I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[disneymagicgirl]

I wonder which is cheaper for them, the individuals that people use or take with them or the big bottles that people might completely drain? My daughter likes their product. I bring my own. So maybe I should bring a big bottle home for her?? j/k

AofA still had the individual bottles this past week and I came home with 6 each of conditioner and shampoo!

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

@Andysol if you don’t mind my asking do you homeschool? Just curious with your travel schedule! My parents took us all around the world growing up but they just pulled us from public school a ton haha We are considering homeschool but I have a hard time finding people who do it for non-religious reasons (NO offense to anyone who does that! Just wouldn’t be our reasoning.)

Maybe @wendow also does it? I’d love to hear from those of you that do. Is there a thread for that?

we hs'ed and it was a major benefit to just make our own travel schedules! It got much more difficult when they grew older and had jobs/college/lives of their own! I still miss those days..and there are plenty of great places to get info on homeschooling that aren't religious based, start by googling your town/state and groups in the area and on FB.

I’m considering homeschooling too. Once we have kids I’d like to be a stay at home mom and I obviously love teaching since that’s what I went to school for so it’d be nice to continue that.

I homeschooling our youngest from fifth grade through high school graduation We were definitely the odd ones out here as almost everyone homeschooled for religious reasons and/or used religious materials. The ones that didn't tended to homeschool until 6th grade. We did join the largest homeschool support group and used it for math competitions and Science Olympiad (I coached both for years), but we never were involved with a co-op or used available paid classes. I used an online provider for her English classes beginning in sixth grade. Foreign language started with one year of high school online, a summer session at Concordia Language Villages, and then coursework at the university here in Arabic and Chinese. Other than that, I did everything myself.

We didn't travel much at first because we still had two older kids in two different high schools and were tied to their schedules. We started traveling more once the second was in college. I wish we could have done more!

If I could go back in time, I would have homeschooled all three kids from the very beginning

 

[elgerber]

I'd just wait. Good SUBs come around here and there. 125k is still solid.

As to Delta upgrade offers- none that I've ever seen.

Delta does do upgrade offers, I have done it on both mine and DH's personal cards, at least twice each. Always been an offer to upgrade to Plat with a very small requirement for various bonus miles. Then I downgrade again eventually.

 

[AmyAnne]

Wait? You can get bonuses again for upgrading? I have the Apsire and Surpass/Ascend/whateverthenameistoday. I've been keeping the surpass as it's grandfathered into the free night a year. So I'll likely be keeping it. I was going to cancel the Aspire outright. If I downgrade I miss any SUB on the free Hilton. But are you saying I'll get upgrade offers on it? Can I upgrade if I keep the surpass? And then you can downgrade and repeat?

From what I understand, the upgraded offers are very YMMV. I had the personal no-fee Hilton for more than a year and never got an upgrade offer on it. I closed it so I could apply for the Aspire (I have 5 AmEx credit cards). I think @calypso726 applied for the no-fee Hilton earlier this year in the hopes of getting an upgrade offer--any luck with that?

 

[disfanforlife]

Yes- it's smaller. But it's also about the same weight (maybe moreso) when empty. I'd go with the Jrs. for them. My oldest is skinny as a rail like me and looks like a turtle carrying it, but it's a backpack she can have through college and it's a lifetime warranty. It holds *way* more. Unless they need a laptop, skip the prof. slim altogether.
My youngest has the prof. slim jr., and while size-wise it works. It's still heavier and not as functional. Not an ideal backpack IMO unless again, a laptop is carried.


Good for you.

*Start of Rant*

Remember, it's not the phone that's the issue, but social media. A kid can get a phone when they're any age as long as it's just a form of communication via text or talk. There are almost no negative impacts from that. But social media is the primary reason for increased risk of metal anguish, depression, suicide and self-harm/mutilation. Especially for girls.

Jonathan Haidt (who authored the brilliant "The Righteous Mind") is a must-listen for parents. His book he came out with last year, "The Coddling of the American Mind" is very good. But specifically the psychological studies on social media.

Knowledge Project Interview:
Podcast:
https://fs.blog/jonathan-haidt/Youtube:

Joe Rogan interview w/ him. Joe's podcasts are certainly more geared for male audiences. Rogan also curses a lot, fair warning.

If nothing else, look at these graphs on this video and watch 1:18:25 through 1:34:02.

