Post Your Wins

[cypher1]

I just checked my checking account which showed the IRS deposit of just over 600. I wasn't expecting to receive any stimulus check, but I'll take it. Thanks, Uncle Joe.

[disneysteve]

This isn't a done deal yet, but I think we've figured out a plan to finally ditch our land line. The problem is my mom calls that number. Our cell phones are a different area code and count as long distance calls for her and she has no long distance service. She found out today that adding long distance would be $9/month. Great. We pay $55/month for the land line so we told her we would gladly pay the $9 for her to allow us to cut out that bill. I have to check on the details and make sure the $9 figure is correct but if it is, we'll add that to her service and drop ours, saving us $46/month (probably a bit less due to taxes and fees). The non-monetary benefit is all of the telemarketer calls will stop.

[kork13]

A few financial wins all circling around some happy news.

Happy news: Our daughter was born Thursday night! 8 days overdue, but everything went very smoothly. DW & DD are both doing great.

Financial Wins:
- Grateful for good health insurance coverage -- zero out of pocket costs for the birth center/midwives that we used throughout DW's pregnancy, as well as the physical therapy she used to keep everything strong/in the right place while pregnant. (No idea how much all that would have otherwise cost)
- I convinced DW to let me be her moral support during the birth, rather than hiring a doula (saving ~$1k )... I'm no expert, but happy to report that I crushed it (or at least, DW was happy/satisfied with my services).
- 2 of DW's sisters arrived last Thursday (11th). The younger sister served as free childcare, at home & ready for whenever labor started (saving ~$100). The older sister played photographer, which DW really wanted this time & didn't really have for our 2 sons' births (saving ~$400).
- The older sister also brought up 3 big bags full of baby girl clothes (her own daughter is ~1.5 y/o), so we're pretty covered on baby clothes for at least the first year at no cost to us, and can expect she'll continue to share more clothes as our daughters grow. (saving easily $1000+ over the next few years). We also donated the large collection of items items we didn't want to keep, so we'll also have an extra minor tax write-off (~$100 tax savings) come next year.

Giving birth (and babies generally) can be very expensive... But do it right, and it's pretty easy to control the costs & still have a perfectly happy experience.

[disneysteve]

Congratulations kork! Best wishes to all.

[disneysteve]

My mother has an account with Ameriprise. Actually, two accounts: an IRA and a taxable brokerage account. She's been with them for years (used to be called something else). She liked the broker she dealt with originally but she retired and her account has changed hands twice now. She doesn't like the current person at all and has had a lot of trouble dealing with him.

I finally got her account info and set up online access today and linked the account to her external checking account. The main problem she's had is that as cash builds up in her brokerage account, we want to withdraw it and move it into her Vanguard account, but they always drag their feet on those transfers. Now I can log in and transfer money whenever we want to and don't need to involve the broker in the process. I just transferred $5,600 that has accumulated since the last check she got at the beginning of the month. It should be in her checking account tomorrow and then I'll transfer it to Vanguard.

We had considered seeing if we could just transfer the whole account to Vanguard but as long as we can do everything electronically and bypass the human broker, I'm fine with her leaving it with Ameriprise.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Congratulations kork! So exciting!

[disneysteve]

I knew this one was coming but it's still a win. Last month was the final installment payment on one of our phones so our bill this month is $20 lower than it had been and will remain there going forward. That drops the annual expenses by $240.

[disneysteve]

I just redeemed $75.04 in cash back from my Discover card.

[corn18]

My stock options went into the money today and I sold them. They haven't been in the money since they were granted 2 years ago. $7,000 I wasn't expecting.

[scfr]

We had another DIY win: DH replaced the tailgate lift support struts and the rubber cover for the lift handle on our older car. Total cost was $27.50 for parts and a small tool.

And we had a rather odd win that I suppose we should call an "upside to getting old" win: We got takeout lunches from our favorite Chinese place. We used to get two meals plus a snack out of a lunch from that place. This time we got THREE meals!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I got a vaccine today! So did DH!

