Recent content by dg001

My parents loaned us money for a down-payment on my first house interest free, which we repaid within a year (surprise bonus from work). They also paid full for in-state tuition, and for my wedding. Totally appreciate it, and acknowledge how much it helped us. DD1 is off to college now, and we...

There is actually a downside - but maybe not for this crowd (retired). If you and your kids ever apply for secret clearance for a US govt job (not just military or DOD, even as a contractor), they might have to rescind the job offer if they find out about your dual citizenship. A relative...

I think there are two different discussions here. One is spending beyond your means or spending when you don't have to. Fine, that is wrong, and we are a self-selecting group of frugalites - so of course that behavior will be dissed. However, there are reasons why younger two-income couples in...

Thank you! I was wondering at the lack of sympathy in this thread. I know when people make what sounds like a lot of money anything they say other than "I have a fantastic life" sounds like whining. But the fact is - making $250K a year in NYC or one of another 5 cities gives you a very...

I am an immigrant. I "look like" one, I speak like one. It does not bother me when asked about my background from strangers, but where and how I am asked makes a difference. It does bother me if they ask my teenager, who was born here. And I think that is the difference - I feel whenever she...

It reminded me of the SNL sketch. https://youtu.be/ATTMB4gH3sU

We had bought a 60 year old house in a great school district - and over the years added new bathrooms and new $30k kitchen and other improvements. Recently, we sold that house - a developer brought it (we went through a real estate agent, and paid full commission) and is now going to just get...

For a CS/Math major, if looking for jobs - what will matter more is internship and other work experiences - even for the first job. And - at least it worked this way for me - once he realizes how much money CS majors make, even in internships, it will focus his work in school. My grades the last...

This! Loved your post! To the OP - I think the focus of advice and support to young people should be the balance of finding something that would pay off in terms of the "blood, sweat and money" they put into a college degree, and provide a sense of accomplishment of having done something worth...

In all fairness to the author of the article, none of the folks who replied here are "typical" spenders. You all got deeper into the meat of the numbers and figured out LBYM and expenses and all the other stuff most people are too lazy to do. You probably saw increases in home values or equity...

I am a little taken aback by the reverse snobbery in this thread. Does it surprise anyone that there are people unhappy and stressed with their life at all income levels? I would imagine the amount of money is not the issue - the need to rethink life choices even after you have seemingly...

I am not sure this is answering your question, but I can tell you how I start planning vacations. I start with an idea of the dates I want to go away on, and a list rather like the one you have - possibilities. After that, its basically research and searches. I look in Kayak or one of the...

Welcome MrsHaloFIRE! Wanted to give you a shout out - we will be going on our first cruise this summer and its on the Holland Volendam to Alaska. My parents (who have also never cruised before) are going to be in a Neptune suite "upstairs", and we have a "four person" oceanview on the lowly...

lurker84, I know some people who have done this, but most of them went to the country through their American employer first, got contacts and a job offer and then navigated through the government immigration system. The folks I know moved to Singapore and New Zealand, and none of them were...

I think its a cultural thing. In some cultures, a wedding is a statement of where the parents are. My parents are not American born - we wanted to get married in Las Vegas with just close family and friends, do it up nice in the Venetian or Belagio (we would have paid for it), but my dad (who...