gloomydog

What's keeping you at Chase? You'll save 2+% anywhere else.

yacht

Daddy can easily win by offering an equivalent or generous donation somewhere. I see this as a lost publicity opportunity. Anyway it's ludicrous to me that people get upset over this kid winning his scholarship. The only reason to get upset would be if a consideration other than merit was used in the decision to award this scholarship, but who will ever know? Donor potential of happy parents perhaps?

GFI. HR pulling you aside means they have already prequalified and vetted you. You are a known quantity. GL

If you *really* have to do it, you can ask for this as your wedding gift and have your friends/family contribute to it. http://alicetravel.ensembletravel.honeymoonwishes.com/ for instance. One of those honeymoon registry type thing. But choose one with lower fees.

I would really appreciate some advice for a credit newbie. My goal is not to hurt my credit. Here's the situation: I was a verizon fios customer for 2 years. I cancelled it last September/October (by phone), and returned equipment. I kept getting charged automatically on my autopay credit card. After 3 months of autopay charges, I got mad. Initially I was like, maybe they didn't receive equipment yet, you know? Anyways I called in December and spoke with another person, who was like "Oh yeah, you did cancel and we received the equipment, confirm cancelled NOW". I was not sure what it meant, and did not think to ask, but I think I went back and did a chargeback of Nov and Dec as a result. (Remember, I returned/cancelled equipment in late Sept, but I figure 1 month extra payment is okay, maybe equipment was late, etc) Last month I received a collection letter from ERS. So I followed the tips found on this forum and asked for information about the debt. Yesterday I received some information about the amount I supposedly owe Verizon. It looks like although my FIOS INTERNET + TV was cancelled and not charged, I was still charged for PHONE (it was one of those triple play packages, phone, internet TV) up till December. I cannot get to anyone at verizon to talk to them, since they immediately transfer me to ERS. The total amount is not huge. But my questions are: 1) What if Verizon is wrong about their charges (I think they are!) So I don't owe anything, but have to pay them anyway or risk dinging my credit report? What kind of credit terrorism is this? 2) If I do pay the amount they say I owe, will it ding my credit report? The person at ERS says no, this is precollection. 3) I am tempted to just pay if (2) is right, and get it over with. But this has left a pretty sour taste in my mouth because I don't think I owed the money, you know? What can I do, apart from stop using Verizon? Thank you

Because of the calories.

I think anything below 20 is too young. However, wait too long and fertility is an issue! 20-30 is ideal, which means the rest of society has to do it's part in making sure teens mature faster. Babying your kids even after college is doing no favor to them or you!

I mean, the caretaking/custodial parent assumes a much higher, if not almost all the responsibilities and tasks involved with raising the child. Child support is also used to compensate for this extra parenting and loss of personal freedom. While irrelevant in this case the OP brought up (because the mother appears to not have completed any of the duties she was receiving support for), I think this is an important consideration in general because too many seem to equate "child support" with expenses that can be directed attributed only to the child. Paying 1/2 what it costs to raise a child is insufficient when you consider the nights you stay up to care for a sick child, having to take care of child all the time and not able to go out to a gathering just because, having a dramatically less flexible schedule because instead of planning for just "weekend" visits, an unexpected problem could turn up monday-friday and then you have to take a day off work. The list goes on.

Sure, this child support was not spent well. But in general, it's not just for the child. You are paying for some of the caretaker's time too.

Bridge championship is in town. Did you spot lots of little old ladies? She could have a sharper mind than you, honed from decades of Bridge play. In short, do not play table games this weekend against little old ladies or men.

I'm actually using solemate orthotics atm. Just got them about 1 month ago, cost $300 (I know, i know). It's the most expensive article of clothing I've ever purchased, bar none. My wedding dress was $100 But I'm quite pleased with it. It alleviates a lot of pain, and my heel spur seems to be easing up a bit. I also have pronated feet, which this helps to ease too. The best solution is to lose weight of course. Even a few pounds will make a huge difference. Anyway, highly recommend this, except be aware you may have to go up a size when buying shoes.

Heh, just got married officially. Small courthouse wedding, dinner reception for anyone who bothered to come. We omitted frills like official invitations, nice dress, flowers, that kind of thing. And to anyone who sent us a gift, we sent a thank you card + interesting favor (most of our budget went to this). Also didn't mention any gift expectations to anyone, but when asked we'd say we're trying to save for a house, so cash most helpful. Received a bunch of checks, net figure was very very positive. I don't think anyone felt we were tacky, and we weren't embarrassed either. We also ended up with something really useful for this phase of our life (cash) and not wasting resources by having to take gifts back to stores to exchange. Congrats on your big day.

I've only seen 1 episode since I don't watch TV much, really enjoy it. The episode I watched was a couple with their new baby moving from somewhere to Ohio, and getting their baby tested to see if he had dwarfism genes. Definitely had me rooting for the baby there. The couple is delightful! Makes me want to be their friend. hehe

Wow, when was 20% considered an average tip and 10% a tip for "bad service"? Any service over and beyond the normal call of duty deserves something extra, and 10% is something extra. 10% is a decent tip. 20% is an above average tip. And let's not get started on why basically the same job at more expensive places deserve a higher absolute tip just because food is priced more, while your cheaper deli waiters get stiffed. Does this make sense? If you really think the service deserves a great 20% tip and want to make sure the waiters receive 20%, go ahead and give more of your own money. If you think it's just average, your combined tip was 15%, which is very good - don't beat yourself up.