Terrible for Colorado.
They basically flip up Colorado Department of Revenue documents that you're expected to read, understand, and apply to your tax form.
Last year, I had trouble with the pension exclusion and the charitable deduction (which works differently in Colorado than it does federally).
I do better just by filling out the Colorado form and filing it online.
OTOH, when I helped DD complete NY & NYC taxes, which are incredibly complex, it did a great job.
I suspect they put more effort into the software for higher-population states.
Search found 450 matches
- Sun Jan 15, 2023 10:11 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How reliable is TurboTax for state taxes?
- Replies: 45
- Views: 3974
- Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Do we need Private College counsellor for High School Sophomore?
- Replies: 73
- Views: 6714
Re: Do we need Private College counsellor for High School Sophomore?
I am a college counselor. Most students don't need one. :happy Particularly with respect to CS, it could be important for a middle-of-the-road student at a strong California public high school to look farther afield than the UC campuses. They weigh extracurricular/work/volunteer/family responsibilities quite heavily at most of the campuses, and they put substantial emphasis on grades using the A-G matrix and their own GPA formula. CS admissions are very hard except for Riverside and Merced. Cal Poly SLO has an exceptionally low admission rate for CS majors, but they don't consider extracurricular involvement in any meaningful way. The new Cal Poly up at Humboldt and Cal Poly Pomona are both easier admissions. SDSU has admitted a number of s...
- Mon May 10, 2021 10:26 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [On-going Scams - Post them here]
- Replies: 1372
- Views: 165425
Re: [On-going Scams - Post them here]
I'm so sorry, 66Sally. You are right, there is a special place in Hell for them.
Maybe your mom would let you block calls from callers not in her address book? That's one way to avoid a lot of fraud.
Maybe your mom would let you block calls from callers not in her address book? That's one way to avoid a lot of fraud.
- Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Undergrad College Options 33k or 15k
- Replies: 45
- Views: 3490
Re: Undergrad College Options 33k or 15k
I've just worked with a student applying to graduate school in clinical psychology. I suspect that when you look at students in selective Ph.D. programs, you will find (as he did) that a large percentage of them earned a master's degree before being admitted to a Ph.D. program. I can't think of an R1 or R2 public university where an interested student couldn't gain significant research experience. Research experience can also be gained on projects at hospitals with associated medical schools, VA hospitals, and quite a few other locations. People want to figure out reasons why it makes sense to pay more for an OOS college. A similar effort put into figuring out how to make great things happen at an in-state, public college can yield great re...
- Sat Feb 27, 2021 4:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Any Boglehead Lessons From the Texas Winter Storm?
- Replies: 226
- Views: 23245
Re: Any Boglehead Lessons From the Texas Winter Storm?
If the heating of the home/water/gas stove is done by Natural gas, it will still would have failed because the Thermostat runs on power and thus would not trigger the heater to start. What is the alternative methods to get away from this power dependency? Also if you have central heat, it still relies on an electric blower to distribute the hot air through the house. Old-style steam boilers get around this issue, but are inferior in normal operation and take up floor space. Only real way to ensure you have HVAC in an outage is to have a pretty beefy generator. My “beefy” 1kw generator, that was $130 on sale at HD, does just fine to power my NG furnace. The electric draw of the furnace peaks at 600w, and averages about 250w. Could you expla...
- Fri Aug 14, 2020 12:11 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: re-applying for IRMAA reduction - when?
- Replies: 1
- Views: 314
re-applying for IRMAA reduction - when?
DH starts Medicare in September.
He received a IRMAA determination letter, but he filed the form to appeal since he retired in December 2019. That appeal was approved and will apply to his Sept - Dec 2020 Medicare premiums.
Does he need to re-apply to have the (same) retirement considered again for 2021? If so, when?