Back when social media came out (for those who have kids around 16-24), responsible parents thought supervision (shared log-in, being friends on their acct, etc) was enough to make sure it was used appropriately. At the time, we had no data or long-term knowledge on what damage social media created on young/impressionable minds.
Now we do have the data and it's clear: there is no excuse or reason for kids to have it. In fact, if you do, your kid has a higher chance of having a psychological disorder.

So... why do it? FOMO is a major reason, and a valid one. Exclusion can also impact emotional development negatively as well. Likely not as bad as social media can, but it is still negative.

It's got to be a joint effort and communication with other parents about creating a ban on social media until high school. If other parents band together, there won't be the FOMO involved. It should be treated like smoking; where parents all realize that, too, is a bad idea to let your middle schooler do.

The fact that those who created the technology and platforms don't let their own kids on social media should tell you everything you need to know.

*End Rant*


Cancel the Delta Gold Biz and get the Delta Plat Biz. You can always downgrade back to the gold biz from the plat. Well... whenever you stop getting pop-ups that is. What a beating

I agree! As parents of kids between 19-25, we were the “bad guys” who didn’t get our kids cell phones right away. My older two had track phones in HS and that was strictly like you said to text or call for a ride after sports or meetings. Our youngest got his first iPhone at 16 and he was literally the last in his grade to get one.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

To continue the luggage/backpack/packing conversation, I just received this Lo & Sons travel backpack

https://www.loandsons.com/collections/sale/products/hanover-600d-recycled-poly-crimson-red

and I am deeply in love. The size does not overwhelm me at all (I'm 5'2" on a good day). I wanted something that would work as a travel backpack AND that would work as a day pack. Without the insert, I can pack layers, water bottles, and snacks for a long hike. And with the insert, I can fit 2 of the slim ebags packing cubes along with my usual toiletries, my laptop, my kindle in a case, and my reusable water bottle (yes, I just pretend-packed the backpack )

I bought it last weekend when it was 50% off, so the price might fluctuate.

 

[calypso726]

The resort credit... does it automatically apply if you have that card, or do you have to tell the hotel to apply it? (I'm so far away from this but I really think this card might be in my future!)

It automatically applies as long as the charge is from the resort directly according to the threads on Flyer Talk. This is why advance purchase rates don’t work.

 

[Haley R]

You guys are really making me think about homeschooling. It sounds like such a different experience than it used to be. Dh is worried about the social aspect but it sounds like that’s not a problem anymore. We come from a small town in Iowa and there were only a few families that homeschooled and it was all for religious reasons.

I’ll have to do my research when that time comes. It could still change a bunch before then! I like the fact that you get one on one time with their learning and can individualize it to fit their needs (speed up, slow down, work on topics that aren’t normally taught at school if the child is interested in them).

 

[calypso726]

From what I understand, the upgraded offers are very YMMV. I had the personal no-fee Hilton for more than a year and never got an upgrade offer on it. I closed it so I could apply for the Aspire (I have 5 AmEx credit cards). I think @calypso726 applied for the no-fee Hilton earlier this year in the hopes of getting an upgrade offer--any luck with that?

I did. My understanding is that an upgrade offer won’t appear until a year out. I’m ok with that. We will see what happens next year.

 

[gottalovepluto]

DS got a new iPhone for Christmas but prefers his old iPhone 5. So the new one sits collecting dust.

I would have a very serious talk with DS about trading it in somewhere (off the top of my head I know Best Buy does trade ins for BB gift cards). No reason to leave it sitting there losing money every month. And with the next generation launch it will drop in value again. Apple also has a trade in program if DS starts wanting the new one.

 

[Mopedmom1]

I'll message you the info

Me too, please!

 

[DisneyMandC]

You guys are really making me think about homeschooling. It sounds like such a different experience than it used to be. Dh is worried about the social aspect but it sounds like that’s not a problem anymore. We come from a small town in Iowa and there were only a few families that homeschooled and it was all for religious reasons.

I’ll have to do my research when that time comes. It could still change a bunch before then! I like the fact that you get one on one time with their learning and can individualize it to fit their needs (speed up, slow down, work on topics that aren’t normally taught at school if the child is interested in them).

