Search found 306 matches

by bryansmile
Tue Jan 16, 2024 2:31 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Timing of 529 Plan Contribution vs Withdrawal
Replies: 4
Views: 427

Re: Timing of 529 Plan Contribution vs Withdrawal

toddthebod wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:31 pm
bryansmile wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:13 pm
barnaclebob wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:06 pm
Im having trouble understanding why you would would put money into a 529 and then immediately withdraw it. Are there tax deductions for 529 contributions or something?
Yes, for state income tax deduction.
Depends on the state. Wisconsin, for example, does not allow a deduction for funds distributed within 365 days of a contribution.
Not an issue in this case.
by bryansmile
Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Timing of 529 Plan Contribution vs Withdrawal
Replies: 4
Views: 427

Re: Timing of 529 Plan Contribution vs Withdrawal

barnaclebob wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:06 pm
Im having trouble understanding why you would would put money into a 529 and then immediately withdraw it. Are there tax deductions for 529 contributions or something?
Yes, for state income tax deduction.
by bryansmile
Tue Jan 16, 2024 12:40 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Timing of 529 Plan Contribution vs Withdrawal
Replies: 4
Views: 427

Timing of 529 Plan Contribution vs Withdrawal

Hi, I have a 529 account with my kid as the beneficiary, the account currently has $10k in it. I will pay $20k in college tuition from my bank account later this month for this spring semester and plan to get reimbursed from the 529 plan. However, due to special circumstances I'll have to delay the 10k in new 529 contributions until February. Is that February contribution eligible to be withdrawn against the tuition paid in January? Thank you for any insight!
by bryansmile
Sat Nov 05, 2022 10:20 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]
Replies: 603
Views: 89367

Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

AllMostThere wrote: Sun Oct 09, 2022 6:55 am Looks like I can only use PayPal to pay my Municipal Water Bill and not my property taxes. PayPal keeps asking for account number, so I enter my property ID and it indicates "account not found". Was hoping to get some nice CC 2% reward going this route, but alas NO. It's okay as I just paid my quarterly water bill ~ $300 with Chase Freedom and earned ~ $15 in cash back due to the CF quarterly 5% PayPal bonus. I like free money :moneybag :greedy
Try different variations of your account number, like removing the dash signs or the 0 as the first of a series of numbers. If this is for your second installment, add a -2 to the end. It has worked for me.
by bryansmile
Sat Nov 05, 2022 7:49 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]
Replies: 603
Views: 89367

Re: [Using PayPal to pay bills and earn 5% on credit cards]

Has anyone paid via Paypal Bill Pay on a Saturday? What's the transaction date (not post date) on your credit card? I'm trying to take advantage of the extra 2% on BoA cards (today only) but on Paypal bill pay it says "Payment processing reminder Your account will be credited within 2 business days."
by bryansmile
Tue Mar 30, 2021 4:00 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Which State is counted for In State tuition?
Replies: 55
Views: 3673

Re: Which State is counted for In State tuition?

Brigham Young University is within your budget.
by bryansmile
Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:49 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private
Replies: 163
Views: 11010

Re: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private

nigel_ht wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 7:37 am
If you want the high salaries and RSUs you need to be where FAANG is recruiting for both internships and employment. Going to Stanford or MIT is far better than UIUC or Georgia Tech. UC Berkeley is an outlier but I’d put it into the elite category.

I’d much rather be at UIUC or GT than Brown...but I’d rather be at Harvard, Yale or Princeton than UIUC or GT even if the programs are ranked lower.
You forgot SJSU where FAANG regularly recruits.
by bryansmile
Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:29 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private
Replies: 163
Views: 11010

Re: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private

The major is CS. All of the average starting salary data is from https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/ . We checked the data from college scorecard with what the schools reported, and the figures were fairly close when we were able to find them. Ivys: Brown - $153,718 Columbia - $103,078 Cornell - $122,485 Dartmouth - $113,015 Harvard - $128,737 Penn - $138,932 Yale - $122,038 Top 10 Public Flagships: UCB - $125,388 UCLA - $110,878 Georgia Tech - $91,152 Illinois - $101,512 Michigan - $94,281 Washington - $101,221 Your numbers are skewed. You are listing the highest salaries for the Ivy graduates while average salaries for the public schools. That's hardly fair, isn't it? http://career.engin.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2019/04/annualr...
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private
Replies: 163
Views: 11010

