Reading Time: 5 minutes Chinese version (translated by Google) is here: 谷歌翻译的中文版在这里。 Turbo Tax web vs Desktop I switched from Turbo Tax Web version to Desktop version in last 4 years. The main reason is the latter is cheaper (if we consider both the state and tax). It’s probably $40 to $50 cheaper. Before the switch I used the
Reading Time: < 1 minute Learned Net Price Calculator (DoE, bigFuture.collegeBoard; local fav wustl is on the 2nd list). Learned FAFSA (always try to fill it out), and CSS Profile. Learned Student Aid Index (SAI). Learned Missouri A+ Scholarship program. Btw, I wrote about 529 plan (college savings account) here. Steve Jobs on education (shorter version, longer version). Enlightening 
Reading Time: 2 minutes My 1st impression on America In summer 1997 when I 1st came to the USA, I noticed the street at Rolla (middle of Missouri) was quite clean. It’s just I was in a honeymoon period with America and I didn’t notice. In recent years I saw more panhandlers at intersections (also seeing panhandlers playing fake
Reading Time: 2 minutes About 14 or 15 years ago when my old daughter was new born, I saved some money and put it into her 529 plan. About a year later, I wrote this blog post Some questions about 529 plan. I haven’t put in much new money into her 529 plan since the early days, and for
Reading Time: 2 minutes I’m talking about the unlocked iPhones. Because I don’t think the carrier promotions are “cheap” in the sense they usually make the money back from the monthly fees, and then more. I can think of a few places, some are probably cheaper, but I am not 100% sure about the quality (especially the battery life
Reading Time: < 1 minute And my goal is to have 40,000 shares eventually (before I fully retire). I realized I have 400 shares recently as I noticed my IRA account recently received $194 quarterly dividend （48.5 cents per share). 我有四百股 $KO: 因为我注意到前两天发了$194 的红利. 伯克希尔有四亿股：巴菲特代表股东拿了$194 m 的红利。 So, if I need to retire on the dividends from Coca-Cola stocks. I
Reading Time: 2 minutes My 14 year old (when she was almost 14) decided to switch to this electric toothbrush given by the Orthodontist office and after a while she wanted to order the replacement toothbrush heads. This is not the most common electric toothbrush and I had to order the replacement heads at the their official website. But
Reading Time: 2 minutes I used Robinhood App since year 2015, when they just got started. To be honest, I was drawn to them initially by the zero commission feature. My experience with Robinhood over the years I think Robinhood has some features I like, in addition to the zero comission feature that it pioneered in the industry. It
Reading Time: 3 minutes I think I was pretty ignorant about the Roth IRA or Roth 401k until recently years. Some friends talked about Backdoor Roth IRA a few years ago. Around the same time (Sept 2021), I noticed my employer 401 k plan has a Roth option. Before that I already worked in the USA for about 21
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Update 12-08-2024) 我今天录了一个油管视频：I created a YT video today and it’s in Mandarin Chinese. I can create an English version later, if there is interest. My street credentials (qualification) for writing this: besides as the consumer of US healthcare system (employer sponsored plans most of the time) since fall 2000. I also worked for 2 large
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