Search found 512 matches

by momvesting
Mon Mar 18, 2024 6:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Realtor has ideas and a buyer
Replies: 24
Views: 1806

Re: Realtor has ideas and a buyer

This also depends on the level of remodeling and what the rest of the house was like. Using my own home as an example, ours was a repossession from someone who got caught up in the flipping game. The kitchen, master bath, and half bath were fully remodeled and built ins were added to the family room. Real hardwood floors were installed throughout the house. But one last bathroom was original with a sticky sheet linoleum floor, dark wood vanity, and one of those old bar lights. If I were to sell that way, I would have probably taken a hit, it was pretty out of place compared to the rest of the house. We painted the walls and the vanity, added an inexpensive but modern tile floor, installed new baseboards, and added a new faucet, towel bar, t...
by momvesting
Sun Mar 10, 2024 12:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Transfer Car ownership to daughter or not?
Replies: 41
Views: 4956

Re: Transfer Car ownership to daughter or not?

When we got our teenager’s car, we titled it to me, husband, and/or kid. So all 3 of us own the car and are on the insurance. When she graduates from college she will move out of state and take the car and can retitle it on her own in the new state. I’m curious why more people are not doing that? We are already liable based on the joint insurance. I just figured this meant any of us could sell the car or get it out of impound/claim it if the need ever arose. Joint insurance doesn’t create your joint liability. The joint ownership does. Also the joint ownership doesn’t mean any of you can sell the car. It means all three are necessary to do so. That means for her to sell when see moves out of state you need to gift her your ownership share ...
by momvesting
Sat Mar 09, 2024 12:22 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Transfer Car ownership to daughter or not?
Replies: 41
Views: 4956

Re: Transfer Car ownership to daughter or not?

When we got our teenager’s car, we titled it to me, husband, and/or kid. So all 3 of us own the car and are on the insurance. When she graduates from college she will move out of state and take the car and can retitle it on her own in the new state. I’m curious why more people are not doing that? We are already liable based on the joint insurance. I just figured this meant any of us could sell the car or get it out of impound/claim it if the need ever arose. Joint insurance doesn’t create your joint liability. The joint ownership does. Also the joint ownership doesn’t mean any of you can sell the car. It means all three are necessary to do so. That means for her to sell when see moves out of state you need to gift her your ownership share ...
by momvesting
Thu Mar 07, 2024 10:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Transfer Car ownership to daughter or not?
Replies: 41
Views: 4956

Re: Transfer Car ownership to daughter or not?

When we got our teenager’s car, we titled it to me, husband, and/or kid. So all 3 of us own the car and are on the insurance. When she graduates from college she will move out of state and take the car and can retitle it on her own in the new state. I’m curious why more people are not doing that? We are already liable based on the joint insurance. I just figured this meant any of us could sell the car or get it out of impound/claim it if the need ever arose.
by momvesting
Mon Mar 04, 2024 10:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Large purchase ($200K+) coming up from HomeDepot/Lowes
Replies: 46
Views: 8564

Re: Large purchase ($200K+) coming up from HomeDepot/Lowes

What about Citi Custom Cash?
https://www.citi.com/credit-cards/citi- ... redit-card

5% in your top category and Home Improvement is one of the categories.

Oops, just noticed that’s for the first $500. Not as great as it looked.
by momvesting
Tue Feb 13, 2024 11:04 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Enroll in employer supplemental life?
Replies: 10
Views: 957

Re: Enroll in employer supplemental life?

Check and see if you can get a much lower amount right now without proving insurability and increase the amount later at open enrollment and still not have to prove insurability because you are already on the plan. My husband’s job is like that so we took out a very small amount on each of us just to make sure we could increase it later if we need to. I think we have $50k on him, $25k on me, and $10k on our college-aged child. I can’t remember the exact premium, but it’s really low. I remember the child policy is under $1 biweekly.
by momvesting
Fri Feb 02, 2024 4:22 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: I don't need renters insurance, do I?
Replies: 72
Views: 6459

Re: I don't need renters insurance, do I?

