I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[wendow]

I am nervous too! I guess I always feel like a little bit of leap of faith when I do it and this does not help. Glad I don’t have an active payment our right now!

I applied for dh a citi aa biz a few nights ago and they gave me the number. I almost went ahead and set our mortgage to pay now since I love meeting spends in one 'purchase' but I was tired and decided to wait. SO glad I waited! I always feel using plastiq takes a leap of faith too but I've had no bad experiences so I've learned to trust them more and more.

 

[Curlylocks02]

So I have a question about the Savor Capitol One Card. I have a mailed offer for the 500$ bonus. With annual fee is waived the first year, if I decide that what we spend with the rewards is not enough to justify the fee before the first year ends, when do I cancel it without a penalty and without having to pay the annual fee? Can I cancel at the wrong time and to return the 500$ bonus with 3000$ spent? TIA for your help.

 

[wendow]

My DS had an excellent credit score also when he got out of college and moved to Manhattan for a job. But even with that and a salary that fit the requirements (annual salary 40X the monthly rent) they still said his credit history wasn't long enough and insisted on 6 months rent as security deposit! We did not live in the tri-state area and could not qualify as a guarantor. He had paid rent for 2 years in his college town too, in addition to being an AU on our card for years.

Sounds like they just wanted an interest free loan!

 

[Alexle2007]

So, middle school doesn't phase me really. I'm still good with the math through alg 1. After that...HELP! and pretty much same for high school sciences. Everyone has different resources but what we have done is online math where they are taught by someone other than me and graded by someone other than me High school science I 'farm' out. There are GOBS and I mean, GOBS, of options and classes for homeschool kids to meet their requirements...some do through the public school (if laws allow), private schools/groups, homeschool co-ops (taught by other homeschool moms), online classes, or local colleges. We've done a mix and it's worked well. My dd18 is currently a double nursing and biology major. She got one of the few A's in bio 111 last semester and currently has one of two A's in bio 112 and I never taught her biology. One of her professors actually pulled her aside and asked her where she went to high school because he was so impressed with her work! Haha!! It was proud homeschool mom moment for me Not trying to be braggy just trying to share that it is very possible to prepare a kid for college even if you forgot all that upper math and science stuff.

Interesting. DS’s new school for the fall mentioned they have a student taking AP Chem online since they don’t offer it but the school pays for it and I just can’t see how that is done since Chem is so hands-on. DS’s bio class has already dissected frogs which isn’t something I did until my 10th grade bio course. So taking science classes online just puzzles me since it’s no like I keep a dead frog in my house or a chem lab.

 

[georgina]

Sounds like they just wanted an interest free loan!

Actually, they were required to pay him interest on it.(wasn't much) Not sure if that is a New York law?

 

[Disneyonmymind]

A little worried too from the tone of the tweet. Being down (for so long) didn’t sound planned.

UGH. I hope they did not get hacked!

 

[Haley R]

I know you weren't asking me this question, but I wanted to chime in that my kids love being homeschooled. We have a pretty big homeschool group we do activities with. It's becoming more mainstream. Once you start looking for groups and activities you realize they are everywhere. It's definitely not for all parents or all kids. Just another option that many enjoy. I love teaching them, but it's a lot of work.

Also, we are currently in the thick of house hunting and have been using Redfin. I'm very pleased. Listings update every five minutes, no outdated ones, easy home tour scheduling with no pressure.

This is so interesting to me. We’ve never considered homeschooling but now you guys have dh and I intrigued. We didn’t know you could get with other homeschooling groups and do activities. That makes it way more appealing to me. We obviously don’t need to worry about this for awhile but it’s good to start thinking about it as a possible option. I know as a teacher some kids get lost in the mix at school. You can have 20+ kids and sometimes the ones in the middle or higher groups don’t get as much help because you always focus on those lower ones. I like the idea of being able to tailor it to my kids’ needs whether they need challenged or extra help.

 

[Haley R]

Yes, my kids love it! Getting your school work done in half the time with no home work is pretty appealing. And we aren’t lacking for friends. About 8-10% of the families in our area are homeschoolers so it’s been super easy to meet people, join groups, take field trips, etc. So, if you ever do decide to go that direction, feel free to pm me and I can give you more info.

It would be awhile from now when we decide. I think if we stay here we probably wouldn’t home school but if we do end up moving to Florida I could see us thinking about it. I didn’t realize so many people homeschool. It sounds so flexible!

