My husband and I are planning on a 3 day, 2 night stay the first week of August (mid week, not the weekend) and we’re thinking of staying at “The Leeway”.
What recommendations are there for things to do, places to eat, etc. Also, what’s the weather usually like? We’re from central NJ so we can handle the heat but we’re not too familiar with staying in mountainous areas in the summer.
Thank you so much!
TLDR: Gross 187k (does not include bonuses or stipends) in NJ. No idea where to start & feeling overwhelmed.
My husband and I plan on buying a home within the next 2-3 years in NJ (HCOL). Our gross is ~187k but that doesn’t include my husband’s $12-16k bonus every year nor does it include extra stipends I get from my teaching job (around 4-5k extra per year). By the time we are looking to buy, we will only have my $686/month federal loan (but will be 3-4 years away from PSLF at the time of house purchase) and our $550 car payment (which will be 2 years away from payoff at the time of house purchase). We have no other debts other than those two but do plan on having children in the next two years. We luckily will only need to do maybe 1 day a week of daycare maximum since we will have the help from my in-laws.
A big issue we have is while our take home is about 10(ish)k a month, I do not get paid over the summer because I’m a teacher so we put away $800-900 a month from September-June to cover summer expenses since I will not be working summer school when we have children. We will have 100k+ saved up by the time we want to buy for a down payment and a solid 50k emergency fund.
I’ve been lurking here for a while to get prepared but I’m still feeling very lost. What’s PITI? I’ve heard people discuss not using escrow and instead putting $ aside in a HYSA. How much home can we afford considering NJ (looking in Middlesex and west Monmouth County) is so HCOL and has huge property taxes? We need to stay within those two counties due to both mine and my husbands jobs and distance to in-laws.
We’re currently living in my in-laws unfinished basement to pay off my $18k private student loan, $6k of credit card debt, and save up for our honeymoon, build our emergency fund, and of course our down payment. Feeling overwhelmed trying to tackle so many financial goals at once.
TLDR: Gross 187k (does not include bonuses or stipends) in NJ. No idea where to start & feeling overwhelmed.
My husband and I plan on buying a home within the next 2-3 years in NJ (HCOL). Our gross is ~187k but that doesn’t include my husband’s $12-16k bonus every year nor does it include extra stipends I get from my teaching job (around 4-5k extra per year). By the time we are looking to buy, we will only have my $686/month federal loan (but will be 3-4 years away from PSLF at the time of house purchase) and our $550 car payment (which will be 2 years away from payoff at the time of house purchase). We have no other debts other than those two but do plan on having children in the next two years. We luckily will only need to do maybe 1 day a week of daycare maximum since we will have the help from my in-laws.
A big issue we have is while our take home is about 10(ish)k a month, I do not get paid over the summer because I’m a teacher so we put away $800-900 a month from September-June to cover summer expenses since I will not be working summer school when we have children. We will have 100k+ saved up by the time we want to buy for a down payment and a solid 50k emergency fund.
I’ve been lurking here for a while to get prepared but I’m still feeling very lost. What’s PITI? I’ve heard people discuss not using escrow and instead putting $ aside in a HYSA. How much home can we afford considering NJ (looking in Middlesex and west Monmouth County) is so HCOL and has huge property taxes.
We’re currently living in my in-laws unfinished basement to pay off my $18k private student loan, $6k of credit card debt, and save up for our honeymoon, build our emergency fund, and of course our down payment. Feeling overwhelmed trying to tackle so many financial goals at once.
I’ve struggled with acne for almost 20 years now. I have PMOS (PCOS) and my bigger breakouts are tidied directly to my cycle/hormones which I’ve been slowly getting under control. However, I feel like need help with the rest of my skin. I’ve been taking my skincare so seriously my entire 20s and I never thought in my 30s it would look like this. I was diagnosed with acne rosacea in the spring of 2024 after finally going back to a dermatologist and I was out on metronidazole cream and then eventually an azaelic acid prescription. My insurance no longer covers it and I noticed it really didn’t help much anyway.
Products I already use:
AM: The Ordinary Vitamin C Serum, COSRX snail mucin power essence, snail mucin eye cream, and snail mucin moisturizer, and the ELTA MD sunscreen.
PM: Centella Skin1004 Ampoule, The Ordinary Granactive Retnoid 2% emulsion (I only use this 3x a week), COSRX snail mucin eye cream, and I rotate between the La Roche Posay Cicaplast and The Ordinary Rose Hip Oil.
I rotate my cleansers between the La Roche Posay Hydrating cleanser and the low PH good morning cleanser from COSRX. I will sometimes do a hydrating face mask if I remember.
What am I missing? What should I add? Switch out? I really want to feel so beautiful in my skin in my 30s and right now I just don’t. Thank you
I’ve struggled with acne for almost 20 years now. I have PMOS (PCOS) and my bigger breakouts are tidied directly to my cycle/hormones which I’ve been slowly getting under control. However, I feel like need help with the rest of my skin. I’ve been taking my skincare so seriously my entire 20s and I never thought in my 30s it would look like this.
Products I already use:
AM: The Ordinary Vitamin C Serum, COSRX snail mucin power essence, snail mucin eye cream, and snail mucin moisturizer, and the ELTA MD sunscreen.
PM: Centella Skin1004 Ampoule, The Ordinary Granactive Retnoid 2% emulsion (I only use this 3x a week), COSRX snail mucin eye cream, and I rotate between the La Roche Posay Cicaplast and The Ordinary Rose Hip Oil.
I rotate my cleansers between the La Roche Posay Hydrating cleanser and the low PH good morning cleanser from COSRX. I will sometimes do a hydrating face mask if I remember.
What am I missing? What should I add? Switch out? I really want to feel so beautiful in my skin in my 30s and right now I just don’t. Thank you!
After years of driving an 06’ Nissan maxima (will NEVER drive Nissan again) and then 9 years of a 2012 Honda Civic Coupe, I’ve upgraded to a 2024 HRV Sport and I am in love!
I got a decent amount off because there’s a small dent in the hood. Anyone have advice on how to get it out through DIY? I also know I need to get the transmission fluid changed ASAP because it’s at 37k miles and it’s never been done. Any other recommendations for making this baby last as long as possible? This will be our family car and I also drive a whopping 70 miles a day with my commute so I want to keep her maintenance up! Thanks!