This post may contain affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.
These $49 washable silk tees are comfy enough for working from home but polished enough to wear under a suit. I bought a few of the washable silk tops from Quince (formerly known as Last Brand) because I’m trying to minimize the amount of dry cleaning I’m sending out these days.
This tee has a great cut and is long enough to wear tucked into a pencil skirt or untucked over a pair of skinny pants or leggings.
The care instructions suggest that you hand wash and line dry. For some reason, whenever I try to hand wash anything, I end up splashing water all over my bathroom, so I’ve been putting mine in the washer in a lingerie bag on the gentle cycle. So far, so good.
The shirt is $49 and available in sizes XS–XL. It also comes in light pink, light blue, and black. Washable Stretch Silk Tee
This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
Seen a great piece you’d like to recommend? Please e-mail tps@corporette.com.
Sales of note for 9.16.24
- Nordstrom – Summer Sale, save up to 60%
- Ann Taylor – Extra 30% off sale
- Banana Republic Factory – 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off sale
- J.Crew – 30% off wear-now styles
- J.Crew Factory – (ends 9/16 PM): 40% off everything + extra 70% off sale with code
- Lo & Sons – Warehouse sale, up to 70% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – Extra 25% off all tops + markdowns
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- White House Black Market – 40% off select styles
Some of our latest posts here at Corporette…
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
Ocean City NJ - recs?
Hi all – regular poster, different handle. In a bit of very last minute good luck, we will have a shore house to ourselves this weekend in OC NJ (power restored yesterday, thankfully!). We have beach tags & supplies covered. Hoping to crowdsource food ideas.
We’ve never been to OC before and are looking for recs for the best takeout or delivery (i.e., low or no contact) for (1) burgers, (2) pizza, (3) fish, and (4) sandwiches for beach lunches. House is at the north end of the island.
*Because I feel like I need to add this disclaimer. We have been WFH and distancing. We wear masks when indoors with others and when outdoors near others. Neither of us is high risk nor do we interact with anyone who is high risk (interactions, in any event, are just outdoor chats with neighbors). This is a 1.5 hour drive for us so no stops. We are bringing groceries & wine from home. We will sit by ourselves on the beach and will not be attending any group events, sitting at bars or restaurants (indoor or outdoor), or participating in the dense boardwalk scene. We will return to our hermit lives upon getting home. Side effects of reading may include upset stomach or headache.
Anonymous
I know nothing about Ocean City, but I applaud your disclaimer and wish you a happy mini-vacation!
Mrs. Jones
+1
Anon
Except you forgot diarrhea and cancer in the disclaimer
Anon
Except you forgot diarrhea and cancer in the disclaimer
Anon
+1
Anon
I have a house at 33rd and Asbury (south end of the island) but rented for years at the North End. Here are my recommendations:
1. Burgers – Varsity Inn or Del’s on the boardwalk;
2. Pizza – Piccini’s Wood Fired (12th and West): Their pizza is excellent but the parking lot is a zoo on the weekends. Be prepared to wait; Manco & Manco on the boardwalk: if you have a hankering for a classic pie;
3. Fish – Spadafora’s or Island Grill;
4. Sandwiches – Bennie’s Bread or OC Surf Cafe.
Some add’l recommendations: Mallon’s sticky buns are a must and Brown’s donuts are to die for. Have a great time!
Ocean City NJ - recs?
Thank you! Just emailed this to myself (along with Brown’s from the comment below)
Anon
I actually think it’s a good thing to include the disclaimers. If people just kept on posting their travel plans with no information (“Going to the beach house, recs???”), that would normalize carefree travel at a time when people should not be traveling for pleasure. If you’ve decided to go anyway, it’s nice to show to others the considerations that you’ve taken into account because it’s a pandemic and that’s what you should do. I’m sure it didn’t take you long and if it helps people make better choices, I’m all for it. You might give other people good ideas about factors to take into account.
Denver
Highly recommend Spadafora’s and Brown’s.
Anon
Agreed
potato
Or are these safety precautions so normal now that we don’t need to discuss them? I mean, we don’t ask posters if they obey the speed limit and wear their seat belts…
Anon
I don’t think they are. If they were, the epidemic would look a lot different and we wouldn’t have cities getting fed up and deciding to issue penalties to party-goers and so on.
Anonymous
Sadly, they’re not. And I really appreciate the poster yesterday who said she did not wipe down her hotel room as she had planned. Because it’s just not possible to be on top of everything all the time. And you’re not going to encounter perfect behavior from hosts/workers all the time either.
Even the disclaimer kind of highlights the absurdity of all the steps you must take and the mental gymnastics required to decide you are “safe.”
Ocean City NJ - recs?
It was meant to be a lighthearted way avoid this turning into a fight about precautions… but if anyone finds it actually helpful in weighing how to escape their apartment for a few days as safely as possible, I’m delighted!
January
Not sure if you’re aware, but OC NJ is a dry town, so do make sure you have all the wine you’d like to drink. ;) Have fun!
Ocean City NJ - recs?
The mention of the wine was on purpose ;) we’re good!!
Marie
In my mind, this is one of the most crucial notes :)
Anonymous
Thank you thank you thank you for proactively confirming that you are following Covid protocols up to my standards (almost). It is important that going forward, all posters indicating they are going to travel play offense so I don’t have to come here and scold you unnecessarily. It is such a relief that today, I don’t have to do that.
Anon
Choose kindness.
theguvnah
i will warn you no one seems to be masking in OC, i was there 3 weeks ago and shocked at the hordes of teens and families just walking down the boardwalk like life was normal (I had to cross the boardwalk to get onto the beach).
Yianni’s is the best in OC i think for breakfast, casual lunch or dinner
https://yianniscafeoc.com/
enjoy!
Anon House Purchaser
How much house would you feel comfortable buying with a HHI of 300k? Both pretty stable jobs, income split is currently about 50-50. I have no loans but am unlikely to have tremendous income progression at this point. DH has 100k in student loans (recently finished a graduate degree) but is likely to make more as career progresses. The kind of house we want in the city we live in costs roughly in the $1-1.5M range. We could put about $300k down (part savings, part recent inheritance). Does the 3 times income rule apply, or is that not a real thing? The bank seemed to think we could go to $1.65M but that seems like a lot to me. Please share your anecdotal advice on how you decided this. Should DH pay off the student loans first? We were going to wait at least another year, but we live in a loft and if we are WFH indefinitely, I would kill for a home office. We also want to TTC in the next year.
PS: I am very aware that we are extremely privileged to be in this position. Just looking for practical advice!
Anonymous
We were similar (but no debt) and bought a 1m house with half down. I broke it down to what would my monthly mortgage be, all in (with property taxes and the like). Then I looked at my budget and how I felt with that payment. Our goal was to be able to pay it with only one income if one of lost out jobs (which happened a year in), and factoring in 2 kids at daycare (happened at 6 months in the house). I don’t care what the mortgage broker says we can buy—those are always high.
And the student loan decision is up to you. I had an aversion to paying daycare and a student loan bill so paid mine off early. Even though I’m in finance and the rate was tiny and I probably should not have done so, it made me comfortable. It’s all about what works for you
Cat
On a similar income we chose a $500K house. We were approved for $1.2M. Our realtor wasn’t thrilled, lol. But we wanted a house where we could comfortably afford the payments if one of us lost our job.
Anon House Purchaser
This sounds so reasonable, but in my market 500k is a one-bedroom condo or a house far, far away in the suburbs.
Anonymous
How can you afford daycare plus a super-expensive house???
Anon So Cal
Ha ha ha ha
Sorry – inserting bitter laugh. You just do. (And $1+ million is not “super expensive” in many places, even outside of SF and NYC.) I live in a 2BR/2BA townhouse with a tiny yard in the suburbs (but a nice suburb with good schools) in Southern California. And my townhouse is worth $750K. That is why for many, many people the idea that you can buy a residence to raise a family on on person’s income, even a high earning person, is unrealistic. And the idea that you can pay for that while paying for infant care, fully funding your retirement, and a having a huge emergency fund is a complete fantasy.
lawsuited
Amen. In my area, $500k is a 1-bedroom condo in the far away suburbs and a small house in a rural town 3 hours away.
anonshmanon
Just coming to say that the bank mortgage lender will be advising for a bigger loan – that’s totally normal (and a partial reason for so many people losing their homes in the 2008 crisis). A lot of people buy less house than what the bank suggests and end up perfectly happy.
Anon
Yes. Our HHI is $215k and we bought a $375k house. We were approved for up to $750k but had zero interest in taking that on; the payment would have been more than half of our monthly net income. Our Realtor and mortgage broker applied pretty constant pressure to look at more expensive houses/get a bigger mortgage but we just ignored them (and now, we are refinancing and getting pressure from a different mortgage broker to do a cash-out refinance, which we don’t even need. Oy). I think Dave Ramsey says that a house shouldn’t be more than 2x your yearly gross income for maximum affordability but I know that varies greatly by real-estate market – it was very doable for us to stay under than 2x number where we are, but in larger/hotter markets that would have gotten us nothing.
A big consideration for us, which someone else mentioned, was the ability to continue paying the mortgage if one person loses their job. We have a mortgage payment that either of us could easily pay and still have money left over for other bills if needed. I did calculations and made sure that if one of us ended up unemployed, we could pay the mortgage and our bills for at least six months on the other person’s salary without tapping savings. That’s what I was comfortable with, other folks’ mileage may vary.
