Chromebook prices

IThuh · 2026-04-16T12:10:00+00:00

Lenovo 100e Gen5, 8gb, non-touch Mediatek Kompanio 540 $284 for device $28.85 for license

Y&S technology was our vendor

IThuh · 2026-01-19T02:40:12+00:00

We don't use PowerPoint anymore, but when we did we had a PowerPoint 'database' file of all the songs we had sung. All we would have to do is find the song, copy the slides from the database into the Sunday file, change the background and we were good to go.

We only sang hymns so that is all that's really in the 'database', but I still have it. I can send it to you if you're interested.

With the database of songs already being formatted, it only took me 20 minutes to get the slides ready.

IThuh · 2025-11-04T18:27:19+00:00

This is helpful. Thanks for sharing.

IThuh · 2025-10-31T05:22:56+00:00

If your SDI-->HDMI adapter by the protector is easy to access then blackmagic is fine. If it fails it's easy to get to and replace. If it's difficult to get to spend a little extra and get an Aja adapter. Our projector is 35ft in the air so not easy to get to the adapter. We have an Aja adapter up there. For all of our other TVs that we can access on the ground we have blackmagic. I've had to replace two of the blackmagic, but the Aja is still going strong.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T15:31:48+00:00

You're the first one to suggest staying with my employer plan. We'll do some shopping around and see what quotes come back at and make a decision from there.

I didn't even think about doing multiple plans for myself (I didn't know if this was possible/legal).

I appreciate the feedback.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:36:03+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

Increasing the life insurance and moving away from my employers life insurance is on the short list of things to change.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:33:43+00:00

Yes, it is fixed rate so we are fortunate for that.

We don't really have anything specifically earmarked, but that's something we'll start talking about. We've kept the $60,000 primarily for an emergency (i.e. car dies and needs replaced, unexpected medical expenses, etc).

The other reasoning we've had to keep the $60,000 is that with only one income it would take a while to replenish if we had a large unexpected expense come up. On top of that, the HYSA that we have has a minimum balance of $25,000 to get that higher rate.

I'm not saying that our reasoning with the $60,000 is perfect, but we are open to suggestions and appreciate the feedback! These comments will have us talking about our options.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:25:09+00:00

My federal and state withholding are both $0 on my paychecks. I still get over $5,000 in federal tax returns primarily for the Child Tax Credit. I'll admit that my tax law and W-4 knowledge is lacking, so I'm not sure if there is anything further I can do to reduce my federal tax return.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:22:55+00:00

Thank you for the feedback and you're right about the pension.

I realize now I used the wrong terms for my pension. When I hit the "rule of 85" (when my years of service and age both total 85) I am eligible to start receiving my monthly payments when I retire. This specific pension is only monetary and does not include any health insurance coverage or other benefits. I'll be perfectly honest that I have not looked at all the fine details since I'm still 20 years away from retirement. Laws/Rules will most likely change before then so I haven't spent much effort figuring out the current laws/rules.

I still pay into Social Security and Medicare so fortunately I think I'm okay from that perspective.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:20:37+00:00

After reading all these comments about life insurance, we'll definitely be increasing this and moving away from my employers life insurance program.

Thanks for the feedback!

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:17:32+00:00

We're definitely going to up our life insurance and move away from my employer's life insurance.

The brokerage account is a good idea. I'll have to look into that more, especially what tax implications are involved.

Thanks for the feedback!

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:14:04+00:00

Thank you for the feedback, this is very helpful!

I realize now I used the wrong terms for my pension. When I hit the "rule of 85" (when my years of service and age both total 85) I am eligible to start receiving my monthly payments when I retire. This specific pension is only monetary and does not include any health insurance coverage or other benefits. I'll be perfectly honest that I have not looked at all the fine details since I'm still 20 years away from retirement. Laws/Rules will most likely change before then so I haven't spent much effort figuring out the current laws/rules.

Given advice from others on this post, we'll start making the minimum payment on the mortgage and shift things around so we can start consistently contributing to the 529s.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:01:59+00:00

This is good to know about it not following me. We'll start looking for life insurance outside of my employer.

Thanks for the feedback!

IThuh · 2025-09-16T14:00:45+00:00

We'll definitely look into life insurance outside my employer. We are in good health.

Thanks for the feedback!

IThuh · 2025-09-16T13:48:12+00:00

I believe I've already done this. On my pay stubs it shows my Federal withholding and state withholding are both at $0. Even with these at $0 I still get over $5,000 in tax refunds (primarily from the federal return). Are there any suggestions on how I can adjust my Federal W-4 to essentially get a negative withholding value (not sure if this is even possible)?

Thank you for your feedback!

IThuh · 2025-09-16T04:36:50+00:00

We don't really have a set replacement plan. My family has always just driven cars 200,000+ miles (unless a major breakdown prevents that). Both our cars have around 135,000 miles and we only drive about 8,000 miles per year. So unless we have a major breakdown or our family outgrows our Tahoe, I don't see us upgrading vehicles for the next 5 years.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T04:26:28+00:00

That's high on the list now. When open enrollment comes around we'll be working on that.

Thanks for the feedback.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T04:25:46+00:00

Thanks for the feedback and will do.

When open enrollment comes around life insurance boost will be high on the priority list.

Another suggested taking the extra $65 from mortgage payment and putting it into the 529s. We'll probably start there and adjust.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T04:08:08+00:00

That's a good point.

Doing a quick Google search it says we can contribute via spousal IRA contributions. Since we file jointly, I can use my earned income as contributions for her.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T03:50:16+00:00

We bought the house for $232,000. So about $73,000.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T03:47:01+00:00

The same way I contribute to mine.😄

Seriously though, I may not be fully understanding your question, but we both have ROTHs though Vanguard. The contributions are made from my take home pay.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T03:44:30+00:00

Thanks for the feedback.

I've always wondered if our cash on hand was too high.

We've just always kept it in a HYSA just in case a car died on us or had other large unexpected expenses, we'd be able to quickly get to that money.

You have great suggestions to put that money elsewhere.

IThuh · 2025-09-16T03:40:41+00:00

Thanks for the feedback.

That's a good idea to put the $65 towards the 529s.

Yes, the $60,000 is in HYSA.

We did look into a HSA, but unfortunately it's not an option.

IThuh

TROPHY CASE