I remember when I was little everyone always thought the homeschooled kids were "weird," but things have really changed a lot. By the time I hit high school, I knew a lot of kids my age who were homeschooled because we were all showing horses together. The kids who really did it big time usually did school through online academies. My mom just pulled me out of public school whenever I had a show lol. We still don't want kids, but I would probably want to homeschool too... moreso to facilitate the full time horse showing

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Delta does do upgrade offers, I have done it on both mine and DH's personal cards, at least twice each. Always been an offer to upgrade to Plat with a very small requirement for various bonus miles. Then I downgrade again eventually.

Personal I'm assuming? And from gold? I had to give up the personal spot for the biz...damn amex only allowing 5. Might be worth grabbing a plat at some point going back to a personal gold for upgrade chances.

 

[WVMomof3]

AMEN. I second this wholeheartedly...and IMHO it's not just social media that's a danger to young kids either. These aren't just phones..they're mini computers,and there are predators out there just searching for young gullible minds to mess with. Social media and about a million other things younger kids need to be protected from. (In reality my reason for no/flip phones for my kiddos was safety,not cheapness,b/c by the time they were old enough to navigate the online world they were old enough to buy what they wanted) sorry to be so O/T

Unfortunately it is not just young kids. My DMIL just recently unfriended ME because I saw that she was talking to a stranger on FB and I yelled at her for it. Ughhhhhhhhhhh OMG she is worse than a teenager. She is clueless. This is the SECOND time that I know of that this has happened. I have her log in information so I went on there and deleted him and had deleted the previous person awhile ago. I again set privacy restrictions. I deleted a bunch of his posts because her grandkids did not need to see them. So she apparently got mad at me for doing that and unfriended me (yet I can still log in as her .) She has lots of issues and I am really afraid that she will lose everything to some conman. Luckily(?) she is poor as dirt and really doesn't have much to lose. I hope. But man she really believes they are just nice men that want to chat, even after they ask her to send them a walmart giftcard for a $100 and he will send her back one with $1000. I will feel extremely bad if something happens because I am the one who talked her into an IPad, so she could see what her grand kids were up to. Unfortunately I did not foresee her mental downfall. She lives alone and her closest kids are 400+miles away. We are about 1000 miles away.

I do believe social media and technology in general will be the downfall of man. It also goes back to what @afan mentioned earlier about fake stories. Ironically the people that cry "fake news" about true stories are the ones gullible enough to believe the real fake stories. I see this one guy post fake site after fake site getting people all riled up. I corrected him a few times, but gave up. It is sad what people believe. I have to admit I am somewhat addicted to Facebook even though every time I get on it I say never again. Too many idiots.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

Me too, please!

Sending

 

[DisneyMandC]

Unfortunately it is not just young kids. My DMIL just recently unfriended ME because I saw that she was talking to a stranger on FB and I yelled at her for it. Ughhhhhhhhhhh OMG she is worse than a teenager. She is clueless. This is the SECOND time that I know of that this has happened. I have her log in information so I went on there and deleted him and had deleted the previous person awhile ago. I again set privacy restrictions. I deleted a bunch of his posts because her grandkids did not need to see them. So she apparently got mad at me for doing that and unfriended me (yet I can still log in as her .) She has lots of issues and I am really afraid that she will lose everything to some conman. Luckily(?) she is poor as dirt and really doesn't have much to lose. I hope. But man she really believes they are just nice men that want to chat, even after they ask her to send them a walmart giftcard for a $100 and he will send her back one with $1000. I will feel extremely bad if something happens because I am the one who talked her into an IPad, so she could see what her grand kids were up to. Unfortunately I did not foresee her mental downfall. She lives alone and her closest kids are 400+miles away. We are about 1000 miles away.

I do believe social media and technology in general will be the downfall of man. It also goes back to what @afan mentioned earlier about fake stories. Ironically the people that cry "fake news" about true stories are the ones gullible enough to believe the real fake stories. I see this one guy post fake site after fake site getting people all riled up. I corrected him a few times, but gave up. It is sad what people believe. I have to admit I am somewhat addicted to Facebook even though every time I get on it I say never again. Too many idiots.

Someone I know posted a fake news story on Facebook the other day. Directly underneath the Facebook post, the Facebook filter came up for all to see letting you know that it was a hoax and was not true. Someone commented on the post and let her know that it was a fake story, as evidence by the filter results. The original poster went OFF and was furious at commenter for saying that! There was a huge argument on her post and then she was posting all night about how she was deleting rude people from her Facebook...

 

[1st*toright]

Interesting day around here! Lots of good topics.