Anon
I’m as financially conservative as it gets, but 2x my income would be an $85,000 house, which barely buys a buildable lot in my city. I can afford my $119k mortgage just fine – hard disagree with Dave unless he is accounting for a pretty large amount of other debt also being present.
Jess
I agree with what a lot of people have said. But as you noted, the downside of being conservative when buying a house is that you can’t get as much house as you want/need. Like, it’s no longer the ’50s–most people have no interest in a starter house and then upgrading. It makes sense for the first house to be a stretch initially (assuming relatively stable jobs and income growth) because people hope to live there for 20 years.
Anonymous
I think Dave also recommends a 15 year mortgage with that which might change the math.
Anon
Your mortgage costs about what you would be paying in rent, if not less, so it makes perfect sense.
I think he’s trying to discourage people who make $100,000 on two incomes from buying a $400,000 house. Even if they can “afford” $20,000 a year in mortgage costs, they aren’t properly saving at that rate and can, absent being in Boston or NYC, find something for less.
Anonymous
There’s so much room between a loft and a million plus home! You could pay off his loans tomorrow. Why not do that, rent somewhere bigger, and move later?
Anon House Purchaser
That’s a fair point, but honestly the rental market in our city is not great and it seems like a hassle to move and then move again later? I actually really like our loft, it worked great for our pre-covid lives, but being here 24/7 is making it feel tight and I really want a separate space to work in. To be clear, we’re in a HCOL city, so the house would be a nice house 3 bedroom in a good neighborhood with good schools, but not a McMansion or anything.
Anon
Not sure where OP is, but in the Bay Area there actually probably is not that big of a leap from a loft to a million dollar home.
The original Scarlett
Yeah, 1 bedrooms in SF are close to 1M and they’re on “sale” right now. I think this question is highly location dependent. Around here formulas like the 1/3 thing don’t really work. In a perfect market, I’d say buy less than you can afford but I’ve never lived in one of those.
Anon
In some cities there is no room between the two. There may be valid reasons for buying now, once of which is interest rates are extremely low. Waiting to save for a bigger down payment can be more expensive depending on what happens to rates.
cbackson
What does your emergency fund look like?
Anon House Purchaser
We have 6 months of regular expenses saved (and would not use that on the down payment). Our retirement accounts are also well funded.
busybee
I’d start by calculating your monthly mortgage/tax/insurance costs based on varying mortgage amounts. Figure out what monthly payment you’re comfortable with, and go from there. Consider what other monthly costs you’ll have too, particularly childcare. The typical rule of thumb is that your housing cost shouldn’t be more than 30% of your pretax income. Personally that’s a bit high for my comfort level, but everyone is different. The bank will almost always approve you for much more than you should actually get so you should just ignore that 1.65 number.
Anon
+1
Figure out what monthly payment you’re comfortable with, and how much you could then put down while leaving a very healthy emergency fund. For E fund, I would aim for (at least) 6 months expenses, since that would last you a year if only one of you lost your job. I would ignore completely what you qualify for — they always want you to buy more than you can really comfortably afford.
Anonymous
Add in the inevitable:
Day care
Dependent health insurance coverage (can be $$$)
Maybe a car payment
Anonymous
I think it depends a lot on where you live, honestly. Someone in Boston or San Francisco will probably find that much more reasonable than other markets. I’d probably just crunch the numbers – start with your income, subtract all the other budget items and see what you have left. I wouldn’t worry about the student loans first, but I’m not bothered by student loan debt whereas many others are. I would never buy a house without putting down 20%. So I’d definitely use my down payment as a limiting factor to not go over $1.5M. If you found a house at $1M that you like, I’d put down $200k and then pay off the student loans with the rest of the savings instead of putting down 30%. The mortage will likely be lower interest than the student loans.
Anonymous
We have a HHI of $270K and two kids. We bought a house for $680K and that feels exactly right. We could afford more if daycare weren’t an issue, but with childcare, it feels tight. I’m happy we bought the house because this time period of daycare expenses is relatively short, and we’ll happy to have enough house to grow into, but I would not buy a house for more than, say, $750K.
Anonymous
Yes — for many of my friends, daycare costs > mortgage costs.
Anon
*raises hand*
Anonymous
I live in CLT and we get a lot of people from NYC who leave because this math is so ugly when you factor in childcare. Even in CLT, it is not inexpensive but your housing cost is shockingly less. This is often where VHCOL cities start to fail — they fail working families who need two incomes to pay for housing.
Anonymous
We’re not buying until we’re out of the daycare years— or until we’re at least down to one in daycare— for this reason.
SMC-San Diego
As a caution from someone who thought I would have a lot more disposable income once kiddo was out of daycare, that is not really true. There is a big drop in expenses when you move from infant to toddler care but not so much when they move from daycare to school. The school day itself may be free, but you have to pay for after-school care and then holiday and summer vacation care. You are paying for fewer weeks but the cost of each week is higher!
Anon
Similar income and we bought for just under 400k in mcol city suburb with excellent schools. We also pretty quickly had childcare for two kids after buying the house. And are planning on a third. This feels reasonable to pay on one income (the lower more stable income of around 100k). We’re not sure if this is our forever home but it could be. After childcare is no longer an issue, the highest we’d go is probably $600k. This is so market dependent though. That kind of money buys a lot around here.
Anonymous
Same! (Are you me?)
I never really considered ‘how high can we afford’? For me, I really put value in knowing that if one of us lost our job, we’d still be able to pay the mortgage. And that while we both have our jobs and good income, we don’t really have to worry about money at all.
I also personally place a really high value on having a positive net cash flow each month. The mortgage bill is one expense you’ll have coming out of your money every month for decades, so I think keeping that on the lower end (while still getting a house you’re comfortable with of course) is nice. Things come up. For instance, we had to pay a lot of money on IVF, which we hadn’t ‘budgeted in’ when we were house-hunting. Now we have a few kids in daycare and their college funds to save for. I really like that we have been able to keep a good positive cash flow in our monthly budget, so we don’t have to worry about it.
One thing to consider as well is whether you really want to work so hard for the next 30 years. I would like the option of being able to cut back at some point from the grind of big law. Not sure if I will. But I want to keep my options open, and be able to still comfortably afford the mortgage.
Anon
What I would do is play around with a mortgage calculator and figure out how much you are comfortable paying each month. I find that more useful than looking at the total price. We make a little bit less than you and would probably aim for something no more than $500,000, but I would really look closely at the exact monthly payment first. There is no way you should spend more than 1 million honestly unless you love spending tons of money on real estate.
NJorBust
I have such a dumb question, but when you all talk about HHI, do you include stock equity that vests annually or just cash?
Anonymous
Cash income
Anon
Just an FYI, it sounds like you have already talked to a bank but in case you didn’t get into this level of detail we just got a mortgage and the big bank we did it through now requires 30% down for a $1 mm plus mortgage, new since the pandemic. Not sure how common that is amongst lenders, but if it is that might make your decision for you.
Like others mention I also completely ignore what a lender thinks I can afford. They aren’t paying my mortgage every month for 30 years, and as some noted that mentality led many off of a cliff in 2008 (although to be fair some things have changed since then).
I calculate what my monthly costs would be for x value house with y mortgage (don’t forget property taxes, at that level they are HUGE!), and see how that compares to my monthly budget which sounds like for you should include some level of monthly loan pay off assumption. Try to figure out what all else you spend on in a typical month and if it all fits. It only works for me if that budget also assumes retirement savings etc. It takes more work to do this than just going by rule of thumbs, but for something like this and at the dollar amounts you are talking I think you need more than rule of thumbs, bc everyone’s financials are SO different.
Good luck!
Anon
Student loans:
There’s no need to pay off the student loans first, especially if you are TTC soon and living in a loft. There is total ‘head in the clouds’ advice to ‘just have kids and it will work out,’ which is crazy: kids cost money, a lot of it, and sometimes, waiting even a year or two can radically improve your financial situation. But people also go too far in the opposite direction, thinking they need a house (not just reasonable space for the kid), a brand-new SUV, and all non-mortgage debt paid off before having kids. Great if you can swing that, but it also results in people waiting too long to have kids. Infertility is a thing, and it’s easier to solve when you’re young. Wanting to space out pregnancies is a thing.
Mortgage:
Your bank doesn’t care if you never save a cent for your child’s college or sit on lawn furniture because you can’t afford real furniture. Run the numbers yourself on what you feel comfortable paying, including money for an emergency fund, college, daycare. If your husband’s career really takes off, you can look into upgrading a house at that time.
Anon
I should have added “retirement savings” in the mortgage calculation above. Your bank also does not care if you can’t afford to retire.
Anon
+1
Anon
Hugely depends on where you live. In my area a HHI of 300k could very comfortably buy a million dollar home.
BB
This doesn’t make sense to me? A HHI of 300K can buy a million dollar home anywhere (assuming you have the down payment)…the question is do you need a million dollar home in that area. Like is $1M a tiny SF 1 bed so you kind of have to spend that money or a giant 50 room mansion that you don’t need?
Anon
I think what they mean is if you are in a VHCOL area your other budget line items may be higher than a LCOL area that may make the level of house you can easily afford different.
