@curiositycat333 – Re: not being able to check credit for those under 18. AFAIK, you also cannot impose a freeze on the credit of someone under 18. (I tried six years ago but have not tried since.)
After reading your post, I pulled my 19 year old’s credit report and was surprised to see that the Visa he has under my name still appears as his credit history. I had assumed that it would not, since he does not have a separate CC #, but it does.
So…a bit off-topic, but for those thinking of building child’s credit history, a card added to your account does appear on credit report. Now to go and freeze his credit, since he opened a card in his own name earlier this year.
So much for Panama Papers, DS decided to switch his IB EE to his ongoing research @ UC. He figured he won’t have sufficient time to research Panama Papers impact.
@STEM2017 after this last round with the June ACT scores, we had the composite scores 10 days later and the writing was with-in 2 weeks of that, so you will be fine for the Nov. deadline! We are not going to worry about the writing for the Sept. test. I actually just changes my D’s registration to take the test without!
@ct1417 can you even do that since he’s considered a legal adult?
@VickiSoCal D gets hammered a lot for her ideas and work by her teachers-they tell her they wouldn’t be so hard on her if they didn’t think she could do it. It usually means a much better finished product and D has learned to take criticism and get fired up in a positive direction by it.
Sometimes girls internalize criticism and think “I’m not good enough” vs “the work isn’t good enough”. It really does seem to be a bit of a gender thing, but it’s definitely correctable. For us it’s never about the kid, just about the work. The kid is always great! The work, well, sometimes you can do better.
My relatives shared a lot of stories about Marty Gras. A few different relatives and they made it sound like it wasn’t safe to be walking around the streets and taking buses. What have people found with Tulane? Is it ok to take buses and kind of sight see or are there places to avoid? Any hotels to stay at that are good?
@curiositycat333 I meant to post that earlier but got busy. While you can’t check it online, you can contact the credit bureaus in writing to request they investigate your child’s credit history. You have to provide proof of relationship.
Parking - we have not had to pay yet. We’ve always gotten a pass at paid garages or the parking was otherwise free.
Travel - No spouse, but I do travel without D quite a bit. But we always have at least one long family vacation each year plus multiple shorter family trips.
I found a place near new Orleans to visit snakes, alligators, armadillo’s, lizards, birds, frogs and turtles. Colleges tours are fun. A national park. My son will be excited. It is called Jean Lafitte Barataria National Park Trail. Anyone gone there?
Finally we did the campus tour of Western Washington University!!
Wow, it was beautiful! WWU is always in the shadow of UW, so my expectation was not that high. Boy, was I wrong!
Very articulate guides. They answered all the questions and more. It was like info session and campus tour put together in one.
The dorm we looked at was dark and depressing. That was the only disappointing part. The tour ended with the gorgeous view of the Bellingham Bay. Wow.
I’m so glad that now my DD has the second safety she is happy to (well, OK to) attend.
@HiToWaMom what dorm did they you to? We saw 6 different ones on discovery days I think, huge variety available. S’s dorm there this week is a triple and the windows are smaller than I’d like but it wasn’t dark at all or depressing. If you can, go back for the fall discovery day and do the dorm self tour as I think it may change your perspective there. They aren’t new by any means but we didn’t find them worse than most and for many, far better settings nestled into the woods or even with a view of the bay.
@MotherOfDragons – I wouldn’t do that w/o telling him! I discussed it with him last night and he said ‘go for it’.
He asked if that meant that he would not be able to open a CC in a store, and I confirmed that was correct, but he was fine with it. I have recently unfrozen my credit for a specific task, and it was very easy. $10 or $12 fee/credit agency to unfreeze here in CT. Fees vary by state and some states do not charge.
He now has a savings account, a checking account, a CC, and a Roth IRA all in his name. I think he is good for the short run and won’t need to unfreeze the credit, but he always can.
@saillakeerie , when we were there several years ago, all the mules were booked, so D and DH couldn’t do it. DH and D hiked all the way to the canon floor using trails, while DS20 and I got on the tour bus
@SincererLove From what I understand, the mules book months in advance (up to a full year). We booked early. Traveling to many national parks over the years, we learned early that you need to book early if you want to stay in the national parks. And often times, the costs of staying in the parks isn’t outrageous. Its just that you need to book many months (and often a year or more) in advance.
Sorry forgot who had the trouble with the stolen soc sec #. See if the credit reporting agencies will let you freeze her credit for free.
Our Discover card also has a freeze feature if your card is lost or stolen.
@SincererLove – hiked all the way to the bottom of the canyon floor (and back up, I assume?) WOW! Did they sleep overnight at least?
I loved visiting the Grand Canyon and while I think I am in shape, I realize I look better than I actually am! There is no way I could make it all the way back up. Part of the issue would be lack of patience for the pace.
Agree that you need to book everything far in advance but I completely lucked out by calling daily (or more often) and landed a cancellation on six weeks’ notice at El Tovar. We stayed two nights and had to move from the suite with balcony to another room in between. While not ideal, not terrible as we were not in our room during the day either. I would say that the best part of staying inside the park was seeing the canyon at night. It glowed.
