We did that for my mother-in-law's condo. She wanted to leave it to our daughter to pay for college, and the estate lawyer set up an MAPT for her. We're now past the five-year lookback period, and MIL's SS payment is more than the Medicaid income limit, so it was probably a moot point. Still, it was nice to know that things were done correctly for estate planning, etc.
We're paying for our daughter's college. She has always been a hard worker and a good student, and will get her undergrad degree in May after three years in school. One more year and she'll have her Master's degree, so I don't feel bad about paying for it. We also bought her a 2015 Honda Fit (Jazz in the UK) to get around in, as she was working a catering job that took her all over the place. She always talks to people at those catered parties, and at one corporate Christmas party she talked to a guy who was a VP in her area of study. He told her to apply for an internship last year, which she did, and it turned out they only hired one intern per location, so that worked out well. After the internship, they contacted her a couple of months later to ask if she could work part time while attending school, and told her a full time position was hers for the taking once she graduates. She's working there 20 hours a week now. As for money, she's a saver. She's putting as much as she can into her Roth IRA, and buys most of her clothes at thrift stores. She also told her prospective (at the time) boyfriend that she wasn't going out with him unless he quit playing video games all the time and got his grades up :) He did, and they've been together just over a year now. I think she'll do well in life.
If anyone thinks you have too many records, point them to this guy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Freitas I've been collecting books since I was a little kid. When we moved to this house in 2001 I had 84 boxes of books, so think about that plus 25 years' worth added on! For the last few years I've been making regular visits the attic and boxing up old paperbacks from the '80s and '90s for donation to our local library. I'm trying to reduce the volume before we move (if we move). Looking back, I think the collecting habit formed because of scarcity. As a kid/teen I could visit our local library once a month and read all the new books I was interested in within a few days. I used to reread a lot of books just because I had nothing new to read. When I moved to the US, I just didn't realize how good the local libraries were, and I had more money. I used to visit the mall bookstores every Tuesday when the new books arrived, and bought a lot. Now that we have e-books, I usually only buy limited/special edition physical books, so that's cut down on the volume a lot. My e-book folder is currently at 54.8 GB and says it contains 28,068 files. I'd probably need another house if they were all physical books :)
To take it another step, I didn't even convert any dollars to euros for my last two trips to Ireland. I realized a few years ago that I ended up spending the euros at the end of my trip just to get rid of them. All I really needed was my phone. There were a few times when I would have given money to people on the street, but I had no cash at all. I do wonder how the mostly cashless society has affected people like that.
I've been maxing out my HSA for quite a while. It should hit six figures before I retire. I keep track of all our healthcare expenses in a spreadsheet, and we average around $4,000 a year in out-of-pocket expenses. We have almost $19,000 in unclaimed expenses, which I consider a backup to our emergency fund, should we ever need it. The topic of HSAs usually comes up at work around benefit election time, and it amazes me how many people have either no idea how HSAs work, or if they do, don't know that you can keep the required $1,000 (in our plan) in cash and invest the rest. I just found out I need a molar extracted and replaced with an implant. I may claim that expense - I have a feeling it's going to be at least $5k.
That's something I'd never sign up for without extensive research, which I'm sure would dissuade me from signing up at all. What happens when the company decides its customers are eating into its profits and decides to shut down? As for the free dinner postcards, I throw away at least one a week, along with those stupid Fisher envelopes.
I had a few shares of company stock (RSUs) that vested last week. I sold them immediately and moved the cash to my Roth IRA. The stock had tripled in value since it was awarded, but it's all a shell game. The company looks good on the street because they're outsourcing to India and laying off thousands of expensive US employees. The quality of the service provided is declining rapidly. I'm curious to see how much the C-Suite crew can pump up the stock before they cash out and jump to their next company. Of course, now that I just got rid of it, they decided to divert 5% of last year's bonus to stock, so I'll have to look at it again for another three years. At least I'll be retired by the time it vests. I also have 9 shares of Lucid and 9 shares of Rivian, just because I like their vehicles and spent $100 on each company within my Roth IRA a while back.
You were lucky to survive that! We used to cross the border to shop in Enniskillen a few times a year. I remember having to turn off the headlights a good distance from the crossing, wend our way through concrete barriers, and stop while soldiers checked the car. One would use a red flashlight to look around the car while another stood with his Armalite rifle at the ready. Once, in December, someone left a car parked on the main shopping street with gift wrapped parcels in view. The army closed off the street, put barriers around the car, and blew it up with a controlled explosion. It turned out to be a false alarm - it wasn't a car bomb, just some clueless shopper parking where they shouldn't have.
Comments
We did that for my mother-in-law's condo. She wanted to leave it to our daughter to pay for college, and the estate lawyer set up an MAPT for her. We're now past the five-year lookback period, and MIL's SS payment is more than the Medicaid income limit, so it was probably a moot point. Still, it was nice to know that things were done correctly for estate planning, etc.