Like if you are buying in an area where you feel like you will “need” to send your kids to an expensive private school, that makes your monthly budget available to spend on your mortgage less.
Anon
We pay $180 a week for infant daycare at a very, very high quality center. The most expensive private schools are about $10,000 a year for elementary school and $12,000 a year for high school.
Anonymous
Perhaps anon at 10:10 is referencing the impact of state and local taxes
Anon
I think property taxes can vary wildly depending on location and property type – maybe $10k is doable but $40k adds too much to a monthly payment.
death_and_taxes
Check the property taxes too. I’m in a high property tax state (IL). When we bought it the monthly payments per $100,000 of house ~$400 for the mortgage and $225 for property taxes. Obviously, this changed our budget.
Anonymous
WOW — I had no ideal that IL property taxes were so high. That is almost NJ levels of awfulness.
Or like how in NYC, maybe I could afford to buy a place, but the “maintenance” on it would do me in. Ugh. Just give me the all-in cost!
death_and_taxes
When I looked into it (2016) annual property taxes were 2.75% of value of the house (in a first ring suburb of Chicago). It’s a huge mess. Machine politics funds itself by passing higher taxes and then running law firms which appeal those taxes. As a side effect, property taxes have become a regressive tax because wealthier people are more likely to appeal their property taxes (and win) than people who own more modest homes.
BB
I think it depends a lot on what you feel comfortable for monthly costs. So for example, if you bought an 800K home with 300K down, you can get a non-jumbo loan…smaller loan with better interest rates could easily cut your monthly payments by $1000 if that is important to you. On the other hand, when we had about your HHI, we bought a $1M place in Boston with 15% down. We were comfortable with the monthly costs because it would have been same/more to rent what we wanted in that market. Another metric that may be useful is: Can you still comfortably pay the mortgage if one of you lost your job?
Anon
I think the better approach is to figure out what monthly payment you’d be comfortable with (and take into account things that you don’t pay as a renter such as property taxes, homeowners insurance, reserve fund for repairs, etc.). Also something to keep in mind is don’t deplete your savings to buy a house – first off, closing costs can be extremely high depending on where you live (looking at you NY) so you may need some of those funds for closing, you’ll also need to furnish the house, likely want to do some repairs/upgrades (even “minor” things like refreshing paint or upgrading light fixtures can be way more expensive than what you think they would be and assume that you’ll have at least one major repair within 6 months of closing because that just seems to be how the world works! It’s a lot more work to back into a number but at the end of the day the headline price isn’t what is going to matter – your monthly payment is what will.
Another anon
+1 to this, I just bought a house and am paying a totally reasonable monthly amount, but had ~$10K planned upgrades (paint, carpets) and $27K unexpected repairs (yikes) in the first month after closing. I’m fortunate that it’s survivable for me but if the down payment and closing costs had eaten up all my reserves I would be in deep trouble. Has also made a major change to when I’ll be able to sell without a big loss.
Carrie
And don’t forget the extra costs to cool in summer, heat in winter, care for the lawn, all the stuff you “have to” buy to fill and care for your houseetc…
Never equate a rent you are comfortable with with a monthly mortgage payment you are comfortable with. The cost of home ownership adds on a huge premium to the mortgage. Often…
Anonymous
Find out what daycare costs and add that to your monthly spend. With your finances I wouldn’t go above 600K, esp with the student loans and given the chance that many women scale back to 3/4 time with a kid or one of you may have an income cut because of the worsening economic situation.
Anon
We’re in a much LCOL area, but I think the 3x income rule feels about right. We’re HHI of $150k and our budget was $500k, but we had a larger than average down payment. We ended up buying a $350k house and have enjoyed having the extra cash, but I don’t think we’d be feeling house poor if we’d purchased something in the $450-500k range. Anything above that wouldn’t have been comfortable for us, I don’t think, especially with daycare (which is almost $20k/year for one child).
Anon House Purchaser
Thanks for the responses, all. I guess I should have noted that I am in a HCOL city – there is no way we can buy a house here for 350-500k unless we go very far out and live in a not great school district. Even a nice condo with two bedrooms would be 500-600k. The $1M is basically the minimum for a single family home with three bedrooms and a small yard in a good part of the city. Honestly, this thread is a little depressing, but I also realize I posted because I needed a reality check – I am debt-averse, DH seems to think bank will approve us up to X, so let’s spend X and get a nice house and it will be a good investment for our future. I’m torn between wanting the nice house (who doesn’t) and thinking the finances will be really really tight. DH is counting on his income increasing and he’s in a field with a lot of demand so I’m sure that will happen eventually, but right now we couldn’t pay that on one income and I’ve been in the workforce longer and know that even the best employees occasionally hit road bumps. I appreciate those chiming in from HCOL areas – trust me, if I could buy and 375k house, I would, but right now, that’s the value of our loft.
Anonymous
We bought a house when I was pregnant just before the last recession and an unplanned income cut and not factoring in the cost of healthcare for the baby or daycare. Some months we had to forgo retirement savings and rob Peter to pay Paul to make the mortgage payment. I charged groceries a few times. Don’t do this!
Nesprin
Lol- I live in another VHCOL area- 375k might buy a lot, with a toxic waste spill on it, or a 6ft wide lot. The NYT has a “is it better to rent or buy” calculator which I found really useful. Lets you compare saving $ vs using it to pay down real estate, factoring in property taxes and maintenance.
Anon
“DH is counting on his income increasing and he’s in a field with a lot of demand so I’m sure that will happen eventually, but right now we couldn’t pay that on one income and I’ve been in the workforce longer and know that even the best employees occasionally hit road bumps.”
Your thinking is the correct thinking in this case. Markets shift. Technological advances emerge that make certain jobs or fields obsolete. On an individual level, people get sick and lose time out of the workforce, or they develop debilitating chronic illnesses and can’t push as hard or work as much. Life happens. My comfortable place is: I make enough money and our expenses are low enough that if tomorrow, DH gets a traumatic brain injury in a bike accident, or gets diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma and has to quit working to go through intensive cancer treatment at MD Anderson, or his job gets offshored and he’s unemployed for an extended period, I can pay the bills and keep us in our home and we can eat and have our basic necessities. All of those things I mention above have really happened to people we know (we are in our mid-late 40s). Don’t buy a house counting that at some undefined point in the future, the payment will be comfortable. That day may not come. And also count on this: the bigger/fancier the house, the more you have to spend on repairs and upgrades as time goes on. That’s a whole other cost factor that mortgage lenders never have you think about or account for when they approve you for the maximum amount *they think* you can afford.
Coach Laura
LOL at the specific Stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma scenario …which was my surprise diagnosis last year.
Anon
“DH seems to think bank will approve us up to X, so let’s spend X and get a nice house and it will be a good investment for our future.”
Let me do a bit of math for you. Using about a 3.92% interest rate over 30 years, if you get a $700,000 mortgage ($1mil house minus $300k down payment), you’ll spend $1.12 million over the life of the loan. If you get a $1.3 million mortgage, you’ll pay $2.21 million over the life of the loan.
For more fun, if you get a $700,000 mortgage and pay it off at the same rate as your $1.3 million mortgage, it will be paid off in 10 years for a total cost of $850k.
That’s a difference of $900,000 to $1.3 million. Do you think the bigger house is worth an extra million dollars? Do you think that’s an investment that will pay off over time?
Anon
Don’t forget though that the interest is tax deductible so depending on your tax bracket, it could bottom line be about half that amount (marginal rates of 35ish% federal and 12%ish state if Californian)
Anon
It’s limited to the first $1 million of mortgage.
Coach Laura
And Congress could easily cut or reduce the tax deduction. They’ve threatened. Who knows what might happen.
Anon
I’ve been worried about Congress cutting the deduction since 1993. But they know it would turn the housing market upside down and cause another economic crash. This would be very far down the line of things they could change about the tax code.
Anon
They could change the deduction to the first half million or three quarters of a million.
It’s still beside the point: that’s a crazy amount of interest to be paying. Even if the tax deduction allows you a 1:2 reduction (every two dollars in interest results in a $1 decrease in your tax bill), that’s still an extra half-million in interest.
Anon
I think you need to differentiate the advice for a MCOL/LCOL city vs. a HCOL. It sounds like you’re solidly the later. Given closing costs and the costs associated with buying and selling, I do (if in a HCOL area with a solid emergency fund) think it’s often worth spending more to get something you can stay in longer. Personally, given your downpayment and incomes, I would be comfortable up to $1.2m or so, but really no higher and only if I saw it as something I could stay in for 10+ years. I also think you need to have a realistic sense of how soon you’re likely actually have childcare costs and what those look like (do you have family help nearby?) and what that looks like in your budget. Each market and situation is different. I’d also try to get a sense of what your husband’s salary trajectory *actually* looks like in relation to when those childcare costs occur.
Anon
We ended up following the 30% rule (we live in a HCOL area that teeters on VHCOL). HHI was 500K, house ended up being 1.4M and we put down 25%. Our priority was buying in a good public school district, which we did end up getting. Thanks to the crazy low refi rates, we are pretty comfortable now, and I’m in the process of interviewing for better paying jobs, so we should be fine but it is definitely a LOT of money especially with nanny costs. At your HHI in a VHCOL area, I would probably buy just shy of $1M.
