I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but do you have health insurance? You might be able to save some money if you are eligible for WA state free health insurance for you and your kids for up to something like 9 months after delivery. No deductible. Yes, believe it or not, funding hasn't been cut for that yet.

My wife and I were going to pay through the nose for my work's insurance (it was going to be about 25% of my salary, and they charge 20% deductible for maternity care), but we found out had a low enough income to qualify for the state plan for pregnant women. AND we pay no deductible for maternity of delivery care. To top it off, the people who run the program are really nice. Check out this website and give them a call - they might have some good options. http://www.parenthelp123.org/pregnancy

I think a phone call to the Office of the Attorney General of Washington (or whatever state you are in) is in order.

There should be other very valid ways of proving that you exist in other forms of identification that you would expect in financial matters (SS#, copy of state approved ID or driver's license).

Heck, tell your Morgan Stanley representative that your whole company is now considering rolling the IRAs over to another company altogether and "please send me the forms for that process". Just see how fast they don't need a phone bill.

Ask already. It's on her fridge, it's not a secret. She's probably waiting for you to become comfortable enough to ask about it.

It applies to anyone with a conscience and who values personal choice- you, EMTs, boy scouts, taxi drivers, anyone.

There should be several pages that specify answers to your questions about rescue breaths and CPR. DNRs are very customizable - it isnt just a boilerplate YES DNR vs NO DNR -- there are at least 3 DNR base options on the standard hospital form. (Use comfort drugs or dont, intubation ok or no, etc)
It's important to know precisely what she wants - in case you happen to be the one to be with her at the end.

You are much better off exploring bankruptcy options than going through a "credit counseling agency." Credit counseling and debt consolidation don't often work because your debtors are not legally bound to follow the agreements nor do they have to negotiate with the agency.

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will allow to restructure your debts and pay them off without accruing more interest. Student loans work a little differently but you should still be able to include them in a Chapter 13.

The Chapter 13 plan also allows you to immediately start rebuilding your credit and you have the force of law behind you.

I used this attorney when I filed a number of years ago:

http://www.seattle-bankruptcy-lawyers.com/

They were competent and didn't cost too much.

I was arrested during the WTO protests but never charged, so it hasn't been a big deal for me. As part of the class-action lawsuit any record of the arrest was supposed to be expunged, although I have heard from other WTO arrestees that they have had problems traveling internationally. I did have a WA state background check for a job a few years ago, and as far as I know it didn't show up.

Being arrested at a protest is almost always a misdemeanor, and usually if it's your first offense you can make a deal to get it taken off your record if you successfully complete probation for a year or two.

I know if you are planning on going to law school you don't want to get arrested, because of the ethical requirements lawyers have to obey the law. Likewise I could see it being a problem if you wanted to become a stock broker or something like that. A lot of employers are doing background checks now, and I could see a lot of protest arrests being used as a reason to not hire someone.

The main thing you would want to watch out for is to not fight against the police or do anything that could be considered assaulting an officer. That could be a felony, and you don't want to go there. Likewise leave the pot (or other illegal drugs) at home. Also don't get arrested in federal jurisdiction unless you decide to become a career protestor and want to do time in jail as part of that.

If you are thinking about risking arrest for Occupy Seattle, I would advise that you try to speak with some long-time protestors before you decide. For one thing a lot of activists will say they will support you, but then after you get arrested they don't show up. I saw this happen a few years ago with some people who got arrested protesting the Iraq War. I was lucky that there was an awesome legal support system set up for the WTO; I don't think Occupy Seattle has that.

I also think getting arrested should be strategic and more of a last resort. Yes it gets mainstream media attention, but we need to do more than get articles in the paper to enact economic change. Dealing with arrests can be very draining for a movement, and a lot of times grassroots organizing gets sacrificed for media attention. I really, really want a better economy, but I don't think getting arrested in Westlake is going to help that happen.

BTW I was there yesterday when people got arrested; anyone who thinks that was police brutality is a very privileged white person. Also comparing this to protests in Syria just belittles the bravery of the Syrians who went into the streets knowing they might get shot. Please keep some perspective, people. This is coming from an ally who plans to join Occupy Seattle protests when I can.