The deluge of paperwork from Medicare has been . He got 3 slightly different in form but the same in amount IRMAA notices before getting notification that his appeal was approved. Even after the appeal was approved, he received a billing notice still expecting the higher amount. The Medicare online portal still shows the higher bill. Should we pay that amount and let them figure it out on the back end?
He received a IRMAA determination letter, but he filed the form to appeal since he retired in December 2019. That appeal was approved and will apply to his Sept - Dec 2020 Medicare premiums.
Does he need to re-apply to have the (same) retirement considered again for 2021? If so, when?
The deluge of paperwork from Medicare has been . He got 3 slightly different in form but the same in amount IRMAA notices before getting notification that his appeal was approved. Even after the appeal was approved, he received a billing notice still expecting the higher amount. The Medicare online portal still shows the higher bill. Should we pay that amount and let them figure it out on the back end?
- Sun Jun 14, 2020 11:53 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Need Landline Phone with "Parental Controls" for 90 yo
- Replies: 19
- Views: 2950
Re: Need Landline Phone with "Parental Controls" for 90 yo
That wouldn't stop robocalls to the landline, though, would it?mmmodem wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 10:28 pm 1. Get a landline. Never disclose the number, not even to your family.
2. Get a Google voice line for free
3. Forward all Google voice calls to the land line. The Google voice number is the number you give out.
You can monitor and set up whatever call blocking, notifications, etc. you want to implement remotely on the Google voice line.
I have a log of every number that calls my parents home.
- Fri Apr 03, 2020 9:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Stimulus help for small businesses, sole proprietors, s-corp etc
- Replies: 627
- Views: 48049
Re: Stimulus help for small businesses, sole proprietors, s-corp etc
We have a multi-member LLC with partnership taxation -- no employees, just myself and my business partner. (Not a spouse.)
Does that make us a business for the purpose of the application date for the PPP?
Does that make us a business for the purpose of the application date for the PPP?
- Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:37 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What is with the printer paper delivery times on Amazon?
- Replies: 39
- Views: 2837
Re: What is with the printer paper delivery times on Amazon?
Staples and Office Depot deliver the next day; maybe sooner if you call.
Supermarkets often sell reams of copy paper.
Supermarkets often sell reams of copy paper.
- Sun Mar 15, 2020 9:23 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Grand Tetons
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1075
Re: Grand Tetons
Coulter Bay Cabins. And rent a canoe/boat for at least a couple of hours.
- Sun Mar 15, 2020 9:21 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Learning Quickbooks
- Replies: 6
- Views: 653
Re: Learning Quickbooks
While looking for clients for my Facebook Marketing business, I see lots of people looking to hire freelance accountants but using Quickbooks online. This may be the only accoutning software that I DONT have eperience with, SAP, Hyperion, Oracle, GP, MAs 500, Sage, X/3 but NOT quickbooks. What is an easy/cheap way to learn quickbooks, I assume I probably have to buy it as well, any coupons or referrals for a cheaper price? Thanks I went from Peachtree (which I believe is now Sage) to QuickBooks. I bought my copy through Amazon and mostly learned it on my own. You can set up a dummy company and practice on it. I don't recall it being that tough of a transition from Peachtree. I am seeing a price of $150 for a single user copy of the program...
- Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:42 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: When does a Roth conversion take place? (Time of day)
- Replies: 5
- Views: 871
When does a Roth conversion take place? (Time of day)
With the market down, I'd like to move some holdings from my traditional IRA to my Roth IRA. I am unclear on WHEN the Roth transaction happens. (I use Fidelity.) Do they wait until close of market? At the time I request it? Nothing is being sold, it is just transferred from one account to the other.
(If end of day, I'd likely wait until closer to end of market day to make the request.)
(If end of day, I'd likely wait until closer to end of market day to make the request.)
- Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:40 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Negotiating hospital PT bill
- Replies: 36
- Views: 3971
Re: Negotiating hospital PT bill
I had PT through my local hospital's PT clinic in December. The initial visit was about $160. Each subsequent visit was $114. 700 seems way, way out of line. I would find out more and see if it is perhaps a billing/coding error.
