u/pandamandaring

My nephew is turning 14 and I’m looking to open either a 529 or some other kind of investment account for him. Currently, he has $8,000 sitting in a HYSA owned by his grandmother. I’m starting Alabama 529s (prepaid/investment) for his sisters who are much younger than him. However, given he only has 4 years until graduation, I’m wondering if 529s are even worth it. I’d like to choose whatever gives him the most bang for his buck.

I’d like to open some kind of account for him and deposit at least $2k per year to it. His other family will also contribute. His grandmother will transfer the $8k into whatever account I choose. I would like the money to be available to him at 18 for community college/schooling. Wondering if 529 is the right call despite the short time frame. I’m hesitant on an UTMA because I’m not sure he’ll have the financial literacy to properly manage the money. Of course, it could always be my secret that he has full access to it.

Wondering what everyone’s thoughts are? He will likely go to an Alabama community college before university.

For taxes, I have a household income of +$200k per year. His parents make less than $65k combined. Wondering if it would be more beneficial for his parents to open the account and own it instead of me.

Thanks in advance!

Also, I’m doing this because I just opened Florida 529s for my own small children. I’d like to gift these accounts to my nephew and nieces this year. I don’t know why his grandmother left $8k just sitting in a HYSA for 14 years when she could’ve started an account for him. Trying to do right by the kid now.

My FIL (70M) had a heart attack in the middle of the night. His wife (50F) found him dead on the couch the next morning. He was a retired US Navy wartime veteran, got a monthly pension they depended on. She was a gig worker. They married five years ago. We only learned of the wedding from Facebook photos. We’ve met her once and don’t know her very well. They live on the other side of the country. My husband (43M) only reconnected with his dad a few years ago after years of emotional distance.

On top of unexpectedly losing him, my FIL hadn’t filed his taxes in 20+ years. He left no will or estate plan. His veteran benefits still had his ex-wife (my husband’s mom) as beneficiary. They divorced in 1990 and she died in 2009. He never filed for disability benefits, never updated his information - literally did nothing other than cash his monthly check.

Now, he’s dead. His current wife is practically destitute. And we’re left picking up the pieces for her, filing mountains of paperwork, tracking down old death certificates and divorce decrees. We’re trying to get her any benefits available for widows.

So far, it appears she qualifies for nothing. She’s already unable to pay her monthly bills. We’ve given her a little money here and there. We also covered the funeral service that was $2,000.

It’s an absolutely horrible inconvenience for all those involved. We don’t know her very well and we don’t think it’s our responsibility to support her. That said, we’re not heartless. She’s a good person dealing with immense grief, heartbreak and devastation. We feel for her. But it’s just a lot and we don’t have the funds to support her.

All this to say, if you’re reading this and don’t have your affairs in order - do it now. Tomorrow is never promised and your loved ones will be picking up the pieces.

EDIT: I think a lot of folks are missing where I said she’s a gig worker. Meaning she does have a job. In fact, she hustled many jobs while he collected a pension. But half of her income disappeared with him, $3600 a month to be exact, which is a lot of money.

I had a horrible tear during the delivery of my first child that still causes me mental and physical discomfort to this day. I was terrified of it happening again during my second. Upon admittance to the same hospital, I told my labor and delivery team about my first experience and practically demanded they pursue every avenue to prevent additional tears. Massages and compresses were the answer. I had no tearing that time.

Since my experience, I’ve told at least ten friends to demand warm compresses and perineum massage during labor. Not a single one of them tore - even one that delivered a 9lb baby.

Im just wondering for any nurses or midwives, why is this not the standard of care?!? I realize my evidence is anecdotal but a quick search reveals plenty of data that supports massage and compresses alleviate so much suffering.

I realize some babies just come fast and there are complications. But for the ones that don’t, every woman should be offered this. I’m happy my friends are whole but I will forever feel wrong by something that could’ve been prevented.

If you’re reading this and pregnant, please talk about it with your care team and advocate for yourself. A whole mama is just as important as a whole baby.

Email was penningtonbrain15@gmail.com and phone number was +1 (859) 222-1279 from Lexington Ky, USA. We posted about our lost bird on Facebook. Scammer sent a picture of a bird that looked just like mine. Thankfully, reverse google image search identified the photo as being from another post from Australia posted a week earlier. Scammer tried to get me to meet him at a nearby 7/11 for a cash reward.

