Random Questions

The Spotify student rate is very good and comes with Hulu. I think the headspace app might be free or very reduced for an annual membership too!

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Any local venues that have student memberships that you’d be interested in (museums, parks, zoos/aquariums, etc.)?

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Not sure where to put this so I’m going to put it here. Someone I know is looking for a job. She’s got a lot of programming skill but no degree, and needs some work flexibility for disability reasons. If you know of a job that might fit or want more details, let me know :slight_smile:

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I will query my tribe of nerds. Have a friend who works at RedHat and they do fully remote AFAIK. Can inquire about part-time or flex time if that’s a need in addition to remote. I know this friend got another friend who had experience but no degree hired there. I think they also have efforts to push for hiring minorities in the field, last I discussed the possibility of me or Sib getting a job there.

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Thanks :slight_smile:

Any recommendations for a good national bank? I’m currently with a local credit union. I’d like something with no fees, no minimum balance, no direct deposit requirement. I want to open an account here with a bank that will also have a branch in my new town, as well as atms (should I need them) as I travel around the country.

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Consider an online bank like Schwab? Not sure if they still do this, but they used to pay for all ATM fees.

I’ve been pretty happy with my Capital One 360 checking. I regularly keep it at $0 and have never been charged a fee. Mobile deposits clear super fast and transfers never get held up for any reason.

I strongly recommend against Chase checking, it’s been the absolute worst experience I’ve ever had with a bank. They charge a fee if you don’t do direct deposit, delay check deposits by 7-10 business days, and frequently when I transfer money they will just hold it. It will be gone from my other account, and just on “hold” for 2 weeks at a time before I can use it in my Chase account.

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Thank you both for your suggestions!

Maybe I’m old-fashioned (or just old) but I like to be able to walk into a bank location and actually talk to a person. I’m not sure how I would have gotten change for my garage sale from an ATM for example. Does anyone have a national bank recommendation that has physical locations staffed by real people?

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Well, I was going to recommend chase but I guess other have had problems :scream: For what it’s worth, I’ve been very happy at chase. I’ve never had any fees, but I do have my paycheck and Ry’s ssdi on direct deposit. I transfer in and out of the account all the time to my ally account and have never had anything put on hold. I have a chase savings for my sinking funds/savings to spend and I love how I can instantly transfer between the 2 using the app or online. Transfers from Ally usually take 1 business day.

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We’ve also used Chase for our national bank and haven’t had any problems (we needed a bank with branches in both states.) We did give them a lot of $, though.

Bank of America decided that dh was dead last month, so that’s been interesting.

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@JRA64 i’ve also had zero problems with Chase, though they aren’t as common here as where I used to live and the closest branch is like 45 minutes away, so I also opened a free checking account with atm card at the local chain (very small, like 10 branches?) I keep some money there, and when I top it up I just write myself a check from my chase acct (I have direct deposit of my paycheck at chase) - I could have also set up electronic transfers, but I still have a ton of paper checks, so :woman_shrugging:. I don’t know if chase has a free acct though.

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I have this idea that i want to take my aunt on vacation to Japan. Probably not for another few years ? But i want to treat her.

How much should I budget for? Would aim for affordable, not luxury, but also not shared accomodations with strangers. Would be two round trip flights as well.

5,000???

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Flights are probably 1-2k per person - varies a lot, sales happen sometimes, but a loooong international flight with an older relative might be a good time to splurge. Hotels can be $$$ in tokyo but much cheaper almost anywhere else. Food is cheaper than I expected. Obviously a lot depends on how many days you stay. I’d ballpark $6-7k maybe?

It sounds like a cool idea. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thank you!! My guess is we’d meet in some place like Seattle and fly out from there.
Probably would not spend much time in Tokyo, but would plan on smaller places to stay. My aunt biked across Japan twice and has a lot of knowledge. :slight_smile: I will feel out her desires (and also my own) but I have a feeling a big city visit isn’t going to be a large part of our plan.

She has since retired, and a bit earlier than she intended, and I want to make sure she has a chance to go back even if it’s not in her budget. :heart:

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I need gift ideas for my mentor during my practicum for grad school. And I worked in two different preschool classrooms, each with a teacher and two assistants. I want to bring them something to say thank you for letting me hang out in their rooms, but six people is a lot of people.

My daughter suggested cookies (she is consistently sugar-focused!) and I love cookies but I feel like food gifts are kind of fraught. Maybe someone can’t eat gluten or eggs or something. I don’t quite know all the preschool people well enough to know about their food.

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Starbucks gift cards tend to be a universal hit IME. And they have a wide enough array of stuff they sell anyone can find something.

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My husband’s niece is getting married in August and I’m considering this dress. Is this dress too white to wear to a wedding? There will be family pictures taken so for I am overthinking it to the extreme.

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Nope, that dress reads as green floral. I think you will look lovely!

Just avoid accessorizing with a veil, big clutch of flowers… You know, that sort of thing.

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Not too white.

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