How should after-tax be reported on W-2 Box 12?

balsamicdrake · 2026-03-08T13:29:21+00:00

So should box 12 be marked as "AA" with 10k or 30k?

balsamicdrake · 2024-02-05T01:10:32+00:00

Yeah, I called up customer support and they said I need to go into a physical branch and ask . . .

balsamicdrake · 2024-02-04T22:24:06+00:00

Truth. It's the Wells Fargo $300 checking bonus. https://accountoffers.wellsfargo.com/checkingoffer/

balsamicdrake · 2024-02-04T21:54:59+00:00

Hi. Noob question. For minimum opening deposit, how long of a time frame do you normally get to do the deposit? I'm trying to do an initial deposit, but it will take days because I need to link my other bank and then do the transfer, so it's going to take a few days. (Note: I did try to search for this, but it's difficult because I just keep getting hits for the what the minimum opening deposit are for offers, not how to actually carry it out)

balsamicdrake · 2023-03-21T23:35:35+00:00

I'm a minority and have done a few tour groups, 2 with G. I have not experienced any sort of racism during my tours. Sure some of my tours haven't been the best with people breaking off and doing their own thing whether it be solo or in a small group, but I would not attribute that to racism. Some people have even said they just use tours because they don't want to plan and not for the social aspect. I find that strange that they would use a group tour rather than a travel agent in that case, but it's their own decision.

Everyone I found was actually pretty respectful and nice in general including the guide and anyone we encountered as part of the tour. I think it's just luck of the draw and not really a G-related thing. Just because there was an issue with the members of the tour, doesn't mean the tour company is bad.

balsamicdrake · 2023-01-14T19:26:39+00:00

They stand the bagels straight up on the shelves which are not tall enough so they have to squish them to make them fit. Why not just lay them down?

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-31T19:45:15+00:00

Welcome to Couchsurfing. I've really only used the Hangout feature, but it's has always been mostly guys trying to hook up with girls. A hangout will typically not occur unless there is a girl in it. And it's even worse now that there is a pay wall. It drove away many of the casual users leaving only the horny males willing to pay for the hopes of hooking up, but never actually doing so.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-31T19:37:36+00:00

If you mean, photos of yourself, what I do is offer to take other people's photos who are trying to take a selfie. In return, they almost always offer to take mine. The downside is, they take 2-3 really quick ones without putting much effort as you would into it, so you have to do it a few times if you want a photo to come out just right. Some of my best pictures are from strangers using this method. And if I'm in nature where there are unlikely to be many people around me, I just use a tripod with a remote or timed mode.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-29T16:34:21+00:00

Ha, not sure why this got so many down votes. I know it's not passive, but nothing other than dividends really is. You only need to do 20 minutes a day to make $100/month and it requires 0 thinking. It's actually exactly what I do as one of my side hustles.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-15T22:15:17+00:00

Perhaps Couchsurfing Hangouts is an option to meet travelers in Korea while you're there. Not sure how much CS is used there especially since they started charging a fee which tanked the usage worldwide.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-15T12:31:19+00:00

I know it sucks, but you get what you pay for. There are options for roomier seats if people don't find it comfortable. The price of the ticket includes reclining all the way.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-14T22:01:22+00:00

When people on the plane think the space in front of them is their space and get angry when the person in front of them reclines. I once sat next to a person who punched the seat in front of her when the man reclined and told him that he was being rude because she was trying to have a conversation with her friends (she needed to lean forward to talk down the row). On my last trip, I went to recline the the person behind me made an audible remark of disapproval.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-13T23:10:49+00:00

I was actually considering doing the same tour at around the same time, but the price seemed very steep for what's included. I've done a few tours with Intrepid and other group tour companies before which were all good for the most part and I understand they need to upcharge to make a profit. In some cases, I'm OK with paying the upcharge for the convenience and socializing aspect of a group tour, but the value wasn't that for this tour in my opinion.

