u/VeterinarianIcy6483

I’m currently IC, considering switching to contracting. I came from private sector, currently GS12. Considering the TS roles at BAH in Virginia for communications specialists or public affairs.

Has anyone been in these roles? Any insights you can share (stability despite current environment, pay, hours, etc). I formerly worked in the tech sector, came to the gov/IC recently. GS12 is about 102K (about 4.8k take home after all the Fed deductions, which are bit more than private sector deductions). I could probably get my GS13 in 5 years which is 121k gross. DoD is nice in that I do 37-40 hours a week only right now.

Any insights and experiences in terms of Fed to BAH would be appreciated! What to consider, what am I not considering that should be.

Injury TLDR: sprinting for conditioning one day about 4-5 weeks ago. Felt a pop and couldn’t walk for a few minutes after.

I went to two orthos, one said partial tear the other said bad sprain. Neither ordered an MRI. Seems like it’s the bicep femoris (right side, behind knee).

I’ve been able to lightly jog and walk just fine now. But, felt a pop today with dull pain (nowhere near as bad as originally felt). It can bear weight and walk, painful to stretch and excessively bend. Do I just keep finding new orthos until one gets an MRI (insanely expensive). I start PT in a few days as well.

24 yo transplant to the area. Closer to EC and Columbia, but how do the rest of my fellow transplants meet new people here?

I came from a dense city, so suburbia is an entirely different social environment (or lack of, everyone is married and settled down 😂).

I go to Baltimore occasionally for food, but never really just went to walk around and meet people.

Using GEHA HDHP for this year (might go with MHPB next season). However, I already have my own HSA with Fidelity. I issued a transfer, but forgot to subtract out the minimum needed for HSABank. Will they immediately close the account or will I have a while for the next monthly HSA deposit from them?

On another note, is there anyway to just receive directly (with GEHA or MHPB) with my Fidelity HSA rather than waiting a few months and then initiating a transfer?

Anyone have car tint recommendations? I see Fresh Designs pop up often in EC.

Looking to help keep interior cooler and prevent sun damage on a sedan.

Also, if anyone has car wash bay recommendations that take card payment that would be great too. Canton Car Wash left some scratches/gouges in the paint 🫩.

Who’s doing 5k intervals and who’s doing 7.5k intervals? … and who’s doing even more than that?

I’m doing 5k oil change with an inspection every 10k for context. Driving 2-400 miles a week, mix of highway and city.

Hello! Wanted to get thoughts, I have a car loan (28k, 7% used car), and I am debating paying it off in two years rather than 4 due to a promotion. Not sure if I should do that, or fund my Roth IRA to the max. I'm not sure if I'd ever make enough to be past the limits for Roth IRA (for single income calculations), although I'd be comfortably middle to upper middle class after a few more years it seems.

For context, a government employee so for retirement I have access to a pension and a 401k (contributing to get the total match). I have student loans, but not a considerable amount and all at 4-5%.

I tried MyDrive Smart Mode today and found that it performed better on highways? Most of my driving is highway and I averaged 56.3 mpg just driving normally. What’s everyone else experience? I have a 2024 limited.

I did hit 60mpg one time on ECO but I was actively limit testing how much of my drive I could do in EV mode, exhausting to do haha. Normally hits 49-51 mpg if I do ECO without maximizing regen braking and downhills.

What do you guys use to have a light fragrance in the car? It’s vacuumed and all, but I like a light scent. Found that the front main vents aren’t accommodating for the clips you’d find in Bath and Body Works or Yankee candles.

New owner of a 2024 hybrid limited. Curious if anyone has gotten window tints and/or changed the rims. I neither dislike nor like the wheels the car comes with at the moment.

I park in sun quite often due to work and am looking for options to keep the interior cooler/protected.

Just signed for a 2024 Sonata Hybrid Limited! Definitely my favorite between it, Accord, and Camry. For current owners, what are some items/advice about maintenance, driving style (regen braking, etc) that you found along the way? I typically drive 3-400 miles a week, mostly highway.

For those interested: $27K OTD (from $31K), 32k miles on it when I got it. Aiming to get as much longevity out of the car as possible.

How do you guys find the comfort? I make a 2 hour round trip drive 4 times a week in addition to regular commutes to the office. Totals about 400 miles a week.

2016 Cherokee trail hawk has a jerk in the middle of accelerating and slowing down. Changed sparkplugs, did a drain and fill on transmission fluid, which showed a little improvement. I'm currently at 140k miles. Has anyone had that issue before?

Upcoming repair items include new brake pads, rotors, possibly struts/shocks as well due to a recent very hard stop from being cut off on the highway. So, if the transmission also becomes an issue it might be find a new car territory.