Many years ago I worked in commercial real estate. One of our multi family properties had a major fire caused by a renter leaving a candle unattended. The property’s insurance covered it but had a $100k deductible (large apartment complex) and sued the tenant for the $100k. Her renters insurance paid the $100k. I don’t remember her situation but most of the property was blue collar, so that $100k would have probably bankrupted her if she had not had renters insurance.
by momvesting
Thu Jan 25, 2024 10:41 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Any reason to not superfund 529?
Replies: 47
Views: 4085

Re: Any reason to not superfund 529?

Consider investing some outside of the 529. We have come across quite a few expenses that we are willing to pay but are not 529 eligible such as overseas flights and travel, Uber, sports ticket packages, dues to a professional organization, parking fees, healthcare costs, etc. Although my kid isn’t in a fraternity/sorority, I think a lot of those costs don’t qualify either. I also sometimes will not use the 529 for items that are technically allowable but I just don’t feel like dealing with the hassle if I had to turn in receipts, such as textbooks my kid will buy from other students to save money or sports equipment. It sounds like not much, but over my child’s five year program, I will easily spend $30k+ on things outside the 529.
by momvesting
Thu Jan 25, 2024 7:50 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lowest cost mortgage lender to use for VA Loans? (Better doesn't offer VAs)
Replies: 5
Views: 891

Re: Lowest cost mortgage lender to use for VA Loans? (Better doesn't offer VAs)

This changes constantly but we have used Box Home Loans and National Bank of Kansas City in the past for VA loans and they had the best rates and lowest fees for our situation.
by momvesting
Mon Jan 08, 2024 11:01 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: 529 - DS pays to Univ himself, can we claim from 529?
Replies: 14
Views: 1952

Re: 529 - DS pays to Univ himself, can we claim from 529?

Keep in mind that he might be planning on taking the AOTC since he has his own income. If you take out 100% reimbursement, that is double-dipping and he would have to pay taxes on it.
by momvesting
Mon Jan 08, 2024 10:33 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Questions about saving for kid's education from a newbie
Replies: 9
Views: 1086

Re: Questions about saving for kid's education from a newbie

We are middle income, far less than most people on this board but still nowhere near poverty. Anyway, your husband’s comment about losing financial aid from the government is most likely false. Your income has to be very low to get Pell Grants or other government aid (except GI, but that is based on military service, not income). Now there are many colleges who give private financial aid. My child is currently in a rather expensive private university, but because it has a significant endowment, we pay about the same as we would have paid at our local state school. Our income was far too high to get any government aid or any aid at public universities, but since we chose a private school, we are getting financial aid. That being said, we als...
by momvesting
Mon Jan 01, 2024 8:59 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: UPDATE: Offered a Larger Rental - Please Help Me Decide
Replies: 67
Views: 10336

Re: Offered a Larger Rental - Please Help Me Decide

In my area you can call the local gas and electric company and ask for a high, low, and average utility bill for the previous year at any address. I would do that for the large house and compare it to what you pay now. This could be a much bigger cost difference than the actual rent. Then make your decision after calculating all the costs.
by momvesting
Sat Dec 23, 2023 9:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Financing a car, picking the best (not lease) terms.
Replies: 83
Views: 5157

Re: Financing a car, picking the best (not lease) terms.

Where are you seeing these interest rates for Tesla??
by momvesting
Wed Dec 13, 2023 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Cancun travel Qs
Replies: 19
Views: 3183

Re: Cancun travel Qs

When we went to Cancun, we used our local bank in the US to get pesos before we left. They exchange without fees or surcharges so we were getting 3-4 more pesos per dollar than the hotel or the resort were paying. We used them for tips and small purchases from local vendors, like the trinkets sold at Tulum and Chichen Itza. Other than items booked in advance like transportation, excursions and the resort, we didn’t use a credit card at all. Two random tips: it’s quite common, even at the nicest resorts, to have money and small belongings (like jewelry) go missing. These items are usually safest in your room, not in the safe (which the staff has access to) but tucked away in an unexpected spot. For example, we brought a jacket with zippered ...
by momvesting
Wed Dec 06, 2023 10:03 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Private High School - worth it?
Replies: 164
Views: 27802

Re: Private High School - worth it?