If that customer left with a printed (or even handwritten) sales receipt that showed the item paid for and the amount charged to his card, then he has proof of payment being made in full. Any additional charges can be disputed under existing consumer law and could be considered credit card fraud as the charges have not been made with the consumer's permission.

I believe that the business you work is in the position of having to eat the loss. That doesn't mean you might not find a willing consumer to admit that they were undercharged and agree to paying the appropriate amount, if you contacted them and explained the situation. To make a separate charge without their knowledge/agreement or to change the amount charged on the original transaction could certainly be considered fraud. I don't believe that you are in a position of personal culpability for this action but the business you work for is not acting in a honorable or ethical manner in this case.

I am sorry that you are being put in this position and I would not want you to jeopardize your job by fighting the actions of your boss in this situation.

This applies to any loan: make your regular payment, and if you want to pay down the balance faster send a separate payment with written instructions to apply to the principal balance. The way you do this varies according to the lender, so you should contact their customer service and find out the best way to do this. Most lenders let you do this, although they make less money if you do so they don't make it easy. Also some loans will include pre-payment penalties - mostly car loans and mortgages - just something to be aware of in the future.

Loan payments always apply to any late fees/charges first, then interest, then the principal. For the first several years of the loan your payments will apply almost entirely towards interest, because lenders don't calculate the interest every month like a credit card; they calculate it upfront and amortize the loan repayments so that you pay most or all of the interest first, then the principal. Also watch out for negative amortization with the income-based repayment plans - if your payments are less than the accrued interest, you get charged interest on the unpaid interest too.

They do this because they make money on the interest payments, not the principal, so they want their revenue upfront. If you default and the loan gets written off, the lender can write off some or all of the loan principal as an expense for tax purposes, but the lost interest is just lost revenue.

One thing to consider - the interest on student loans usually isn't that high, so you might not actually save much money paying down the balance on your student loan (unless it's private). You might be better off putting extra money in a savings account - it's really a good idea to have at least 3 months, preferably 6-12 months, of living expenses in something like a savings account or CD or combo of the two that you could access in case of an emergency. (This really helped me not completely freak out when I lost my job.) If you are planning on buying something expensive within the next few years, like a car, saving up ahead of time instead of taking out a loan will save you a lot of money in the future. Also putting any extra money towards retirement, either 401(k) or IRA accounts, might be a better investment than paying down your loan - it might not look that way on paper, but with compounding interest and tax breaks it could be eventually. But! If you are already doing these things, and don't have any credit card debt, then putting extra money towards the student loan principal is worth it.

Swedish is the worst when it comes to that shit. I've stopped going to their emergency room (not that I'm a terribly regular visitor). I have a few particuarly worrisome and painful chronic conditions that I know how to treat. But they won't listen and kept testing me and giving me ultrasounds.

I now go to Virginia Mason or, rarely, Carolyn Downes (sp?). Wam bam thank you ma'm and I'm outta there. It's really that different.

I understand (having nothing but anecdotes to back it up with) that the larger insurance companies really don't dig Swedish at all, but I'm not sure that's a dig on Swedish.

and don't use a fucking circ saw on your daughter for christ's sake. My last cast I took off my sliding a piece of steel down the cast to protect my leg and then running the dremel over that it until I could crack it open. I probably didn't need the steel but had never done it before.

The $10,000 reporting limit applies to bank transactions and coming into the country (and going out, but only because you will simultaneously be going into another country). And it is a reporting requirement only; it's not illegal (though it will attract scrutiny).

If you're just driving around in your car, or walking from the Baccarat table to your hotel room in Vegas, you're in the clear -- though you're also stupid to be holding that much cash. Put it in a bank. If you're paranoid put it in ten banks, or one bank ten times, $9,999 at a time (the extra tenner is for your cab ride). The person who I would be afraid of searching me in that case is not a cop but a bad guy who just found a guy with a hundred grand on him.

#1 reason -- they aren't dicks strictly trying to take your money.
in other words-- it's the difference between Bailey Savings & Loan vs. Old Man Potter.

good ones --
BECU.
Alaskan CU
Verity
WSECU (if you can)

All are good and all have been detailed to death here - just search those names in here and see.

A lawyer is a good place to start, and Legal Voice (formerly the Northwest Women's Law Center) is a great place to go.

legalvoice.org

Flag and post a scam warning (either in for sale or rants&raves) as well.

