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Updated: Oct 31, 2018 88 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Alexandra Pump

Coffee Break |

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Trotters Alexandra Pump | CorporetteEvery so often I get a plea for lovely brown pumps — and these nice “tobacco glazed” pumps look lovely. (They also come in black and navy.) I like that they come in sizes 6-12 in regular, narrow, and wide widths. The 2.75″ heel is $140 at Zappos. Trotters Alexandra Pump Psst: Amazon has some colors on sale for as low as $44. (L-3)

Sales of note for 9.30.24

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. NYNY

    I can attest to the comfort of these shoes. I have them in grey from the NAS a year and a half ago, and love them. For reference, I have a narrow heel and wide forefoot, and really high arches & insteps. Depending on the shoe, I wear a 7.5 or 8, I got these in an 8.

  2. Financial woes and worries

    How did those of you with big loans decide what to do about repayment? I currently work for the federal government and have had made 3.5 years of payment on ibr, with the plan to get loan forgiveness after 10 years. A job has come up in the non profit sector that I am really excited about but it looks like It won’t count for public service loan forgiveness. I currently owe 280k (gulp) because on ibr the interest isn’t getting paid. At what salary could I make that work? It is crazy to consider jumping ship? I’m trying to move locations- if I was staying I would just look for another federal job. This is weighing very heavily on me- I appreciate any advice or directions people can share

    • Anonymous

      Are you sure it won’t count for PSLF? Many, if not most, nonprofit jobs do!

        • Anonymous

          A lot don’t actually- it had to be a non profit that is doing one of certain enumerated services.

          • DisenchantedinDC

            I don’t think that’s true – all 501(c)3’s qualify, and some *private* organizations performing certain services. I took the below from the PSLF certification form (as I struggle to figure out if my new job will qualify me for this benefit!)

            A public child or family service agency;

            A Federal, State, local or Tribal government organization, agency or entity;

            A non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code;

            A Tribal college or university; or

            A private organization (that is not a(that is not a business organized for profit, a labor union, or a partisan political organization) that provides at least one of the following public services: (1) emergency management, (2) military service, (3) public safety, (4) law enforcement, (5) public interest law services, (6) early childhood education (including licensed or regulated child care, Head Start, and State funded pre-kindergarten), (7) public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly, (8) public health (including nurses, nurse practitioners, nurses in a clinical setting, and full-time professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health support occupations, as such terms are defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics), (9) public education, (10) public library services, (11) school library services, or (12) other school-based services.

      • Op

        I know it’s a weird situation. I’m on my phone so it’s hard to type out the whole thing. It’s more like a private company that does non profit work. The plus side is they may have a higher salary- I am trying to figure out at what number it makes sense to jump. Thanks for all the responses so far- to the anon who said I can’t afford it- at some salary point I can afford it, right? Otherwise no one would be in the private sector. I’m trying to figure out what that salary number is with loans this crazy high- or if it more realistic better to get the loans forgiven first. Does anyone on ibr ever worry that congress will change the program before they get to year 10?

        • Anonymous

          No, people who have actually been making progress on their loans instead of paying less than the interest accumulating can. That’s what I meant by you can’t afford it.

          • Op

            So in your opinion there is no salary that would make the switch possible because I spent 3.5 years in government?

          • Anonymous

            Yes. Because you’ve let you loans escalate to 280,000 and that is an insanely large number.

            I’m mentally thinking of you as a lawyer though. If you’re going to go to a hedge fund and make $500,000 pre bonus, sure, but since you’re even thinking about non-profit loan forgiveness that’s not the sense I’m getting of your expected salary. The lowest salary I’d even consider would be $300,000.

          • Anon

            What would your monthly payment amount be if you made the switch? I think the answer to that question is critical in order to determine what salary is needed to make the switch. 280K seems…like a lot (and this is coming from someone who had 180K).

          • Op

            I know- it’s an expensive law school plus some undergrad. It’s 235 principal at a 7.5 percent interest rate. The monthly payments would be around 3400. I thought it might be doable on 150 but it sounds like the switch is probably impossible.

          • Anonymous

            So, for reference, I make. Little over 150. DH makes 180.