Nesprin
We were in a similar position (less debt but lower income) and ended up deciding that we’d budget to live on one salary, so that if one of us lost our job we could afford it. The bank would have been more than happy to loan us 30% more than we wanted to spend. We knew what our budget was so we shopped very aggressively (i.e. 4 mos, open houses every weekend) and had our 4th offer accepted (the bay area is nuts) on a house that fit our needs. Turns out being conservative was a great idea- my partner’s work has slowed down, but my salary is still there and all our expenses fit in it.
If you’re thinking kids are in the near future, now’d be a decent time to figure out a more stable living situation. Likewise, interest rates are about as low as possible at the moment. Make sure you budget for upgrades/repairs- I’ve seen estimates to set aside 1% of purchase price on fixes each year. Our house is a project house so we’re closer to 5-10% but hoping to catch up on deferred maintenance soon…
Anon
Here’s another way to think about it (but underscoring NOT the only way):
How much do you want to pay monthly? We have HHI of $400k. We still didn’t want to pay more than $3,000/month in mortgage, taxes and insurance. We were approved for a giant number at the bank but settled at $850k purchase price at the top end of our budget (we had a big down payment from savings and sale of first home that allowed us to stay within that $3,000/month comfort zone.
We used this method as our gut check when buying the first home, too. We had a steal of an apartment at $1,800/month and despite the fact we were approved for a large loan/purchase price, we weren’t comfortable crossing $2,300, or a $500/month increase.
That gut check has worked really well for us and helped us reign in the temptation to do anything bigger than what we’re comfortable with, despite what income levels and the bank suggest.
Anon
FWIW we’re in inner-suburban Boston.
Anon4this
1st house: DC area. HHI was around 300k; stable jobs; income split 70-30, knew the 30 share was going up to approximately match the 70 share in the next year; 200k in student loans . Bought 650k house. Put 10% down.
2nd house: DC area. HHI was around ranged 800k-1 million depending on bonuses; stable jobs; income split 50-50. Income stable with no likely increases for a long while if ever. Paid off student loans, had a kid. Bought 1.7 million house. Put 10% down; sold house 1; recast house 2 mortgage and brought down payment up to 35%.
Both times the bank approved us for numbers we could not ever conceive of spending at that time in our lives. I think for house 1 we were approved for around 1 million. For house 2 we were approved for around 3.5 million.
InHouseAnon
Late to the game, but I’ll just add that we recently purchased a $900k home with approximately the same HHI and the same down payment, in a MCOL market. With property tax and insurance, our monthly payment is a little over $3000 which feels very manageable to us. We have one (subsidized) daycare payment and are (likely) to start paying private school tuition for our grade school aged child, but even with that unexpected expense, we don’t feel stretched. I agree with all the others to calculate what you want to spend monthly and back into your max home price. (FWIW, at the start of our home search, our “absolute max” was $800k but due to extremely low inventory this summer we had to stretch beyond what we wanted to spend, and it still feels fine.)
Anonymous
a few years ago, Dh and I had a HHI of around $300-350k (Me: ~$160, Him: ~$170). We had one kid and knew we wanted more. On paper, we could afford $1.5M+. Nice 3000sq ft 4BR “forever” homes in our area range $750k-$1.5M. We bought a house that was $700k that needed some work to be perfect, but we could afford the mortgage on one income alone. The house was fine to live in (dated and in dire need of landscaping), but over time we wanted to do a $200k addition and a $100k kitchen redo.
Not 5 months after we moved in, I got pregnant and was laid off 3 months later. We pulled my daughter out of daycare and saved $2k/month. I got 6 months of severance which we put directly into savings. I spent the next year being pregnant, spending extra time with my toddler and then new baby, and built a consulting practice. We paused some of the renovations we’d planned and pushed them out a year. We had another baby. We started the renovations and wrapped them up on the 4 year anniversary of moving in.
Now our house is worth ~$900k-1M, we have three kids, and I have a really nice part time consulting practice. Dh has gotten a promotion and our HHI is still around $300-350k but with me working part time (DH- ~240k, me ~100k–it’s 1099 but i also have a self employed 401k and can shovel retirement money into it like crazy).
The smartest thing we ever did was buy below our means. It allowed us tremendous flexibility and we’ve been able to build a life that works for our family: 3 kids fairly close together in age (without having to pay 3x daycare fees!), a 3500sqft house with the exact kitchen we wanted, in the town we wanted to be in.
I know if we had bought a $900/$1M house right off the bat I’d have had to find a new full time job, while pregnant, when I got laid off.
Northwest Islander
I am a single woman with $300k income and I just closed on a $1.4M home in a VHCOL area. It’s a long story. The $1M mortgage makes me choke a bit, but I have over $2M in cash and investments that I could liquidate to cover the mortgage if I lost my job.
Consider the timing of this purchase carefully. The reason I can afford this purchase comfortably now is because I avoided it for years. On an income of $200k in 2012, I bought a $600k home. That enabled me to save and invest.
Anon
Ugh, I run numbers every day and can’t figure out what to do. HHI 235 VHCOL city. Child free and will remain that way. About 100k in the bank for down payment/closing costs/emergency. Our rent is insane, 4300 a month. But a SFH in this area of the city is out of reach at about 1 million and the condos are nowhere near as nice as my rental at say 600k. Very little inventory on where I’d like to be in the 750k range. Part of me is thinking rent forever, keep throwing $1500 in the bank every month, and use that money to buy something in a LCOL city when we retire. And keep our 100k in the bank in case one of us loses our jobs. Yes, I know we can rent somewhere cheaper but I’m in my forties, we are both stuck working from home, and living in a nice building is one of the few things that is comforting during covid.
Anon
Can anyone point me to a good guide for managing a backdoor Roth? I’ve been Googling and I can find plenty of instructions for the initial set-up, but I’m confused about how you make new contributions each year. I’m seeing language like “contribute to a traditional Roth, then convert it,” but that makes it sound like I’m opening a new traditional Roth account each year. That doesn’t sound right, but it’s shockingly hard to find good information about what to do once you have the account set up for the first time. Any ideas on where to look for a beginner’s guide?
Anonymous
Not 100% what you’re asking – I have a backdoor roth, but I don’t manage it (our FA does). I make monthly contributions (with post tax income) to the traditional IRA and they convert them each month to the Roth. So, your quoted language is correct – but for me, the conversion happens on a monthly basis. And It’s been the same two traditional and roth accounts since i set this up like 5 years ago. I don’t know how the conversion process happens each month.
Too Much
reddit PF is my friend
you keep the same Tira account year after year. at EOY/tax time, you make the conversion. wipe TIra to $0 because it goes to backdoor Roth, then put your money back into Tira whenever you’re ready. (I fund mine with a paycheck amount every month)
https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/3imtl7/backdoor_roth_ira_can_someone_explain_in_laymans/
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/auskof/backdoor_roth_ira_step_by_step/
Maudie Atkinson
This is how I do mine, except I tend to only fund the TIRA once or twice a year, using bonus money. The traditional goes to $0 (or some nominal amount to keep the account open) after I convert the funds annually, until I make the contribution for the next tax year.
Once it’s in the Roth, it’s in a Schwab target-date fund, and I don’t touch it.
anonchicago
I’ve had a backdoor Roth at Schwab for 4 years. You will keep a traditional IRA open with no money in it as well as your Roth. I try to contribute at the beginning of the year so it basically looks like this:
1) January 2 – Transfer $6k from savings to Schwab traditional IRA. Takes a day to settle
2) Jan 3 or 4 – Transfer funds to Roth. This is the conversion step and Schwab will show a screen telling you that you’re converting, be aware of tax consequences, etc
3) Jan 5 – Funds now settled in Roth. Buy SWTSX
Bogleheads wiki provides helpful steps as well.
Anon
This is the most helpful breakdown I’ve seen. What do you do about taxes (in a nutshell)?
AnonRoth
On the taxes, I found this website to really break it down well (I actually sent it to my tax advisor when he was doing our taxes): https://www.biglawinvestor.com/backdoor-roth-ira-step-by-step-guide/
If you convert from the traditional to the Roth within a few days, there shouldn’t be any interest on the amount you’re converting and, therefore, you should not be paying any taxes on this amount. (I presume if you’re doing a backdoor roth, you are making a high enough income that your contribution is post-tax amounts from your paycheck).
Kellie
I contribute in a lump sum early in the year, invest in something cash-like (money market account), and roll over ASAP. There is virtually no tax because the “investment” is more or less flat. I do this at Vanguard fwiw.
anonchicago
It’s easier than it sounds. I use a tax software (whatever I can get for free or close that year) and just check the box for contribution to traditional IRA, and the box for conversion along with the date. The software will create the required forms. There’s no tax impact.
Anon
Not prior anon, but I don’t have any tax implications (or at least very little) if I convert int he same year. I can’t deduct the traditional ira contribution, so don’t have to back that out. The only possible tax implication is if I leave the money in the traditional ira too long and it grows in value before the conversion
Anon
https://www.madfientist.com/after-tax-contributions/
My income and savings are not such that this applies to me, so I haven’t done it myself, but I do like his explanation.
Anon
Thanks all – one post here and it’s much more clear than in 15 minutes of googling!!
