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On Is There Anyone on Earth With As Much Debt As Me?
@spectacularisms Taking this opportunity to pile on the tax code: Aside from student loan deduction (obvs) we get like, zero tax breaks. As a couple, we are solidly middle class renters and there is NOTHING in the tax code for us. I spent years as a CPA working on other people's taxes and I am still gobsmacked at the benefits other people (who, um, CLEARLY didn't need it from the looks of their AGI) got from itemizing stuff. Taxes are seriously effed up.
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On Is There Anyone on Earth With As Much Debt As Me?
@spectacularisms Community property state here. Married filing separately doesn't help us a bit :(
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On Is There Anyone on Earth With As Much Debt As Me?
SING IT. My financial situation is slightly different, but so much of what OP wrote resonates. When my husband went back to school for his JD in 2007, the economy hadn't yet tanked and the legal job market hadn't hit the skids. When he got out in 2011, jobs were scarce and he hasn't found a legal job in the years since. He's working for a non-profit, making like, no money, but since we're married my (admittedly cushy) income gets factored into the loan repayment calculator. It's not even my debt! But I'm stuck with the feeling that I can't afford to switch careers and take a paycut/go back to school for a Master's when there's this debt lodestone on our future. GAH. MONEY!
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On The Simple Solution to a Last Minute Passport Snafu ($$$)
Grammar nerd time: I think the conditional refers to the mood, not the verb tense.
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On To Get a Flu Shot or Not (Some Reasons)
I have been beating the flu shot drum since I got it the week before finals my sophomore year of college. It was THE WORST. At the time I lived in the world's crappiest apartment complex where people constantly pulled the fire alarms, for fun (?) which didn't help my recovery AT ALL. But yes. I have limited sympathy for flu shot skeptics. They adminster 'em in pretty much every drug store or Target, which is probably no more than 5 minutes away from where you're sitting right now. They make it so easy for you! Be an adult about these things, people! Like, I'm probably not going to die I skipped it, and neither are the people I see on a regular basis. But missing 5+ days of work for recovery? (Or worse, soldiering through it while working from home while feeling thisclose to death?) No thanks, I'd rather use that PTO for other things.
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On When Do You Pay Your Bills
I use PNC Bank's Virtual Wallet (but I'm pretty sure other banks have a similar features online, Bank of American being one of 'em I think.) ANYWAY I use PNC's online bill pay for just about everything - meaning my bank account is aware of my cash outflows - and there's a calendar feature showing how much cash is going out before next payday and how much free cash I have between now and then. It's pretty great, actually. Make technology your friend!
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On Really Important Decisions About Books
But also, get the ebook. Wave of the future/keeping fewer objects in the home/yadda yadda.
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On Really Important Decisions About Books
Oh I am so excited for you and all the surprises! Hurry up and get through book 3 before the TV series comes out. It's the best book in the series and experiencing those twists is better on the page than screen (although I love the show too, obviously, because it is wonderful.)
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On The Logistics of Privilege (Or, How It Works When Your Parents Pay for Your Education)
My parents were/are incredibly smart about sending us 3 kids to college. My dad has worked at my alma mater for 30+ years at this point; my parents made a decision to stay at his job so they could take advantage of the 75% tuition discount. Knowing they wouldn't have to save for years and years for our education allowed my mom to stay home with us when we were small and kept me and my brothers out of debt upon graduation. When we all graduated high school, my parents said they would contribute whatever the bill would be after my dad's benefit where ever we went, meaning I could either get a full ride at my nationally-recognized state school or have to finance 75% (or more!) of my education on my own if I attended anywhere else. It was a no-brainer and I was thrilled with my decision and the education I received. My parents did pay to live in the dorms/college apartments (even though my childhood home was 20 minutes down the road) because they didn't want us to miss out on any part of the college experience. That part was pretty great. I do wonder what going to college away from my small hometown would have been like, but I left and started exploring the big city when I graduated (and at that point, felt no guilt about burning through my own money.)
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On WWYD: The Obnoxious Coworker
I agree that you can set boundries for stuff like interrupting or the food thing, but what about tics like chewing loudly or with your mouth open? Is there a way to politely tell someone their table manners are horrible without being a huge jerk about it? Also, I worked with a guy who would CONSTANTLY clear his throat during allergy season. It was super annoying but I could never figure out a nice way to tell him to cut it out, short anonymously leaving some Mucinex on his desk.