[kork13]

Our newborn daughter's social security card arrived in the mail the other day, so I just finished opening up the 529 & UTMA accounts in her name! I'm basically doing the same thing for her that I have thus far for our two boys -- $3000 kickstarter in each account (Vanguard's minimum), 100% into VTSAX, adding $100/mo to their 529s (increasing by $10/mo every year in their birth month, probably going to level off at $200/mo @ age 10), and adding $30/mo to their UTMAs. Additionally, I match & send extra random money gifts they receive to their UTMA (though I think I send their Alaska PFD checks to the 529s). Our intention is to provide for a healthy chunk (if not 100%) of their future education with the 529, and have the UTMA available to help them get started with a car, home DP, business, or whatever they may need.

It's a relatively small amount for each child, almost unnoticeable in our budget (we spend about that much on an average grocery trip to Costco)... But the beauty of time & compounding is that by the time they're in/graduating college, those accounts will be fat, healthy, and hugely beneficial.

[corn18]

Our newborn daughter's social security card arrived in the mail the other day, so I just finished opening up the 529 & UTMA accounts in her name! I'm basically doing the same thing for her that I have thus far for our two boys -- $3000 kickstarter in each account (Vanguard's minimum), 100% into VTSAX, adding $100/mo to their 529s (increasing by $10/mo every year in their birth month, probably going to level off at $200/mo @ age 10), and adding $30/mo to their UTMAs. Additionally, I match & send extra random money gifts they receive to their UTMA (though I think I send their Alaska PFD checks to the 529s). Our intention is to provide for a healthy chunk (if not 100%) of their future education with the 529, and have the UTMA available to help them get started with a car, home DP, business, or whatever they may need.

It's a relatively small amount for each child, almost unnoticeable in our budget (we spend about that much on an average grocery trip to Costco)... But the beauty of time & compounding is that by the time they're in/graduating college, those accounts will be fat, healthy, and hugely beneficial.

What will you do with the 529 if they decide not to go to college?

[rennigade]

Our newborn daughter's social security card arrived in the mail the other day, so I just finished opening up the 529 & UTMA accounts in her name! I'm basically doing the same thing for her that I have thus far for our two boys -- $3000 kickstarter in each account (Vanguard's minimum), 100% into VTSAX, adding $100/mo to their 529s (increasing by $10/mo every year in their birth month, probably going to level off at $200/mo @ age 10), and adding $30/mo to their UTMAs. Additionally, I match & send extra random money gifts they receive to their UTMA (though I think I send their Alaska PFD checks to the 529s). Our intention is to provide for a healthy chunk (if not 100%) of their future education with the 529, and have the UTMA available to help them get started with a car, home DP, business, or whatever they may need.

It's a relatively small amount for each child, almost unnoticeable in our budget (we spend about that much on an average grocery trip to Costco)... But the beauty of time & compounding is that by the time they're in/graduating college, those accounts will be fat, healthy, and hugely beneficial.

Is there anything special you have to do with vanguard to open vtsax up in their name? I was looking into that the other day but didnt find any good info. Ive been doing only $200/month in our 529 plan. I dont want too much in it since money will be come from other places if our kid decides to go to college. If not, guess we'll take the money out of the 529 and pay whatever penalty we have to.

[kork13]

What will you do with the 529 if they decide not to go to college?

[Deadpan] Brainwash them from an early age.

Really, either reallocate the money to one of the other kids (or to ourselves), maybe to a cousin (hoping my brothers get on that soon), or simply take the penalty hit taking it out. Of course, if they elect to go the trade school route, I could use some of it for that.

The other side is that I'm actually kinda hoping to limit how much they grow to, keeping it at 50-75% of the money they'll need (I know, not quite what I said above). That'll give me more flexibility in reallocating it to another child, while making them responsible for part of that cost.

FWIW, I don't think that'll be a problem at least for DS1 -- he clearly has a science/engineering mind, even at only 5y/o... So college/higher ed somehow will likely be a foregone conclusion for him. DS2 seems more "arts" minded, so we'll see where that goes.