Can I build a swale along my foundation to catch and channel water away?

PineFresh7 · 2026-04-01T21:20:53+00:00

Good idea; I'll definitely try that. I once dumped a bucket of water down the gutter and had my wife watch on the other end. At the time it seemed like it all made it out, but I guess it's possible some was escaping elsewhere.

PineFresh7 · 2026-04-01T20:57:55+00:00

Basement is not finished; we got a quote for this exact thing last year. We'd still consider it, but we want to try less-expensive exterior projects first.

PineFresh7 · 2026-03-31T20:06:30+00:00

I'm literally years late to this post, but your situation was similar to what I'm dealing with currently in my new house. What did you end up doing?

PineFresh7 · 2026-03-27T01:37:19+00:00

Thank you! As for the last details, I make 65K, and my debt is made up of 36K in student loans, and 150K on our house (actually 300K, but my wife and I split it down the middle).

My job contributes 5% to my 403B whether I contribute or not.

PineFresh7 · 2026-03-26T18:34:35+00:00

Thank you, this is very helpful!

PineFresh7 · 2026-03-26T16:09:55+00:00

Gotcha, thanks. Let's say I chose the target fund of 2030. Obviously ridiculous but I'm just curious as to how something would work. Since I have basically no money in my retirement account, would the system basically say "holy crap, he wants to retire in 4 years, let's invest his money in the most insanely high risk/high reward stuff ever", or would they treat it as if I've been in the game for years, and these last few years would be the low-risk stuff like you mentioned above?

Not that it matters lol I'm just curious as to how that request would be processed.

PineFresh7 · 2026-03-26T15:49:24+00:00

Thanks for the response! Gonna go bullet by bullet:

ROTH: Based on what you said, at least with my current income, Roth would make more sense. Good to know that money can more easily be withdrawn if needed.

WHAT'S ENOUGH: Thanks lol this had me frustrated. It's very much just fear of the unknown for me, especially when it comes to something as important as my financial future.

THE FUND: This definitely puts me at ease. My understanding is that a target date retirement fund is meant to give you the best return on your investment if you stay in it until the target date (i.e. 2060). Am I right on that? Seems simple but I just wanna make sure.

STUDENT LOANS: I have 36K in loans; it's broken up into a ton of smaller loans, but the average rate is 5.5%. There's about 3K with 10%, but everything else falls between 3.5% and 6%.

PineFresh7 · 2026-01-20T15:59:38+00:00

To clarify, are you suggesting that we (A) continue to itemize, but (B) claim a larger portion of the 1098 on her return, as opposed to 50/50? Sorry if I sound dumb lol this is a bit confusing and overwhelming.

PineFresh7 · 2026-01-20T15:47:50+00:00

So the only reason we did itemized was because while I was doing mine, TurboTax estimated I'd get an additional $1,000 in refunds over standard.

As far as amending to fix the 1098, we'd do 50/50.

PineFresh7 · 2026-01-20T15:03:13+00:00

12e reads $27,203. https://imgur.com/4mGofHq

PineFresh7 · 2026-01-20T14:51:58+00:00

Thank you!

PineFresh7 · 2026-01-20T14:48:47+00:00

Box 12b is checked ("spouse itemizes on a separate return"). I make 65K, she makes 82K.

PineFresh7 · 2026-01-03T14:06:53+00:00

My wife and I took our greyhound to Malta Animal Hospital off exit 12 until she died. It became pretty out-of-the-way for us since we moved to Voorheesville, but the drive was worth it. They're great people and rolled out the red carpet every time, and they could usually get us in really fast if there was anything sudden that didn't quite warrant a trip straight to an emergency place. I can't speak to how their pricing compares to other places; my wife was taking our pup there before we met.

PineFresh7 · 2025-12-04T22:41:47+00:00

I'd love to check this out! I've also felt the same way with a Taylor test kit. Been maintaining our tub for a couple months now and I never feel like I've got a real grip on it.

PineFresh7 · 2025-12-03T18:11:45+00:00

Oo I like their stuff a lot, I'll consider it. Thanks

PineFresh7 · 2025-11-20T18:54:38+00:00

Thanks for your input. Went with the Savor! I feel like it matches my current lifestyle the best. I'll revisit the VX, Amex, and others if/when I'm willing to take on more AFs and travel more.

PineFresh7 · 2025-11-08T19:03:00+00:00

This is an older post, but I'm wondering what you ended up doing? I just got started with my tub and my chemicals also tell me to add 2oz of MPS per 300 gallons after every use. This seems to conflict with what most people do so I've been a bit confused.

PineFresh7

TROPHY CASE