Re: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private

MathIsMyWayr wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 6:27 pm
Why does a student at an Ivy have to major in engineering? Why does an engineering major choose an Ivy?
Why does a student at an Ivy have to major in education? Why does an education major choose an Ivy?
Why does a student at an Ivy have to major in nursing? Why does a nursing major choose an Ivy?
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 6:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private
Replies: 163
Views: 11010

Re: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private

If such a comparison existed, it might be worth looking at. But I think you're missing how selective the Ivies are. As I indicated above is 0.75% of US college students. For illustration, I know dozens of people from my town that went to a state flagship, but I know of exactly one that went to an Ivy. State Us are typically bigger and funded by the state and designed to take many students in state. How many students are at the state U and how much room does the Ivy have? Right, that's my point. If you want to find the benefit of (e.g.) going to an Ivy, you have to compare similar students. If you're not explicitly considering those who got admitted to Ivies, you have to construct a similarity selective criteria. Yeah, my kid skipped ivy an...
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 5:49 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private
Replies: 163
Views: 11010

Re: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private

AnEngineer wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 5:23 pm
If such a comparison existed, it might be worth looking at. But I think you're missing how selective the Ivies are. As I indicated above is 0.75% of US college students. For illustration, I know dozens of people from my town that went to a state flagship, but I know of exactly one that went to an Ivy.
State Us are typically bigger and funded by the state and designed to take many students in state. How many students are at the state U and how much room does the Ivy have?
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 5:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private
Replies: 163
Views: 11010

Re: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private

Though a college eduation is more than earning a ticket to a job, let's focus on jobs. If the intended field is a high demand area such as engineering, business, software, IT ,,, it may not matter where he goes for college. They need thousands and thousands of faceless hires. However, if he is looking at areas of low demand and high competition, colleges matter a lot. You only have to look at those at high level positions for any administration. Or "important" or "influential" people of society. A vast majority of them are from top universities, whether undergraduate or graduate programs. Top tier universities are not called top tier for no good reason. If you are shooting for the top, you have to aim high. I'm one of t...
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 1:43 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private
Replies: 163
Views: 11010

Re: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private

phinanciallyfit wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 1:32 pm
True, but often times a graduate student has had less time to develop a class compared to faculty who have taught the course repeatedly. In my experience, teaching faculty are usually the best because they are committed to teaching, can teach the class many times to continue it's development, and have fewer other demands (i.e. research). Adjucts can be amazing, but they are often over worked and they dont have the job security to know how much to invest in a class that they may never teach again.
I'm not sure about engineering professors who engage in little research though. It may work in humanity studies, but not engineering.
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 1:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private
Replies: 163
Views: 11010

Re: Careers - Flagship State vs Top Tier Private

Another data point for you. I went to a top tier private school, and I think it was the best decision for me . I agree with a lot of the things you've said, and it might have been the best path for you when the cost was low. But I can also safely say the same learning and grinding experience has been repeated over and over again at top public engineering universities. Now look at their cost vs private schools' cost... To me, if the kid is applying to engineering programs, there's always a public school that fits him/her. Sure, they might be taught by TAs, but most the upper level major classes at the top schools are taught by faculty members, many top experts in their field. We have toured a few private schools with good engineering progra...
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 10:45 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?
Replies: 7203
Views: 1413528

Re: What's Your Credit Card Rewards Strategy?

My town takes Paypal for property taxes with a sub 3% fee. Is there any way to use the BoA Cash Rewards card for the Paypal payment and get the 5.25% back?
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [GameStop GME trading mega-thread]
Replies: 5086
Views: 396787

Re: GameStop GME: anyone joining?

Hyperchicken wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:48 am Just checked on Merrill Edge. It let me submit a buy order for GME. So, not all brokerages are in on blocking buy orders.
Merrill Edge has been great this week, when Vanguard couldn't handle the trade volumes, my transactions at Merrill went without a hitch.
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:50 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: [GameStop GME trading mega-thread]
Replies: 5086
Views: 396787

Re: GameStop GME: anyone joining?

