 2020 with a large merit award given to her at the school she ultimately chose. That same merit award she received just two years ago is now significantly smaller for new applicants. As schools have more applicants, they don't necessarily have to offer the same incentives, even to their strongest applicants. I am not surprised by the negative results this family has been shown by their GC in...
by welldone
Mon Apr 18, 2022 11:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Decision
Replies: 225
Views: 20992

Re: College Decision

I think being a parent with decisions like this is to clearly remove choices that aren't going to work (angst or not). She can be mad at you, she can blame you...what she won't be able to do is take out tons of debt for a mediocre school. A big part of parenting is being willing to be the 'bad guy' when your child is unable or unwilling to make a tough choice.

She has several very good, affordable choices available to her. She can choose one of those or she can choose to not go to school and figure out a different plan. There's nothing requiring her to start college this coming fall. Maybe what she really needs is the gift of time. Time and a paying job while she thinks about next steps.
by welldone
Mon Apr 18, 2022 12:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College student and career interests
Replies: 7
Views: 667

Re: College student and career interests

There are Hotel/Hospitality degrees (Cornell's school is justly famous). That might be a route to investigate if your child is willing to consider a transfer. If not, they may want to look into applying for internships related to those fields...again if you research hotel/hospitality degrees and programs you will probably be able to find what kind of internships are available.
by welldone
Sat Jan 29, 2022 9:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Financial Planner?
Replies: 49
Views: 4128

Re: College Financial Planner

I don't have any financial advisor advice, but do have a few pieces advice in regards to college costs. 1. Go to a few college websites and look at current costs. I would check out a couple in-state public options, a couple out of state public options and a few private options. Just see what college costs right now and how you feel about that. I would do that before meeting with any financial advisor. 2. Figure out how much you want to pay for college. Before you talk to a financial advisor. Look at this like you might look at a home purchase. I hope you wouldn't depend upon the bank telling you what you can afford, but would rather figure out what you numbers look like based upon your income, your savings and your appetite for risk. 3. Onc...
by welldone
Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:15 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: A speed trap like no other- how to proceed with the citation?
Replies: 48
Views: 4114

Re: A speed trap like no other- how to proceed with the citation?

Before choosing not to pay that ticket, I would make sure an arrest warrant won't be sworn out for ignoring a moving vehicle violation. $275 might be well worth paying to not have to think about legal liability.
by welldone
Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:56 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Disney experience
Replies: 301
Views: 26023

Re: Disney experience

We've done Disney over the years with our three girls when they were younger, our last trip was before our oldest graduated high school (August 2019). They love love love Disney, in large part because we are planners with a capital 'P'. Much below may be out of date with the changes at Disney due to Covid and Genie, but it will give a good idea of the amount of planning needed. No one should go to Disney for a vacation, it is a trip and needs to be planned like a military campaign (including identifying and maintaining supply lines continuously). We extensively used touringplans.com when organizing our trips, from when to go (always pick a 'low' season) to hotel choice and room tips, to dining reservations 180 days in advance and ride reser...
by welldone
Fri Dec 17, 2021 3:39 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Holiday Gifts for Employees
Replies: 40
Views: 3139

Re: Holiday Gifts for Employees

Cash. Cash. Cash.

As someone who gets a birds-eye view of the response to the gifts (other than cash) given to employees, I can say the actual response most often is, "I would rather have had cash".

If you don't want to give the amount of cash your gift would equal (if it seems like too little to give as cash) - then I think most employee would rather a heartfelt written thank you for their hard work rather than something inconsequential they then have to deal with (and give thanks for).
by welldone
Tue Nov 02, 2021 8:15 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early Retirement and College Financial Aid
Replies: 140
Views: 11805

Re: Early Retirement and College Financial Aid

Some of those out of state colleges don't commit to or are unable (due to legislation) to give need-based aid to out of state students. Instead of just trying to game the NPC calculators, you may want to take some time to read the schools financial aid policies regarding students (for both instate and out of state colleges that you are interested in). There are very few public schools that commit to meeting full need, fewer still that commit to meeting full need of out of state applicants. Do more research into financial aid policies of the institutions themselves (not just the federal aid you may qualify for with your machinations). FAFSA is a federal form, it does not compell college institutional aid, nor does it compell colleges to adhe...
by welldone
Sun Oct 31, 2021 12:21 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to lay out a repayment schedule for a loan to the kids?
Replies: 86
Views: 5593

Re: How to lay out a repayment schedule for a loan to the kids?

If I were you, I'd be telling your oldest child that in recognition for her excellent college career (and great job), you are forgiving the $60k 'loan' as a graduation gift.