- Tue Feb 04, 2020 12:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: K1 income and Turbo Tax
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1057
Re: K1 income and Turbo Tax
As a high bracket taxpayer with a bunch of K1s from different business entities, I'd look to a good CPA more from a planning perspective -- are you taking advantage of reasonable options to maximize your longer-term wealth? (I use that phrasing rather than minimizing taxes, because you can minimize taxes in ways that may come back to bite you in the future). The tax returns would be a secondary outcome. I'm a little surprised at the number of families I see (for college planning, not financial planning) who spend good sums for after-the-fact tax prep without meeting with the CPA much earlier along to plan and review strategies. (I don't mean classic investment advice -- more along the lines of whether you should consider various business st...
- Tue Feb 04, 2020 12:08 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: My Social Security login problem
- Replies: 16
- Views: 4873
Re: My Social Security login problem
OK, I was able to log in last night, but I had to go through password change. When I couldn't log in on Sunday it never even asked me the challenge questions, so no clue. All data looks fine -- maybe their system just had a glitch?
- Sun Feb 02, 2020 10:54 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: My Sis is going to Ray James, is this fee right?
- Replies: 94
- Views: 9817
Re: My Sis is going to Ray James, is this fee right?
Ten years ago I would have had a dozen reasons why Raymond James was a terrible idea. In the interim, I've worked with several parents who are absolutely clueless about personal finance who happen to use Raymond James and who have gotten some really good advice on building spending plans. Their financial advisor has helped them determine reasonable college expenditures given their financial situation, appropriate life insurance, and regular monthly investments. It may be the particular R-J firm in our area, but these folks are desperately in need of much hand-holding and guidance, and they seem to be getting that. Yes, it is really expensive. But honestly, some of these folks have been tremendously helped by the structure and support the l...
- Sun Feb 02, 2020 9:43 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: My Sis is going to Ray James, is this fee right?
- Replies: 94
- Views: 9817
Re: My Sis is going to Ray James, is this fee right?
Ten years ago I would have had a dozen reasons why Raymond James was a terrible idea. In the interim, I've worked with several parents who are absolutely clueless about personal finance who happen to use Raymond James and who have gotten some really good advice on building spending plans. Their financial advisor has helped them determine reasonable college expenditures given their financial situation, appropriate life insurance, and regular monthly investments. It may be the particular R-J firm in our area, but these folks are desperately in need of much hand-holding and guidance, and they seem to be getting that. Yes, it is really expensive. But honestly, some of these folks have been tremendously helped by the structure and support the lo...
- Sun Feb 02, 2020 9:20 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: My Social Security login problem
- Replies: 16
- Views: 4873
My Social Security login problem
I just tried to login to mysocialsecurity (one time) and got the following response:
We tried three times to match the information you provided with our records, but were unable to do so. You may try to access the electronic information again after 24 hours. Please verify your personal information again before trying to use this online service.
This suspension will not affect any Social Security benefits you receive. For further assistance, please contact us.
Should I be worried? I tried logging in using the username and password I have for that account that I've used before. I only tried once. I have no idea what the "three times" means.
We tried three times to match the information you provided with our records, but were unable to do so. You may try to access the electronic information again after 24 hours. Please verify your personal information again before trying to use this online service.
This suspension will not affect any Social Security benefits you receive. For further assistance, please contact us.
Should I be worried? I tried logging in using the username and password I have for that account that I've used before. I only tried once. I have no idea what the "three times" means.
- Thu Jan 30, 2020 10:18 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: UMN System Switch from Vanguard Target Date to expensive JPMorgan SmartRetirement Funds, Fiduciary?
- Replies: 31
- Views: 3351
Re: UMN System Switch from Vanguard Target Date to expensive JPMorgan SmartRetirement Funds, Fiduciary?
Perhaps reach out to an investigative reporter?