Post: Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs)
Link to comment from March 15, 2026
We're paying for our daughter's college. She has always been a hard worker and a good student, and will get her undergrad degree in May after three years in school. One more year and she'll have her Master's degree, so I don't feel bad about paying for it. We also bought her a 2015 Honda Fit (Jazz in the UK) to get around in, as she was working a catering job that took her all over the place. She always talks to people at those catered parties, and at one corporate Christmas party she talked to a guy who was a VP in her area of study. He told her to apply for an internship last year, which she did, and it turned out they only hired one intern per location, so that worked out well. After the internship, they contacted her a couple of months later to ask if she could work part time while attending school, and told her a full time position was hers for the taking once she graduates. She's working there 20 hours a week now. As for money, she's a saver. She's putting as much as she can into her Roth IRA, and buys most of her clothes at thrift stores. She also told her prospective (at the time) boyfriend that she wasn't going out with him unless he quit playing video games all the time and got his grades up :) He did, and they've been together just over a year now. I think she'll do well in life.
Post: Is there any point when a child needs financial help that you feel comfortable saying “not my problem?”
Link to comment from March 14, 2026
Our library still wants them. They have a few sales per year, and I guess they must do pretty well for them to keep doing it.
Post: When Your Pastime Takes Ownership
Link to comment from March 7, 2026
If anyone thinks you have too many records, point them to this guy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Freitas I've been collecting books since I was a little kid. When we moved to this house in 2001 I had 84 boxes of books, so think about that plus 25 years' worth added on! For the last few years I've been making regular visits the attic and boxing up old paperbacks from the '80s and '90s for donation to our local library. I'm trying to reduce the volume before we move (if we move). Looking back, I think the collecting habit formed because of scarcity. As a kid/teen I could visit our local library once a month and read all the new books I was interested in within a few days. I used to reread a lot of books just because I had nothing new to read. When I moved to the US, I just didn't realize how good the local libraries were, and I had more money. I used to visit the mall bookstores every Tuesday when the new books arrived, and bought a lot. Now that we have e-books, I usually only buy limited/special edition physical books, so that's cut down on the volume a lot. My e-book folder is currently at 54.8 GB and says it contains 28,068 files. I'd probably need another house if they were all physical books :)
Post: When Your Pastime Takes Ownership
Link to comment from March 7, 2026
To take it another step, I didn't even convert any dollars to euros for my last two trips to Ireland. I realized a few years ago that I ended up spending the euros at the end of my trip just to get rid of them. All I really needed was my phone. There were a few times when I would have given money to people on the street, but I had no cash at all. I do wonder how the mostly cashless society has affected people like that.
Post: Loose Change
Link to comment from March 2, 2026
I've been maxing out my HSA for quite a while. It should hit six figures before I retire. I keep track of all our healthcare expenses in a spreadsheet, and we average around $4,000 a year in out-of-pocket expenses. We have almost $19,000 in unclaimed expenses, which I consider a backup to our emergency fund, should we ever need it. The topic of HSAs usually comes up at work around benefit election time, and it amazes me how many people have either no idea how HSAs work, or if they do, don't know that you can keep the required $1,000 (in our plan) in cash and invest the rest. I just found out I need a molar extracted and replaced with an implant. I may claim that expense - I have a feeling it's going to be at least $5k.
Post: HSA Tips
Link to comment from February 28, 2026
There's also a handy TIPS ladder tool out there: https://www.tipsladder.com
Post: New to building a CD or Bond Ladder?
Link to comment from February 27, 2026
That's something I'd never sign up for without extensive research, which I'm sure would dissuade me from signing up at all. What happens when the company decides its customers are eating into its profits and decides to shut down? As for the free dinner postcards, I throw away at least one a week, along with those stupid Fisher envelopes.
Post: Ambulatory Ambivalence
Link to comment from February 23, 2026
I had a few shares of company stock (RSUs) that vested last week. I sold them immediately and moved the cash to my Roth IRA. The stock had tripled in value since it was awarded, but it's all a shell game. The company looks good on the street because they're outsourcing to India and laying off thousands of expensive US employees. The quality of the service provided is declining rapidly. I'm curious to see how much the C-Suite crew can pump up the stock before they cash out and jump to their next company. Of course, now that I just got rid of it, they decided to divert 5% of last year's bonus to stock, so I'll have to look at it again for another three years. At least I'll be retired by the time it vests. I also have 9 shares of Lucid and 9 shares of Rivian, just because I like their vehicles and spent $100 on each company within my Roth IRA a while back.
Post: A Very Sensible Conclusion
Link to comment from February 19, 2026
You were lucky to survive that! We used to cross the border to shop in Enniskillen a few times a year. I remember having to turn off the headlights a good distance from the crossing, wend our way through concrete barriers, and stop while soldiers checked the car. One would use a red flashlight to look around the car while another stood with his Armalite rifle at the ready. Once, in December, someone left a car parked on the main shopping street with gift wrapped parcels in view. The army closed off the street, put barriers around the car, and blew it up with a controlled explosion. It turned out to be a false alarm - it wasn't a car bomb, just some clueless shopper parking where they shouldn't have.
Post: If you have done well, be proud.
Link to comment from February 16, 2026