            Our mortgage (inc tax/interest) is $3500 and we probably spend another $600/month in Utils/maintenance. daycare is $1300/mo, our car payments are $850/mo and we pay about $600/mo in student loans. We contribute heavily to savings.

            I think one consideration is tax rate at 150k. If you are filing single, you may find you are paying substantially more taxes than you are used to on the lower salary/dont qualify for deductions you are used to.

            I would say depending on your rent/mortgage/lifestyle you could conceivably make this work at 150, but that assumes a steady income of 150 over the life of your loan, and/or a solid savings saftey net in case you lose your gig.

            In your spot I would:
            1. Talk to a financial advisor and crunch some numbers. look objectively at the options and trade offs.
            2. See if you can refi. 7.5% is really high, and perhaps a refi could lower your monthly payment- lower interest rate and/or longer terms- even if it adds to your overall debt (again-talk with a counselor).

          • Anonny

            Honestly, this all sounds incredibly unrealistic. I’m no fan of student debt and think that there is a LOT unfair about it, but you signed on to some pretty significant indebtedness and it’s time to get real about the decision you made. I’m sure there’s some salary at which you could shell out $3,400/month, but won’t you be sick of that someday too and wishing you just “sucked it up” for another few years to be debt free?? I know it feels like 6.5 years is forever away, but I swear to you it will be worth it.

          • Op

            I think you are all right- I had he final interview 2 weeks ago and haven’t heard yet so it’s possible the decision isn’t even mine to make. It helped me identify the type of advocacy I want to do though, so I’ll try to find a position like that within the government or 503c world. Thanks for the reality check- sometimes you need to come down from the clouds

          • Anonymous

            For reference, my monthly is $1500 on a $150000 salary. It hurts, but is doable. I could not manage over 3k a month at all

          • AnonInfinity

            This depends on a lot of factors. If you are in a lower cost of living area, I could see you making it work on $150k if your other expenses are very low. As in, your quality of life won’t be great. For a little comparison, my husband and I make around $165k combined, and we could probably afford a $3400 payment if we had no car loan, very low housing, and were willing to eat low-budget food.

            If you’re not willing to do that, or you’re in a high cost of living area, you’re probably looking at much more than that.

            You’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way of adding up all your essential expenses and then seeing whether $3400 fits at a certain income level.

          • CountC

            You should stay. Straight out of law school I was making $115k in a LCOL area, with a $900 mortgage and $1200/mo loan payments. I was also paying a $12k credit card debt off aggressively. I did not have a car payment and was saving a bit too. $1200 was still a bit painful. $3400 would have been incredibly hard. That is a $hit ton of loans. Stay and get them forgiven. 6.5 years is not that long and then you will have the financial freedom to take a job you want versus a job you need.

        • Blonde Lawyer

          Are the loans all federal and on IBR or are some of them private? That is a really high interest rate. If you end up going public you can still do IBR and 20 year forgiveness but as of right now the forgiven debt is taxable. With the 10 year public service it is not. If you refinanced you could get into a much lower interest rate but you would lose IBR. I don’t think I would risk it with the amount of loans you have. If you aren’t paying even enough to cover all of the interest, that amount is going to keep going up. The taxes on 20 year forgiveness would be significant. Though, if you are otherwise insolvent, I’ve heard you might be able to avoid the tax but haven’t seen it done. Could you instead move into a higher paying job that continues to qualify for 10 year forgiveness?

    • Simsi

      As someone who had over $200k of loans coming out of law school, I would seriously consider staying in the government. That 10-year forgiveness is golden, especially with that much debt. If you move to a non-profit, you’ll still be paying on IBR and your balance will continue growing. You’d have to make a lot more than non-profit money to pay a standard minimum payment (you’re probably looking at around $3k/month on a regular payment plan). I know it sucks to stay in a job you’re not crazy about, but this is just the price we pay for having that much debt. You can do it.

    • Anonybroke

      I live in a HCOL city (think NYC/DC/LA) and make about $120k. I am throwing roughly $2k at my loans every month (the current balance is $214k) and barely making a dent after all of the crazy interest. If I was in your shoes, I’d hunker down and stay in a PSLF-qualified job for another 6.5 years.

    • Anonymous

      You can’t afford it. That’s the catch. You took a low paying job and have basically not been paying your loans. And now you are stuck.