- Mon Jan 27, 2020 10:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Executor of an estate
- Replies: 86
- Views: 10454
Re: Executor of an estate
I thought that with the basis step-up that there would likely not be significant capital gains to recognize?quantAndHold wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2020 9:44 pm The main thing I would be concerned about with OP’s situation is the tax bill that selling the stock is going to generate. It may not be in the heirs’ interest to sell the stock and generate the tax hit. I would at least ask the 80% heir if that’s what they want before I sold anything.
- Tue Jan 21, 2020 10:48 am
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Paying for College: Option 2, Am I Nuts?
- Replies: 70
- Views: 6883
Re: Paying for College: Option 2, Am I Nuts?
100% on the paid-off mortgage.
- It gives you tremendous flexibility in case life happens in ways you don't anticipate.
- It is a lot easier to cash flow college expenses when you're not also paying a mortgage.
- If you lose your job or have significantly reduced income, home equity may not be counted against you for financial aid for colleges that rely on the FAFSA formula to calculate need. For colleges (primarily selective private colleges) that use CSS/Profile, a number either do not include home equity or cap home equity at some percentage of family income. Either way, home equity is likely to be treated more favorably than money in a 529.
- It gives you tremendous flexibility in case life happens in ways you don't anticipate.
- It is a lot easier to cash flow college expenses when you're not also paying a mortgage.
- If you lose your job or have significantly reduced income, home equity may not be counted against you for financial aid for colleges that rely on the FAFSA formula to calculate need. For colleges (primarily selective private colleges) that use CSS/Profile, a number either do not include home equity or cap home equity at some percentage of family income. Either way, home equity is likely to be treated more favorably than money in a 529.
- Fri Jan 17, 2020 10:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Will contributing to a Roth affect college scholarship amounts?
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1089
Re: Will contributing to a Roth affect college scholarship amounts?
A few clarifications: - Roth 401K contributions are not pre-tax, so they are not "added back" to your income for financial aid purposes -- they are already reflected in your income. (Regular 401K contributions ARE added back.) - We use the prior-prior system for income reporting for the FAFSA. Students who are seniors in high school this year report the income (taxable and non-taxable, parent & student) from 2018 (the tax return due April, 2019) to arrive at an income contribution for the 20-21 year in college. Next year, those students will report income from the 2019 tax year. - Assets are reported with values as of the day the financial aid forms are filed. - FAFSA ignores assets in retirement accounts. Profile asks for the...
- Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Health insurance for elderly immigrants
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1635
Re: Health insurance for elderly immigrants
Would one of the sharing ministries be a possibility? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_ca ... g_ministry
- Fri Jan 10, 2020 10:03 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Tracking basis in your home? How? Receipts fade
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1638
Re: Tracking basis in your home? How? Receipts fade
I remember that one! What I mostly remember is the pain of printing. We had an HP Laserject IIP at work and getting pages set up to print convinced us that HP was getting kickbacks from Boise Cascade on excess paper use. The print macros we built were downright scary. Of course, I was doing all that on my handy Compaq 'luggable" -- and what a joy that thing was to haul through airports.
- Fri Jan 10, 2020 9:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Tracking basis in your home? How? Receipts fade
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1638
Re: Tracking basis in your home? How? Receipts fade
My original basis file was so old it was a printout from Lotus 123 -- and the printer paper had rip-off edges. I guess that makes me really old. (Though at least I'd graduated from greenbar.) Can you import the data from Lotus 123 into a more modern spreadsheet and then continue to keep it updated going forward? In an audit some deference is given to the modality of tracking the improvements along the way, even if some of the receipts cannot be read anymore. What I have is a printout of basis I'd tracked back then...the computer that ran Lotus123 went off to computer heaven decades ago. It might have been from Radio Shack if that tells you anything. I can scan the printout. My checks (and I have pretty much all of them) are still very read...
