Depends on the loan. Subsidized fed loans don’t accrue interest while still in school. Unsubsidized fed loans do.
Yeah, I am at a university, and the pay (especially at the lower levels) just seems so much more terrible than it used to. And this is while entry level positions are asking for more qualifications.
I was just wondering if any people in any other industries/locations were not seeing ANY of this labor shortage.
Finding a job in my field and location is still an absolute nightmare.
It’s only a free roll if you have the savings to pay it off in case the bill actually comes due. Otherwise, it’s just a huge gamble. So saving a lot for kids’ education is not really (caveat below) at odds with this strategy.
The only potential area of conflict is if you do your saving in college within a 529. I don’t think you can pay off loans with a 529 (and if the loans get forgiven you can’t get the money out without penalty). So, if you save for your kids with the idea of paying off their loans in the event that they aren’t forgiven in some way, then you can’t take advantage of a 529 (and the associated tax benefits). So, doing the surf strategy would necessitate saving in some sort of taxable account (which isn’t really that bad).
I’m pretty sure you can pay off at least some amount of student loans with 529 funds. To the best of my knowledge, it’s a cap of $10,000 per child.
Also, the penalties on withdrawing from 529 plans aren’t terribly severe - it’s a 10% penalty on the earnings portion of the non-qualifying withdrawals.
So it’s possible that I end up in a world where I have too much saved in my 529 accounts. But to me, that’s a risk I’m generally happy to take, because it means that my kids have incurred far less in educational costs than I expected, and I’ve not only got the leftover 529 money but also the money I’m earmarking for college in taxable investment accounts.
Thanks. I wasn’t aware of that. I guess was one of the “improvements” Trump added (was not allowed pre-2018). I definitely don’t hate it.
Of course 10K/kid is kind of a rounding error if we’re talking about 500K/kid total costs.
I’m with you on not worrying if I end up with too much money in the 529. If it looks like I’m going way over, then I can use some for pre-college tuition (thanks again, Florida Man) or we can always set it aside for grandkids.
I might even use it myself. There are all sorts of 529 scam programs (that’s what I call them) that have popped up. The purpose of these programs is to just exhaust unused 529 funds. So if the kids don’t use all of it, I can change the beneficiary to myself and take a study abroad class in Europe on wine tasting that is apparently fully eligible to be paid for with 529 funds.
It’s more likely I might use it for real when I retire. I’ve always kicked about the idea of going back to school when I retire. I imagine it would be kind of fun if there are zero stakes and I can spend time learning only the things I am interested in.
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Amex raised the fee for Platinum to $700, which is…pretty ridiculous. You get $400 back pretty easily via airline credit and hotel credit, but that’s a pretty absurd annual fee.
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I was actually thinking of getting one now that travel is back on the table. I was too much of a miser to do it before. Now at $700, I think the miser instincts are gonna win again.
You think it’s worth it at $700? I’m sure it has to be +EV still with substantial use and travel.
I’ll probably keep it. The Centurion lounges are nice but there is massive overcrowding. You get a $169 clear credit, no idea if I’ll use that, plus a $200 Uber credit that’s annoyingly like $17 per month instead of a flat $200. I get a lot of value out of the fine hotels program - free breakfast and late checkout, plus fairly common 4th night free promos are worth real money to me. The concierge service has come thru for me on occasion, plus 5x points on travel is like a 10% rebate.
So yeah I’ll bitch and moan and renew, basically.
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From a purely financial perspective It’s definitely +ev for the first year thanks to the sign up bonus points. Renewal math probably depends on things like
- how frequently can/will you use the lounges?
- does stuff like Hilton Gold status have much real value to you?
- will you really take the time/effort to use/track all the silly little credits like the Uber, Saks, digital services, etc? They’re valuable, but also really annoying. For example, the NYTimes apparently charges every 28 days, and I think Audible is 30, so some months will have 2 charges for those services. If you already subscribe to the NYTimes, just switch your payment method and thank Amex for the “free” money. But, if you don’t already subscribe, is it worth signing up and being annoyed when some of the charges don’t get reimbursed?
I just paid my annual fee last month, so I won’t get hit with the new rate 'til next year. If I had to decide right now, I’d probably not renew.
Sanity check request: my wife is planning on getting Lasik. I should probably just pay it via my liquid checking account over my HSA right? The $4k withdrawal over the next 20 years will be worth way more than that.
No joke: Look into getting it done in Mexico. Best doctors, lowest prices.
Can’t say I know anything for sure, but given the massive numbers of plastic surgery nightmares I get from Mexico I have to question it.
Yes, assuming you have good/decent investment options in your HSA.
That said, I don’t do it, just a stupid behavioral thing.
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Yes if you can do it. I haven’t touched my HSA in the 10 or however many years I’ve had it. Max it out and use it strictly as a tax free retirement savings vehicle.
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Correct. And make sure you save the receipt. You can take that $4K out at any point in the future to spend on anything you want.
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I’m almost embarrassed to ask this but does anyone know how a Canadian would go about getting their credit score? Never done it before.
Figured I’d have a better result just asking here instead of the 50/50 chance I end up giving my SIN to some hacker.
Both agencies will send it for free. Just google equifax and transunion. They have forms to request it. Both will be different scores.
If you need it instantly there are a bunch of services you can pay for.
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See if you didn’t mention the two agencies I wouldn’t have known those were the legit ones.
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While you are at it I recommend having both block new accounts on your credit. It’s a bit of pain when you want to open a new credit line of some kind but prevents anyone else from doing so by stealing your identity.
Also, when you get your report read it closely. It is common for them to have errors that can effect your score.