We’re flying out tomorrow and packing tonight, so I’ll take a pic of our medicine bag, wife’s makeup and our toiletries if anyone cares.
It’s just an Orlando/Vero Beach/Bahamas trip, but I’ll post clothes too if anyone cares there either.
I’ll do the same for clothes for Peru next month as it will be more hiking and require a layer or two. So more complex than a simple beach/Orlando trip.

Thanks very much for the breakdown. Shoes are definitely the tough part - one of the reasons I'm a fan of Rothys - very packable, comfy, easy to clean and ok if they get wet, but still nice enough to pass for dressy (thinking about going to the opera in Vienna, if I can work it out). I think we can do our 10 day trip with a similar selection of luggage - we are pretty good at packing light. And your family is just beautiful!

I used to pay $150-$200 for a trip to the salon. I look just as interesting after paying $19 plus tip at Hair Cuttery.

Ha- I figured out (or rather, learned from youtube) a haircut that my sweet DH can give me in about 5 minutes. My hair does not look as good as @Andysol 's wife's hair, but you can't beat the price!

C'mon...how you gonna write a work rant without these little beauties:

I think its because it isn't the computer, but the coworker that @amalone1013 wants to smash, and there is no emoji for that. It's probably better that way.

Yup, we homeschool the kids and do it for non-religious reasons.

We are big on unsupervised play and they get ample social interaction.
The fact my job is flexible enough to travel made public school our limiter on when/where we could go. We also incorporate learning based on where we travel. It's really fun and my kids have responded really well to it.

Ironically enough, Snapchat, the social media app most parents were terrified of when it came out because they couldn't monitor it easily. The fear of sending nudes, disappearing pics, etc. But in reality, it was/is less significant psychologically than Facebook or Instagram where likes and comparisons are public. It can still be psychologically damaging and comparisons are still occurring, but just individually and not publicly. But speaking about filters, etc on snapchat are important as well.

My teen has had a phone since late middle school - late end of the peer group around here. We still have to approve app downloads, and we occassionally get grief because we haven't allowed any social media yet (its junior year now). I have said more than once that I'm open to a proposal about what platform, how it will be used etc., as a starting point for a discussion about changing our policy, but other than occassional grumbles, there has been no additional push. Group texts seem to be sufficient for now, and I think maybe there is some comfort in being able to blame "Mean Mom" for being absent from all those venues. I'm perfectly comfortable with being a mean mom.

We have considered homeschooling at various points, but in the end it didn't make sense in our particular situation. I have fantasies about a digital nomad life, but for now my job requires me to be in the office. Maybe that will change, or maybe we will get to the point where my job is optional (and I can afford to do something different that would allow me to wander more). My older kid would not do well without the stability of staying in one place, but my little one would probably take to a less structured lifestyle like a duck to water - maybe when the first one is out of the house I will figure out a way to follow in @Andysol 's footsteps.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

As a public HS teacher, I'm anti-home schooling, LOL. That said, when I have the chance to retire in 4 years, I may be more all for it for DS to do it. Though it'll be his last 2 years of HS, so I doubt he'd want to.

I'm seriously starting to look into vacation rental property in NC. I've have a few areas I'm looking. I think I might be able to get a second mortgage since you can include rental income on the application! There are a few I'm looking at that are cash only sales. I have a nice chunk in the bank, but not enough to buy them. So I've been trying to look into ways you can get your hands on $65k cash, LOL. I think it's funny my AAviator card sent me an offer of a "personal loan" of up to $35k, comes w/ 35k AA miles. I do need more AA miles, LOL.

I need to look more into a business loan I'm guessing. If I'm establishing an LLC for the rental company, I'm guessing I could perhaps land a loan and possibly look at cash properties then. Hmmm, can you get a SUB on the AA Citi if it's a different company? LOL Because I think otherwise I'm trying my luck at mailers.

 

[Albort]

I would have a very serious talk with DS about trading it in somewhere (off the top of my head I know Best Buy does trade ins for BB gift cards. No reason to leave it sitting there losing money every month. And with the next generation launch it will drop in value again. Apple also has a trade in program if DS starts wanting the new one.

sell it on craiglist or facebook marketplace... trade in are so not worth the value...

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I think its because it isn't the computer, but the coworker that @amalone1013 wants to smash, and there is no emoji for that. It's probably better that way.

Workplace violence is never the answer...