Teacher here, but I teach middle school. First and foremost, any stats or anecdotes prior to Covid are useless and irrelevant. Covid shook education to its core. It resulted in a fast shift in political climate, teacher credential changes, school safety changes, use of tech in the classroom changes, and many more. I sent my own kid to private high school and she graduated in 2020. Now, just three years later, her alma mater is unrecognizable to me. While some things have little to no impact (such as the post-pandemic relaxed dress code), others are huge. For example, her high school embraced online curriculum and never looked back. In many cases the teachers are merely a facilitator and classroom monitor. For self-motivated kids this can be...
by momvesting
Sun Nov 05, 2023 6:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Suggestion for Kids packed lunch?
Replies: 57
Views: 4310

Re: Suggestion for Kids packed lunch?

I used to make this chicken pasta salad: https://www.mynameissnickerdoodle.com/ ... sta-salad/

I would whip up a batch on the weekend and send it all week. It was my daughter’s favorite lunch. The celery and apples make it crunchy and the grapes and honey make it sweet. I mostly followed the recipe but usually used a sweeter apple and used lemon juice (which I would toss the apples in) instead of vinegar. This would keep the apples from turning brown.
by momvesting
Sun Nov 05, 2023 4:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: House is cold at night - need suggestions on what to do!
Replies: 110
Views: 11210

Re: House is cold at night - need suggestions on what to do!

Before you spend a fortune, look at places like Walmart or Target for double curtain rods. Buy regular curtains you like for day time and spring/fall use and a second layer of thick thermal curtains. Do this for glass doors as well. Depending on the number of windows you have and your taste, this should only cost a few hundred dollars.
by momvesting
Sun Nov 05, 2023 9:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: toyota tundra 2022+
Replies: 8
Views: 1210

Re: toyota tundra 2022+

Can’t speak to 2022+, but as far as durability and dependability, we own a 2000 Tundra and two months ago took it on a 700 mile road trip, no problem. It has been worth every penny. We have replaced the alarm and the stereo system twice simply to update it based on our preferences. We like the Bluetooth stereo far better than the CD player we had before and the cassette player it came with, LOL. It has not been babied, we use it all the time to off-road and to haul stuff. It has moved our entire household twice. However we do not and have never owned a trailer, so it has never been used for towing. I remember cringing over the $30k it cost new in 2000 but based on how we’ve used it, it has turned out to be a bargain, and it is still going s...
by momvesting
Sat Nov 04, 2023 8:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How do you watch TV now?
Replies: 45
Views: 4655

Re: How do you watch TV now?

Like you used to, we get several channels free through T-Mobile and our kid’s college. For those we have Netflix, HBO, and Apple. I wait until Black Friday and pick up the Hulu $1.99/month plan. Sometimes when AMEX offers like spend $7.99 or more, get $7.99 back on either Paramount or Peacock is on, I will wait for one of their $25/yr plans and get a year for $17 after the offer, but unless I can get a year under $20, I won’t do it. We don’t watch a ton of TV but I invest about $100/year altogether and it gives us plenty of choices when we want to stay in, pop some popcorn, and watch a good movie, which we usually do one night every weekend.
by momvesting
Wed Oct 25, 2023 7:22 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Building a House -- Review my modular house floor plan
Replies: 53
Views: 6343

Re: Building a House -- Review my modular house floor plan

The bedrooms are tiny! Unless you need 5, I’d rearrange the upstairs to have one less bedroom but bigger rooms and closets.
by momvesting
Sun Oct 22, 2023 4:34 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Advantages of a credit union?
Replies: 37
Views: 4365

Re: Advantages of a credit union?