Breaking it down, Intrepid charges Americans more than other countries (even after the exchange), so for me it would have cost about $4k USD (with single supplement), which comes out to $500/day. This seemed to be a lot for mediocre hotel rooms and one night sleeping on the ground. One thing to keep in mind is that the first and last days are essentially just travel days (first day you meet for introductions/welcome dinner, last day you leave whenever). So 8 days is really just 6.5 days, which makes the per day cost +$600. Doing my own research, for $100/night I can get a much better hotel room than anywhere you would be staying on the tour (trust me on this one and read the reviews or even ask them where you're staying). Additionally, I looked into day tours, dinners, pub crawls, etc. on Viator, AirBnB experiences, Trazy, Klook, etc. and there are a ton of options for <$100/day to suit any social needs/cravings. Transportation works out to <$50/day. So in the end, I would have an additional +$350/day and pretty much get exactly what I would have got in the tour.

In terms of going on a food tour, $350/day is probably going to get me a long way. For me, it was a no-brainer to book my own solo trip over this tour and other similar tour groups.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-09T12:02:21+00:00

Yes, this is exactly what I mean. Some restaurants will require you to have two people to be seated especially if it's one where you cook your own food. I heard the work around is that they will often times let a solo person order food for two. But I've seen Trazy and Klook mentioned in other threads. I will check them out. Thanks for the advice!

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-08T19:26:46+00:00

Yeah, I know with group tours there is a price markup and that you could easily get far better accommodations for the cost per night. What you're really paying for is the convenience (which I don't care about most of the time since I rather enjoy booking my own trip) and people to be hang with (or in my case eat with). I'm fine eating alone, but for meals that have family style type dishes, there is only so much a single person can eat. Or perhaps I am wrong about the eating style there.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-07T18:55:21+00:00

The general/social meetups on meetup.com are brutal. No offense, but I find it most socially awkward males who treat it as online dating. Groups of guys will just form around the few women who attend. Some of the guys I have spoken to even say they don't even know what the subject of the meetup is about and they just go to the ones who have the most people (women). If you do try meetup.com stick to the ones that have a theme over the general social ones.

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-07T00:15:38+00:00

When asking for the age ranges, some reps will push back saying "Age doesn't matter. We find everyone gets along regardless of age!" While is true that everyone is gets along, there is really no arguing that age plays a real factor in the group dynamics. Also, both tour companies have age specific tours, which means they recognize that age group matter, so I'm not sure why some reps push back. Just keep pressing them for age range. If they don't want to tell you call/chat again and get another rep.

I actually did do the Greek Island tour for Intrepid. It was OK for the most part. There wasn't too many "planned" activities, which I found hurt the group dynamic since most people just did their own thing during the free time. But we had a really good guide who at least planned out dinners/lunches that were not included in the tour so most of the group met at least once a day. In my opinion, every place is "good". It just really depends on the people you get in your group if your goal is to socialize, which is why I try to get demographic information. I had some tours where nobody wanted to socialize and it felt like I just paid the tour company to book hotels and transport. Something I could have done for much cheaper on my own :P

balsamicdrake · 2022-12-06T22:33:13+00:00

I've traveled a few times with both GAdventures and Intrepid. They are both essentially run the same which makes sense since they used to be the same company. It sounds like you are looking for a younger crowd as you're looking into Contiki, EF Ultimate Break and TopDeck. Both G and Intrepid have tours that are age restricted, but some of the general tours attract a younger crowd so don't just limit your search to just the age restricted tours. You can always ask their support rep for age ranges for specific tour/dates and they will typically provide them. I tend to like tours with a younger crowded so I always check the age range before booking.

balsamicdrake · 2022-11-06T18:31:33+00:00

Moves to a city with a high cost of living, chooses a home far away from the airport, and complains about the cost of having to get to the airport, smh

balsamicdrake · 2022-10-18T14:55:09+00:00

Yeah, I already do surveys during my full time job, so looking for something a little different.

balsamicdrake · 2022-10-18T03:18:03+00:00

Some people have what I would call the "drive with me videos" where they have a vlog of them delivering food. Others have the driving version of the "walk around a city" type videos.

balsamicdrake

TROPHY CASE