gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 26, 2014 14:49:41 GMT -5
No way. These people make really good salaries.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 26, 2014 14:47:06 GMT -5
abort mission!
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 26, 2014 13:52:15 GMT -5
Careful using 4 weeks in a month. When budgeting, always multiple the weeks in a year and divide by 12 to get a month. I used 50 only because you mentioned 2 week long vacations.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 26, 2014 13:34:16 GMT -5
Packing your lunch isn't going to fix your shortfall. If you only work 3x/week x $10 x 50 weeks = $1500/year for lunches. Even if you pack your lunch for $3 x 3 x 50 = $450. You've only trimmed $1050 off your annual budget and that's only if you strictly maintained it/never slipped.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 26, 2014 11:33:22 GMT -5
$5K-$6K is a lot of money! I'm surprised anyone would qualify that as "not a terrible expense."
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 26, 2014 11:04:56 GMT -5
Does that mean you're working 2-3 days/week and shopping with your daughter on your days off to get out of the house? Definitely time for a new hobby.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 26, 2014 11:00:31 GMT -5
I know a lot of former military folks who are now in corporate training. Military experience translates very well.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 26, 2014 10:54:47 GMT -5
A 36 hour work week at $40 an hour and $60 for anything more than 40 hours/week sounds amazing to me. What are your shifts like? Three 12s? Are you having to pay for daycare?
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 24, 2014 21:26:37 GMT -5
Welcome back! You can still buy plenty of toys, clothes and shoes without spending a lot of money. I also have a toddler and infant and buy pretty much everything second hand. I get adorable Janie & Jack outfits, Zackali4kids, Nordstrom and so on for a buck or 2 per outfit. These are outfits that normally retail for $100 and are in perfect condition. If I wanted, I could turn around and sell them for more than I purchased, but instead I don't worried about keeping them in mint condition. I have two girls anyway, so I need to save it all for the second. I don't know if I can get away with this when they are older, but for now I'm taking full advantage. I buy all the toys from the neighborhood facebook yard sale page. I spent $100 on Christmas and have a disgusting display of toys that are about to come out of the closet. We also go on a week long beach vacation, a week long florida vacation and a mountain/ski weekend trip every year. I budget $2k total/year for those vacation and just search, search, search until I find the right deal. I don't feel like we sacrifice at all. Even though I used the word "budget," I really don't use a strict budget. I can't help you with food. I'm terrible at that as well and as a full-time working mom of two, I don't have the time or energy to coupon. You can do this! You're right. I guess I just grew up poor and I don't want DD to ever know what that feels like, so buying secondhand clothes and toys felt like cheating her somehow. It's totally an irrational/emotional thing. We're done buying any toys or clothes for a while, she has far too much. I grew up poor, too. Welfare, food stamps, the school free lunch program and goodwill for me as well. Growing up this way actually helped me realize it's not necessary to spend a lot of money to be happy. Our combined income is over $250K. I don't do it because I can't afford it, it just isn't a good use of our money and I want to retire one day!
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 24, 2014 19:57:21 GMT -5
Welcome back! You can still buy plenty of toys, clothes and shoes without spending a lot of money. I also have a toddler and infant and buy pretty much everything second hand. I get adorable Janie & Jack outfits, Zackali4kids, Nordstrom and so on for a buck or 2 per outfit. These are outfits that normally retail for $100 and are in perfect condition. If I wanted, I could turn around and sell them for more than I purchased, but instead I don't worried about keeping them in mint condition. I have two girls anyway, so I need to save it all for the second.
I don't know if I can get away with this when they are older, but for now I'm taking full advantage. I buy all the toys from the neighborhood facebook yard sale page. I spent $100 on Christmas and have a disgusting display of toys that are about to come out of the closet.
We also go on a week long beach vacation, a week long florida vacation and a mountain/ski weekend trip every year. I budget $2k total/year for those vacation and just search, search, search until I find the right deal. I don't feel like we sacrifice at all. Even though I used the word "budget," I really don't use a strict budget.
I can't help you with food. I'm terrible at that as well and as a full-time working mom of two, I don't have the time or energy to coupon.
You can do this!