Anon for this
I’ve always cleaned my own apartments/never hired a cleaning person/crew. So here’s what I’m trying to figure out:
I am moving from a 1-bedroom apartment into a single family home (1250sqft) in six weeks. I am debating hiring a cleaning person/crew to do a deep clean of the home before movers move all of my stuff inside. What does a deep clean really entail? Does it defeat the purpose/is it a waste of money to have a deep clean because movers will be on the first and second floor moving my stuff and dirtying up the place? Or, can the deep clean focus on the rooms I can keep movers out of (kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, two guest rooms)?
What kinds of questions should I ask a cleaning person/crew when scheduling a deep clean?
Anon
I would definitely do a deep clean and ask them to do the showers, kitchen including appliances, cupboards, and things like baseboards. Most of what you’ll be tracking in can be cleaned up with a vacuum and mop.
mascot
Deep cleans usually involve things you don’t clean very often (windows, blinds, fans, etc). For a new house, you could ask for the deep clean to focus on things that are best done when the house is empty like cleaing the inside of cabinets/drawers. Some cleaning companies keep lists on their websites breaking out what each type of cleaning yould look like. Example : https://twomaidssavannah.com/_house_cleaning_services/
Cat
+1 — wiping down baseboards, insides of windows, blinds or shutters, fans, light fixtures, inside of cabinetry, appliances, etc. These are things that wouldn’t get “re-dirtied” by movers and are way harder to do once your stuff is in the house. Anything tracked in should just require a light vacuum or mop.
Anon
Absolutely do a deep clean and get them to do the things you would probably never get around to doing like inside the cupboards and appliances, the windows and any blinds, etc. I had to hastily clean an apartment once when I moved in because the landlord hadn’t done the cleaning he promised and it was the worst.
Anon
Will the landlord/prior owners do a deep clean for you before you move in?
We just moved into a new house. Our prior owners paid for a deep clean before we moved in.
That being said, it would have been comforting to me to have overseen another thorough clean of the inside of drawers In retrospect.
OP Anon for this
Ooo… I hadn’t even considered this. (We are buying the home – so, no landlord.) I agree that I will feel more comfortable if I have “control” over the clean.
You are all so helpful – thank you! I didn’t even think about things like fan blades and radiators.
Anon
We are also about to sell a home and are paying a ton of money for a deep clean before the showings, FYI. So the showings might get it surface level dirty but the next owners should hopefully benefit from our deep clean.
Maudie Atkinson
In my experience (SEUS), the sellers have some responsibility to clean before you move in, but not necessarily a deep clean. I would consult with your realtor about the extent of your seller’s obligations and then ask them to forgo their cleaning in favor of giving you some $$ toward your deep clean. I’ve done this as a seller and buyer. It lets the person moving in “control” the cleaning and avoids unnecessarily repeating cleaning tasks.
anon
I am a huge fan of deep cleaning between moves. I paid for one when moving to my current home (which had sat empty for 6+ months). I also own rental property and pay for deep cleanings between rentals.
Deep cleaning usually entails scrubbing bathrooms and kitchen, including inside and outside of all appliances and cabinets, washing windows, dusting blinds and fixtures, wiping baseboards, trim, and mopping the floors. I just paid for an 1100 square foot apartment to be deep cleaned, and it took one person about 7 hours.
Having movers bring in dirt/dust does not defeat the purpose of deep cleaning. You can also put cardboard down in the hallway and most trafficked areas to try to pick up most of the dirt coming into the house during the move itself.
Anonymous
Hire cleaners! Hiring a cleaning crew to clean the house we were moving out of was the best $$$ I ever spent. The new owners were very appreciative, and the company I hired had a “move out” cleaning package. I only wish I had had the foresight to hire cleaners for the house we moved into. It was so disheartening to have to clean before unpacking.
Senior Attorney
When I bought my first house, my realtor paid for the deep clean as a closing gift. It was one of the best gifts I ever received in my life!!
Anyway, yes. Do it for sure.
anon
I turn 40 next week. With all the covid stuff, it is pretty much a bummer. The girls’ weekend I’d planned is obviously canceled, and I’m struggling to figure out any meaningful way to celebrate. Yeah, I’m an adult and most years, I could take or leave my birthday, but 40 feels significant to me for a number of reasons and I’d been looking forward to doing something.
It’s not helping that I’m in a total funk overall. Summer break is ending, and we haven’t traveled at all and have basically been homebodies since March. I wanted to do a socially distanced trip but we ultimately decided it wasn’t worth the effort, or risk. We’ve been to the lake a few times (left early a few times when it got crowded, though), have visited my parents’ farm, and have had some socially distanced patio drinks … and that’s about it. I like all those things but this has been one bummer of a summer. At least we’re not sick with covid, I guess.
Anon
I’m in a similar boat – my 40th birthday will be in October, when things are not going to be better. I plan on throwing a an intimate but lavish dinner party at a restaurant…in 1 or 2 years. It makes me feel better to know that I will get a party. It just won’t be on the timeline I had originally planned. Happy birthday!
Anonymous
I’d probably indulge in retail therapy, chocolate cake with champagne, and the promise of a trip when safe.
Anon
I’m sorry. I turned 35 during quarantine and it was such a bummer when my big plans were canceled. I ended up getting takeout from my favourite restaurant and enjoyed shopping for a present for myself.
Anonymous
IDK but my sympathies. I turn 50 and am following with interest. I had hoped we’d be able to have mask-burnings by now. :(
Anon
I don’t think we’re ever going to have mask burning parties. Even post-vaccine, Covid is going to be around – it just won’t be causing the degree of illness and death it is now. The doctors and epidemiologists I know say people will likely wear masks forever, especially in situations where you have close contact with a lot of strangers, like airplanes.
Anonymous
I cannot imagine masks forever. At some point, we will have had it or gotten a shot for it or other things are more prevalent (measles outbreaks brought in by anti ax era and those deferring routine immunizations due to fear or doctors only serving emergency needs now).
Anonymous
What a failure of imagination. How do you deal with abstract concepts in general?
Anon
Immunity may not last much longer than a year and/or it may mutate into different strains that evade existing immune responses. A large segment of the population gets influenza every year, despite the fact that we have vaccines for that. A lot of experts expect the novel coronavirus to become like flu with a shot you have to get a shot every fall and even the people who get the shot aren’t fully protected from illness (but are unlikely to die). If immunity is long term and the virus doesn’t mutate much, it might be more like measles where the vaccinated are essentially fully protected against infection but there are small, local outbreaks among populations where vaccine rates are low (a la measles in Brooklyn a few years ago). We missed the chance to eradicate it the way we did SARS – that can only be done by containing it before it’s widespread.
Cat
I honestly wouldn’t mind wearing masks in close public spaces like public transit, planes, etc forever. A side benefit of all the Covid avoidance is aside from a short lived tummy trouble (likely spoiled food) and allergy sneezes, I haven’t had so much as a sniffle. If masks work to reduce the spread of Covid I’ll gladly wear them on the subway to avoid getting someone else’s nasty cold.
Anon
Masks help enough with flu and allergies that I think they’ll stick around even if coronavirus is somehow no longer a concern.
pugsnbourbon
+1. Masks are pretty commonplace in some parts of the world. I don’t think we’ll have mask mandates forever, but I imagine seeing more of them during cold and flu season.
Anonymous
Masks have been a staple in other cultures for a long time & maybe they’ll continue to be more widely used here in the future. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. (If you can disassociate them from the shock horrors of COVID & focus on their protective qualities.)
Anonymous
IDK whether they are a staple in other cultures. Maybe you see people on subways and (generally) elderly people wearing them on planes, but I don’t think they are generally worn about by healthy adults doing typical non-plane things. Like if you are hiking in Japan, people are hiking sans mask, just like elsewhere. I do think you see masks for bad air where there is bad air (and CA fires are a different thing entirely), but I don’t know of a culture that generally wears masks they way we are wearing masks now (always, everyone, everywhere unless distant + outside).
Anonymous
Eh, I just meant it’s not unusual for people to regularly wear them for various reasons, if mildly sick, if immunocompromised, if allergies, poor air quality, taking public transportation during flu season, etc. IDK why you would jump to “Japanese athletes wear them when hiking Mt Kilimanjaro solo.” No one said that.
Anonymous
I had always planned to spend London in 40 — it was just 2 weeks ago. Eh so now I’ll spend 41 or 42 — hopefully 41 there. Just push your plans back a year.
Anon
I’m sorry. I turned 35 this spring when we were in full lockdown and it was quite a bummer, and I know 40 is a much bigger milestone. Is there any splurgey food you could order that would be a treat? My parents sent me a Cheesecake Factory cheesecake and I know people who’ve gotten ice creams like Jeni’s or Salt & Straw mail ordered. Or fancy cheese!
anon
I was pretty bummed about my birthday in April. I definitely value experiences over stuff, and I could not think of a single thing I wanted for my birthday.
My mom sent me a beautiful flower arrangement and a cake from Milk bar. The cake was amazing! My husband picked up (curbside) a charcuterie and cheese platter from a local cheese shop and a bottle of champagne. It was a low key birthday for sure, but it ended up being really nice.
Airplane.
Someone here recommended Everything Is Fine podcast tailored to women over 40. It’s done by Kim France the founding editor of Lucky magazine (she was also at Sassy magazine) and I’ve found it to be joyful listen during this time. Her website is girl of a certain age dot com. I really am trying to pursue media centered around women in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and beyond.