My local credit union has the highest local APY (5.25) on a 12 month CD. Furthermore, they have a CD product that you can continue to add to. So every few months I’ll open another one with $1k. I use these as placeholders and each time one of mine expires, I can roll it into one of these placeholder CDs for a few more months. Right now I have them expiring in Jan, May, July, and Sept of 2024. The majority of my e fund is in the May CDs. If rates are up I’ll roll them elsewhere when they expire. If rates are down or the same I just roll the money into the next one to expire to get 5.25 for a few more months. A few years back when rates were at all time lows, I rode it out with a CD ladder there of this product that ranged from 2.75 to 3.44 a...
by momvesting
Sun Oct 15, 2023 11:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Two apple watches with one iphone
Replies: 15
Views: 1822

Re: Two apple watches with one iphone

I dislike the silicone band and although I haven’t gotten a rash from it, i have gotten irritated red skin and sweat. I bought a few cloth bands and wear them almost exclusively and only use the silicone one when I will be getting very wet, like swimming or boating. I do take off my watch to shower. I do wish someone would invent some sort of wireless clip on charger, since I wear it to sleep it is difficult for me to have a charging routine.
by momvesting
Sun Oct 15, 2023 11:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is there an disadvantage to leveling your utility bill
Replies: 20
Views: 2679

Re: Is there an disadvantage to leveling your utility bill

I have always opted against this for two reasons. The first and main reason is that if I was on a leveled payment plan, I would be far less likely to notice an unusual fluctuation in our usage that could signal something like a water leak or a faulty meter. I can usually pretty accurately guess our bills on all utilities based on usage, recent temperatures, etc. and am very likely to notice a bill that is significantly different than my estimate. The second reason is more minor, but we may be a little more likely to adjust the thermostat or use AC in milder weather if we didn’t see the effect in our bill until much later when the leveling was refigured. I like the direct connection between our behavior and our pocketbook.
by momvesting
Fri Oct 06, 2023 10:39 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: The role of home equity in retirement
Replies: 42
Views: 5128

Re: The role of home equity in retirement

Speaking of HELOCs, do people still hold them, untapped, as a backup emergency fund? I’d like to have something like this in place just in case, but it seems that to get a no fee HELOC, at least from lenders I’m familiar with, you have start out with a minimum draw. Has anyone recently gotten a no fee HELOC without actually drawing on it?
by momvesting
Thu Oct 05, 2023 5:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Use credit card cash advance to pay down car loan?
Replies: 15
Views: 1671

Re: Use credit card cash advance to pay down car loan?

Nooooooooooo!!! The 3% is an upfront fee on the full $15k, so $450 tacked on right away. The car loan is roughly half a percent per month on the unpaid balance only. You can run it through an amortization table but if you pay out the $15k in even $1250 payments it would be about equal to $450 in accrued interest, but if you got ahead of it a bit (like $2k upfront then $1250/mo), the 5.9% is a better deal. Also, the car loan is more flexible if you have something come up and cannot pay in full within the year, as long as you can make the regular payment. With the credit card, any remaining balance after the promo period is up is going to accrue interest at a rate much higher than 5.9% most likely.
by momvesting
Sun Oct 01, 2023 12:47 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: deleted
Replies: 84
Views: 9632

Re: Are we seat warmers?

Put pen to paper and find out. My DH is a government worker and a few years ago, a good friend who owns a consulting firm offered DH a job. Since it was consulting, it was 1099 with no insurance, benefits, PTO, or anything. To compensate for the lack of benefits, our friend offered double what DH was making.

We sat down and did an honest calculation of the benefits we were receiving and what it would cost to replace them. It turned out we were better off sticking with the government job even with a significantly higher offer to work in the private sector. It was a very eye opening experience.
by momvesting
Sun Oct 01, 2023 12:35 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: iPhone 13 Mini - Any User Feedback?
Replies: 40
Views: 3669

Re: iPhone 13 Mini - Any User Feedback?