I bought some and sold enough to cover my cost. Whatever I get in the end is just profit.
by bryansmile
Tue Jan 26, 2021 4:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Town A vs Town B
Replies: 75
Views: 6205

Re: Town A vs Town B

We live in "Town B" and it has been great. Sure there are drugs in the schools (it's everywhere though, rich or poor) and kids driving $50k cars, but there are also kids from middle class families, whom ours chose to surround themselves with. The thing about wealthier towns is their schools have more resources and opportunities all around. My kids were heavily involved in sports and clubs not available in "Town A's" and even went to national and international competitions. I also want to add that because our public schools pay teachers very well, we tend to get great teachers, but that doesn't mean town A's don't have good teachers.
If you can afford it, move to Town B.
by bryansmile
Fri Jan 22, 2021 10:48 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?
Replies: 51
Views: 5337

Re: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?

testing321 wrote: Fri Jan 22, 2021 10:35 am At grocery stores we get 5% CB one quarter per year from Discover and Chase Freedom and use the regular Amex Cash Blue the other two quarters. Also we buy a lot of groceries at stores not coded as grocery stores. So for us it was never worth the annual fee for the preferred card.
Do you shop at one of those "superstores"? If you do online grocery pickup at Walmart, it could be counted as supermarket purchase. You'll just have to try it first.
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 21, 2021 3:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?
Replies: 51
Views: 5337

Re: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?

Nate79 wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 1:20 pm I've had good luck with this card in a few ways. First, when the annual fee posts I call and request any deal or credit they have. This time they had a $50 credit for spending some small amount. In the past when there was no credit I have downgraded to the free card and sure enough within 6 months I have gotten an email asking if I want to upgrade and receive some spending bonus ($250 statement credit after spending $1000 in 3 months). So when the next annual fee comes around I plan to continue this strategy.
My renewal is mid-year. Is it a good strategy to try to get to the 6k cap in a few months and downgrade at renewal?
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 21, 2021 3:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?
Replies: 51
Views: 5337

Re: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?

I'm a little confused by other Bogleheads' lack of love for the Amex Blue Cash Preferred as it's my favorite cashback card, and I also have the Citi Doublecash as my "everything else" card. I max out that $6k on groceries to earn the full 4.4% on groceries net of the annual fee, and also earn 6% on streaming, and also earn 3% on parking, gas, and mass transit. But the biggest boost for me is the Amex Offers. Am I the only Boglehead who goes ape over the Amex Offers? Every few weeks I sign up for more on stuff that I'd buy anyway, only I'll just make sure to use my Amex. For example, they seem to time their 10% Insurance offer perfectly with when I pay my umbrella insurance every year. They had a neat Shop Small offer in July that...
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 21, 2021 3:12 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?
Replies: 51
Views: 5337

Re: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?

Jags4186 wrote: Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:32 pm
Not sure what you mean? The 6% category maxes out at $6k/yr. So you’re doing that. You should switch to another card after $6k because then the reward rate drops to 1%.

$360 - $95 = $255/$6000 = 4.25% cashback which is better than 3.5% cashback with cash rewards and PH.
What I was trying to say is we no longer go into the store and our grocery shopping is almost always done online, which gets 5.25% with the BoA card online shopping category.
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 21, 2021 12:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?
Replies: 51
Views: 5337

Is Amex Blue Cash preferred card still worth keeping?