We’ve had our cat, Sam, for nearly 10 years. Sam has a BIG personality. Very lovable, vocal, lots of fun personality. Everyone falls in love with him. He was a street rescue so he’s a very scrappy, indoor/outdoor kitty. He’s deeply loved by our family, including my two little kids and we know he loves us. He has always returned home from his adventures. Always.

The last time we saw him was May 9 when I gave him some snuggles before letting him out. After day 3 of not seeing him, we posted signs all around our neighborhood, started updating the neighbor group chat, posted on FB, Pawboost, Nextdoor, everywhere. No one has seen him. It’s so strange he just disappeared but we still have hope.

We have a weird neighbor, Carol. She’s a single 50 yr old veteran who introduces herself as having a TBI. She lacks social skills, which we attribute to her TBI. Carol has 4 indoor cats that she keeps locked in one room 24/7. She also has a large rescue dog with a bad temperament that she only “walks” on leash in her small front yard. He also stays locked in her house all day. She has to hold him back from attacking people nearby. He’s territorial and aggressive. She says she keeps the 4 cats locked up because the dog will kill them.

Carol was once in the hospital for 5 days and refused to let any neighbor go help the animals, despite countless offers. She said she gave them tons of food and water and declined our offers. When she came home, she put a destroyed mattress and cat tree out with her trash. I assumed the destruction was due to the poor stressed animals. I regret not calling animal control then.

The strangest part of her is the unsettling lingering. When we play outside with the neighbors, she’ll linger in her yard and watch us. Instead of talking directly to us, she’ll speak thru her aggressive dog, saying things in a baby voice like “do you see the neighbors? They’re just playing with their kids. Isn’t that fun? Do you want to say hi? Ok, calm down, the kids are just little babies..” But with or without her dog, she lingers in a way that makes the whole neighborhood uncomfortable. Like standing 15 feet away and just staring from the edge of her yard, not weeding her lawn, not on her phone, just staring. Ive always felt bad for her, thinking she’s just lonely so I’ve always been polite.

Carol has also always been obsessed with Sam. She’ll sit in her front yard and lure him over with treats and pets. We used to joke that she was grooming him to steal him one day. When we call him away from her to come inside with us, she’ll say things like “he loves me so much, he’s such a great kitty” and “we spend a lot of time together.”

When Sam first went missing, I didn’t assume any bad intent, but it was a friendly neighbor that first said to me “… you think Carol might’ve taken him???” A few days later, another neighbor made the same comment. One neighbor has cameras overlooking our yards and checked the footage but it only kept for 7 days and it was day 8. When I alerted the neighbor chat, Carol’s response was “how strange, such a great cat, we’ve always been close.”

What makes it most suspicious is her behavior since Sam has gone missing. Carol no longer lingers. When we come home and she’s “walking” her dog, she bolts inside quickly, dragging her dog with her. Her yard became overgrown after losing her lawn service. My husband mowed it as a kind gesture but she has not mentioned it once. Suddenly, a very chatty awkward Carol is a recluse, nowhere to be found when we play outside or pull into our driveway.

This has made us increasingly suspicious. We drive by her house obsessively looking for signs of him. All I can picture is Kathy Bates from Misery keeping my poor cat hostage in a nasty room with 4 other cats. We live in a state where animals are considered property.

I’ve considered calling animal control to report a complaint. I’ve considered calling the cops. I’ve also considered just confronting her to give her a chance to come clean. I also feel incredibly guilt for not trying to help those poor animals before now. I’ve always been taught that you want to keep great relationships with your neighbors and look out for each other so I’m not eager to accuse her. But not knowing if Sam is in there is eating me alive, especially with two young kids desperately missing their beloved kitty. Any advice is appreciated.

As the title says: what are your thoughts? Especially for comms jobs? Unsure if my cover letter is sabotaging or giving me an advantage. I try to do minor tweaks depending on the specific comms field of the job - internal, PR, strategy, etc.

I’m a comms pro with 15 years experience. I’ve worked in PR strategy, government affairs, biotech, healthcare, ag and real estate. I currently work for a Fortune 500. I really want to break into the financial sector - Raymond James, JP Morgan, etc. I know I can do the work, and do it well, but I’m competing with folks that were born into these sectors. I need to beef up my resume with some financial/securities industry knowledge.

What are some course I should take? For anyone in these sectors, what do you recommend? TIA