Don’t know what lake you’re going to but maybe try to do some hunting or online research for emptier little areas so you get more lake time? Swimming, boating and floating has brought me a lot of joy during this time. Trying to make outdoor and water time as “celebratory” as possible. Happy early bday!
The original Scarlett
That was me! I love that podcast :)
Wish I had great celebration ideas, but I’d at least take the day off and that Milk Bar cake is rad
Anon
Ugh I hear you. My DH turns 40 this month and I do next month. We were hoping to throw a big fabulous party and obviously that’s canceled now. Both of our kids also had to cancel their Spring birthday parties this year, so we’ve decided as a family that our parties next year will be twice as nice. Hopefully next spring/ summer we can throw a giant joint birthday party for all 4 of us and go all out.
To make the adult days more special, we’ve got a few things. For us, we’re doing dinner take out from a local super fancy restaurant (Alinea in Chicago), getting balloons in the front yard, and scheduling an “open house” Zoom call where 12 family/friends will call in for a five minute slot of time – makes for an hour of constant birthday wishes.
pugsnbourbon
I have a foodie FB friend in Chicago who’s been getting fancy takeout – he snagged a meal from Alinea and it looked incredible. I hope yours is as well – enjoy your birthday!
Senior Attorney
A friend of mine posted yesterday on Facebook that because of the pandemic he is redshirting his milestone birthday and will be observing it next year. I thought that was brilliant and I urge you do to the same!
Anon
Hugs to you and happy early birthday! I turned 40 two weeks ago and experienced similar feelings.
Couple ideas for you:
A good friend of mine hosted a Zoom toast for me and I was unsure if it would be fun, but it ended up being amazing. If that’s something you’d be up for, consider hosting one for yourself or asking a friend to host it for you (it requires no work beyond sending out an invite and a Zoom link, and maybe kicking off the call). Sounds like you had plans for a girls’ weekend. Could one of those friends set it up for you or coordinate with you?
Obviously it’s not the same as being in person with people, but considering the circumstances, it was a safe and special way to have some of my favorite people in a “room” together. They sang to me and friends from different parts of my life gave toasts. People even brought their kids and pets! It was adorable. Afterward, several friends reached out and said that this ended up being a highlight of their summer because it was a safe, non-fraught social event they could attend in their homes—and it was something to look forward to on the calendar in a year where there is very little concrete we can look ahead to.
What are some safe splurge-y things you could treat yourself to? For me, it was books, plants, and art supplies. Nothing too over-the-top, but stuff I wouldn’t normally get for myself. Giving myself mini gifts was more fun than I expected it to be. I spread it out over a couple of weeks.
Could you do a socially distanced picnic or patio drinks with one or two friends or family members you trust? Again, not the same as a big party or trip, but I have been surprised at how nice it is to just connect with friends in person (safely) and get my head out of the mental equivalent of doomscrolling. Also, it’s important to commemorate the big moments, even in a pandemic. Break out some champagne! You deserve it and the people you love want to celebrate you in whatever way you choose.
Also, indulge on food and treats if that’s your thing. Get delicious carryout from a place you love. Splurge on Jeni’s ice cream or that Milk Bar cake (it really is that good!).
I hope you have a wonderful birthday!
Anon
Saw this article in the Times today and found it really interesting. I had tuned out of the Seattle coverage to some extent because of burn out with the news, but I did not realize that it was like this. It has made me rethink some of the “abolish the police” thinking I found myself doing weeks ago. There has to be a better way forward…
Ok, link won’t post for some reason but it’s “Abolish the Police? Those Who Survived the Chaos in Seattle Aren’t So Sure” in today’s times.
Anon
I’d really like to check that out, but unfortunately can’t access it through their site (I likely exceeded my limit). Any way to please post or post an accessible link? Thanks so much!
Anon
Try a new browser. I don’t know how to create an accessible link – not sure that exists with these sites (except when they choose to make it accessible upfront). For everyone else, here’s the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/us/defund-police-seattle-protests.html
Anon
Or just pay for content that’s not free to produce and obviously provides some value you to you, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading it.
Anon
It’s basically anarchy and it’s really dangerous to not have police yeah but actually saying that gets you painted as racist. I assure you though there are lots of people who think it’s madness and are being alienated from the extremeness of the movement.
Anonymous
Systemic rascism does suck yeah & token gestures will never dismantle it.
Anon
Yes, Democrats like to shoot themselves in the foot & suggesting defunding the police is the latest way to do that.
Anon
Defunding & abolishing are very different things. I agree that abolishing the police without an already-functioning, established alternative is irresponsible and counterproductive, but shifting funding to other community services is a good idea that has been working for years in many areas.
Anonymous
Have you been to San Francisco? It’s a filthy pit that people are leaving for the suburbs, thanks to it implementing a progressive agenda.
Serafina
Um San Francisco rents and housing prices are still some of the highest in the city, suggesting that people still want to live there.
anon
My fiance and I are shopping for engagement rings. I really like elongated radiant cuts and cushion cuts. Does anyone have any experience with either cut? I would love to know what you like or dislike about these cuts.
Veronica Mars
Best thing to do is order some CZs in the cuts and sizes you think you’ll want. It really, really helps to see them in person and not have a salesperson breathing down your neck. I like Chris CZ from diamondcz . co . uk – each one should be anywhere from $3-$10. I’d say that you should really narrow down the facet patterns you like. Some radiants look more like “crushed ice” and some have more elongated facets almost like a step cut. Similarly for cushions, some are cut more like round brilliants but with corners, and some are a bit more of a free for all.
Anonymous
I have a 1.1 (or 1.2 ish, after lots of years who knows) carat radiant all by itself on my wedding band and love it. 4 prongs, never any trouble with it. I haven’t been wearing it in COVID (data around hand washing shows rings aren’t recommended for cleanest hands), but otherwise wear it all the time. I liked the square ones the best when trying on. If I recall, equivalent carats in round look larger, if it matters.
anonchicago
If you’re near a major city with diamond dealers (NOT Zales or the like) I would go try some on. Those shops know diamonds very well and will explain everything to you without the pressure. The price of my ring was comparable to Blue Nile and we’ve since bought other jewelry there at a great price.
Anon
Make sure you see the GIA certificate for any diamond you want to buy.
Serafina
My engagement ring is a cushion cut! I love it. One thing to be aware is that cushion cuts vary a lot in shape, even within a carat size (vs round cuts have much less variance – they are pretty much all round). Some cushions are more square vs more rectangular, have sharper vs more rounded edges. Most places will let you look at a few stones in your size range, which I’d highly highly highly recommend for cushions. Mine is a more oval-ish shape – sometimes it bothers me that it’s not “perfect” the way a circle is, but most of the time I love how unique the shape is.
Anon
Anyone have recommendations for apps or videos for strength workouts in the first trimester? Most of the prenatal stuff I’ve found so far is geared towards women starting their second trimester and says to just do your normal workout your first trimester… but I have found my normal workouts to be a little more intense than I would like right now.
Anon
Diary of a Fit Mommy.
anon8
In general I like Fitness Blender for strength workouts. They have lots of strength workouts that you can modify with lower weights or make low impact.
Anon
I don’t have a recommendation, but can you just do a scaled-back version of your normal workouts? Fewer reps, lighter weights, replace any “jump _______” exercise with the regular version (ex: squats instead of jump squats, lunges instead of jump lunges)?
I’m in my third trimester and I do Pure Barre GO from home, so I just modify the heck out of all the abs stuff since I’m trying to avoid diastasis (I know a lot of whether or not it happens is out of my control, but at least I can avoid actively contributing to getting it by doing the wrong sort of ab exercises!).
Anonymous
Absolute easiest camping meals? We’re trying to go this weekend with young kids and all I’ve gotten so far is cereal with boxed milk for breakfast, hot dogs on a stick, and s’mores. Well probably bring PB & J makings. We don’t want to deal with washing too many dishes or cooking everything. Kids’ first trip so we’re trying to keep it super simple. We only have a medium sized cooler, too.
Anon
We do hot dogs, PB&J, ramen, oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes with smoked salmon, and other easy things like that. My friends like doing Annie’s mac and cheese. We usually bring some carrots or berries too. You could make pancake mix at home and bring that in a Tupperware if you have a griddle, but oatmeal for breakfast has always been easier for me.
Anon
EMS makes great MREs, many organic and gluten free. You just boil water and add it, let it sit 10 minutes, then eat. I’m gluten free and buy them when I have long international flights as a backup meal.
anon
Foil packet meals are a classic for a reason. They’re customizable, easy, and no cleanup.
Abby
+1 hobo dinners are easy and delicious! Ground beef, frozen veggies, frozen potatoes, salt and pepper. Throw it into a fire and top with sour cream and cheese when they’re done. You could premake them and freeze
Anonymous
Instant oatmeal is another good breakfast that only requires you to boil water. I usually pack something prepped at home like a pasta salad, sandwiches, or cold chicken for the first night’s dinner and do hot dogs the second night. I am not above ordering takeout from the lodge or wayside when there is one. And there is nothing wrong with hot dogs two nights in a row!
I like to freeze the hot dogs in advance because I’m paranoid about meat in the cooler. They defrost by day 2.
Anon
Crackers with a hard cheese and hard salami and fruit and veg sticks on the side is a great lunch
Layla
Spaghettios/Annie’s canned pasta O’s or canned vegetarian chili are what we eat while camping when I’m feeling super lazy.