    • Anonymous

      Yikes — that’s a lot of $.

      My guess is that the nonprofit job would have to pay you something like 100K *more* a year for 6.5 years for you to be in the same position you are in now after 6.5 more years. I don’t think that’s that’s too likely. Maybe hang in there w/ something federal for 6.5 years and then go for something else? Could you clerk for some of it?

    • KT

      To pay off loans like that, without loan forgiveness, in 7 years you would need to pay roughly 40,000 a year, or over $3300 a month.

      Is the new job’s salary equal to your current budget+ $40,000? If not, I would have to say even thinking about switching is just not wise. These loans could dominate your life for 10-25 more years–trying to build a life, get a home, start a family–everything will have to be rearranged around your debt, and that’s a hefty burden. I would tough out government work in order to get rid of them.

      • Wildkitten

        I’m in the exact same boat as the OP and this is the math I do. Also – your TAKE HOME would have to be your budget + 40,000. You can’t pay your loans with the same money that is being taken out for taxes.

        The way I figure it is that for the past 2 years I haven’t been paying 3,000 a month on my loans. So unless my next job pays $6,000/month more than my current job, it’s not worth it for me to leave PSLF.

    • Killer Kitten Heels

      Does your law school offer IBR-type assistance? I know there are a number of law schools that provide loan repayment assistance grants to alums working in public service, and it seems like the school-based programs are often more inclusive than the government IBR program.

      • Killer Kitten Heels

        Edited to add: I’m not sure why I assumed you are in law – if not, you could probably still look into whether your undergrad or grad school has something similar, although I don’t think I’ve come across it in non-law-school environments.

      • Wildkitten

        My T14 school-based IBR is less inclusive. I don’t think it’s common to have them be more inclusive.

    • Anon

      IBR can still work with forgiveness in 30 years. Payment cap is 10% of income, I believe, and you can stay on unless your 10-year payment would be higher. For you, that will probably never happen. You will never pay them off, but you can manage it. Take the job you love.

  3. Home Renos

    Bought house in July. Extremely solid bones but are in need of some cosmetic updates throughout that are too much for us to DIY. I have a few names from friends in the area of contractors to quote us on the work. We can’t do it all at once, and haven’t decided which room to do first as the decision is a function of cost and timing. So, I need quotes. Is it normal to get 2-3 quotes for a job before picking and moving forward? Do I need to have a good idea of what we want to do before getting a quote? At what point do you pay your contractor? How else can I avoid being taken advantage of, apart from the typical vetting I’d do through getting references, etc.? TIA!

    • Diana Barry

      – YES absolutely get quotes from at least 3.
      – Make sure everyone is licensed, and check Angie’s List and Yelp.
      – Get quotes broken down by room or by project. Make sure everyone knows your need to itemize. Also, ask the contractors what they would recommend for which projects to do first.

    • Bonnie

      It really depends on the size of the job. For smaller projects, we use a handyman that came well recommended and don’t get second estimates. I think you also get a better deal on smaller projects if you indicate that there will be more work in the future. Do get multiple quotes for larger projects like the roof, whole house painting etc. Learn from our mistake and get the floors done before you fully settle into the house. It’s so much harder to do them when you have to move all the furniture! The same goes for painting the walls. You definitely should have an idea of what you want to do before getting a quote but feel free to ask the contractor for suggestions on the best and most cost-effective way to get the job done. Most contractors ask for a deposit to start the work and the rest of the money upon completion.

    • Anonnnny

      Have a reasonable idea of what you want. Do not just say “I want a new bathroom”… what does that mean, new tile? new fixtures? refinishing the tub? new tub entirely? new layout ? Beware that structural things cost a lot, like switching where a toilet is or re-routing wires to create a half wall. Also if a house is old, even if its in great condition the plywood floor will likely need to be replaced which might lead them to seeing some not so safe wiring ect. Be prepared to spend money that you cannot expressly see. Usually its best to get materials from a contractor because they get wholesale discount, but you never know Lowes might have a crazy sale one week on perfect tile. Deposit is important, because that is generally what goes into buying supplies. Look at photos of past work or even better see it in person. Make sure things like tile spacing is even, corners are square, base boards are flush against the floor ect. Don’t just ask if they are licensed actually ask to see it, and photo copy it.