- Fri Jan 10, 2020 11:15 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Tracking basis in your home? How? Receipts fade
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1638
Re: Tracking basis in your home? How? Receipts fade
Thank you!quantAndHold wrote: ↑Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:29 pm IRS Pub 523, pp 8-9 is what you want.
Roof, yes. Finishing the garage yes. Oven, sounds like it needs to be part of a more substantial remodel. Survey certificates, probably not.
I am married, but our home has appreciated substantially more than $500K. Even with capital gains rates, I'm interested in minimizing tax impact of a sale.
We don't live in a community property state, so I believe we get a 1/2 step-up in basis when the first of us dies.
- Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:17 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Tracking basis in your home? How? Receipts fade
- Replies: 11
- Views: 1638
Tracking basis in your home? How? Receipts fade
I ended up going through the basis file I've kept since buying our home thirty years ago. 1. While I have a decent list of expenditures that increased the basis in our home, quite a few of the receipts have faded to the point of illegibility. I'll scan what I can now, but there are going to be a bunch of expenditures without much documentation. Is that likely to be a problem come tax time after we sell? 2. Some improvements are pretty clear -- we insulated, decked, and drywalled our free-standing garage. What about the fancy and pricey double wall oven we installed to replace the original wall oven/microwave combo? How about the new roof of impact-resistant shingles that replaced the old, simpler roof? 4. Were expenditures for surveying &am...
- Fri Dec 27, 2019 3:09 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Thinking about NOT making 2019 solo 401K contribution
- Replies: 12
- Views: 864
Re: Thinking about NOT making 2019 solo 401K contribution
Can you roll a traditional IRA into a 401K if some of the contributions were made to a traditional IRA? (Some were rollover from another 401k)
Any thoughts on the timing of this? (That is, does the rollover need to happen during 2019 in order to make a backdoor Roth contribution attributed to 2019?)
- Fri Dec 27, 2019 2:19 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Thinking about NOT making 2019 solo 401K contribution
- Replies: 12
- Views: 864
Re: Thinking about NOT making 2019 solo 401K contribution
Backdoor Roth would be great...but we both have large IRA accounts that make that a lot more challenging.
My solo 401K is with fidelity and doesn't have a Roth option.
My solo 401K is with fidelity and doesn't have a Roth option.
- Fri Dec 27, 2019 2:10 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Thinking about NOT making 2019 solo 401K contribution
- Replies: 12
- Views: 864
Re: Thinking about NOT making 2019 solo 401K contribution
We're not eligible for Roth contributions in 2019.whodidntante wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 1:58 pm If you decide against a pre-tax contribution, I would still do a Roth contribution, if available.
- Fri Dec 27, 2019 1:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Investments
- Topic: Thinking about NOT making 2019 solo 401K contribution
- Replies: 12
- Views: 864
Thinking about NOT making 2019 solo 401K contribution
...but would like help thinking it through. US - 64, Married, filing jointly, living in Colorado. Me - self-employed, solo 401K (Traditional, not Roth) DH - newly retired 2019 - solidly 24% federal tax bracket. Colorado is effectively fixed at 4.63%. Making a contribution of $25K (full with catch-up) will not move us down to the 22% tax bracket, but making the contribution would save us $5,500 in federal taxes and $1157 in state taxes. However, I lose $5K in Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction if I make a $25K 401K contribution. Given that we already are looking at larger MRD's down the line than is wonderful, I'm thinking that NOT making a 401K contribution this year is a good idea. I would just toss the funds into our taxable invest...
- Tue Dec 24, 2019 5:06 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Time to replace the Water Heater - Lots of Questions - Help!
- Replies: 77
- Views: 6675
Re: Time to replace the Water Heater - Lots of Questions - Help!
