Calling all of the amazing people on here also dealing with the crazy landscape of student loans! I’m currently helping my aunt with getting her loans forgiven. She’s been a special education teacher in a title 1 public school in Oklahoma for the past 12 years and is drowning in student loan debt. I was able to walk her through the studentaid.gov website to pursue PSLF and she already has 111 qualifying payments, and 76 more that need to be certified by an employer. My hope is that once these are certified, the remainder of her loans should be forgiven through PSLF immediately. Which brings me ..read more

I was trying to find a place to post these but sometimes my toddler has tantrums that just make me laugh. I want to hear all of yours too! Tonight my child was upset that he couldn’t swiffer sweep the carpet I hope to keep this light hearted so we can all laugh at the sometimes hard moments of parenting. 3 posts - 3 participants Read full topic ..read more

Americans still writing cheques like it’s 1985. Edit: I’m 40 and have never written one. 38 posts - 23 participants Read full topic ..read more

I don’t think there’s a thread like this with info to share. I saw these at the vet urgent care and had no idea the pavement could get so hot on a pleasant day! 3 posts - 3 participants Read full topic ..read more

I’m issuing a challenge: Budgetober, which will run from October 1 - October 31 for the 6th year. More to follow but you can sign up now! The goal for budgetober is set and stick to your budget for the month of October. It’s also vaguely halloween themed. Also it has special forum badges and even a STICKER SHEET for people that complete the whole month. Here are 2023’s stickers Basic rules: You must establish a budget, a way to track it, and target amounts for the budget. Your categories can be as broad as you like, or as specific as you want. You can even just choose a single amount for th ..read more

I installed a french drain on our property some 10 years ago to dry the floor in our barn and keep the horses feet dry. Well we had some roots intrude intrude into the pipework and I had to find a way to remove them. I could call a plumber or buy/rent an auger with a root cutter. But where is the run in that? So I decided to make my own from a 5 gallon bucket and buying just the auger cable… Total cost $77. It is driven by a battery drill and works very well. I would say it has removed 90% of the roots which is more than good enough. 1 post - 1 participant Read full topic ..read more

I’m starting a new thread from the inactive “remodeling sustainably” thread. I do want to have an eye towards sustainability but want to have a broader thread where we can post/debate floor plans, materials, and experiences. Please feel free to add your own questions and remodeling plans/progress! We’re planning to remodel our ensuite bedroom and bathroom. These designs are pending some very important information (like which walls are load-bearing). If you have any other great ideas on how to configure this room let me know. The toilet needs to stay on that wall but can slide up or down. Sink ..read more

Hi! I have noticed several folks mentioning how they are trying to be more intentional about their phone/technology use, often in relation to raising kids. If there is not already a discussion about this topic on OMD, I’d love to start one! I’ll admit that much of my motivation around this topic is due to reading The Anxious Generation. Their partner organization, Let Grow, is less focused on phone use but very much about getting out and having experiences in The Real World. I’ll throw up an intro post on myself/my situation soon. But in the meantime, anyone who is interested in this, come on ..read more

Going to be REALLY interesting to see how this plays out. From a policy perspective, I’d like to see Pete on the ticket. He is smart. There is a weird part of me that almost hopes that they do something wild and choose somebody from the other side of the aisle – Kinzinger, for example. I’m sure I disagree with him on a lot of policy issues, but at least he had the nerve to stand up to the GOP and Trump. Might go far with enough never trumpers to swing a few states. 8 posts - 8 participants Read full topic ..read more

Let’s consolidate the multiple threads. 31 posts - 17 participants Read full topic ..read more