My daughter has a 13 pro max and the glass on the back has shattered despite her always having a good protective case on it. We honestly don’t know exactly when/how it happened but in researching it we discovered that this is actually a very common problem but only on the 13 models. Just something to be aware of. The rest of our family has 12 pro maxes and haven’t had any glass issues.
by momvesting
Sat Sep 30, 2023 6:41 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Vocational colleges for a Mech Eng/Aero Eng major
Replies: 92
Views: 12084

Re: Vocational colleges for a Mech Eng/Aero Eng major

My daughter had a high school friend who wanted to study aerospace engineering. She was a 4.0 student, 36 ACT and got a full ride to Utah State University (USU). Apparently they are well known for this.
by momvesting
Sun Sep 24, 2023 5:13 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Finance solar or pay cash?
Replies: 47
Views: 4115

Re: Finance solar or pay cash?

This definitely doesn’t pencil out at my house. I understand reducing your carbon footprint but there are many other ways. For example, depending on where you live, a powerful attic fan can cool your house dramatically overnight to reduce AC use. The use of blinds, curtains, and fans can dramatically reduce the number of days a year that you need AC. You can also reduce and combine trips, utilize mass transit, cut/eliminate deliveries, grow herbs and vegetables, capture rainwater, minimize single use plastic, and make a conscious effort to eat sustainably. But all these things do take more effort than plunking down $25k for solar.
by momvesting
Wed Sep 20, 2023 10:51 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Problems with a Vanguard 529 account. They closed it.
Replies: 28
Views: 2877

Re: Problems with a Vanguard 529 account. They closed it.

pizzy wrote: Wed Sep 20, 2023 8:09 pm How much would you like to withdraw?

[] Partial account balance

[] Total account balance
The entire amount held in all investment options will be withdrawn and the account will be closed. Your recurring contribution instruction will be discontinued. If you have an automatic payroll deduction, you must notify your employer to cancel it. New contributions may cause your account to be opened again.
Utah’s my529 has this same choice whenever you do a distribution, although neither choice is automatically selected. You have to manually choose one to proceed, then input the specific dollar amount, then how/where you want it sent, etc. Did you ever encounter a page that asked for a dollar amount?
by momvesting
Sat Sep 16, 2023 8:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Crock Pot Corner!
Replies: 92
Views: 9309

Re: Crock Pot Corner!

MJS wrote: Sat Sep 16, 2023 3:10 pm The stores have Christmas Trees up, so it's sorta the Holiday Season... I make 3-4 cans of dulce de leche in October each year, for gifts, baking and toppings.
https://crockpotladies.com/wprm_print/40787
I was going to recommend the Crockpot Ladies website! I also bought their book on Amazon, well worth the money!!
by momvesting
Tue Sep 12, 2023 10:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Apple watch connectivity
Replies: 14
Views: 1334

Re: Apple watch connectivity

I have a wifi only Series 7 and I was surprised how well the watch works with wifi. One day I left my phone at home accidentally and went to work. Since I have my phone attached to wifi in both places, the watch worked just like it would if the phone was nearby. I used the watch to call my husband and sent and received texts throughout the day. I also received email and my other regular notifications, such as Instagram and my Ring doorbell. I was pleasantly surprised.
by momvesting
Wed Sep 06, 2023 9:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Auto loan at 2.4% with full coverage insurance, pay off or not?
Replies: 28
Views: 1884

Re: Auto loan at 2.4% with full coverage insurance, pay off or not?

Leave all of your other coverage alone but call your insurance provider and ask how much you would save if your deductible was $1000? $2000? $2500? Mine had a significant drop if I went from $500 to $1000 and a modest drop if I went further to $1500. After that, the savings dropped dramatically. I don’t remember the exact but it was something like $3 more every 6 months to carry a $1500 deductible instead of $2500. Of course, this will be different depending on the type of car, the driver, and the location but it should take you one phone call to find out. Some carriers even let you check this on their websites with a simulator and you can decide whether or not to make the change. Also, FYI, we had a car loan with Chase but owed less than h...
by momvesting
Wed Sep 06, 2023 6:49 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Alternatives to Chase traditional savings accounts for “Emergency Funds”
Replies: 50
Views: 4528

Re: Alternatives to Chase traditional savings accounts for “Emergency Funds”

I find people on this forum to be overly cautious about breaking CDs, but I am keeping nearly all of our EF in shorter term CDs. I’d like to call it a ladder but really it’s more of a smattering based on good promos as everything I have right now is 5% or more. We have fairly stable jobs and haven’t needed to break a CD for an emergency. Even if I needed to break one in the future it would still be better overall than having kept it in low interest savings for the last 10 plus years.
by momvesting
Sun Sep 03, 2023 11:30 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How to deal with tenants running behind on rent?
Replies: 12
Views: 2352

Re: How to deal with tenants running behind on rent?