Then, tell the speech disabled buyer your name is Jim Pugel (or -if you like- John Diaz) and tell them your address is
610 5th Avenue,
Seattle, WA 98124-4986.
and the best time to come by is Monday morning after 10am and if they come in person they can have the "Item" for half off.

You'd want to talk to a professional to see if this would work for you, but maybe start saving with a Roth IRA? My understanding is that you could withdraw your contributions at any time without any tax penalty, and there are some situations where you could withdraw your earnings without a huge penalty. One situation is if you have unreimbursed medical expenses that are more than 10% of your adjusted gross income, you wouldn't have to pay the 10% penalty tax on the earnings if you've had the IRA for 5 years.

The main advantage of an IRA over a savings account is that if you follow the rules you get a tax break - either in the year you contribute (traditional IRA) or when you get the earnings (Roth IRA). There is also a saver's credit if you are low to moderate income - check out IRS Publication 590 for details.

Interest rates right now for any type of savings are crap, and will probably be crap for at least two years, so I think the tax advantages of an IRA will be helpful. I know that BECU has IRA CDs paying 0.95% interest for two years with at least $500 put in, which is a lot less of an initial investment than other places I've looked - you usually have to have $2500 to get started.

If you don't have a savings account with three to six months of expenses saved up you should probably work on that first, or at least save for both at the same time. And make a plan to reduce debt, of course, if you have any.

It really really sucks that we live in a society where people have to declare bankruptcy for medical bills. I hope that things will change so you won't have to worry about that - take care of yourself in the meantime, and make sure you're not scrimping so much that you don't have enough money to enjoy life.

Hahaha...everybody knows that one thing business associations are all about is "fairness."

This is a shakedown and I think whether to fight or to pay is a decision you should at least spread around the responsibility for with others, if not punt entirely and send up the ladder for your bosses to deal with.

As a private association, their actions are probably legal, as your organization's membership is probably voluntary, but they're definitely shady. But again, I'd try to make your responsibility begin and end with explaining the situation to your boss for further action.

Good luck.

Important caveat to the State Parks rule: If you have a Washington fishing license, you may display the Fish & Wildlife Vehicle Permit that came with your fishing license on the dashboard in lieu of the $30 annual / $10 daily State Parks pass.

In most cases, it's not going to save you any money. I spent $86 on my fishing license this year, but if you already have a fishing license, you're exempt from the $30 extra fee.

For practical purposes, if the amount you earned exceeds your standard deduction, which is $5,800 this year, you're probably on the hook to file a return and pay taxes. Whether that happens through payroll withholding or you writing a big check is another question.

Assumptions:
-You're single
-You don't have unearned income like dividends, interest, alimony, etc.

Another vote for BECU! Super easy if you have direct deposit. If not, I'd go with the advice to pick a credit union with the most convenient branch for in-person deposits if you don't want to use a BECU or 7-11 ATM.

Some benefits for BECU others haven't specifically mentioned:

*Great rates with Member Advantage accounts without a lot of restrictions. I get 6% on the $1000 I keep in BECU.

*Free external transfers - if you have accounts at more than one institution, you can put the routing and account numbers into BECU's external transfer system and move money yourself between banks/credit unions/whatever. Free for 3-day transfers.

*Online deposits - actually kind of a pain, but if you scan the front & back of a check you can deposit it online and all or most of the money is available immediately just like ATM deposits.

*BECU supports Express Credit Union, which serves low-income folks to help them save money.

*Great rates for credit cards and line of credit, if you need them.

With the co-op network I hardly ever have to pay ATM fees, and I can deposit checks at most 7-11 stores. When I travel I can usually find a free co-op ATM with a little planning. Also when I need to cash in change from my change jar I can go to the Eastlake WSECU and use their coin machine for free as a co-op member.

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Trustee

If everyone can agree on a relative, family friend, lawyer, or other trusted and trustworthy person that's appropriate, you could try to establish a trust and make that person a trustee. Often, though, trustee responsiblities are hired out to a bank's trust department.

Let's face it, banks can be pretty douchebaggerous, but maybe you'll have better luck with a local credit union:

http://www.becu.org/wealth-management/trust-services.aspx
206-812-5176 or 800-233-2328, ext. 5176 or becutrust@becu.org.

