u/Amster_damnit_23

Good Morning,

I am 33M and I am very seriously considering leaving my current job for med school. It has been a minute since I have done hardcore studying, and I am nervous about that, amongst many other things.

Finances are not a concern in this decision. I have earned my GI benefits and want to put them to good use.

I received my Bachelors in Political science (2.8) in 2015, and a Masters in Maritime Business Management (3.41) in 2023. I have 10+ years experience going to sea, and 2 years experience in Program Management for a Defense Contractor.

I have questions though:

Does anyone have any experience with these pre-requisite programs? Not having a STEM Degree I am going to have to take all the Bio's, Chem's, and likely Math before I even apply. some of the programs I am finding seem to have that all buttoned up and include MCAT Prep assistance. Are these a decent value?

Following on from that, do med schools like to accept students from their own prep courses? For instance does it look better to Brown if I do my pre-reqs with Brown? (I see the comedic value in using an Ivy as my example, but they're pretty local)

For those of you that changed careers, did you have to move? I am pretty established in New England (Mortgage, Community, Wife's job) and I'm not super jazzed about the idea of moving across the country for Residency. I realize that's not particularly up to me. Can someone explain how matching works? I understand I would have to get through school first, but My wife and I are trying to look at the whole picture. Assuming there is an interview process, Do Residency programs consider life factors? I am a very reasonable commute from Providence RI, and a tolerable commute to Boston and Worchester, Mass, so there is no shortage of programs around me.

Have any of you completed Med school while being in the Reserves/National Guard? How doable is it?

Any and all Advice/Anecdotes are welcome.

As a reservist in command, I have MaM on my personal cell. I have Outlook, Teams, Word, and Excel all tied to my .mil account. I use them more than I would like to admit.

In the last two days, I have been getting spam calls over teams constantly. Like consistently every 35 minutes or less. All day.
Isn’t government teams supposed to be more secure than this? Any tricks to get it to stop?

I’ll take a JR Cheeseburger Deluxe, shits getting expensive.

Good Day!

So we just found out that my wife is 8 weeks pregnant, and it will be our first child. I am looking for tips and tricks that you may have to really step it up.

I started a 529 when we pulled the goalie, and right now It is through Collegebound saver, I could be wrong but I understand the Collegebound is one of the only options in Rhode Island. If that's not the case, please let me know and I will be happy to be wrong. As of right now I have an auto draft of $500 going into that each month. I know things are going to change in the future but I can afford it right now and I have a halfway decent understanding of compounding returns. If I have to lower that number in the future I shall.

Questions:

1. Is there such a thing as overdoing it on the 529?

1.2) Can we use one 529 account for more than one kid?

1.3) If there is still money after school expenses can they use it for a house down payment or IRA Rollover?

1.4) Can I use a different firm in Rhode Island for the

2. Can/should I open an IRA for them? I would imagine I need them to have a SSN before I can talk to Fidelity, right?

3. Should I open a brokerage account for them as well?

4. Can I add them as an AU on one of my cards to start building their Credit score?

5. I have an LLC for my rental properties, is there any legitimacy to listing them as an employee like the Instagram "Financial Gurus" claim?

5.2) Is there a tax benefit for me if I do that?

5.3) Would that allow me to start a 401k for them?

6. Are there any lesser known tax credits to use with children that I should bring up with my accountant?

Are there any other things that you would do if you had a little disposable income to give your kid a jump start?

I understand about teaching the kid about financial responsibility and being a decent human being, I am looking specifically for financial tips, not parenting advice.

**I use Fidelity as my example here because my IRA is through them and they seem like a reputable bank. Also, I like the UI on their App.

Thank you for your time, Internet friends.

Good Morning Everyone,

I am not sure what I should do with my current situation. I am currently rated at 90% (88% True) and I really think the C&P Examiner shorted me on my most recent claim. I submitted for my back a few months ago, and they back dated me to March of last year.

On the Civilian side, I have seen a Chiropractor, my PCP, a Musculo-Skeletal Specialist, Two different PT's, and a Spinal Specialist, and they don't have a solid answer on what is going on. But 10 minutes with a Nurse Practitioner doing the C&P exam and she straight up said "I'm diagnosing this as a Muscle Strain" and then the meeting was over. They gave me 20%

With my back, I'm alright in the morning when I get up. I get to the gym and with a good stretch and warm up I can do my workout. Weights are scaled back, but movements are there. By lunch I am in pain, and when I get home from work and cook dinner/clean up, I cant stand up. I am relegated to a heating pad on my recliner and a lot of Ibuprofen. by the end of the day I'm crawling into my bed. this has been getting progressively worse for the past 2.5-3 years. It doesn't seem like a strain to me, but I'm not a medical professional.

So I am thinking about requesting an HLR, or an Appeal, I don't know which is right, my Ratings are 50, 10, 20, 50, 10, 30. With the 20 being "Thoracic Strain." I am also afraid of submitting this and being reduced. Any and all advice would be appreciated.