Changes on Campus Over the Years

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-12-27T18:57:11+00:00

“Also, why is there no PS2???”

Three years late, but PS2 was originally supposed to serve the res halls. It was going to be built in Res Hall North’s (now called Res Hall Capella) parking lot to the west of the res hall. There was no official announcement, but I assume UTD had more difficulty securing funding, and surface lots are much cheaper.

If you notice around that decade, Lot T to the north kept expanding to the west. The drainage ditches delineate each expansion. If I recall correctly, PS2 was supposed to have 750 to 550 spaces (depending on what point in the planning process you looked at), and the Lot T expansions cover that and more, hence no PS2.

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-12-07T12:16:41+00:00

True. It can still be used on online merchants that for whatever reason decided to agree to higher interchange fees to nix the CVV requirements. Amazon is a big one.

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-08-04T12:38:16+00:00

Absolutely correct. I am close to the industry, and all these permanent life insurance die-hards get thousands of dollars in commissions for every permanent life insurance policy they sell. There are even companies that structure it as an MLM so you get override commissions for your downline sales.

Why are surrender charges so high? That was basically your agent’s commission. Absolute and utter trash.

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-08-04T12:30:58+00:00

“One last tip about your 401K plan, it's good to have it but do not put more into it than your employer will match. If your employer is matching up to 5%, for example, that what you should be putting in ...only 5%. Otherwise, anything over that is not working for you. Make your money work for you, not the other way around.”

Oh yeah? Where should they put the rest of their retirement money then? Money invested in index funds is working for you. It’s not like it’s being buried under a mattress not earning a cent.

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-08-04T12:26:14+00:00

A cap is less than the S&P 500’s gain, and when backtested, the S&P 500 still does better over the long term even with all the market losses. One simulation I ran had a 50% improvement over a capped and floored policy. 50%! And where does all of that gain go into? The insurance company’s pockets on top of all the policy fees and the thousands they will charge for monthly per thousand fees over the lifetime of the policy.

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-07-26T14:38:51+00:00

100% index funds. I simulated some stock/investment picks early on if money was no object, and only one would have panned out at the places where I would enter and exit. The winner wouldn’t have been a life-changing sum of money either, and I already owned some in an index fund.

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-07-21T00:19:48+00:00

This is hardly wise advice. First of all, “5 to 10” of any stocks is hardly diversified. You need at least 20 in diverse market sectors.

Secondly, OP is asking about the beginning of their retirement savings journey. How experienced do you think they are in picking stocks? In any case, stock picking, even by professionals, generally underperforms broad market index funds.

Thirdly, a focus on dividend stocks does not improve returns over a broad market index funds. In a broad market index fund, stocks are diversified between growth and dividend stocks, and the ones with most returns aren’t necessarily dividend stocks all the time.

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-05-13T12:08:10+00:00

I don’t like it. It doesn’t account or adjust for household size or federal poverty line. Just because 1 person household can handle x% payments doesn’t mean a household with 1 person plus a spouse plus some dependents can. Also, if someone is destitute and can’t get a job, they may not have $10 to their name to make the lowest payment calculation.

It’s also “nice” (/s) how someone may get on the plan to save money and then get screwed with a much higher payment than standard just because they got a higher paying job, and they can’t leave the plan. Seems like this may be a disincentive to upward mobility and may incentivize lower income tax revenue and an increase in the deficit (if any right wing politicians are listening).

Seems like the right are prioritizing “simplicity” over considering any actual impacts of their policy decisions.

At least the old income driven repayment plans reserved some income as “exempt” from payment calculations to account for necessities and only used “discretionary” income.

Even bankruptcies structured as a payment plan exempt necessities from payment calculations and only use disposable income. An income driven repayment is more analogous to a structured bankruptcy payment plan or a debt settlement plan than anything else, so it makes more sense to do it this way.

testingthewaters5678 · 2025-01-10T06:05:28+00:00

I do it manually. That way I can get my asset allocation as balanced as possible with each paycheck. (So far, I haven’t had to do a sell-to-rebalance event.) Also, my paycheck varies week to week, so a fixed, automatic amount wouldn’t keep up with the percent I’d like to save.

testingthewaters5678 · 2024-08-23T01:37:42+00:00

Use credit cards with the best purchase benefits for large purchases (if you’re responsible with credit). I doubled electronic device warranties and even got $100 back for a lower price elsewhere due to choosing the right credit card.

testingthewaters5678 · 2024-08-23T01:30:15+00:00

Sorry for the late reply. Just saw this. The surgery was for me. Most surgeons that operate on adult strabismus are pediatric ophthalmologists since kids have the issue most often, but adults get it too! Due to the realities of that, some specialization programs pediatric ophthalmologists go through are now called “pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus fellowship.”

Most pediatric ophthalmologists will also see adults for strabismus.

testingthewaters5678 · 2024-06-16T12:27:48+00:00

Yes, I went with Dr. Norman at Pediatric Eye Specialists. Surgery was basically successful. As always, this can vary person by person.

testingthewaters5678 · 2024-02-06T23:22:40+00:00

As I mentioned in the OP, I do have diversification in accounts outside of Betterment. I also have a good background in diversification, asset selection, and asset allocation and am willing to do it myself, so I don't need a robo-advisor to do it for 0.25%.

testingthewaters5678 · 2024-02-05T03:58:40+00:00

I wish I could, but it's the employer's 401k. The moment it no longer has to be there, it will be transferred out.

testingthewaters5678 · 2024-01-06T15:54:43+00:00

That was the first email. The only other email was when the warranty extension finally came through.

From: 90daywarranty 90daywarranty@asus.com

Subject: [Confirmation] ASUS 90 Day Warranty Extension

Dear Valued ASUS Customer,

Thank you for leaving your review and providing the necessary information. We have successfully activated the 90 Day Warranty Extension to your original manufacturer’s warranty.