Good luck.

Looks like you need an officiant and two witnesses, and the 'ceremony' needs to be performed in Washington State. http://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/marriage.aspx

But the ceremony in Washington State need not be the only ceremony. So, pay the license fee, wait the 3 days, find someone to officiate (basically, someone qualified to perform weddings in the state), and have them sign it along with you, your partner, and 2 other witnesses. That's your Washington 'ceremony'. Then turn in the license, and go get married in Arizona, and the Bahamas, and anywhere else you like.

You need to contact the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

Free passes are not distributed by Metro or Sound Transit, you're going to have to work with DSHS and navigate their alphabet soup of programs.

Different programs have different requirements, but as a basic guideline, you need to be at or below the eligibility level to receive food stamps in order to get DSHS to buy you a bus pass.

Under their Basic Food & Employment Training (BF E&T) program also known as Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) DSHS will provide up to $100 for a bus pass.

From the DSHS website:

"BF E&T participants are eligible for a maximum $100 allowance per month for transportation or other costs related to participation. Bus passes and gas vouchers are allowed and will be paid by DSHS and the Employment Security Department (ESD) using the JOBS Automated System (eJAS)."

Here's the thing about working with DSHS that you need to know, it's a giant monstrous shitty bureaucracy with a million stupid acronyms and little rules that are almost impossible for the layperson to interpret. But, most of the people who work there are really, really nice and helpful. So, just pick up the phone and give them a call: 1-877-501-2233

Good luck!

Just file and state that you were not available for work that week. You won't get a benefit check but you'll stay in the system. I think it asks for additional information, where you will say what you just said above. I took a week off while on bennies (like you, planned and paid for before my employer folded) and it wasn't a big deal. I also kept my claim open when I started a new job; they gave me the difference between my training wages and benefit amount for a couple weeks, fwiw.

Re:unemployment benefits in general, remember that YOU paid for them out of money YOU already earned and gave to the government in the event that something like this happens. You have every right to them if you lose your job through no fault of your own. It is called "employment security" for a reason, and it's no one's business how you are spending your time off work as long as you're complying with WorkSource-mandated activities (job search log, seminars, truthfully reporting your availability for work, etc.).

Moral of the story: keep your claim open, even if you collect no money, until you are gainfully employed again. And have fun on your trip!

If literally the only 2 things you did with your new card was Amazon MP3s and Netflix and it got stolen, you might have bigger problems.

Maybe some sort of virus on your computer? That can undercut any encryption if it is on the local machine. Sort of a guess though... Microsoft Security Essentials is your friend (if Windows).

Really, especially with trip out of the country coming up next week, you need to get BECU on the phone and have a chat with them. They are professionals and have entire fraud divisions to help you figure out exactly what is going on.

It used to be standard practice for Amex to overnight new cards, now you have to ask. I'm sure BECU will overnight a card if you ask really nice. I know my bank would if you're shopping around.

It's in the administrative code:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=314-11-050

The WAC consists of the rules government agencies make, based on the regulatory authority given to them by the legislature in the RCW.

So the liquor board itself would need to change the rule. But an act of the legislature or an initiative could force them to do so. Personally, I think strip clubs gross out a sufficient number of otherwise liberal-minded voters that, combined with the more traditional moralists, there's not much chance of an initiative or legislative solution. The best bet is probably appealing to the board directly. Although this is still pretty unlikely, as an unelected and ostensibly non-partisan body they are perhaps in more of a position to listen to reason. You might need to come up with a better public policy reason than "I wanna see genitalia and drink beer" though, even as compelling as you and I might find it.

The issue with the court case in Maryland was that the law had an immensely vague definition of "adult entertainment" that didn't have anything to do with nudity. The decision wasn't that nudity in the strip clubs was protected by the 1st amendment, but that other things that ARE protected could be caught in the law's vague definition (among other things, it was speculated the Baltimore Ravens could be so labeled because of the butt-patting). Unfortunately, this probably has no bearing on the situation here, where the rule is very specific and goes into great anatomical detail.

This is one of the weirder questions I've seen asked - the profile photo of a obviously teenage boy, the odd over-the-top compliment to the U.S. Mint, and the question itself.

Is this a stealth ad for U.S. mint investment?