Nowadays my family's grocery shopping pretty much consists of assembling the order online and picking it up at curbside, or having it delivered. Our grocery expense is no more than $2k each quarter. So the Amex BCP card, when compared with the BoA Cash rewards card at the platinum honors level, doesn't seem to be worth the $95 annual fee. I also figured if we need additional space for grocery or online shopping, I'll just get another BoA card which is free. What do you think? Are you still keeping the Amex BCP card?
by bryansmile
Fri Jan 08, 2021 7:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Instacart Problem
Replies: 25
Views: 2384

Re: Instacart Problem

On my pc, I sometimes couldn't log into my instacart account using Chrome, and the problem would disappear after switching to Microsoft Edge. So maybe a different browser app will help.
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 07, 2021 1:16 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Mega Thread
Replies: 12862
Views: 1265504

Re: Refinance Mega Thread

Indi808 wrote: Thu Jan 07, 2021 1:11 pm If a small cashout is needed (somewhere between $50k-$100k), would you recommend doing a refi at a higher rate (2.875) or a straight rate/term refi at 2.625 and getting a HELOC after?
I would go the cash out route since you can always refinance again and next time it won't be cash out refinance any more.
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 07, 2021 11:14 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Rice Cooker
Replies: 86
Views: 10054

Re: Rice Cooker

Get the smallest (3 qt) instant pot when it's on sale. It doesn't take up much space, and the stainless steel inner pot interior is hard to find for a good rice cooker in that price range.
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 07, 2021 11:02 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Front loading retirement accounts
Replies: 19
Views: 2405

Re: Front loading retirement accounts

My employer does not true up, so I front load the 401k and only adjust my contribution % once or twice later, to have enough contributions in order to get the maximum company match. It worked really well last year with bonus paid in March...
by bryansmile
Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:35 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Refinance Feedback
Replies: 5
Views: 552

Re: Refinance Feedback

I would do a cash out refinance and pay off the car loan.
If the 457b is a good plan, I'd go with the 30 year mortgage and contribute the extra $ into the 457b.
by bryansmile
Wed Dec 30, 2020 6:41 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: The Case Against 529's
Replies: 219
Views: 18626

Re: The Case Against 529's

I have a high school senior who's already received significant merit scholarship from a top ranked school. Still waiting to hear from other schools but I'm already starting to wonder what to do with the 529...
by bryansmile
Mon Nov 09, 2020 7:30 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Banking needs for college student
Replies: 15
Views: 1389

Re: Banking needs for college student

CheeseHeadInParadise wrote: Sun Nov 08, 2020 9:44 pm One other factor is the very good chance that my daughter will spend at least one semester overseas.
Get a free Schwab checking account and a debit card which has unlimited ATM fee refund worldwide (many banks/CUs will only refund domestic ATM fees, not foreign ATM fees). It has no foreign transaction fees either. There are other good features that you can read up on their website.
by bryansmile
Wed Jul 01, 2020 4:44 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Worth it to refinance?
Replies: 10
Views: 1289

Re: Worth it to refinance?

proud2serve wrote: Wed Jul 01, 2020 3:50 pm

The CONs of refinancing: longer term 10 years vs. 6 years and 10 months left from original mortgage, high closing costs.
I can take the amount saved each month and pay extra on the mortgage, so I can pay it off sooner than 10 years.
With the refinance, if you make the same payment amount each month as you are paying now, it will take less than 6 years and 10 months to pay it off. To me it's worth it. I'd ask about the no cost refinance option though. The rate will be higher than with cost.
by bryansmile
Tue Jun 30, 2020 5:13 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Where to invest $25k at this moment?
Replies: 17
Views: 3423

Re: Where to invest $25k at this moment?

nasa fcu 9 month cd at 1.5%.
by bryansmile
Tue Jun 30, 2020 11:38 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is the best financial decision you ever made?
Replies: 212
Views: 21581

Re: What is the best financial decision you ever made?

Sticking with 30 year mortgages and applying extra cash toward maxing out HSAs and various retirement accounts since early career days.
by bryansmile
Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:52 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New laptop/desktop for [Work From Home]?
Replies: 58
Views: 5432

Re: New laptop/desktop for [Work From Home]?

unstoppable wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 11:05 pm I think after a ton of paralysis in the analysis ...

