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I'm doing my annual insurance review and since I'm recently married I have a lot more to investigate this year. DH is a USAA member and when they say "for life" in the commercials he took it to heart. I use GEICO but really I use whoever gets me the best rate. He has home, auto, boat, and...

We are fairly open but that's thanks to a number of unfortunate incidents where we HAD to talk about finances and how things will get paid. My sister was involved in a messy divorce a few years back and when her ex maxed out credit cards in both their names and declared bankruptcy. She asked...

I was a landlord for 5 years. It was a nightmare. We had the same tenants the entire time and they paid on time but broke EVERYTHING. And we never held them responsible for the repairs. We never raised the rent. When we finally asked them to leave so we could sell the place they stopped...

I'm not sure if I'd call starting a new career with $100k in debt a great path for advancement. If military is not an option then community college is much more affordable for the basics. You're on this site because you're interested in savings and money challenges. You know that he is not being...

The Army needs Environmental Science and Engineering Officers (ESEOs). Look for ROTC programs.

We're aiming for GI Bill to cover half for each kid. The other half is being paid for with 529s and if that's not enough then loans will be taken out. But I suspect that by the time the kids are in college (14 years from now) the 529s will actually be overfunded. I don't think we'll fill out...

DH has it on outlook thanks to the "meeting requests" they have exchanged to keep the schedule straight. So it wasn't really anyone's idea but it is nice to have. I get what you are saying. I appreciate the new perspective.

No, that's not my ammo against her. If she's going to continuously leave the kids at our doorstep to advance her career, that's her choice. It's also our choice to take the kids in and house them and care for them and love them. However, it is not our responsibility to pay child support to...

Suze Orman Supports the FIRE Movement—on One Condition | Money "But I now realize that I was given bad information. Retire Early for FIRE followers is not about stopping work completely. It is about stopping work that you don’t like, or just do for the money, and finding work that you...

Yes I see what you mean. Along those lines should we respond that DH is retiring in a year and not going to work at all so we can/will re-file to have support assessed against his actual income rather than his earning potential? :laugh: I'm just kidding of course! I'm scared of how messy...

I did a lot of camping as a kid. Entire summers on the beach because my dad was a park ranger and we got to stay there for practically free. When I met DH and we moved in together I knew I wanted a camper for us and my stepkids. We ended up finding a used 2015 Forest River Wildwood 195BH with...

Yes DH has calendars from the past two years when this started. The calendars can be largely supported by emails or text messages between DH and the ex so it is unlikely that a "he said/she said" case would get very far. I'd like to thank everyone for their feedback. This is a sensitive...

Yes you are right. Neither of us has a great support system in the area, all our families are several hours away. If she went that route she would be hiring an au pair or a nanny or something similar. The work would be on us to prove that the kids being with their father is better than them...

Yes we are under MD law, his BAH is included in the calculation for support even though it is not taxed. We have no idea what the ex is getting from the VA if she gets anything at all. If she is, it should be included in the calculation. Of course we can't prove what she makes and she will...

I’d love to have the kids more! I think it would provide them some routine and stability that might be lacking in their other home. It might help that I don’t want kids of my own but I can live vicariously through them.

Thanks for this. Part of DH retiring is because he does not want to move or travel anymore. He is not going to work for at least a few months after leaving active duty and if he does go back to work it’ll be part time or for less money. We don’t expect him to make what he earns now. Work for...

Yes to both. Maryland works on a child support calculation that includes not only income of the parents but also the amount of time the children spend at each home. There is a magic cutoff at anything below 35% being an automatic sole custody formula- so if you have the kids 2 nights a year or...

All good points, thank you. According to the attorney the support amount will drop to about $750-800/mo. The attorney seems to believe that this is an open and shut case since we're only asking to document what is actually occurring with visitation and not requesting something radically new...

Moral/ethical dilemma here: DH pays child support for 4 year old twins. He made a bad agreement at the time of his divorce from their mother and has been honoring that agreement for 2 years. He is paying support as though he barely sees his kids ($1800/mo) however he has them routinely more...

I somehow ended up on their call list as my dad approached 65. They called non-stop asking for him. I still can't figure out how my number was in the system as his. In the end I'm glad they called me instead of him because he's a vulnerable adult and is probably gullible enough to fall for...

DH and I think about what freedom will feel like every Sunday evening. It's one of the more motivating factors for us to achieve ER.

We just finished off our attached two car garage into what was supposed to be a family room and a laundry room. Our estimate came in at 40k. I had only allotted 30k to the entire project. We ended up keeping the washer/dryer in the basement and made the laundry room into a mudroom, which was...

My mother died in January. It was very unexpected. She was 57 years old. My father found her on the back porch when he came home that night. He's retired from the state but also works part time for a local law enforcement agency. His LEO status gave him 3 free counseling sessions as part of...

Have you asked DW whether her agency is preparing for a VERA/VSIP? Some federal agencies will allow her to retire early but consider it "on time" in order to lower their numbers on board and not have to conduct a reduction in force (RIF). Her eligibility will depend on how many years of...

Thanks for this. We’re hiring an attorney to handle this as our situation is unique and we don’t want to fumble any of the proceedings. In a nutshell we’re going to have the support reassessed to reflect the actual visitation schedule that has occurred for the past 2 years and also to adjust the...