Miss Amber

Ok, some background: my sister got pregnant when she was 18. My mom and stepdad kicked her out of their house, so I invited her to stay with me because no one else would keep her. She had a job and all was well and good. She had the baby earlier this month, and her boyfriend (the baby's dad) is dragging his feet in paying support. He and I made an agreement that if he pays 200 a month, we can keep this out of court, and he agreed. Well, he promised we'd get the first payment last week. Didn't happen. Then he said oh stuff came up, but he gets paid the 27th and he will get it to us by the 30th.

My idea is that if he doesn't give us June's payment by the 30th, then he can't see the baby in my home until we get it. If they want to see each other, they can do it away from my house and without my help. Then if we don't get paid in July, I will take him to court. But can I? I know my sister won't, she would bend heaven and hell to keep him out of trouble. She's lied to cops and in court for him, so I know if I ask her to take him to court because he's not paying, she won't do it.

So since I am financially providing for the baby, can I take him to court and get child support? I was able to make ends meet before taking my sister and niece in, but now I'm struggling even with my sister's income. I've pawned things, sold valuables, picked up extra hours at work, but it still isn't enough.

I'm getting tired of paying for beer that tastes like p1ss water. I try to get recommendations from my friends, but they are all poor college kids who think that Miller Light is liquid gold. Nope. So what would you recommend? Here's what I've tried:

Bud Light

Miller Light

Natural Ice

Heineken

Coors Light

National Bohemian

Corona

Keystone Light

Sam Adams

Guinness

Budweiser

I largely liked Budweiser and Guinness, but not quite. Is there anything similar to either of those that I could try? Domestic or import, doesn't matter to me.

Obviously without accident forgiveness, car insurance premiums increase in the event of an accident, and they skyrocket when you are young.

That said, my 23 year old husband got into an accident last week. However, he works on cars and his work provides him insurance when he's on the clock, so our personal insurance was uninvolved with his accident since it happened at work. It was his fault and determined to be his fault, but he was not given any tickets by the police, even after they asked for his side of the story and he admitted fault.

Since he wasn't given tickets or points, and our personal insurance was uninvolved, is it likely that our personal insurance premium increase because of this accident?

My apartment leasing office is very strict about damage when it comes to getting your security deposit back. Like, if you don't professionally steam clean your carpets, you probably won't get your whole deposit back. With that said, I would like to hang a series of small (2.5x3.5 inch) photo frames on my wall. What is the best way to do this? Tack won't work, nor will command strips (they cost me my deposit in my old dorm). Is there anything else I can do, besides put the frames on a shelf :P ?

I recently came clean to my husband about my secondary savings account that he previously didn't know about. It has about $3000 in it saved since July. I didn't tell him about it because he would spend his and my last dollar and not think twice. I have a saving mentality and he has a spending mentality.

I felt bad hiding money from him but I knew if he knew about it he would bug me to spend it. Everyday we have a conversation that goes "How much money do you have? X.XX. Cool, can you buy me this (insert vice item usually fast food or video game)? No that's not really what that money is for I am trying to save. Don't be so stingy I'm only asking for something small and you can't even do that."

Plus he has expensive taste, like if he asks for a hot drink a McDonalds coffee won't do he wants Starbucks. He does work hard and spends most of his money on rent (he pays rent by himself and I pay for the utilities). I worked diligently for months at three jobs to get that account up high and it has helped up weather financial emergencies and it wasn't without sacrifice and discipline. He says I violated his trust and I feel bad for hiding it, I do but I felt like I had no choice because I knew if he knew about the money, he would constantly ask to spend it.

And like I thought, now that he knows he is asking for expensive toys and such even though that money is a rainy day fund and to help me with school fees. I deferred school for a year because I couldn't afford it anymore what with the books and random fees that add up quickly. I want to go back in the fall and it's going to cost about 1500 in extra fees, equipment, and books. So he wants the rest of the money to spend as he wants.

This issue is frustrating the both of us to no end and I just want him to be okay with having the emergency account and to stop asking all the time to blow it. He has mad money every month and he blows it on junk but I'm fine with it because he gets the rent paid which is the extent of his responsibilities. I just get tired of him asking money from me to blow on himself and now that he knows about the large amount he is asking for a lot.

What should he and I do to resolve this? Talking just turns into repeating the same things over and over without making any real progress. I think he is trying to annoy me so much so I just give up and give him the money.

I live in an apartment complex, so it costs $1.75 to run the machine once. I don't want to have to spend extra money to wash the machine itself, but our apartment maintenance people are useless and won't fix the machines unless they stop working. Since it runs fine, they are under the impression that nothing is wrong, even though my clothes still smell like sweat when they come out. So, is there a way to clean the machine and my clothes in the same cycle? If not, is there a way to clean the machine in one cycle? A lot of instructions show running the machine twice or three times, so is there a way to run it once? I'm kind of desperate here, any help is much appreciated.