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 24, 2014 15:37:17 GMT -5
A co-worker rallied everyone to contribute $15 for a group gift to our boss. We presented her with a $150 gift certificate on Friday and I've yet to get a card in the mail and the mail already came today. I prefer not to gift up, but if you must- the least your boss could do is put a happy holidays card in the mail. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/angry.png)
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 22, 2014 12:33:14 GMT -5
I don't think I would get into my alma mater (state flagship) if I were to apply today and I was in the top 5% with a variety of varsity sports, clubs and a job. Times have changed and it's more competitive than ever.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 22, 2014 10:51:03 GMT -5
I invest 20% to my 401(k), I'm not going to lie- sometimes I'd rather spend foolishly. But, sigh, I'm responsible, so I'll stay the course. Now, to get the door, because my new bathtub just arrived. Merry Christmas to me. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/laugh.png)
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 22, 2014 10:00:12 GMT -5
Watching the today show reminded me how easy buckeyes are to make and you probably have everything you need: Peanut butter Butter vanilla chocolate chips sugar allrecipes.com/recipe/buckeyes-i/
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 20, 2014 10:07:28 GMT -5
How much do you make now? How old are you and your wife? Does your wife not currently work?
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 20:29:13 GMT -5
I buy my flat irons at Sally's Beauty Supply. I get the hottest one I can find-usually one that heats up to 450*. I am Caucasian, but I have thick, coarse, frizzy, dry, crappy hair. The 2 brands I like the best are Jilbere and Tool Science. I have never found one at Target or Walmart or the like that gets hot enough to tame my hair and keep it straight. I lived in central Florida for years and using those (along with some good hair products) my hair stayed straight even on the most humid of days. Fair warning, though, I will spend a $100 if necessary for a good flat iron. Usually I can get them for under $50, but my hair is important! ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/grin.png) After spending $100+ on several different flat irons, my friend introduced the jilbere to me and it changed my life. It's been going strong for 10 years now. It used to take me an hour to straighten my long, thick, curly hair, and this thing gets it silky straight in less than 10 minutes. I can go a whole week without washing it or straightening it again. My hair is not black, but it is so kinky, I used to get the black "burn your scalp" perm treatments on it. www.amazon.com/Jilbere-Tourmaline-Flat-Iron-1-1/dp/B003C1V5IU/ref=pd_sim_sbs_bt_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=17VSJHSHA6YA199A03JPI have the 2" size.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 16:42:33 GMT -5
If an undercover police officer was able to walk right up to him and buy drugs, why couldn't he walk right up to him and arrest him? Once they have him in handcuffs, go in with their warrant and collect the drugs. Why is there a need for a covert military style raid at all in situations like this? I don't even know how to respond to this line of thinking. Drug operations usually have more than one person involved. Do you think if it were as easy as you suggest here that the police wouldn't already be doing that? Well, in my dense mind they would have been casing the place for weeks and would have known there were children in there. ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/idunno.gif)
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 16:40:02 GMT -5
Sigh, I know how to do math. The HSA or FSA in this scenario isn't for retirement. It's to cover insurance expenses the insurance plan doesn't cover. Yes, we're all on YM, so that's what we use it for, but most people actually use it to pay their regular health care expenses today because they don't have the huge emergency savings account to pay it out of pocket. No spent money goes into the HSA or FSA, only saved money. If I'm going to put 5k into my HSA or FSA, I have to figure out how to spend 5k less elsewhere. Exactly, so if Joe is lucky, he can use his reimbursement to not go further in debt and if he's really lucky he can afford to get the kids some Christmas presents after this significant chunk of income is earmarked for healthcare and future income needs. But, Joe is not lucky, his pockets are empty and people are ripping on him for having a cell phone and internet service.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 16:17:11 GMT -5
He was never saving $17500. $7,500 401k + $5,000 IRA + $5,000 HSA = $17,500. Sigh, I know how to do math. The HSA or FSA in this scenario isn't for retirement. It's to cover insurance expenses the insurance plan doesn't cover. Yes, we're all on YM, so that's what we use it for, but most people actually use it to pay their regular health care expenses today because they don't have the huge emergency savings account to pay it out of pocket.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 16:13:08 GMT -5
If an undercover police officer was able to walk right up to him and buy drugs, why couldn't he walk right up to him and arrest him? Once they have him in handcuffs, go in with their warrant and collect the drugs. Why is there a need for a covert military style raid at all in situations like this?