    • Anonymous

      Our experience is with a kitchen remodel, so a pretty big job. I had a couple phone calls with the contractor where he answered questions and gave us very rough budget ranges, but before he would move forward with a detailed quote and plans he wanted some money. It wasn’t much though, just a couple hundred dollars.
      Overall, we were thrilled with the end result but initially I had a very rough time with the contractor because he kept saying “Give me your budget and I will build you an $X kitchen” and that wasn’t what I wanted – yes we had a budget max in mind, but we wanted to go way under that while still splurging on things *we* wanted to splurge on. I found that he was just not getting that, so I ended up low-balling our budget to him by $15K…and the project budget ended up being about $12K more than I told him we wanted to spend.
      Also ask about whether you can use non-preferred vendors. As much I love our kitchen and I think our contractors did amazing work, I’m still irked about our “super high quality” cabinets they insisted we use that cost us an insane amount of money and don’t seem terribly high quality. I might go with the same guys for finishing our basement but only if they promise me we can use a different, cheaper cabinet company.
      Definitely check references and ask to see examples of finished work.

  4. American Apparel?

    Has anyone ever had luck getting a refund for an in-store purchase from American Apparel?

    I bought something the other day but didn’t have time to try it on because they only had two dressing rooms and they had both been occupied for over 20 minutes. When I got home I realized they are much too tight and short. I know the receipt says exchange only but I really don’t want anything else from this store and they were pretty expensive. Advice welcome!

    • lawsuited

      Nope, I’ve never managed to get a refund (which is why I don’t shop there anymore). Your options are to exchange for a bigger size if they have one or get a giftcard for store credit. I’ve topped up the value of the giftcard and then given it to a young person as a Christmas gift.

  5. Career Advice

    I tried posting earlier in the day, but my posts kept getting lost and by the time it went through it was a little late in the game.

    I seem to be approaching a crossroads and I’m in need of some unbiased career advice. I’m a first year associate at a small firm. It’s a general practice, so my time is split between 5 or 6 different areas of law. I would much rather focus on one area. My plan was to end up in health law. I’m currently doing some med mal work, but not enough to really have the experience to lateral to a different firm.

    Job A: I had an interview at a mid-sized regional firm a couple weeks ago in med mal litigation. While I think I’d like to end up in transactional health law work much further down the road, I’m still open to litigation now. I was told at the end of my first interview that I would be getting a call to set up my second interview. I realize I don’t have the job yet, but this option is more about going to med mal/eventual health law path more generally.

    Job B: A partner from the small firm I worked at in law school called me yesterday and said they are unexpectedly looking for an associate and they thought of me first. I primarily worked on high level criminal matters under a particular partner (who really became my mentor). I pretty much wrote off this area of law after leaving this firm because, entitled as it may sound, I couldn’t imagine starting at the bottom after really getting my hands on tough cases. I left the firm because my boss became very ill and unable to practice. The fact that they are in need of an associate confirms that my mentor is ready to get back to work. I absolutely loved this job. I was challenged every day. I was surrounded by brilliant people who really pushed me. But I can’t help but worry that I’m going backwards in terms of my perceived career goals. It should be noted that my mentor is a really talented and well-respected litigator in my relatively small legal community, so there is hope that to some extent a future employer would recognize the value of this training regardless of practice area.

    Thoughts?

    • Anonymous

      So you’ve never actually done transactional health law work? I’d take the best job you can get regardless of practice if you actually like the area ok and do t have experience in your target.

    • A Lawyer

      A few things:

      1. Why do you want to focus on just one area? Is it that you want to try cases or that you are particularly interested in health law? If you want to try cases, go to the place where you will get to do that. In my experience, criminal lawyers get to try more cases on average than civil. If you are interested in health law, then you might have a hard time transitioning to that after leaving for criminal law. So, if it’s health law that you are wanting, don’t leave for Firm B.

      2. Tough love time. You are a first year. Any experience you get at this point is valuable, and it is not beneath you. You have no idea how to try a case at this point. If you do go to Firm B and have that attitude, you could be shooting yourself in the foot. Having a smaller role in a large case where someone is always telling you what to do is VASTLY different from entirely running a small case on your own.