 

[Haley R]

I'm not sure what teaching licenses involve, but I have been a SAHM for 6 years now and keep my RN license current by doing CEUs. I have to do the 30 every 2 years and fill out the renewal stuff biannually. Easy peasy.

Yeah I probably should just renew mine. I was thinking I should anyway because I would need to keep subbing for awhile

 

[wendow]

Interesting. DS’s new school for the fall mentioned they have a student taking AP Chem online since they don’t offer it but the school pays for it and I just can’t see how that is done since Chem is so hands-on. DS’s bio class has already dissected frogs which isn’t something I did until my 10th grade bio course. So taking science classes online just puzzles me since it’s no like I keep a dead frog in my house or a chem lab.

We haven't done any science classes online so my kids have had hands-on experiences. We do math online though

 

[wanderlust7]

I got an email today from Hilton honors. It says I can stay in Las Vegas or Orlando for 4 days/3 nights for $199. I clicked more info and looked but it just has a purchase button and with tax it’s $223. It didn’t have me pick a hotel or have dates. Seems strange to me. I’ll include a screenshot of what it looks like

I got that too, but for Hawaii. It's for their vacation club (i.e. timeshare), so you'll have to go through their sales presentation for the deal. Once you buy it, you'd then call to book a date.

 

[wendow]

Actually, they were required to pay him interest on it.(wasn't much) Not sure if that is a New York law?

That's good at least!!

 

[Haley R]

Denver is starting to slow down a bit but some listings are $300k+ for a condo or townhome! Not all but still. And a lot of what had been happening the last few years was people were getting things for cheap before they hit the market because they were foreclosures or older folks' who hadn't updated since the 60s/70s... then they do a really bad flip and want $400k+ for a 1300sq house that has poor workmanship and a bad layout... I'm trying to avoid the really long rant I go on about these places

I am already anxious about schooling for future kids. I feel we had a really good public school program growing up and the city puts a lot of money into it. I have not been impressed with anything I've seen here in CO (mainly Adams 5 star whatever as that is who MIL works for and where DH/Brothers/old college roommate went/cousins middle age kid currently goes to). Just what I hear now + comparing my high school experience vs DHs/roommates/etc...

That sounds super annoying about the houses. I would hate to buy a house and it look pretty on the outside but really have issues underneath. And actually the first house that we almost bought was like that. It looked nice and updated but then we paid for an inspection and it had some major issues including a sagging roof that they tried covering up. I’m so glad we ended up with the house we’re in now.

I’m also slightly worried about the schools near me. They have good ratings but that’s only because all they worry about is testing. They test those kids so often it’s insane and they’re elementary aged. That’s why I choose to drive 20-25 minutes to teach in a small country school. They have way more freedom in their teaching and they don’t test their kids nearly as often. They mainly only do the tests that go with the curriculum and state testing

 

[happ]

Thank you! I was also thinking that about can always go back. If April/May are awful, he just returns in Aug like normal. I don't see that being the case, but it is nice to have on the back burner.
My DS9 really struggles with reading fluency so that was my plan...just reading alot and add in math fact drills so he has the multiplication committed to memory for the start of 4th.

Another homeschooling mom here. I ask my kids every summer before sending in their paperwork whether or not they want to go back. It's almost a joke now because the answer is always "NO!" I'm good with that and I love having them home, but it is a lot of work. It's worth it though and I don't regret it for a minute.

 

[Haley R]

Another homeschooling mom here. I ask my kids every summer before sending in their paperwork whether or not they want to go back. It's almost a joke now because the answer is always "NO!" I'm good with that and I love having them home, but it is a lot of work. It's worth it though and I don't regret it for a minute.

I mean I teach either way so might as well teach my own kids right? Lol

I’m kidding. I’m sure it’s not all sunshine and daisies when it’s your own kids.

 

[Haley R]

I got that too, but for Hawaii. It's for their vacation club (i.e. timeshare), so you'll have to go through their sales presentation for the deal. Once you buy it, you'd then call to book a date.

Ah okay. I doubt we would use the offer because it has to be used by April 7

 

[wanderlust7]

Need some advice. I'm going to be 5/24 once the personal Plat hit my credit reports. I think that's sometime soon after the second statement cuts? The date of the second statement cut is exactly 60 dates from my last Chase app - the CIC that I had to go through recon to get approved. Since then I've dropped combined Chase CL to 30k. Before that it was already <50% income and <70k. I had 2 returned payments and 1 late payment due to a typo in the bank account (the second time was because the autopay didn't update the corrected info) - all were reversed.