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 15:48:30 GMT -5
That poor baby. And their family is going to suffer ths mistake for the rest of their lives. Since when is it protocol to kick a door down and just start throwing grenades around without knowing how many people, if any are in a home? I'm not in law enforcement, so I don't know all their procedures, but surely that's not the way they were trained. Not grenades... flash bang. Yes they are trained to do this. What the hell are they supposed to do while serving a warrant? Knock on the door politely while the crack den arms themselves and starts shooting? Knock Knock... hello Mr. Drug Dealer. Are you home? Yoohoo... No worries you take your time destroying evidence, loading your gun and taking position. We'll just wait out here while until you are ready. What you need some time to prepare your human shields, OK, take your time don't rush on our account. What did they do the day before when they purchased drugs from the perp? If a knock on the door couldn't work, why not just wait until he comes out and then arrest him. It seems like there are plenty of options that don't involve explosives and injuring innocent babies. This story breaks my heart. That poor baby. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/cry.gif)
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 14:14:27 GMT -5
That's ignoring the 5% company match and assuming only a 5% return during the working years. A 5% match is far from the given. It's much more likely if you get a match at all it's 50% of 6% or 3% total. Anyway, I think some of you are missing my point. It was never affordable and having a cell phone doesn't make a significant difference. And, while I use my HSA as part of my retirement planning, that is not the purpose of an HSA. It's to help cover the cost of what isn't covered under the high deductible plans- which are now more expensive than ever.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 12:52:48 GMT -5
Sure you could make that argument, but you could also argue the other way...(Disclaimer, I am not a liberal, but even I can see the problem). Joe Middle Class has a $50K/year job. 15% goes to a 401(k)= $7500 10% to IRA= $5K 10% for health insurance premium= $5K 10% to HSA/FSA= $5K 45% of your income is gone and by the time taxes (all of them) are taken out- you're left with what? 40% of your income before any of your housing, food, childcare or transportation needs are paid. So, Joe Middle Class drops his retirement down to 5% to get the company match and funds an IRA some years if it was a good year. He skips the HSA and falls into debt when he has minor medical issue now that the deductibles and co-insurance is more expensive than ever. His retirement is way underfunded. And, yeah, he whines about how expensive everything while multi-tasking on his iphone 5. I don't have HULU, netflex or even a cell phone, but I don't begrudge anyone who does. It's frustrating doing the right thing with your money, just so you can't not afford a measly cell phone plan or cable plan. You can't just expect everyone to have a mind shift when it comes to t.v. and phones. If people could afford them since the day they were invented, well why shouldn't they still be able to afford them. Oh yeah, because employers used to fund benefits like retirement and insurance, but don't anymore. And, now not everyone has figured out how to afford everything and retirement and insurance have become negotiable. Edited to make it easier to read. But that person making 50K doesn't need to save $17,500/year to be saving adequately for retirement (assuming we're not talking someone that is trying to play catch-up). He was never saving $17500.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 19, 2014 12:08:00 GMT -5
I read until the part where she said "Most workers have absolutely nothing left from their paycheck to save." (A quote from someone at the beginning of the 401k.) I look at what I spent my money on in 1993 and what young people spend their money on now - there is money left over. Home phones were like $18 a month, and now cell plans are $100+. Everyone found money to get one of those. Internet and computers cost us $0.00 in 1993 and now everyone spends $50 a month on those. Hulu plus cost more per month than I spent in a year to watch television back in the day. I'm not saying that buying any of those things is bad, or that they aren't pretty key to having a normal life these days. I'm just saying that the general population seems to find money in their budget for all kinds of things, but we all cry poor when we are expected to take care of ourselves and our future. Sure you could make that argument, but you could also argue the other way...