I think so.

I don't know about H&R Block, but you can do this in TurboTax's free edition - there's a long list of income options including W-2 and all kinds of 1099s; scroll down when you get to that page and enter your 1099-MISC info. You can do a trial run and see what your results are without creating an account or filing, although TurboTax will try to get you to create an account (and upsell you) several times. Just keep passing on the upsell - at the end you can print out and/or save your return as a pdf.

There will also be questions about your education expenses; don't forget to claim your education expense deductions/credits!

Student loans aren't wiped out in bankruptcy unless the borrower will never be able to repay - like if he/she has become permanently disabled. The good news is that President Obama has gotten the ICR and IBR repayment plans through the Congress while the Dems were still in charge. It changes everything about repayment. Check it out if you haven't already.

I'm with Dan. Bankruptcy will cost you about $400-$1200 to file, but it will clear your record. Some of the debt consolidating agencies will cost as much and are pretty damn shady keeping up to 80 percent of your payment for fees. Most are bankrolled by the credit card companies, so that's where their interest lies. They don't give a crap about you beyond wanting to get payback.

Bankruptcy is a federal action and held in federal court. It is spelled out in the US Constitution, born by the founding fathers who remembered the days when people were thrown into debtors' prisons and workhouses. It allows people to get a fresh start when things go horribly wrong financially. And even though some take advantage of the process, there is no shame in being poor and wanting to get a fresh start - irrespective of what those debt consolidation ads say on TV. I'm sure you've heard the statistics about the vast majority of bankruptcy cases these days being people who were just barely making ends meet when they were hit with a $100,000 medical bill.

You can DIY for around $400-$500 (the filing fee) but the paper work is pretty complex and taxing. You have to list EVERYTHING you owe to EVERYBODY. Doable if you don't have a ton of creditors. There are affordable lawyers out there who will do it for under $1000 if the bankruptcy is simple enough. Most want around $1200 last I heard. They'll file all your papers and notify all creditors that a petition for bankruptcy has been filed and that all collection actions must cease from this moment on. In other words, filing for bankruptcy puts an immediate end to all attempts to collect.

Good luck, Avi!

The way you are phrasing the question one would think this is really a math problem i.e how much will you lose in early withdrawal vs. the gains in a tax deductible mortgage. But it isn't.

Your 401k is your retirement fund. You will need it at some point in the future and the longer you have it, the more it will grow.

Perhaps you are assuming that your house is an alternative form of saving for retirement. While there is some basis for that assumption historically, it's potentially no longer true. Don't mess with your 401k, find another way.

To add to the risk, there is a growing movement towards a tax system which would remove mortgages from being tax deductible.

It is a good time to get mortgage since the rates are incredibly low and unlikely to stay that way. But the best thing to do is to find a way without touching your 401k.

Freshbooks is excellent and does all of these things: http://www.freshbooks.com/
I haven't used it too in depth, but I like what I've seen. They make it easy to access all of your invoices and manage projects/clients, and they have a lot of different payment options that you can offer.

The Landlord Tenants Law in Washington is very clear about security deposits and the disposition of the same. I realize you didn't pay one. The whole idea of a deposit is to cover these kind of charges. I suspect that by not doing that they didn't have much to stand on besides the threat to your credit rating and bullied you into it.

Having a walk through with them and getting them to sign something as to the state of the place before you walked away would have been a good idea. But having said that I am not sure how legal their threats and charges are.

By a 1985 decision the Washington State Attorney General's Office cannot be involved in individual cases of landlord tenant disputes but they have a great resource page for finding help in these matters. I still think that calling them and talking to one of the folks there would be a good idea because this may indeed be a scam and equate as abuse that they would want to know about.

You will probably have to take the company to small claims court to try to retrieve your money. I don't know how successful that would be.

http://www.atg.wa.gov/

specifically:
http://www.atg.wa.gov/ResidentialLT/default.aspx

I go to Alan Chappron, G.G., N.G.J.A.. I've used him twice so he fits my tried and true gem/jewelry appraiser criterion.
His company is Gemological Consulting Services, Suite 325, 500 Union Street Seattle, Washington 98101

Phone: 206-624-3798.

I don't have an artisan reference. I'll be interested to read the responses of others for this category.