As a DC girl with a 5'5" boy, I promise there are non-superficial girls in the city. It does take a lot of sorting through those type A perfectionist personalities, though.

Man, I wish someone had told me sooner that's what I needed to complete my life. Clearly, I have wasted the prime years of my adult life without a bed frame.

I'm really not concerned, I just find some of the things people care about when dating bizarre. Any guy who cares that much about something as silly as bed frames is never going to get the opportunity to find out I don't have one. I'd be okay with being single my whole life, although I'm keeping my cougar plan in…

My idea sounds more fun.

Hooray for August 1985!

Hmm, I don't have one of those. Guess I'll just have to become a cougar and go for the younger men who won't care.

I guess I need to go live up the remaining 5 months of my 20s.

Local taxes can also have a big impact. When I moved out of tax-unfriendly DC, I expected my taxes to drop. Instead they shot up. I was perplexed until I realized that I was now paying taxes to the city, state, and feds. Since DC is a federal district, I had only been paying taxes to the city and the federal…

Between busy parents and an awful school system, I had to teach myself just about everything. I had to figure out how to tie my own shoes, drive a car, money management, the whole bit. That means I'm great at teaching myself, but I have serious problems when a person does try to actually teach me something. It just…

Statements like this make me feel so much better. I have spent so many hours on programming homework that won't work, only to realize there's a simple, stupid mistake. Or I'll start looking things up online and I'll realize I don't even know what I don't know. It's encouraging to hear that it is normal.

So, so true. Not keeping up with the little things will just make you feel worse. On top of whatever is upsetting you, you also start thinking, "On top of all that, I'm also a bum who didn't even shower today!"

I think the best way to get a good haircut is find a stylist you trust. Getting a flattering haircut is more than face shape. You have to consider hair texture, how much care you're willing to put in, etc. It doesn't have to be expensive. I try to find people who have talent, but not too much experience so their rates…

When in doubt, step back out of the way of the crowds and watch what everyone else is doing. I took public transit everywhere for years and was always amazed at how many tourists would miss things, like where to feed the ticket into the gate, that would be obvious if they had just watched the person in front of them.

These things have gotten absolutely ridiculous. In college I met a girl whose school district had strict limits on the number of days they could miss. It was only a couple per semester, and apparently she got in big trouble for going to her grandmother's funeral.

Agreed. I can't think of another item of clothing that is so consistently ugly. I'm keeping an eye on this thread hoping that something aesthetically pleasing that I don't know about will come up.

Agreed. I can't think of another item of clothing that is so consistently ugly. I'm keeping an eye on this thread…

Libraries also usually sell used books, either that have been donated or discarded from their collection. Some keep a selection on hand at all times and others have big events every few months. The last time my library had a sale I got a box of books for a dollar because I went on the last day when they were really…

Yes, that's what they SHOULD do. Sallie Mae did put my account on forbearance once, but I had to make several phone calls pestering them to do it. I have a second lender, Great Lakes, that has been pretty great and I've had no problems there. They don't pull this stuff. Sallie Mae (now Navient, actually) has been…

I've dealt with several somewhat sneaky tactics, all from Sallie Mae. My favorite is that every time I have to re-apply for income-based repayment I can't do anything until it expires. Then there is a very short time frame until the next very expensive full payment is due. Essentially, I always have to submit my…

There are also things you should consider buying once you're there. Hair dryers, for example, are always easier to buy in-country than bring with you. I usually also grab toiletries like shampoo once I get there. These things are easily available everywhere and save suitcase space. I also tend to travel to countries…

I've been using USAA for 12 years now and have had a great experience as well. The one exception was the first time my identity got stolen and the woman I got on the phone tried to convince me that I was mistaken and that was really my charge on the card. She made me jump through a lot of unnecessary hoops after I…