I’ve found one I really like (love lightweight):

Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light Laptop, 14" Full HD IPS, AMD Ryzen 7 4700U Octa-Core Processor with Radeon Graphics, 8GB LPDDR4, 512GB NVMe SSD, WiFi 6, Backlit Keyboard, Fingerprint Reader, SF314-42-R9YN https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086KKKT15/re ... -Eb5BGQ9N5

Thoughts on this one and price?
Folks, what about this one compared to the Acer above? Thanks.
https://www.costco.com/.product.100575638.html

Costco PCs come with additional warranty.
by bryansmile
Wed Jun 24, 2020 3:03 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: When does purchasing Umbrella Insurance Coverage makes sense?
Replies: 108
Views: 8698

Re: When does purchasing Umbrella Insurance Coverage makes sense?

simplesimon wrote: Wed Jun 24, 2020 12:46 pm

Did the cost of umbrella insurance go up more than it would've cost to get $2 million in coverage? I assume auto insurance rates went up as well?
Typically when the lawsuit settles it's already 2+ years since the auto accident. Some auto insurance companies have a 3-year look back on your driving history, so your auto insurance rate would increase at first but then come back down after passing the 3 year mark. not sure about umbrella.
by bryansmile
Wed Jun 24, 2020 2:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help me decide whether or not to refinance
Replies: 34
Views: 2219

Re: Help me decide whether or not to refinance

We've always done the 30 year mortgage and never paid extra toward the principal. The $209/month savings might seem trivial now, but will be very helpful if you lose your job. Also I agree you should look again for a no cost refi rate.
by bryansmile
Wed Jun 24, 2020 12:10 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Choosing a university/college for my son a future Computer Science Major
Replies: 212
Views: 25287

Re: Choosing a university/college for my son a future Computer Science Major

Doubleeagle4me wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2020 1:22 pm Go to Ohio state. With his act scores he gets in state tuition. Go bucks!
I'm interested in this. What is the criteria for getting in state tuition at osu as an out of state?
by bryansmile
Wed Jun 24, 2020 10:41 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Premium sunglasses -any data to support purchasing
Replies: 4
Views: 528

Re: Premium sunglasses -any data to support purchasing

applies to all glasses:
https://www.2020institute.com/why-are-e ... expensive/
That's why I only get my family's glasses online or at costco.
by bryansmile
Wed Jun 17, 2020 4:31 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: New Moving Boxes
Replies: 32
Views: 2658

Re: New Moving Boxes

We have these https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-27-Gal- ... /205978361
They are cheap, tough, easy to clean, hold a ton, and last a long time. When my son went to college, we used them as checked luggage and they survived the flight.
by bryansmile
Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do I get the best mortgage?
Replies: 32
Views: 5194

Re: How do I get the best mortgage?

snailderby wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:36 pm
poundwise wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:20 pm I have the exact same question, and am just at the earliest stages of research. This whole thing seems like a really annoying process that involves too much time calling people, investing in understanding fees, hidden and otherwise, etc. Blech.

Has anyone tried better.com? They claim to help cut through the red tape.
If you search for "better mortgage" in the search bar in the top right, you'll find several threads on people's experiences with Better. And make sure you compare all lender-dictated fees, not just the origination fee, when you compare lenders.
+1.
To save time comparing offers, I'd just ask for their no cost refi rate.
by bryansmile
Mon Jun 08, 2020 1:35 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How do I get the best mortgage?
Replies: 32
Views: 5194

Re: How do I get the best mortgage?

Yes, it takes time the first time around since you want to find the bank/broker that offers the best rates and has a working style that meet your expectations. After that, every time your refinance, it'll be a short call list. To me, the work is worth it since it saves me thousands of dollars.
by bryansmile
Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wood blind alternatives to Hunter Douglas?
Replies: 11
Views: 1326

Re: Wood blind alternatives to Hunter Douglas?

I don't understand why people are willing to spend thousands on their window coverings.
It's easy to measure the window sizes, order online and install yourself. I've replaced my 30+ window coverings with 2" wood blinds from JCP and found them to be a good value.
Edit: I see jcp is not a good option right now with their limited product selections. Try select blinds and order a set first to see if you like it.
by bryansmile
Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:52 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Instacart Question
Replies: 27
Views: 2605