Lilliet
I do this too! I use a can opener to cut the lid almost off, push the lid back down, stick in the edge of the fire ring, rotate it with pliers, pull out with pliers.
Anon
If you’re not taking along a cast iron skillet and cooking bacon over a campfire, then cooking eggs in the bacon grease, I don’t know why you’re bothering to go camping. :)
Seriously, this is my most vivid memory of camping as a kid. My parents also made coffee in a percolator on the fire. Waking up to those smells was amazing.
Also, ice cold/almost frozen milk from the cooler.
Anony
+1 my dad’s camping (and otherwise) breakfasts are some of my fondest memories growing up!
anon
I would second the spirit of this, although I prefer hamburger gravy instead of eggs. When I’ve camped with littles, you spend a LOT of time hanging around camp, because it’s harder to go out and do all the intensive outdoor activities. To me, that just means ample time to slowly cook things in cast iron over the fire. A “hike” is walking around the campground to fetch water and wash dishes, all with completely crazy amounts of splashing.
Coach Laura
Good quality canned chili (Amy’s or Stagg’s have been ranked well) with gourmet sausages (Trader Joe’s) and hot dogs for the kids. Lots of condiments, chopped onions, shredded cheddar. Buns. I agree with other poster to freeze the hot dogs/sausages and let them defrost in the cooler.
Costco’s frozen Angus beef patties. Buns. Pre-cooked bacon plus cheese slices. Chips, pickles, hummus or other dip.
Salmon or shrimp or cod in foil packets with zucchini, broccoli, carrots (if your kids will eat them). Put on campfire. Otherwise google buzzfeed’s cheesy fries in foil packets and just feed them the fish or hotdogs again.
Kielbasa, BBQ sauce, hash browns. Cook kielbasa on grill, heat up hash browns in foil or in skillet. Or stick the kielbasa in the center of a foil packet, BBQ sauce on one side and hash browns on the other.
The good thing about kielbasa, hot dogs and Angus burgers is that they are pre-cooked so there is no need to worry about ingesting e-coli and other bugs due to not being fully cooked. The salmon and fish are easier to make sure that they are the right temp without a thermometer, due to color/texture. Having the fish in foil packets eliminates some overcooking worries.
Have fun.
eertmeert
My parents would take bananas, cut a slice down the banana lengthwise, then stuff it with chocolate and marshmallow. Wrapped it in foil, stuck it in the fire. I remember loving it as a kid.
City chick
My favorite is making bolognese sauce ahead of time and freezing it. Keeps in the cooler for at least dinner on the first night. Then you can boil pasta iat the camp site and add the meat sauce.
Depending on what your kids eat, bread with antipasti is a great dinner after hiking (salami, hard cheese, olives, nuts, etc.), as is tuna and bean salad with bread (canned tuna, canned white beans, tomatoes, etc with olive oil and salt).
pugsnbourbon
I’d never heard of this brand – just poked around their website and everything is reasonably affordable! Normally silk is too fussy and expensive to even consider for my lifestyle. I bet their silk camis feel really nice under a sweater.
Vicky Austin
Same – this looks like a great brand to know about. Thanks Elizabeth!
Anon
I have already googled this issue and haven’t found an answer so I’m turning to the hive.
Has anyone had an issue using a Surface Go (tablet) for Zoom calls? I’ve been using it for meetings so far and I occasionally get poor internet connection warnings and have to pause my video feed. Other times the sound gets this crazy terrible feedback noise that I don’t hear but everyone else hears. That one I think comes if my phone is near my tablet and I get a text message. It is some type of interference. That ones easy, I I can just move it away.
On my most recent meeting I got warnings about my audio quality and my client had trouble hearing me. I switched to a headset with a mic and he could hear me better but I still occasionally got the “poor internet quality” warning. I have the extra high speed home internet and a new router so I have no idea what the issue is.
I have a hearing coming up in a little over a week and need it to work well for that.
The camera no longer works on my regular laptop and I need that computer to access my files anyway which is why I use the Surface to Zoom. My computer at the office is a desktop and does not have a webcam. My husband has an ipad mini I could use but I prefer the screen on my Surface a lot more and would like to figure this issue out.
The only other thing I can think of is a surface tablet doesn’t have a lot of memory/power so maybe it’s something to do with that? Doesn’t explain the low internet warning and the poor quality audio that happens randomly. As a backup I could always call in from my phone for the audio and mute my Tablet.
Anonymous
I would test your internet connection speed. Our whole neighborhood is having connection speed issues because everyone is WFH.
Anon
This is such a specific problem I don’t know if anyone can help you outside of a professional help desk
However, when I’m occasionally having trouble with WiFi on my iPad, I go to settings and tell it to forget my WiFi network. Then I reconnect. Sometimes I restart the iPad as well. Somehow the WiFi works better upon reconnection. Hope this works for you.
Anon
ALSO, really really lock down your WiFi. Use a long password like SummerAndWinter37. People are really, really good at stealing other people’s WiFi signal. And if your WiFi comes with a free port for anyone who has an account with the same carrier (AT&T does this), shut that down too.
Anon
I figured out that Zoom calls on my laptop sometimes drop or freeze when my laptop’s charger is not connected to the laptop, in case that may be true in your case? It’s not a Surface Go.
London food gift delivery?
I’d like to send some kind of small but nice food gift/basket to a friend in the UK as a thank you. Do any London based ‘rettes have a suggestion? TIA!
Ribena
Oh there are so many! Fortnum & Mason is the creme de la creme, to start with.
Lina Stores is a nice Italian deli, or Brindisa for Spanish food. Popham’s Bakery is popular amongst my London friends too.
Some of our Edinburgh foodie shops do national delivery too – I love to send presents from The Marshmallow Lady (gourmet marshmallows – even tastier than they look) and Lovecrumbs. The Good Brothers can also ship nationally I think, as can Romaine Calm which aggregates lots of fantastic local suppliers (Company Bakery bread for example and some gorgeous meat and fish).
anon4this
I live in a state that is very well-controlled with COVID cases.. probably one that’s doing best in the country. We are sending our daughter back to school, husband is going back to work in-person soon etc.
One of the things I loved doing for myself over the past year is getting weekly blow-outs.. it was so nice to not worry about washing my hair all week, have it look nice (it looks horrible when I do it), and it was my only weekly treat. Of course I stopped in March, but after getting my hair cut recently I had the brief thought that maybe it would be ok? Or is it a really bad idea?
Anon
I wouldn’t do it, honestly. It’s great that your state is doing well and I hope it lasts, but my state was doing great until everyone got quarantine fatigue and now it’s…not. We haven’t even tried sending kids back to school yet and it’s a wreck. The impact here is the worst on Latinos and other POC. It’s one thing to get a haircut every several months when appropriate precautions are taken, but I just don’t think it’s a good look to treat yourself to weekly blowouts right now (symbolism matters).
More importantly from a health perspective, I’d be concerned about how aggressive blow-drying could impact viral particles, although I don’t believe there is significant evidence about that (all I know is that there was some scary research a few years ago about how those Dyson hand-dryers distribute bacteria and germs all over public bathrooms). Long story short, it’s not the time for luxuries or quarantine fatigue and maybe you’d be best served by getting one of those Dyson home-blowout tools I’ve seen all over Instagram. That might make home blow-outs more “professional.”
Ellen
Agreed. You need to stay humble. Also, all that air will move any viral loads in the areafrom where it is into your nose and mouth, and that is NOT a good thing, if you are trying to avoid the virus. FOOEY on viral loads!
Anonymous
It is really a bad idea. Please take whatever small precautions you can, if not for yourself, then for everyone around you. Blowouts endanger the salon workers & everyone in the building. Maybe you could look for at-home solutions, outdoors, DIY or ask your husband/daughter?
Anon
Nope, definitely not. You can find some other way to treat yourself. States that are doing well will only continue to do well with vigilance.
LaurenB
Out of curiosity, what state?
Cat
I would hold off and stick with ponytails and updos. What your state is doing is working! Help keep it up!
(No judgment for getting a haircut, though… thanks to the inadvertent MO “study” of infected stylists cutting hair while everyone was masked, that seems low risk and I’ve done it myself.)
Anon
Why would blowouts be any higher risk than a haircut? I assume all the same precautions are taken so I don’t understand distinguishing them.
OP, I’m assuming you’re in a state like Maine or Vermont? I think the success of those states has much more to do with population density than lack of quarantine fatigue. If I lived in one of those states I’d be comfortable returning to normal activities, provided people were wearing masks. I probably wouldn’t feel as comfortable if I were in a state like NY or NJ that was very hard hit in the past but is now doing well because I think the current success of those states is more due to people changing their behavior to be more cautious.
Anon
My hair salon (Bay Area) opened for two weeks and then got shut back down, but while they were open the occupied chairs had to be 6 feet apart and they weren’t allowed to do blow drying.
Think about it – 6 foot social distancing doesn’t mean anything if you’re blowing everyone’s exhalations around.
Anon
I’m in the state with the lowest population density and we’ve had a huge spike in the last couple weeks. It’s because everybody got sick of hunkering down and wants to pretend this virus doesn’t exist.
anonymous
I think the idea is that you’re literally blowing aerosols/droplets around with a blowdryer. Most people I’ve talked to have said that when they got their hair cuts it was a cut only or maybe a wash and cut, but their hair wasn’t dried and styled because of covid. That was the case when I got my hair cut in July in my hot spot state.
