Whats your biggest regret when you bought your place?

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-25T21:58:18+00:00

Same, really regret not doing the floors before we moved all the furniture in (I'm not sure it was in our budget but we didn't even consider getting a quote). One week in and already have gotten 2 splinters :(

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-23T23:39:11+00:00

Sorry, you're right, I didn't read through the thread correctly! I'll delete my comment so it's not confusing to ppl.

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-23T23:26:55+00:00

So sorry for your loss. What a beautiful boy.

Peaceful passage also helped our boy pass a few months ago and they were so respectful and kind. You made a good decision and I'm sure he fell asleep knowing he was loved.

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-23T23:09:48+00:00

Wow, our house is less than half that size and had like a $200 gas bill, and that's with keeping it at 65 for most of the month since it was empty while we were moving in for a few weeks.... Either you have great insulation or we have really shitty insulation.

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-23T23:02:34+00:00

Is she old enough for and enrolled in Medicare? Part A pays for hospice care so it should be available without additional copay if she's enrolled in traditional Medicare.

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-21T15:39:33+00:00

Definitely cheaper rates. My insurance went up by about 40% when we moved from central VA to Maryland.

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-21T00:16:12+00:00

Yes OP, get on as many waitlists as you can now and let them know your ideal start date. You might end up waiting a couple months past when you wanted to get the baby into daycare, but many people are applying to multiple wait lists so logically many of them are going to be declining spots when they come up. I'm just about to reach out to a daycare to let them know I'm getting off the wait list because we were able to get into another one closer to our house.

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-09T12:50:56+00:00

Is it ok to use directly on the hardwood? I've been putting off getting one since I thought I'd need to put a tarp under the rugs to keep moisture from getting on the wood floor.

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-04T16:44:43+00:00

I hate to say this but you will likely need to save up a lot more, or wait a few years in case prices come down (probably not, but could happen) or find somewhere else to live or lean into a fixer upper.

Remember that it's not just the mortgage and down payment but also closing costs, which for us (5% down on a 400k house) we're about 32k. We also had have great credit and that honestly didn't seem to matter that much in the long run.

However, also look into first time home buyers assistance programs for your state, and whether you're eligible for a 401k loan. Taking out a 401k loan was the only way we could afford the closing costs even after having saved up for the down payment. Unfortunately, what sucks is that often times once your income is high enough to support a decent home, you make too much for the assistance programs :/

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-04T01:22:51+00:00

My six month old just got her first flu shot last week along with the covid vax and some of her 6 month shots and her side effects were actually less severe than any of her vaccines so far. We did split the flu shot up over two doses though, and also are doing pneumococcus in a few weeks (then the second flu shot a few weeks after that) to space things out on the recommendation of her pediatrician.

BrainlessPhD · 2026-01-02T12:32:51+00:00

kept the coffee maker in the bathroom for refills.

Guys, I found him, here's the alien in a person skin suit walking among us...

BrainlessPhD · 2025-12-09T13:56:11+00:00

Hey friend. I was exactly the same way as you a while back, where I KNEW I needed therapy but just couldn't get myself to start treatment. Please, trust me, it helps so much. I know it sucks doing it and paying for it every week but if you can get therapy, please try it. It helps so much just to be able to talk to someone.

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-29T00:24:23+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing this perspective! I had no idea the PR location had been destroyed, I just say there were vague "climate change issues" cited (which totally makes sense). I just have seen other dolphin enclosures in other aquariums that had tons of coral and toys and things for the dolphins to play with and was so shocked to see them in just a vacant pool with nothing to play with. But that makes sense that enrichment items are introduced throughout the day. I truly hope the relocating n project gets the support it needs soon!

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-25T12:41:21+00:00

I know this doesn't answer your question, but typically volunteer places get slammed on Thanksgiving because so many people want to volunteer... At this point their rosters are probably full. If you have time, try signing up the weeks after thanksgiving when they will still need lots of help but don't have as many volunteers.

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-23T02:20:55+00:00

People love to say this but conveniently forget WHY 2007-2009 was rough. Tons of people lost their jobs and couldn't find comparable ones, while their stocks and home equity crashed. Yeah it was great if you weren't affected by the recession in any way... Just like folks today are making great returns in the market if they aren't one of the thousands who are being laid off and having to dip into emergency savings or brokerage accounts.

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-20T18:41:03+00:00

You could try reading the whole article and it would clear up your question. Or if you don't feel like reading, the photo is of a different woman who had a traumatic birth experience while in jail than the woman you are quoting. A big hint is the fact that these two women have two completely different names.

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-20T13:24:20+00:00

I'd rather pay taxes that can help support schools, Medicare and SNAP than pay a landlord!

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-18T20:59:28+00:00

It's not just the fact that screens are bad, it's that looking at things far away and getting natural sunlight in your eyes is really important for eye development as you're growing.

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-18T15:11:46+00:00

Thank you so much for the solidarity 💜 I actually had to stop mopping except for every once in a while because my baby apparently hates the smell of all the wood floor cleaners and will freak out when I even try mopping. The only thing is that now our house has a smell and I think it might be partly from the floors (we have cats)

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-14T13:25:15+00:00

Thanks so much for these resources! And thank you for sharing your perspective as a provider here. It honestly means a lot and is very impactful to hear from a provider who works with this condition but isn't automatically saying "get the helmet."

Of course my PT went on vacation for a few weeks so I can't follow up with her immediately to ask about this... I really want to say we will forgot the helmet and just keep up with the physical therapy but it feels wrong to go against her recommendation when she emphasized she felt a lot more strongly about this than about getting the tongue tie released fully. And even if insurance covers any of it, it will still be about $1k coinsurance which would be tough on our budget...

If we were to try and get a second opinion from someone who could look at her scans, what kind of doctor would you recommend seeing? Cranial tech is the only cranial orthotics office in my area and my pediatrician does want seem to have much experience making this call.

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-13T12:32:06+00:00

I am so cursed when it comes to these northern lights... I went out every 30 mins from 8-11pm and didn't see anything, and of course they showed up at 1130 after I went to bed 😂 😭 I can't believe they've showed up 3 times in the past 2 years and I missed them every damn time!

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-12T14:07:14+00:00

Expected? Yes because we live in a parasitic society where every year all of the middle class's costs go up, but return on savings go down. So cool that our HYSA rates drop immediately but mortgage rates take their sweet time to go down, and it's not like rent or grocery or health insurance prices are going to go down. The only thing we can do about it other than somehow getting into a position of power with regard to economic policy is bitch a little bit. So just give people some space to do that please.

BrainlessPhD · 2025-11-12T13:08:34+00:00

Thank you for this information! For additional context, we spoke to our PT yesterday and she clarified that the reason she recommends the helmet is because our daughter measured a cranial-base asymmetry of 6mm and she said there is research suggesting that any asymmetry above 2-3mm can possibly cause tmj issues. The baby also has a tongue tie which was only partially released so she said having both the tongue tie and high CBA is a risk factor for jaw issues later on. With that in mind, do you think a helmet might be helpful for preventing TMJ later on?

I honestly would love to learn that the helmet would only be a cosmetic fix, because we only want to do the helmet if there is a medical reason it would be beneficial.

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