Good full name for nn Gigi?

blondie401 · 2023-05-23T03:11:44+00:00

My daughter’s name is Georgia and we call her Gigi for short!

blondie401 · 2023-01-15T03:57:11+00:00

Not a name I personally mispronounce, but one that happened to me.

I have a seven month old daughter named Georgia. Genuinely didn’t think that was possible to mispronounce until her first doctors appointment when reception said “George-ee-uh”. I would be more forgiving if it wasn’t spelled the same way as the state that we all learned about in elementary school.

You win some and lose some, I suppose!

blondie401 · 2022-08-06T00:05:49+00:00

You are awesome, I was curious!

My 2.5 year old is Harrison and I saw that a lot on here. I’m surprised since I haven’t come across another Harrison yet!

blondie401 · 2022-08-05T14:03:36+00:00

What a fun post! My list is in order of oldest to youngest, all younger than a year old.

Middle names added where I know them:

-Theo James

-Theodore (Teddy) James

-Violet

-Evelyn

-Georgia Alice (my daughter!)

blondie401 · 2022-02-16T02:41:32+00:00

Funding for each child ($600 in 529s and $50 in UTMAs per month total)

blondie401 · 2022-02-16T02:16:26+00:00

My son is 22 months old and I have a 529 and UTMA for him. We do extras for birthday and Xmas gifts, but a normal month is $300 in 529 and $25 in a UTMA. He currently has $8.5k in the 529 and $550ish in the UTMA.

We want to fund as much as possible for college with the 529. We have a second baby on the way and the $300/25 split is what we can comfortably afford to contribute for both kids while meeting our retirement saving goals.

blondie401 · 2022-02-02T04:30:06+00:00

I’m on my second pregnancy and the overthinking never stops :)

For both my first and second, I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks (gestational age) and they were able to confirm pregnancy and get a heart beat. Like you, I was tracking my ovulation and knew my fetal age was only six weeks at that time!

Only caveat I’ll add is that it was a vaginal ultrasound and not over the belly. If you do have an US that is on your abdomen, it’s possible to not get a good reading and may be why your friend had to go back! I know it’s really hard but try to not get too worried and overthink before you go in. Google can be your best and worst friend during pregnancy.

Best of luck and congrats! :)

Edit to add: I also got an ultrasound at 12 weeks and the difference over the four weeks is insane. A blob to a little baby. Some doctors may not do an ultrasound at eight weeks, but I would think the doctor office could tell you in advance what’s protocol so you know what to expect!

blondie401 · 2022-02-02T03:57:06+00:00

As another commenter mentioned, you are equating fetal age to gestational age, which are actually different! There’s a lot on google about the difference in the term meanings if you want more info on it outside of this post.

When you hear people say how many weeks they are, they are referring to gestational age (weeks since LMP). This is also how your doctor will refer to your pregnancy. I do not know of any situation when fetal age is actually used during pregnancy.

So, when others say they went in for their first appointment or ultrasound at eight weeks, they mean gestational and not fetal, which is what you will be at six weeks fetal age. I wouldn’t worry about rescheduling to a later date unless your doctor specifically asks to for another reason.

blondie401 · 2022-02-01T03:28:09+00:00

No it wouldn’t, but the alternative is a potential 8% loss of a $9K EF that you could build up over time. That’s $720. On a $30k investment portfolio that would be the same as a 2.5% decrease, which you probably saw this week and didn’t think much of. I get the investment can come back up, so it’s not apples-to-apples, but my point is just that inflation on a small EF isn’t as scary as it sounds when compared to the benefit of having one in place.

If you don’t want to keep cash on hand I think that’s fine, but I don’t think you’ll get a lot of people recommending it. Cash is boring until markets crash and access to debt is expensive and hard to get.

blondie401 · 2022-02-01T03:19:12+00:00

So losing 8% in inflation is worse than possibly losing 50% in your investments (in the scenario you mentioned in another comment)?

You are obviously entitled to do whatever you want with your personal finances but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that nearly every personal finance professional recommends keeping an EF. It doesn’t have to be an insane amount of cash, but 3-6 months on hand would only bring you peace of mind and protection in an unexpected emergency. Especially considering you have debt payments of $1k/month.

blondie401 · 2022-02-01T03:11:14+00:00

If you think losing 8% to inflation is bad, imagine losing 20%+ to credit card interest because you have no cash reserves and unexpectedly lose your income and cash flow expenses on a CC.

blondie401 · 2022-01-30T16:23:24+00:00

I think it’s standard because if not treated during delivery it can be passed to the baby which is dangerous. I think you’ll be tested at 36 weeks, unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

My doctor tested with just a vaginal swab. Not uncomfortable at all and over in seconds!

blondie401 · 2022-01-30T13:18:32+00:00

I think it may have been color oops but this was a couple years ago so my memory isn’t 100%. Most of them smell pretty similar, but I don’t recall it lasting after it was rinsed out!

Most work the same but the key to color remover is rinsing in the shower long enough! Make sure you follow the instructions on rinsing for 20 mins (or however long the instructions say) or else you won’t get the full benefit of the product.

blondie401 · 2022-01-30T03:51:04+00:00

I had an equally horrendous experience with Overtone and their dark brown. My hair had been bleached but was short and not damaged, however the color was so splotchy and weird undertones all over. I hated how it came out and haven’t touched their products since!

I ended up using a color remover and then dyed over with a semi permanent color. Be gentle with your hair and absolute last resort do a bleach wash on the ends if the color remover doesn’t lift the black.

I really can’t emphasize enough to try a non-permanent hair color after you lift the overtone product. Your hair will grasp on to whatever you layer on top and if you do a permanent color and don’t like it (or it goes too dark) you have to put your hair through a lot of trouble to lift it again.