You should probably start with an attorney and a pay or quit notice that complies with state laws.
by momvesting
Sun Sep 03, 2023 10:34 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: AOTC Credit and Qualfied Expenses
Replies: 4
Views: 514

Re: AOTC Credit and Qualfied Expenses

You are only about $200 away, for AOTC you get the first $2k plus 25% of the next $1800, so you’re only losing about $50. Your other alternative is to take the LLC for 2023 and save AOTC for 2024-2027 unless he plans to graduate in under 4 years.
by momvesting
Thu Aug 31, 2023 7:21 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Being scammed, what to do next?
Replies: 40
Views: 5902

Re: Being scammed, what to do next?

Many credit cards do allow for the creation of “one time use” card numbers. Whenever I find myself ordering from either an unfamiliar website or a familiar website that doesn’t appear incredibly secure, I will use a one time use number. I will also use one for items that will add recurring charges and can be difficult to cancel. It has come in handy quite a few times. Citi and Discover offer this service but I’m sure that there are other cards that do as well.
by momvesting
Mon Aug 28, 2023 9:31 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Just for fun, what single stock do you think will see huge growth
Replies: 174
Views: 27390

Re: Just for fun, what single stock do you think will see huge growth

I think Macy’s will see a GameStop-type run up. It has a low price per share and it has great name recognition among the same type of investors who participated in the GameStop surge. The low price per share ($12ish), makes it seem affordable per share and a low cost risk for those who want to dabble with just a handful of shares and leaving quite a bit of room for an increased valuation.
by momvesting
Sat Aug 26, 2023 12:51 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How much to save for college education - public and private
Replies: 97
Views: 16023

Re: How much to save for college education - public and private

Any plans for private (K-12) school? You can use $10k/yr per kid for that. Even if it’s something you would cash flow, it’s a good way to flush money through the 529 for the state tax deduction and to lower your basis should you need that.
by momvesting
Wed Aug 16, 2023 8:32 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Pay Down low interest Auto Loan
Replies: 18
Views: 1659

Re: Pay Down low interest Auto Loan

The other possible consideration is your car insurance. If you are required to keep a $500 deductible with the loan, check out how much you would save with a $1k-$2k deductible, depending on what you are comfortable with. YMMV though, in 2018 I bought a car with a low rate but still put a chunk down so we were never anywhere close to upside down and the lender, Chase, approved a $1k deductible.
by momvesting
Sun Aug 13, 2023 12:21 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Education-Related Tax Credits, Deductions, Breaks
Replies: 7
Views: 774

Re: Education-Related Tax Credits, Deductions, Breaks

Maybe he is including the fact that a student can be claimed as a dependent until they are 24 vs 19 for a non-student?
by momvesting
Thu Aug 10, 2023 7:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Car insurance with teens through the roof!
Replies: 65
Views: 8806

Re: Car insurance with teens through the roof!

Wow, I’m guessing that it’s the accident that’s killing you. Two weeks after my daughter turned 16, we bought a brand new base model Crosstrek and she was the assigned driver and our insurance went up by about $75/month for her and for the new car. It went back down by about $20/month when she turned 18 and we raised the deductible from $500 to $1500 on that car. She has no accidents or tickets.

Could it also be the type of car? For example, a Toyota Corolla is far cheaper to insure than, say, a Mustang even if age or KBB values are similar. That’s one thing we do have going for us, we only own boring dependable cars, nothing sporty.
by momvesting
Sun Aug 06, 2023 10:17 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Life Insurance for child
Replies: 64
Views: 6099

Re: Life Insurance for child

Children are a liability unless you are the parent of a child actor or something, so it doesn’t make sense to purchase life insurance for them under most cases and certainly not as an investment.