      3. You allude to perceived career goals? What are yours? If those goals do not include criminal law, I would not take the job at Firm B. In my area, it’s very difficult to transition from criminal to civil.

      4. Don’t count Firm A as a job until you have an offer.

      • A Lawyer

        Oops. Clearly I read past the part where you said you want to do health care transactional law. I would not join a firm devoted to criminal law, in that case. At least in my region, such a move would not advance the ball at all, as you wouldn’t be in transactions or health care.

    • anon

      So med mal defense may give you some exposure to doctors/hospitals, but it’s quite different from healthcare transactional and regulatory work. Does someone at that firm do the regulatory/compliance/corporate aspect of health care? Can you work with them?
      White-collar criminal work could translate into good experience in a highly regulated industry like healthcare. There are a lot of fraud and abuse investigations and qui tam actions going on (both federal and state) so you might be able to market defense experience to a fraud and abuse litigation practice. Still, you’ll need to be familiar with what those issues are.

      • Anonymous

        Also med mal defense is kind low quality work that doesn’t carry any prestige. Which will matter when you hate it and wang to quit.

        • Maddie Ross

          I don’t know that this statement about the quality of the work is entirely true. There are several good med mal defense attorneys in my bar, I know who are well-respected. That said, it is, at heart, insurance defense work. Which, to be fair, qualifies you to do exactly that – more insurance defense work. It does not qualify you to be a health care regulatory/transactional attorney. At all.

        • sweetknee

          I must disagree with the opinion that med mal is “low quality” work. I have done med mal, both for Plaintiffs and Defendants for over 15 years. I started out on the Plaintiff side and transitioned about 6 years ago. Some of the most talented lawyers I know, on both sides, do med mal litigation work.

          Granted, you won’t get rich doing med mal defense, but it is intellectually stimulating work and certainly not “low quality”. I do agree, however, that transitioning from litigating medical malpractice cases to the transactional/regulatory side of things would be very difficult. There is not much overlap.

        • Anonymous

          Low quality in the sense that it carries zero prestige and doesn’t equip you to move, as I said.

          • Alli

            I will join in the chorus of disagreement about prestige of med mal defense. Many of the most respected attorneys in my city do med mal defense. Agree that it is an incarnation of insurance defense work. Med mal defense would equip you to move just fine, but transitioning to health regulations may not be on the list of direct moves after working med mal.

      • Bewitched

        +1 I don’t know of any med mal litigators at our region who have transitioned to health care transactions. I know of general corporate lawyers who have transitioned to health care transactions, but be wary of thinking that med mal will get you in the door to transactional work.

    • AnonforThis

      So, I work at a firm with a large national healthcare transactional practice, and the things they say about med mal litigators behind closed doors? “Unkind” would be putting it mildly.

      The best foundation to transition into healthcare transactional work is general corporate transactional work, NOT any kind of litigation (except maybe employment work) – the healthcare transactional group here has hired plenty of general corporate people and taught them to do corporate healthcare work, but would never consider a litigator, since litigators’ knowledge base typically doesn’t overlap at all with corporate work.

  6. Rose is a Rose

    Both my first and last names are very uncommon and tough to hear accurately. They’re pretty straightforward written out, but when I meet people for the first time I generally get asked to repeat my name two or three times, even if I say it slowly and clearly. Incidentally my name identifies me as a member of an ethnic group but not one that’s historically marginalized in this country, if that matters.

    I’m at a phase in my career where I’m doing a lot of networking. Repeating my name is getting super old, and I’m not sure it makes a great impression. So I’m wondering if there’s a better way to deal with this. For one thing, there’s an obvious truncation of my first name, one of which I’m not especially fond. Think Nicola into Nickie or something. Or I could just slap my business card into someone’s hand when I introduce myself. But that seems weird. Or I could just lead with my first name (I’m pretty much the only in my field in this area) and introduce the last name via business card if it comes up. What seems best?

    • Names

      Would it help at all if you broke it up into First Name, First Name Last Name?

      Eg – “Great to meet you! I’m Fyodor…Fyodor Dostoyevsky” That way you’re repeating your first name twice, and also isolating it to make it easier to understand.

      • MNF

        Reframe this as an awesome way to give someone your business card without the awkward card swap at the end of the convo. As soon as they ask for clarification on your name, hand it over.