For your second child, I would be prepared to write a $60k check at graduation, as they saved you $120k over their 4 years from the merit scholarship they earned, while you were only ever going to charge them $60k for their final year so you owe them.
by welldone
Sun Oct 31, 2021 12:06 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Early Retirement and College Financial Aid
Replies: 140
Views: 11805

Re: Early Retirement and College Financial Aid

The one thing I haven't seen mentioned (perhaps I missed it) is that even if you are able to get your income very low via the FAFSA form, that doesn't mean that your child will be given need based aid by the schools he/she applies to. There are less than 100 schools in the US that guarantee to meet full need (as they define it). Most of them require not only the FAFSA, but also the CSS form which delves much more into assets in addition to income. If you are looking at a state school (in or out of state) most of those do not promise to meet full need. Getting a low EFC number (actually SAI by the time it will effect your children) only gives you potentially some Pell grant money (up to $6k per year if you get a 0 EFC), perhaps a subsidized ...
by welldone
Thu Oct 21, 2021 1:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas
Replies: 59
Views: 5568

Re: Kid Friendly Dinner Ideas

We have three kids and they run the gambit from pickiest eater ever to will try anything (more than once). From this, I will say I no longer think my children's eating habit have very much to do with nurture and almost everything to do with nature. We started off only feeding them whole foods and not requiring them to finish their meal. Until you have a young child whose picky eating leads to a failure to thrive diagnosis (no, they won't eat even if they 'really get hungry'), it is really easy to think it must be 'bad parenting' and poor choices. Unfortunately, Miss Picky's eating is difficult because it is tough to get enough calories into a child who loves veggies and (some) fruit, but doesn't care for very many fats, little to no meat, a...
by welldone
Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anxiety over home purchase - Am I buying too much house?
Replies: 113
Views: 12491

Re: Anxiety over home purchase - Am I buying too much house?

I am questioning your property tax numbers as a <$500K home in Mt. Pleasant, SC has a $4k property tax bill

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1264 ... 1266_zpid/

I think you need a lot more information and would be better off renting for 6-12 months when you move than moving into a home where the numbers may not be where you think they are (and what about flood insurance?).
by welldone
Wed Sep 29, 2021 11:11 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1265608

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

When we refi'd with Better, the experience was exceptionally smooth right up until closing, which got postponed almost two weeks due to them being super busy. So saying, even with that two week delay - the entire process was still less than 5 weeks from literal start to finish.

We found the Better team assigned to us was very responsive to direct questions, and if we escalated up the team ladder - things got done quickly and correctly. They were also very responsive even after closing with a question we had about 10 days later.
by welldone
Thu Sep 23, 2021 5:40 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do FAFSA Even Tho Zero Chance of Need-Based Aid?
Replies: 41
Views: 3593

Re: Do FAFSA Even Tho Zero Chance of Need-Based Aid?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrNKUCcPwsY

This is a good podcast that deals with the question of filling out the FAFSA form.
by welldone
Wed Sep 22, 2021 7:25 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Do FAFSA Even Tho Zero Chance of Need-Based Aid?
Replies: 41
Views: 3593

Re: Do FAFSA Even Tho Zero Chance of Need-Based Aid?

The only upside we could see was if we wanted our children to take out the Federal loans available only if a FAFSA is filled out. We did not want our children to take out loans for undergrad, so we saw no upside to filling out the forms. There are plenty of schools that DO NOT require the FAFSA for merit aid. Our oldest's initial school list had over two dozen schools on it, none of them required FAFSA for merit aid consideration. There were many many more that didn't make her list. Our oldest has been offered jobs on her college campus. Again, no FAFSA form needed to be filled out - an I-9, yes, but no FAFSA. If you don't want to share your financial information with the schools your child is applying to, don't fill out the FAFSA or CSS fo...
by welldone
Mon Sep 20, 2021 5:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Family LLC and FAFSA question
Replies: 5
Views: 1378

Re: Family LLC and FAFSA question

With our oldest child's college search, we looked exclusively for merit aid which didn't require filing the FAFSA or any other financial disclosures. Unlike a common claim on this site, there are plenty of schools that offer merit aid without requiring the filing the FAFSA or CSS forms . It is pretty easy to find out which schools don't require financial disclosures. Go to the financial aid section on the school websites and look for merit scholarship information. Schools are pretty transparent on whether they require FAFSA filing or not for merit aid. The other place to look is on the CDS (Common Data Set) of each school your child is interested in. You can find out how many students (and how much on average) is given in non-need aid in Se...
by welldone
Wed Sep 15, 2021 8:45 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: 2 teacher household with a low income year coming in 2022 due to 3rd child
Replies: 20
Views: 3895

Re: 2 teacher household with a low income year coming in 2022 due to 3rd child

Looks like you could probably easily refinance to 3% or lower on a 15 year mortgage - not sure how much longer you have on your current mortgage, but you are paying a way too high rate.
by welldone
Tue Sep 07, 2021 12:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Driving from NY to Fort Myers
Replies: 25
Views: 2840

Re: Driving from NY to Fort Myers

If you use AAA, you have access to their trip planner tool which can help plan out not only your route but where good stopping/resting/eating places are.

https://triptik.aaa.com

It allows you to plan rest stops by time or distance and gives you lists of restaurants and hotels on route.

Our current favorite hotel chain to use as a stopover during road trips like the one you are considering are the Drury Hotels. Clean, reasonably priced, breakfast and evening 'kick back' included if you don't want to find a restaurant for dinner.
by welldone
Thu Aug 12, 2021 5:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Passport renewal time - what’s the current time frame?
Replies: 203
Views: 31043

Re: Passport renewal time - what’s the current time frame?

Passport application (non renewal) submitted July 22nd

Passport received August 12th

Expedited service requested