That being said, I do not follow my own advice! My husbands employer offers a portable term life product that costs 68c every two weeks for $10k coverage. We bought it for our child because it has a feature where you can increase coverage without qualifying, so should she become uninsurable in the future for a major illness, we will have this policy in place. I know the odds are slim but even those “if you had invested the premiums you would have…” calculations don’t add up to much.
by momvesting
Wed Jul 26, 2023 5:20 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: College Funding Vs Investing in Children; A proposal
Replies: 19
Views: 1533

Re: College Funding Vs Investing in Children; A proposal

So, Shark Tank for your kids?? Who is on the board? Can kids who are not yours present and get money? I mean, maybe you could put this on YouTube and monetize the process!!
by momvesting
Sat Jul 22, 2023 11:54 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: What is a Qualifying Education Expense to Avoid Taxes on Ibonds?
Replies: 8
Views: 1173

Re: What is a Qualifying Education Expense to Avoid Taxes on Ibonds?

I’m no expert, but I’d be looking at the actual IRS tax instructions. If I were to guess, you probably need a 1098-T from a school to count as qualified tuition and a prepaid tuition plan does not provide that.

Edit: Hmmmm, looks like I may be wrong, you sent me Googling and I found this:
https://www.savingforcollege.com/artic ... a-529-plan
by momvesting
Fri Jun 30, 2023 9:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Buying land with family members
Replies: 48
Views: 7077

Re: Buying land with family members

Sounds like you would have the portion closest to the road and the utilities, which means you should pay more per acre for your land, or at least the part with this access. Land pricing is not just acreage, it involves topography, road access, utility access, easements, drainage, water features, view, negative/positive effects from neighboring properties, noise, and much more. It is impossible to answer your question accurately with so many variables. For example, my sister in law just picked up the lot next to hers for a song, it is actually a smidge bigger than hers but the drainage is terrible and the whole thing would need to be cleared and regraded to be buildable so it sat unsold for over a decade. She just plans to extend her yard to...
by momvesting
Thu Jun 22, 2023 11:02 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: prepaid debit cards for phone bills
Replies: 87
Views: 7339

Re: prepaid debit cards for phone bills

musicmom wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 8:24 pm Well, my luck ran out.

Tmobile tells me that my next autopay in July MUST not be via credit card.
KlangFool, youre right again.
Yep, got this text today. Haven’t figured out the game plan yet, but I do have a “shares” account at a local credit union that I’m required to keep open with $10 or more in order to keep several CDs I have there, so I think I’ll transfer in enough to pay TMobile each month and draw it from there.
by momvesting
Thu Jun 22, 2023 10:48 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Help with [having disabled] sister [pay her own expenses]
Replies: 8
Views: 1417

Re: Help with sister

Can you make your sister an AU on an AMEX Blue Cash or Blue Cash Preferred? The ability to set a spending limit for AUs is why I got this card. It was perfect for setting a very low limit ($200) for our high school kid to be able to get gas or do the odd errand, and it was easy to raise the limit as needed for unusual situations like buying a plane ticket. This feature may also be perfect for what you need.
by momvesting
Sat Jun 03, 2023 11:17 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Timeshare Exit Team Scam - Endorser Dave Ramsey Sued for 150m
Replies: 5
Views: 1561

Dave Ramsey

[This thread has been merged into this already locked thread.]

I’ll just put this right here, so when people come to Bogleheads to search for him, this thread pops up. :oops:

https://fox4kc.com/business/dave-ramse ... n4G_1MFqm8
by momvesting
Tue May 30, 2023 11:23 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Planning for eventual house sale
Replies: 9
Views: 1414

Re: Planning for eventual house sale

You may consider consulting a landscaper or arborist now. Landscaping is about the only thing that may not be able to be done right before a sale because it would need time to grow in if massive pruning or something similar needs to be done. This is, of course, only if parts of the yard are overgrown and neglected.