      • Diana Barry

        I like this. And definitely have the business card ready to go when you say your name, that way people can look at it and remember you as the woman with the unusual (to them) name. :)

    • Anonymous

      Introduce yourself by both names and repeat as necessary. Nothing wrong with that!

      • Anonymous

        Yay! I’ve missed corporete all week b/c I have been workeing my tuchus off. And Myrna has had IBD, which is NOT pleasant for either her or those around her. FOOEY!

        But Kat, great pick on the pump’s! They are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

        As for the OP, What about changeing your name? I thought of this when I was considering Marrying Alan Sheketovits b/c I did NOT want to be Ellen Sheketovits, tho I could have lived with Ellen Sheketovits Barshevsky (adding it as a middel name that I would NEVER ACTUALLY USE!)

        Alan said I should use HIS name, but Grandma Leyeh said he came from Peasant stock in Poland, so that would be more then a step down for the Barshevsky’s, who desend from royalty. Fortunateley, I did NOT have to go that route b/c his alchoholism got in the way. FOOEY on drunk’s like him!

        But in YOUR case, if your name is NOT of royal lineage, perhaps you can get your husband to agree to change it, for profesional reasons. Once you do, you will have alot less expleaning to do. Of course, if it is of royal lineage, and it is worth keeping, forget my idea. But it is important for you to at least consider it given how awkweard your situation sounds to me. YAY!!!

    • AnonName

      I struggle with this a bit, too. I have a common first name, but a long and unusual last name. For a long time I just introduced myself as First Name. But then I noticed that people who were further along in their careers than I (men and women) tended to say their first and last names, even when the names were unusual or hard to understand. So now I say my full name. People don’t usually get it, but I just repeat it with a smile and help them a little.

      I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but your name is your name. Definitely don’t go with the nickname that you don’t like.

    • pearls

      Agree with the others here – stick with your actual name!! I, too, have a very unusual name and have had similar experiences with repeating it, over, and over, and over. BUT ultimately it’s worth the effort as people then remember. So I say you are blessed to have an uncommon name!!

    • Moonstone

      I have two names that seem to run right into each other, and people think my last name is my first name. I tried to leave a big gap between first and last, but people fixate on the last name. It’s super awkward to have to correct people immediately when they use my last name (thinking it’s my first). Now I introduce myself with just my first name and follow up with a card or e-mail or LinkedIn connection. As a last resort, when I do introduce myself, I say: “Hi! My name is Confusing Lastname.” I think the words “My name is” instead of “I’m” gives people a second to catch up and focus on the name.

      Good luck.

    • Need to Improve

      I think you should just put up with it and make light of it if you can.

      I have a very similar situation, and when people repeat my name (but incorrectly), I joke that I get that a lot but it’s actually x.

      Humor works best and keeps me from getting annoyed.

    • S

      I’m in a comparable situation and I think you just have to be kind about people struggling with your name but be unapologetic. Kindly assert yourself – it’s what you want to do in networking situations anyway. I sometimes give an intro to my last name that preempts the common problem (e.g. My name is FirstName LastName, Last name is [common hearing problem explained] if I want to rush through that part of the conversation.

  7. going to hell

    I have some Air Tali wedges that are old and needing to be replaced. Some clicking around on Zappos and found a good CH replacement wedge (although for about $200 and from comments on here, the quality has really declined). And I found some Jessica Simpson wedges that are adorable (and highly rated and a fraction of the cost). I am old (not old old, but I can remember her reality show on TV) and have a Serious Job where people where Serious Shoes (CH, Karolinas, Ferragamo).

    HOW OLD IS TOO OLD TO BUY JESSICA SIMPSON WEDGES?

    • January

      Never too old.

      (I really don’t think I would recognize Jessica Simpson wedges if I saw them out and about).

      • going to hell

        They say Jessica Simpson on the bottom but are otherwise un-logo-ed.

        I guess it’s a question of $200 shoes that perform like $88 shoes and $88 shoes that perform as advertised.

        CH: I used to love you. And I love the new Air Tali wedge — so pretty! But they were hard to re-sole in the heel. Maybe time to switch?