My original plan was to just take a break from Chase until August. But with DPs of CIP #2 with SSN, I'm tempted to go for it. I think it's a loophole that's going to close sooner or later (my theory is that the EIN option will stick around). I'm okay with 2 wasted pull if I'm denied. More worried about a shutdown.

Chase stats:
09/18 CSR
09/18 CIP
11/18 CIU
01/19 CIC

Go for it or don't go for it?

 

[platamama]

I was actually in education prior to kids. I taught in Cherry Creek, which is almost as good as the districts can get here in CO, and even then, the school I was in was a poor performer. I don't remember hearing a lot of good things about Adams 5-star. We are in Jeffco now and there are some good schools but most are mediocre at best. Funding just isn't there. If you look at the stats, CO has some of the lowest per pupil funding in the country. Thankfully, CO has open enrollment so you could take your future children to any school that you want BUT the good schools are very hard for those not living in that area to get into. Most of those are on a lottery system. You'd really want to move into an area that has good schools but then the houses are $$$$. Like they aren't already $$$$ enough

That sounds on track with what I've heard here! I've looked up the funding before, that's just so sad to me. MIL comes home with some completely ridiculous and unbelievable stories about things that are going on, and across all the schools too. She's on OT so she travels between 5-6 schools every week, multiple each day.

It is sad and it's the reason why so many parents are feeling the need to pay out the nose for private school or homeschool.

I get completely irritated with the lack of funding for public education. It's been a huge problem in CO ever since the TABOR Act got passed in 1992 (the author of the bill, Douglas Bruce, went on to become a convicted felon of multiple crimes, but his anti-tax legacy lives on), and fortunately in Boulder county the voters pass local mill levies to support schools. That does make property here expensive, but I think our public schools here are pretty good as a result. It's true that you need to live in the catchment area to be guaranteed a spot in the school you want, even with open enrollment. I think public education could be so great if it wasn't so starved all the time.

I’m also slightly worried about the schools near me. They have good ratings but that’s only because all they worry about is testing. They test those kids so often it’s insane and they’re elementary aged. That’s why I choose to drive 20-25 minutes to teach in a small country school. They have way more freedom in their teaching and they don’t test their kids nearly as often. They mainly only do the tests that go with the curriculum and state testing

All the testing that's been going on drives me absolutely bonkers. I opted my kid out of those, that was easy since they would post a testing schedule, but then she still had to take the practice online tests that the teachers had to go over to prep the kids on the test would look like. So more lost class time to teach how to take the dang tests, in addition to covering the info that was going to be on the tests. Just ridiculous.

 

[Haley R]

I get completely irritated with the lack of funding for public education. It's been a huge problem in CO ever since the TABOR Act got passed in 1992 (the author of the bill, Douglas Bruce, went on to become a convicted felon of multiple crimes, but his anti-tax legacy lives on), and fortunately in Boulder county the voters pass local mill levies to support schools. That does make property here expensive, but I think our public schools here are pretty good as a result. It's true that you need to live in the catchment area to be guaranteed a spot in the school you want, even with open enrollment. I think public education could be so great if it wasn't so starved all the time.



All the testing that's been going on drives me absolutely bonkers. I opted my kid out of those, that was easy since they would post a testing schedule, but then she still had to take the practice online tests that the teachers had to go over to prep the kids on the test would look like. So more lost class time to teach how to take the dang tests, in addition to covering the info that was going to be on the tests. Just ridiculous.

They call ours CFAs. They literally test the kids like every two weeks. It’s crazy. How do you fit all of our actual instruction in when you have a test that often? The answer is you don’t. Teachers are left teaching towards the test and that’s about it

 

[wendow]

I get completely irritated with the lack of funding for public education. It's been a huge problem in CO ever since the TABOR Act got passed in 1992 (the author of the bill, Douglas Bruce, went on to become a convicted felon of multiple crimes, but his anti-tax legacy lives on), and fortunately in Boulder county the voters pass local mill levies to support schools. That does make property here expensive, but I think our public schools here are pretty good as a result. It's true that you need to live in the catchment area to be guaranteed a spot in the school you want, even with open enrollment. I think public education could be so great if it wasn't so starved all the time.

Interesting. I didn't know why the funding was so poor here. Just knew it was and yes, that the schools are starving If you are in Boulder, then yeah, you guys have some of the best schools in the state. You are by far, the exception and not the norm here.