We are at 5500 feet in Colorado. Last month we had 2 Bradford White water heaters installed in parallel. Cost was $4K, work done by a master plumber. It was a long, complicated job. The new water heaters have a larger diameter than the old water heaters and expansion tanks are now required, at least in our town. The city also wanted the gas plumbing handled a bit differently and the water plumbing also needed some changes. We could not do a really high efficiency water heater because that required complicated venting that would have required drilling through a cement foundation. The plumber arrived at 8:15 am and finished right before 6 pm. The city inspector carefully checked the installation and went through the house confirming that we h...
- Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:05 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: [Deleted]
- Replies: 21
- Views: 2440
Re: At last: 529 for Homeschooling
State laws may or may not align with this change. If you take out funds for homeschooling, it may be a qualified withdrawal from a federal perspective, but a non-qualified withdrawal from a state perspective. If you received a state tax benefit for your contribution, the state might claw it back.
- Thu Dec 05, 2019 9:49 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Follow Up: Husband's Surprise Debts
- Replies: 371
- Views: 48482
Re: Follow Up: Husband's Surprise Debts
1. Are all your credit cards and bank accounts set up to notify you via text of all transactions? I would set this up, pronto. We have US Bank for our checking - I suspect you might too given what you said about the HELOC. You can set up an alert for an amount exceeding $X where you get to specify the X. 2. For many services, you can suspend them for a few months without the seeming finality of canceling them. (Cable TV, Audible, ...) 3. Have you pulled a free credit report recently? I would do so. I would also ask your husband to do so. Then, I'd go over both of them just to make sure that there are no more surprises hanging out there. 4. I have my own business in Colorado. I set aside 40% of my gross income for taxes (federal @22% margina...
- Thu Nov 14, 2019 1:16 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Employer requesting increased travel
- Replies: 36
- Views: 3631
Re: Employer requesting increased travel
I've never understood the travel that is done by some people considering all of the other communications means possible. We had guys traveling daily for meetings which could easily been done by phone or video conferences. It is like some managers just can't let go of old methods. Similar to managers who resist allowing employees work from home. I'm a big believer in giving someone tasks and conditions (schedule/budget) and let them do it. The good ones will be productive and the bad ones will be bad at home or in the office. Personally I'd just be honest and say 50% is beyond what you want to do on a regular basis. If some emergency is there than you'd do it once in a while but otherwise use the available technologies to avoid that. And in...
- Sat Nov 09, 2019 9:31 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Seller's agent not letting us use a buyer's agent
- Replies: 122
- Views: 13754
Re: Seller's agent not letting us use a buyer's agent
The issue is the Seller's agent doesn't want to pay your agent a commission when they did all of the work. Why would they? Your agent should have been "dragged" along to all of the showings, that's what they are there for. Redfin agents muddy these waters are they aren't full commission agents and don't offer the same services, but they shouldn't expect to get as such either. The selling agent showed you the house twice, they deserve to get paid for that. You can still submit an offer through them, you should know what you want to pay for the house. The sellers and can take it or not, there isn't much negotiation at that point. Then hire your own attorney and inspector to get an independent review of the house. Your agent did not...
- Fri Nov 08, 2019 9:16 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Roth conversion in year moved out of NYC? How taxed?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 396
Roth conversion in year moved out of NYC? How taxed?
How are state taxes on Roth conversions taxed for an individual who moved from NYC to Colorado mid-way through 2019? (Move was in May; the conversion would be in December.)
- Sat Oct 12, 2019 12:22 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Need help !!! US or Canadian universities?
- Replies: 56
- Views: 4919
Re: Need help !!! US or Canadian universities?
In which state do you live?
What does your son plan to study?
If he took the PSAT 10 or Pre-ACT, what scores did he earn? (For the most part, test scores are very important for driving down the cost of college.)
What does your son plan to study?
If he took the PSAT 10 or Pre-ACT, what scores did he earn? (For the most part, test scores are very important for driving down the cost of college.)
- Sat Sep 28, 2019 11:31 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: How to get a repair estimate for unrepairable items? (Extended warranty claim)
- Replies: 21
- Views: 7112
Re: How to get a repair estimate for unrepairable items? (Extended warranty claim)
We didn't have any issues like this when we made an Amex claim.
- Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:46 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What is protocol for cleaning house when moving?
- Replies: 49
- Views: 4142
Re: What is protocol for cleaning house when moving?
Clean, gardening done, all trash gone.
I would not spackle.
I would not spackle.
- Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:44 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Pay-off mortgage before FAFSA?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 3209
Re: Pay-off mortgage before FAFSA?
You can estimate your FAFSA Expected Family Contribution (EFC) using https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/estimate The real problem is that the EFC is essentially only an index value. Other than qualifying the student for federal student loans & (if the family income is low enough) Pell grants, everything else is determined by the college. At my flagship public university, we regularly see kids with an EFC in the $20K range expected to pay the full cost of attendance ($31K). Private universities that only use the FAFSA typically do not get the costs down to the EFC. OOS public colleges rarely provide true financial aid to OOS students, though they may provide merit scholarships. Selective private colleges don't use the FAFSA to allocate a...
- Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:47 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Title Insurance on Refi
- Replies: 22
- Views: 2334
Re: Title Insurance of REfi
It's not the case that the seller always pays for owners insurance. I think that depends on the state, or possibly even area. I've never seen that on any property I've bought. Title insurance is a pretty big scam in general. The state of IA saw this, and they put into place a much cheaper alternative. It would be good if other states did this. Title simply cannot sell title insurance within the state of Iowa. https://danilsonlaw.com/wont-find-title-insurance-iowa-means-iowas-solution-better/ https://lawreviewdrake.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/strickler_note.pdf I'm not surprised that lawyers (danilson law & the Drake Law Review) think that having lawyers responsible for issuing a title opinion on a title abstract is a good idea -- but I...
- Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Title Insurance on Refi
- Replies: 22
- Views: 2334
Re: Title Insurance on Refi
My owner's title policy paid off in our first year of ownership when a subcontractor filed a mechanics lien after a dispute with the builder on the quality of the work. I sent the notifications to the title insurer and the problem was fully resolved within a month or so.
My neighbors turned out to own part of another neighbor's house due to a bad survey. Somehow the title insurers took care of a fairly complex legal/surveying/adjustment of deeds process to get the situation straightened out for both homeowners -- though I don't know whether it was the lender or the owner's policy that kicked in for that.
My neighbors turned out to own part of another neighbor's house due to a bad survey. Somehow the title insurers took care of a fairly complex legal/surveying/adjustment of deeds process to get the situation straightened out for both homeowners -- though I don't know whether it was the lender or the owner's policy that kicked in for that.
- Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:31 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Emergency medical insurance (Helicopter transport, etc)
- Replies: 32
- Views: 4137
Re: Emergency medical insurance (Helicopter transport, etc)
As an EMS physician, I am well aware of the safety records of rotor wing services. Thank you for the article. One of the reasons why my paramedics cannot request air transport except in very few circumstances. As a former paramedic in the Seattle area, I am bound and determined to not be transported via air unless in the gravest of circumstances for myself or my family. Of course, this goes out the window in the event of an accident or medical incident in which I am not able to control my method of transport. AirLift Northwest is the primary air ambulance service in this area. Most laypeople think it is a non-profit service; it was started by a group of physicians at the University of Washington as a profit-making venture, and make profits...
- Fri Aug 23, 2019 3:11 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Short Term Health Insurance/Asset protection - Advice Needed
- Replies: 13
- Views: 662
Re: Short Term Health Insurance/Asset protection - Advice Needed
Is your spouse employed? Can you get health insurance through your spouse with better conditions?
Your new employer's health plan looks pretty awful. I hope the rest of the benefits package is better.
A short term plan sounds ideal at the moment...but longer term, a better insurance plan might be worth another job change.
Your new employer's health plan looks pretty awful. I hope the rest of the benefits package is better.
A short term plan sounds ideal at the moment...but longer term, a better insurance plan might be worth another job change.
- Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Long-Term Care Decision
- Replies: 332
- Views: 23720
Re: Long-Term Care Decision
Also, the likelihood of one spouse blowing through the entire $1.2 million on LTC is extremely low. "Sweetheart, we don't need long-term care insurance. If you spend most of our retirement savings paying for my care, you'll still have whatever's left over. You'll muddle through somehow after I'm gone." That was precisely what I thought. Whoever dies first potentially uses up a tremendous percentage of the resources and possibly gets higher quality nicer care. The "trailing" spouse gets stuck with whatever's left...and possibly much less nice surroundings as a Medicaid patient. (I don't sell insurance. My MIL did benefit from a CALPERS LTC policy for many years. My FIL didn't have LTC insurance (couldn't qualify) and the...
- Tue Jul 30, 2019 4:00 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Limited Purpose FSA - Ophthalmologist fees?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 559
Limited Purpose FSA - Ophthalmologist fees?
We have an HSA-compatible insurance plan. We also have a Limited Purpose FSA - aka a "HSA-Compatible Flexible Spending Account" in addition to our HSA. The limited purpose account can be used for dental and vision expenses beginning January 1. I have dry eyes, and visit the ophthalmologist 3-4 times a year for ongoing evaluation and treatment. Can I plan to use my Limited Purpose FSA to cover those office visit costs even though they also count toward my health insurance deductible? (I am not trying to also reimburse these expenses from my HSA. I will chuck extra $$ at the FSA if it can be used for this.) The limited purpose FSA is administered through Payflex. I could not find an answer on their website, and the phone center was ...
- Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:15 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Cruise advice?
- Replies: 45
- Views: 4627
Re: Cruise advice?
1. If you like to sip your coffee while it is hot, consider bringing your own travel coffee cups along. Cruiseline coffee cups let the coffee go cold very quickly and you may not want to stay in a location convenient to the coffee urn. We liked having coffee somewhere quiet looking out at the sea. 2. We bought a really cheap closet door shoe holder like this: https://www.amazon.com/24-Pockets-SimpleHouseware-Crystal-Organizer/dp/B01D58DRVC/ref=sxin_2_osp67-70ee7bb5_cov?ascsubtag=70ee7bb5-7fc7-4e5e-b0aa-f031181b088b&creativeASIN=B01D58DRVC&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osp.70ee7bb5-7fc7-4e5e-b0aa-f031181b088b&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_wn=osp-search&keywords=closet+door+organizer&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B01D58DRVC&pd_rd_r=1c817e26-1...
- Sun Jul 14, 2019 8:49 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Recent layoffs and now focus on corporate valuation - are owners looking to sell?
- Replies: 29
- Views: 3161
Re: Recent layoffs and now focus on corporate valuation - are owners looking to sell?
DH's company was sold several weeks after he received a large bonus for outstanding performance. A week after the deal closed, he along with virutally all the other tech staff over 50 were laid off. The remaining folks had the job of teaching the outsource tech staff the business.
I'd get your resume polished up and start looking. Better to find a new job before the economy tanks, imo.
I'd get your resume polished up and start looking. Better to find a new job before the economy tanks, imo.
- Thu Jul 04, 2019 7:36 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Purchasing Major Appliances from Costco
- Replies: 51
- Views: 38163
Re: Purchasing Major Appliances from Costco
We purchased a double wall oven. We had an excellent experience bit primarily because we researched what we needed to do to ensure there would be a smooth installation. Whatever you do, do not assume the appliance specs for height, width and depth are accurate Ours were not. Here’s what we did: 1. We had an electrician check to make sure our breaker and wiring were sufficient to handle the required amps. The electrician was kind enough to remove the oven and get it in our front hallway so it could be hauled away. 2. We Had the appliance measured and installed on site, at our home so the cabinet cutout could be adjusted as needed. In spite of Costco and the manufacturer’s insistence that they would not make modifications to an existing cabi...