(Disclaimer, I am not a liberal, but even I can see the problem). Joe Middle Class has a $50K/year job. 15% goes to a 401(k)= $7500 10% to IRA= $5K 10% for health insurance premium= $5K 10% to HSA/FSA= $5K 45% of your income is gone and by the time taxes (all of them) are taken out- you're left with what? 40% of your income before any of your housing, food, childcare or transportation needs are paid. So, Joe Middle Class drops his retirement down to 5% to get the company match and funds an IRA some years if it was a good year. He skips the HSA and falls into debt when he has minor medical issue now that the deductibles and co-insurance is more expensive than ever. His retirement is way underfunded. And, yeah, he whines about how expensive everything while multi-tasking on his iphone 5. I don't have HULU, netflex or even a cell phone, but I don't begrudge anyone who does. It's frustrating doing the right thing with your money, just so you can't not afford a measly cell phone plan or cable plan. You can't just expect everyone to have a mind shift when it comes to t.v. and phones. If people could afford them since the day they were invented, well why shouldn't they still be able to afford them. Oh yeah, because employers used to fund benefits like retirement and insurance, but don't anymore. And, now not everyone has figured out how to afford everything thus retirement and insurance have become negotiable since folks reason that they government, family, _____ will take care of them. Edited to make it easier to read.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 18, 2014 11:49:00 GMT -5
If they won't take cash, I would get them each a $100 gift certificate to their favorite restaurant or something. ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/yeahthat.gif) Generally we pay $50/day - that's my mom's regular rate. Her daycares charge $50-55 per day so I think $50/day when they don't need any equipment or food is pretty fair. Kudos for wanting to offer something. A lot of people don't bother and my personal philosophy is that entertaining/waiting on a toddler who's not yours for 10 hours is worthy of compensation regardless of family relationship. If it makes family uncomfortable to accept money, gift cards can be very good alternatives. I usually give my mom a massage gift certificate once or twice a year - in her case, it's a bonus of sorts but that can also be a good noncash present. Heaven knows most people need it after chasing around and picking up a big baby all day long ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/smiley.png) The problem is when you're already paying $50 for the day to the closed center, paying another $50 is getting a little steep!
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 18, 2014 11:31:33 GMT -5
I never felt so alone during my year of sleep deprivation. Nobody I knew had it as bad as me, and I really thought I was losing my mind. Everyone I knew complained about their babies waking up once/night or raved about how well their babies slept. I really tried hard not to complain, but people always ask. I physically felt my irritability above my right eye about the size of a tennis ball. Thank goodness it went away about the same time I got more than 60 minutes of uninterrupted sleep at night. It would have been a lot easier getting through it if I had known when it would get better.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 18, 2014 11:02:45 GMT -5
Yeah, if only it were that cheap for the full-time deal as I pay nearly $30K/year which is why I really, really hate to pay for baby-sitters. That is a great deal on the other care but ouch on the regular prices! I pay about $12K/year for one kid, and am a little peeved that my $975 this month only covers 10 days of care, but what can you do. I'm very fortunate that both sides of the family (plus a few teachers) jumped at the opportunity to watch her during the break, since if I'm home with her all day when DH is working I am freaking exhausted by 5pm! $975 for 10 days of care &#%!@ ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/angry2.png)
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 18, 2014 10:32:30 GMT -5
My company offers back-up care for these situations- up to 25 days per calendar year. They'll send a nanny to my house and I only pay $6/hour for up to 3 dependents. For an in-network center that's open while her normal center is closed- it's $15 per child for the whole day. So jealous. Yeah, if only it were that cheap for the full-time deal as I pay nearly $30K/year which is why I really, really hate to pay for baby-sitters.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 18, 2014 10:23:49 GMT -5
I would offer $50, but would be thrilled if they didn't accept it as I don't ask for favors very often. I personally would never accept payment for a one-off opportunity to watch my family's kids or even good friend's kids (assuming I was off work and had to watch my own anyway). I would view it as a bonding opportunity, not a money-making opportunity.
My company offers back-up care for these situations- up to 25 days per calendar year. They'll send a nanny to my house and I only pay $6/hour for up to 3 dependents. For an in-network center that's open while her normal center is closed- it's $15 per child for the whole day.
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Post by gooddecisions on Dec 17, 2014 15:55:39 GMT -5
What about robots? When do we all get issued robot-nannies at birth? They stay with us forever, first changing our diapers, then making our lunch and helping with homework, and then cleaning, cooking, and washing the car? they will cost 200k, and no one is allowed to have a baby till they can buy one ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/wink.png) This little guy can't help with diapers, but he would be kind of cool to have around:
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