Anonymous
It’s dangerous because the virus is airborne and blow drying can send the particles everywhere, maybe even turning surface particles into airborne ones. It’s why some air conditioning units, for example, were cited as spreading the virus in early studies which I’m sure are available for your perusal.
Cat
Yes, this is what I meant. My salon is doing appointments one at a time and the only drying is the helmet-style one (for processing highlights), which is way less ferocious at distributing air. Not doing the regular end-of-cut blow dry and style.
Anon
Get the Revlon hot air brush. I can give myself a professional-level blowout with this thing.
Anon
Fear of particles blowing everywhere with hair dryers is one of the reasons I still haven’t gotten my hair cut. I keep trying to find a salon that’s not blow drying hair – I feel like if blow dryers are allowed it really negates any benefit of social distancing and is infinitely more dangerous than any other indoor activity.
Anon
What are your favorite healthy, no-prep or very low-prep meals? All I can come up with is precut veggies with hummus, yogurt with berries or granola, and peanut butter on bananas. I’ve fallen into a cycle of feeling mildly depressed so I don’t want to cook so I eat terribly so I feel worse…etc. I’ve basically been subsisting on processed food for the last two months and I need to get back to eating real, healthy foods but can’t seem to force myself to cook. Thanks for any suggestions!
Senior Attorney
Steel cut oatmeal with cut up macadamia nuts and maybe some berries. (You can make a big batch of oatmeal in advance and divide it into small containers and then heat in the microwave with a little water as needed.)
Avocado toast with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, or everything bagel topping, or just a lot of kosher salt and black pepper.
Trader Joe’s Cuban black beans (in a can) with brown rice (Trader Joes’ has it frozen so all you have to do is zap it in the microwave).
As a snack I am addicted to sugar snap peas. I buy a bag and then immediately portion them out into small bags (which I save and re-use, btw) so I can grab and go. Delish! Same with cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes.
Anon
Sandwiches work for me when I’m in a similar place. Better than the Kraft mac & cheese (which I love dearly) but still really easy. And Lean Cuisine. I eat a lot of Lean Cuisine when I’m in a depression funk.
Anon
Trader Joe’s cruciferous crunch, w/ some olive oil + Salt and pepper, roasted at 350 degrees for 12ish min. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese + a squeeze of lemon. Delicious. (highly recommend in the toaster oven if you have it).
This is my go-to smoothie. It’s complex, but it makes me feel like a million bucks. It’s basically Kim Snyder’s Glowing Green Smoothie. 1ish cup of coconut water (regular water is fine), fill up blender completely with 50% kale, 50% spinach, and blend for a few seconds. Then add 3 celery stalks, 1/3 english cucumber, 1 apple, 1 pear, 1 banana, a handful of mint leaves, a handful of cilantro, a knuckle of ginger, some chia seeds, juice of 1/2 lemon, juice of 1 lime. Blend for 1:30-2min so it’s very thin and liquidy (how I like it).
If you like salmon, Soyaki Salmon is easy and delicious. Throw some precut broccoli (lightly coated in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic) in the pan for an easy veggie side). http://www.thegoodstuffguide.com/the-easiest-salmon-recipe-in-the-world/
Anonymous
That salad is delicious cold too.
Anon
You can make South Indian yogurt rice/curd rice/ thayir saddam pretty easily and it keeps well in the fridge. It’s very refreshing and nutritious.
Wash, rinse, and cool some basmati rice per package directions. When cool, mix with approximately equal amount of plain yogurt and some salt. You can add chopped cucumber and shredded carrot, or pomegranate seeds, depending on what you like.
You can eat as is, or if you feel up to it, you can fry some seeds like mustard seeds/cumin seeds, and add this and the oil they fried in as a topping when you eat it.
So really the only prep steps are buying some yogurt and basmati rice, then boiling the rice. But you can make a big pot. I like it any time. It’s even good for breakfast.
Another thing that keeps well in the fridge is any kind of pasta made with an oil sauce. I like aglio e olio, which is easy – cook pasta in salted water. While it is boiling, sauté some sliced garlic in lots of olive oil. Add red pepper flakes. Maybe some lemon zest and/or lemon juice. I add a bag of Baby spinach about half the time. When the pasta is ready, just fish it out (It’s ok If it is dripping) and add directly to the pan with the oil and toss it around. Add as much of the salted pasta water as you need to get the consistency you like. This will keep in the fridge for a week. Sometimes I like it with a fried egg on top.
Anonie
Smoked salmon is nice and easy! Eat it on toast and, if you have the energy, add a fried egg!
pugsnbourbon
Frozen, steam-in-the-bag veggies are a staple for me. Plop a fried egg and some parm on top and you’ve got yourself lunch.
I’ve also been doing tuna salad + crackers or cold cut roll-ups.
Anonymous
Cut a honeydew melon in half and just eat it with a spoon. Squeeze some lime juice on it first.
Carrie
I got one of those cheap hard boiled egg cookers on amazon…. it holds 6 or 8 eggs. I add a little water, press the button… warm soft/hard boiled eggs a few minutes later. I eat 1 or 2 with other favorite foraging foods I keep on hand (almonds, pistachios, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, clementines) and it is one of my favorite meals. Then I keep the rest of the eggs I don’t eat in the fridge for a quick snack/meal supplement.
OP
The recent conversation about family money and trust have me soliciting opinions from this group. We recently got some money from my parents ($100k) which is for our 2 kids. Would you suggest an UGMA, Trust or 529. The kids already have a 529 but as toddlers, there’s not that much in it so room to fund it more. One school of thought is the 529 is best but on the other hand, it can only be used for school purposes while an UGMA or Trust can be used for any life purposes. Plus we are assuming there will be more to come as my dad sells off his businesses. Right now the initial funds are sitting in a checking account but I am also holding similar amounts for my siblings kids so that’s a lot of money sitting there as they wait for me to advise them how best to save the money for the next generation. Help? Spouse and I already have a Trust created which holds our assets like house and car so far. I guess we can put the money in there but it would be in an account in our name in trust for the kids and I don’t think that sounds right.
Anon
Do a 529 until you have projected in state tuition saved for each of them. Several online calculators will tell you how much you need in today’s money to meet the goal when they’re college aged. It was spot on for my kids, who are college aged now.
The interest earned in a 529 plan is tax-free as long as it’s used for education. There is no better investment deal out there.
Ellen
I would think twice about putting to much money in a 529 unless you are sure the kid is college material. Not every one is. I went to law school with a woman whose father put money in a 529 for her child when he was born 25 years ago, but he turned out to be a total zero/drug addict, so there’s nothing they can do with the money in there b/c there is no way he is ever going to college.
Anonymous
My daughter’s college fund is not in her name. The FAFSA formula takes a larger percentage of the child’s assets than the parents’. At our current income level that doesn’t really matter because we’ll be paying full freight no matter what, but if one parent lost a job the situation would be different.
Anon
Wow…I have no advice but that’s incredible for your kids. They will get so far ahead in life with that money. I wish someone had done that for me!
Anonymous
This is so kind of you to say and so true. I hope my kids have it a bit easy with no school loans but because of how my husband and I were raised, they’ll never live the easy trust fund kid life. Plus we are black so if this money makes their lifes even just a little bit easier in todays world, then my dad will be thrilled,
Flats Only
My grandparents invested 5K for me when I was in kindergarten, and by the time I needed a house down payment in my late 20s the money had grown to be big enough to cover that (and to pay the taxes on its growth). My folks also paid for college. I have certainly always had to work, but those two things were enough to be a huge advantage as I got started in life. So even if it’s not millions by the time they get to it, it will still have a huge impact.
Anonymous
I would make my decision based on the precautions the salon is taking. Masking, space between stations, etc. I’m assuming you would wear a mask as well. My reference point is living in a city of 3 million with 10 new cases yesterday. If I decided to go, I would probably go before school started and then if comfortable, I would wait a couple of weeks before going again to see if there was a significant uptick in cases from school starting. I’m trying to balance taking appropriate precautions and supporting local businesses.
Anon
If you want to support local business, how about buying a gift card for future services?
Alexis
Friday afternoon chats – how did you pick what you wanted to study in college and are you happy with your choice now? I feel like I have a lot of friends who now, 4 years out of college, are looking back and really re thinking some things.
Anonymous
I studied journalism because my grandmother read Huckleberry Hound Newspaper Reporter to me as a child and from that point forward, I just wanted to be a reporter. I never regretted it but went to law school a few years later. Knowing how to research, ask good questions, and write definitely helped with law school. I think some people just know what to study and others really struggle with the choice. Many people end up in careers that have nothing to do with what they actually studied in school.
Anonymous
I graduated college 17 years ago. I picked neuroscience at a liberal arts college. I also took a lot of philosophy and English classes. I got a grad degree in public policy, worked for a lab doing bench research, worked in a hosptial, worked in marketing at a pharma company and now run product management at a tech company.
I honestly just picked what I thought was interesting and would keep med school on the table for me. I took the MCAS and then took a year off and realized I hated people/patients :-).
Anon
I studied electrical engineering and it was a great choice; I also paired it with a minor in art history. Even though I am no longer in that field, the degree is useful: I get hired at tech companies quite easily, and it’s such a hard degree that people automatically assume that I have some serious chops.