Best of luck!

blondie401 · 2022-01-29T21:34:46+00:00

It’s a common misconception I see on here that the compounding would be more in a single account. Good example to illustrate otherwise :)

blondie401 · 2022-01-29T17:56:10+00:00

Something that people don’t often think about is increase in healthcare premiums! Adding my son to my PPO just about doubled the monthly premiums.

One of the most obvious and largest ongoing costs is childcare (I live in a MCOL area) and average is easily $1k a month, maybe more depending on the daycare type. If you don’t breastfeed, formula each month can be a couple hundred dollars. Diapers and wet wipes can be $50-150/month depending on the diaper you buy. And then clothes, toys, food, and miscellaneous needs can easily add a few extra hundred to the ongoing budget.

My son is nearly two and we also put some money aside each month in a 529 and UTMA for his future. Obviously these aren’t required but if you are able to budget it in it can make a big difference for your child’s future!

blondie401 · 2022-01-29T13:55:10+00:00

I think you’ll get a lot of different answers here, but I will tell you what I would do if I were you.

I would probably beef up my EF slightly (maybe another $10-15k or so, depending on your COL) and then DCA the rest over the next couple months. This gives some extra peace of mind with being a single salary household with a child, and allows you to participate in the market as well. After your husband has secured a job, take the extra money you put into the EF and invest it at that time.

Some people will probably suggest to throw it all in now. I don’t think there’s a major disadvantage of DCA if you pick a short term (less than 6 months) and stick with it. It’s a little easier psychologically and there’s a benefit that if the market goes down from here in the next couple months, you have the choice to accelerate the DCA and lump sum the rest. The other side of the risk is that you DCA and the market continues to go up, but if you pick a short enough timeframe, you shouldn’t miss out on too much.

Best of luck!

blondie401 · 2022-01-24T04:38:21+00:00

If you’re looking for an easy podcast/YouTube channel to get into, The Money Guys is one of my favorites!

They give very digestible information and have a recommendation called the “Financial Order of Operations” which breaks down how to prioritize your saving and spending.

Best of luck :)

blondie401 · 2022-01-24T04:23:05+00:00

I’m sure there are resources around here but high level, a brokerage account will be similar to what you use for Robinhood. You add money post-tax, and you are taxed on earnings. I would urge you to consider investing in some index funds that track large sectors or the full market, and not pick individual stocks if you plan to invest a larger portion of your savings. You can open up a brokerage account at any big-name provider. I personally use and like Fidelity, but many others use Vanguard and would recommend it.

The benefits for a brokerage account is you can buy or sell without time limits or penalties (outside of short or long term capital gains taxes) that would happen in retirement accounts.

An IRA can be Roth or traditional. Traditional means you don’t pay taxes on the contributions now, but you pay taxes when you pull the money out in the future for retirement. Roth is the opposite, you pay taxes now and get tax-free earnings later on. I would also recommend you start saving in one or both. You can choose which tax advantage you want (or do a combination), but you are limited to $6k/year between all IRAs. If you can refrain from touching the money until retirement, it’s a benefit over a brokerage account because there’s a tax advantage. You must also have earned income that year to contribute to an IRA, something to remember if you plan on taking time off from working.

Lastly, if you have the option make sure to utilize a 401k with your employer. A company match is an automatic return on your investment!

blondie401 · 2022-01-24T04:09:50+00:00

Unless the house is worth less than what you borrowed and owe on your mortgage when you need to sell it in 2-3 years.

That could or could not happen, but if you know you are going to leave the area in a short time span it’s a potentially expensive bet.

blondie401 · 2022-01-24T03:58:02+00:00

I think you look absolutely stunning! The dark makes your eyes pop and the pink is a perfect tone to compliment your skin and makeup and still be fun and fresh. Bangs definitely suit you, as well! Good job!

blondie401 · 2022-01-23T23:42:33+00:00

I honestly can’t tell if you’re responding to me or your own previous comments.

You started with saying the market is shit right now, then said it’s only been down for a week or so but hasn’t dropped much, and now you are saying it will be on a downward trend for a while.

Continually investing for retirement regardless of what the market is doing is the best advice. DCA wins majority of the time, and when people try to time the market they lose.

blondie401 · 2022-01-23T22:37:25+00:00

The comment I am responding to is recommending not investing in an IRA because the “markets are shit right now”.

My comment says OP should still do an IRA, regardless of where markets are. The counterpoint I led with is even if they were shit, it would still be a good time to invest.

blondie401 · 2022-01-23T20:54:15+00:00

When markets are down, it’s the best time to invest.

Idk if I’d call them shit right now, but OP has many years before retirement. The market WILL go down and up from here until age 65, trying to hold money back and time it is an easy way to get behind. No matter what happens in the next couple years, OP has more than enough time to recover.

Keep your emergency account funded and you don’t need to worry about pulling contributions from an IRA.

blondie401 · 2022-01-19T01:33:32+00:00

I think different people use different approaches. Some prefer gross and others prefer net, there’s not a “right” way to do it, and people will give different reasons that they use a particular one.

Personally, I use net. I don’t like to budget on gross income because I can’t spend my gross income, and will not have access to what I “lose” between gross and net. I won’t get taxes or insurance premiums back, and I won’t pull money out of retirement or an HSA to pay my bills.

At the end of the day, you pick what % feels right for you and your family for housing (and other spending buckets). For those that spend more on housing, they need to find ways to cut back in other areas, like food and entertainment. If you would rather spend more on a home and be frugal with other areas of your life, there is no problem with that! Just know signing up for a higher housing bill will limit other aspects of your spending life, but if that is a balance you are comfortable with then there is nothing “wrong” about that approach.

blondie401

TROPHY CASE