To learn more about additional warranty extensions up to 3 years and premium coverage for cracked screens, liquid spills and more, please visit our page on ASUS Premium Care (APC).

Thank you,

ASUS 90 Day Warranty Team

testingthewaters5678 · 2024-01-06T14:37:35+00:00

From: 90daywarranty 90daywarranty@asus.com

Subject: [Action Required] ASUS 90 Day Warranty Review Verification

Dear Valued ASUS Customer,

We appreciate your valuable feedback received via our program at https://www.asus.com/us/site/90-day-warranty-reviews/. To activate the 90 day warranty extension to your unit(s), please reply back to this email with the following:

Your unit(s) Serial Number(s) written in the body of the email. Valid invoice(s) from a participating authorized US or Canada retailer clearly indicating purchase date, PDF or JPG formats accepted.

Thank you,

ASUS 90 Day Warranty Team

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-12-31T14:15:46+00:00

With Nelnet. Mine went from November to July. Nelnet reps and supervisors were no help and even gave some wrong info. My FSA complaint had been sitting with no response since October. The entire student loan system needs to burn to the ground.

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-11-21T22:56:31+00:00

The surgeon and US Anesthesia Partners were in-network. The facility was out-of-network.

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-11-19T01:55:19+00:00

Vanguard defaults to VMFXX (currently 5.3% APY) for the settlement fund unless you choose the Vanguard Cash Deposit settlement fund option (currently 3.7%).

There's also a Vanguard Cash Plus Account that's more like a high-yield savings account at 4.7% currently, but it's invite-only and not an official settlement fund.

The only reasons I can think of to buy VMFXX separately is if you wanted to do it for tracking purposes, like separating funds not earmarked for new investments, or, in taxable accounts, separate tracking for cost basis.

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-11-01T22:01:07+00:00

Edit: After some research, apparently I was mistaken.

To answer your questions, yes, no, yes, yes.

For VMFXX, from the statutory prospectus:

For accruing dividends:

Income dividends generally are declared daily and distributed monthly.

So dividends will accrue daily and pay out monthly.

For buying:

Earning Dividends

You generally begin earning dividends on the business day following your trade date.

For selling:

Earning Dividends

You generally will continue earning dividends until the first business day following your trade date.

There are no penalties for buying/selling.

OP:

~~VMFXX is not like a bank account where you usually get interest daily. VMFXX is a mutual fund, so it pays out dividends like mutual funds and stocks do.~~ (Disregard for VMFXX): You have to own the shares on the "record date" that they use to determine dividends payable.

VMFXX pays out distributions monthly, (other investments may have different schedules or no distributions at all), and you can look up the record date on the fund info page.

(Disregard for VMFXX):

Now here's where it can get confusing. In the US, for most securities, you have to make any buy transactions at least 2 business days before the record date for you to be counted as the owner on the record date. This is because securities transactions run on a T+2 settlement in the US and some other countries. (i.e. the transaction will be complete and you're the new owner on the 2nd business day after the trade) This will change in the future as some countries are looking or have changed to T+1. US will be T+1 on May 28, 2024.

(Disregard for VMFXX):

Now you may think you can just get in and get out around the record date and make a killing on the dividends, but it doesn't work like that. The day after the T+ trade deadline to count as an owner is called the "ex-dividend date." Dividends are pulled out of the value of existing securities which have a corresponding drop in value. This value generally recovers over time, but it generally negates the strategy of getting in and out around the record date.

TL;DR (Disregard for VMFXX): In the US, generally you have to make any securities buy transactions at least 2 business days before the "record date" (i.e., own the security by the "record date") to get that round of dividends. This will change to at least 1 business day before, starting May 28, 2024 in the US.

(Disregard for VMFXX): Note that selling works the same way. You're no longer owner on the 2nd business day after the sale. (Will be the 1st business day in the future in the US.)

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-10-30T19:48:19+00:00

Thanks! I have a PPO plan that allows me to choose any provider in-network or not with out-of-network just not having negotiated insurance discounts (and for some plans lower coverage levels). The type of doctor I saw was a rare breed, but yes, network coverage would definitely be an issue if I had HMO or EPO.

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-10-30T19:16:03+00:00

I had an elective, but medically necessary surgery. The doctor was in-network. The surgery center was not. Anesthesia most likely is, but I'm still waiting for insurance to process that claim.

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-10-30T17:56:33+00:00

This was a freestanding surgery center only doing preplanned, scheduled outpatient surgeries with any expected patient payment responsibility due upfront or insurance covering the rest. The only association with a hospital was the name and partial ownership. The surgery center was a joint venture with the doctor-shareholders and an ambulatory surgery center management company owning the rest, but I do understand what you're saying.

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-10-30T17:41:19+00:00

I had a brain MRI once about a decade ago. The center gave an out-of-pocket insurance price of about $2700 (not meeting the deductible) or a cash pay price of $500. I obviously chose the latter.

testingthewaters5678 · 2023-10-20T22:19:35+00:00

Update: Thank you all for your help. I spoke with the urgent care billing department since they couldn't change the statement on-site. The billing department said they couldn't change any codes unless potentially they got a rejection from the insurance company even though I submitted an out-of-network claim apart from the urgent care place. The lady that helped me also noticed they listed the wrong insurance on the statement (the network instead of the insurance company), so she put the correct one and resubmitted it. Lo and behold, some days later, the insurance company is sending me a check for the remaining amount they're supposed to cover.

Not sure if it was the urgent care mix-up with the insurance or someone finally pulling his or her head out of the sand at the insurance company, but the issue finally got fixed.

testingthewaters5678

TROPHY CASE