        [There is also a crazy bling-y wedge that I’d love to have. Very impressed with the wedges — everything else in the lineup is too tarty for me and too high for my poor feet.]

        • Anon

          Her “tarty” brand is worth BILLIONS. Get over yourself and buy the wedges. You’re not that old.

          • ANon

            +1. My mom would say, in response to the “tarty” comment, that J. Simp is laughing all the way to the bank…

    • MJ

      Cannot speak to wedges, but I have some JS ballerina flats that are absurdly comfy and are at least 4 years old. They are good quality, and were not terribly expensive at time of purchase.

      • APC

        I got some JS pumps a few years back since they were the most basic but still stylish shoes at a reasonable price. Despite them being a high heel and me almost never wearing heels, they are honestly some of the most comfortable heels I have ever had. I was as surprised as the next person. Go for it.

    • CPA Lady

      I have Jessica Simpson wedges AND I LOVE THEM. And Jessica Simpson flats that I also love. Comfortable (even a taller wedge), cute, decent quality for the price point.

  8. Another loan question

    Has anyone been in the situation where you and your spouse both have substantial student loans? My DH and I each had about $175. I have been paying mine down, and am about to $125k. DH works for qualifying non-profit and has 4 years in — he doesn’t earn much, so his balance has remained pretty steady. He’s doing IBR and is paying just a little bit over the minimum.

    We’re trying to decide our approach. He’s thinking about going private sector, which would mean we would have a ton of loans that we would need to pay off! But we would be earning a good chunk, and would be able to pay them off in the next 7 years or so.

    Alternatively, if he stays at his PILF-qualifying job, I’m wondering how it will work since we got married this year. My understanding is that the amount he has to pay under his IBR plan is based off of his tax returns. I’m wondering if we should file separately, so that my income (which is big law) won’t factor in. Has anyone encountered a similar scenario?

    • MNF

      My understanding is that you have to file separately, but that he can still count you as part of his household for the IBR calculation. If you’re in biglaw, I’d go ask an associate in the tax department – there’s probably someone with the same issue (says this lawyer also married to another lawyer :)).

      • Anonymous

        This doesn’t really have anything to do with tax law. It has to do with how IBR payments are calculated which happens to use tax returns as the information base. I wouldn’t go ask a tax associate unless you want to look kind of stupid.

          • Anonymous

            Sorry if it hurts your tiny little ego, but yeah, the tax lawyers will think you’re an idiot, just like they think all the people who ask “April, eh? You must be slammed!” are idiots. It’s like asking a healthcare lawyer how to file your out of network insurance claim. As an attorney, you should know better.

    • Midwest Mama

      Yes, you will have to file taxes separately to avoid having your income factor in to the calculation of his IBR payments. That’s what DH and I have to do. But yes, he can still count you as a household of 2 for IBR purposes despite your tax filing status. I’ve heard that after you submit your taxes to the IRS and then for IBR payment calculation, that you can actually go back and amend them to file jointly in order to take advantage of that status, but I’m not sure that’s actually correct and DH and I have never been brave enough to risk it.

    • Anonymous

      Yep DH and I are in a very similar boat. We both, each had 175-200k in loans. He makes about $200k in private sector and I am 2 years into PILF at a $55k job. We throw our extra money (all bonuses, extra savings each month) at his loans and pray PILF sticks around for mine.

      We file jointly. We ran the turbo tax analysis each way and it still was much better for us to file jointly (I think it’s very rare that isn’t the case). While his high income make my payments much higher than they would be, I believe his minimums are lower than they would be because I have so much debt and a relatively low income. Not that that matters much if you aren’t struggling to make minimums on his, though, which I suspect you’re not as you said you’re paying extra toward his.

        • Anonymous

          If you are in a community property state, you each have to declare 50% of your combined income (i.e. community income unless you have a prenup or postnup that says otherwise) income even if you file married filing separately. Definitely a good idea to have a CPA run the numbers each way even if you’re not in a CP state.

  9. MJ

    Huzzah! Size 12. [High fives other C- r e t t e BIGFOOTS]

    Thank you, Kat and Kate, for remembering the large of foots! These are gorgeous.

  11. Wildkitten

    What do you guys use to track prices on an item? There was a great piece in a Columbus Day sale that went back to full price and I want to nab it next time it goes down. Thanks!

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