Re: Instacart Question

I've still not done it and was wondering how I as the consumer can be assured of the shopper's ability to maintain cold and perishable items in transit and delivery? Thanks We've done instacart, target groceries, amazon prime now almost weekly since the lock down back in March. We've done it prior but to less of a degree. They all use cooler bags and when it is hot, some will place frozen water bottles inside the cooler bags. Just make sure you are at home to bring the groceries in as they will leave it in front of your door. I'm surprised to read this. Are the cooler bags the norm? I've shopped through instacart every 2 weeks since March, the shoppers have never used cooler bags to keep things cool, not even the green instacart bags. They...
by bryansmile
Fri Jun 05, 2020 3:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College in fall
Replies: 549
Views: 56805

Re: College in fall

stoptothink wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 3:21 pm
Does anybody (currently) charge lower tuition for online courses? All the universities I am intimately familiar with don't.
I know OSU charges instate tuition for online courses this summer only. Note they are remote learning courses even before the pandemic, and used to have much higher tuition rates for OOS students.
by bryansmile
Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:55 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 Plan Strategy
Replies: 30
Views: 2789

Re: 529 Plan Strategy

lazynovice wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:36 pm
We personally did not fund any 529s until we were maxing our our 401(k)s.
Same here, maxed 401k, HSA, Roths and educational IRAs before funding 529s to the max allowed in tax deduction by our state.
by bryansmile
Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:42 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Are you still going to the grocery store or using a delivery service? Which?
Replies: 329
Views: 30557

Re: Are you still going to the grocery store or using a delivery service? Which?

I use Instacart and they shop at Big Y. I now get my groceries within an hour or 2 of when I order. I always tip generously because I do appreciate having this option. My husband has numerous conditions that would make it really bad if he got it, so I am very careful as well. I can authorize substitutions as they shop. I plan on continuing this until I feel the risk is very low, but I miss grocery shopping myself as well.The tip makes it expensive, not the delivery fee, but it's worth it for me. On my last order the delivery fee was $3.99, service fee was $5.35. I tipped 20% of my total bill. Have you tried their monthly membership? For $10 a month you get unlimited free delivery for $35+ orders from any store, for a low service fee( <2%)....
by bryansmile
Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:45 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Adding Canadian Citizenship - any downsides?
Replies: 99
Views: 9353

Re: Adding Canadian Citizenship - any downsides?

oldfort wrote: Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:11 pm Pro
- She may be able to travel on a Canadian passport.

Maybe
- You would need to verify this. If your kids are Canadian citizens and decided they wanted to go to college in Canada, is it possible their citizenship would result in lower college costs?
Know a kid who goes to a TOP univ in Canada because his mom was born there. The tuition? <10k, much less than our not so great in-state univ. So definitely a big plus.
by bryansmile
Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:57 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Experience w/ Medical Lab Sciences major in college?
Replies: 5
Views: 640

Experience w/ Medical Lab Sciences major in college?

Knowing no one working in this field, I'm just curious if it's a good major for someone interested in biology for undergrad study and has no plans for grad school.
Any personality traits are particularly important to be successful in this field? Thank you.
by bryansmile
Sun May 31, 2020 3:31 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College tuition- DIY or pay a professional?
Replies: 15
Views: 2508

Re: College tuition- DIY or pay a professional?

Pdxnative wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 2:29 pm
bryansmile wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 1:43 pm ...

Also very important, Roth IRA does not get counted in your FAFSA as assets while 529s do.
However, those who will need the money to pay for college, and who think they will qualify for need based aid, need to be careful here. Financial aid formulas “tax” savings at 5-6% and income as high as 40+%. By hiding savings in retirement funds, and then converting that savings into income during the first few years of college, aid-eligible parents will be reducing their financial aid significantly.
Be smart, use Roth in your last year of college.
by bryansmile
Sun May 31, 2020 1:43 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College tuition- DIY or pay a professional?
Replies: 15
Views: 2508

Re: College tuition- DIY or pay a professional?

OP,
I'd max the retirement accounts first. Roth IRA contributions can be withdrawn tax free after 5 years, and its earnings tax free in several situations such as for educational purpose. I view my Roth as both a retirement account and 529 backup in case our 529 balances are not enough. Here's a more detailed explanation: https://www.schwab.com/ira/roth-ira/withdrawal-rules

Also very important, Roth IRA does not get counted in your FAFSA as assets while 529s do.