I went to the hospital the day before thanksgiving because I had what I suspected to be a very early miscarriage. I received a hospital bill for 2300 bucks, which included the lab work, imaging, and room. I received another bill today for 245 dollars for the ultrasound. I feel like that would be under imaging, so why am I getting billed again? How do I pursue this? I know that an overwhelming majority of medical bills are flawed in favor of the doctors and I don't want to be taken for a sucker. I also don't want to ruin my credit. Help!

My husband and I are in need of a new bank. PNC has screwed us royally, Bank of America is too fee happy, and Wells Fargo makes us wait days for our money when we deposit it, even when we deposit cash. We plan on closing our Wells Fargo accounts on January 2nd. Is there any banks that anyone could recommend. We live in Baltimore MD if by chance anyone knows of a good local bank. Thanks a bunches!

I'm just reflecting back to my college days, particularly freshman year when I had peers and friends crying on my shoulder because they got a B. I would ask some of them why they see crying so much, and a few of them would say that they weren't allowed to get B's or they would get punished. One even said if she takes B's home her parents would stop paying tuition. I was never punished for poor grades, and in middle school there were a lot of them. If my grades sunk down to a C or lower, my parents would take notice and phone the school to see why that was (struggle in the subject vs not doing the work). But they never punished me. They only ever punished my sister because her poor grades were the result of not doing the work, she was quite talented in all her subjects.

What's your take on this? Of course good grades are crucial, but is it worth punishing and shaming less than stellar children? Is punishment and shaming effective at raising grades?

I was reprimanded at work recently for having poor hygiene because they said my hair is stringy and dirty looking. It always looks stringy, even when it's clean. It's not dry or oily to the touch when it looks like that, so why does it look dirty? Straightening it, blow drying it, conditioning it, nothing helps. What can I do? I have very little money for frivolities so please keep answers inexpensive but also fast as I only have a week to get it to stop or they'll let me go. Thank you.

I have been put in charge of cooking dinner and I've never really cooked before. I have boneless, skinless chicken breasts, eggs, milk, and corn flakes. Can anybody give me basic instructions and, oven temperature, and cooking time please? Thank you.

I was just wondering with that time of year coming around, the debate comes out again as well. Are costumes like Native Americans, Gypsies, Geishas, etc "okay" to dress up as, or do they perpetuate false stereotypes and hateful xenophobic mind sets?

Also, have you ever dressed in one of these costumes?

BQ: If you're dressing up his year, what are you dressing up as?

For example, a restaurant bans sagging pants, and it makes national news. Likewise, a school bans yoga pants, and that makes headlines as well. Millennials (some, not all) tend to complain if their job requires them to dress up at all. Disney is constantly criticized for the dress code its park employees must abide by.

Why can't people dress as they want on their own time and call it a day? Why do people think they should be allowed to dress how they want, when they want, and to heck with what anyone else might think, as if their "right" to dress as they please trumps a private business' right to enforce rules on their private property. Thoughts please?

I am writing a paper for my Adolescent Psych class about the complications that arise for adults living with Down Syndrome. I'm having trouble finding things though, as many pro DS websites state that adults can go on to live full independent lives, while many anti DS sites state that they are merely retards doomed to a life of perpetual 4th grade intellect. It's hard finding things they struggle with.

What life skills do/can adults with DS lack or lag behind when compared with "normal peers."

For adults with DS living inter-dependently or semi-independently, what life skills would they likely receive with?

Thanks in advance!

"A good (wife OR husband) will always ask permission first, but a good (husband OR wife) will never say no just because they can."

My husband and I live by this quote. Big or small, we make sure it's okay first. But lately my mother and sister in laws have been giving us heat. OH MY GOD YOU ARE ADULTS YOU DON'T NEED PERMISSION. That's how it goes. But if it's a small way to show that I respect what he has to say, then what's the problem? What do you think?

I think my sister might be getting abused by her live in boyfriend. She is usually very boisterous and outgoing, but the last few times I've seen her, she has been very submissive to him and withdrawn. She doesn't have a cell phone anymore or her own email. She has no car either. He is not supportive of her being in school or having a job. She told me that he yells at her a lot, and they fight all the time. He also throws and breaks things during their fights, and he punches holes in the wall as well. I also found makeup in her bathroom. That might not sound like a big deal, but she never (not for any occasion; prom, weddings, black tie, etc) wears makeup. And it's just skin makeup. I didn't see bruises on her, or attack wounds on him, so I don't know if he is indeed hitting her or not, but I don't know if I should call the cops on a hunch. Should I?

All things being equal (some ballsy kids may have more strict rules), does child A get the same rules at age X as child B, or do you loosen or tighten your rules as you go?

I couldn't go on my first sleepover until I was 11 years old, but when my youngest sister was 11, she was going on international vacations with her friends. I am not bitter towards my sister, it isn't her fault, but my parents didn't even attempt to be fair and I can't imagine doing that to my kids. What are your thoughts?

How old is too old to wear things like sweatshirts, graphic t shirts, and sneakers all the time? Obviously sneakers are practical some times, but when should one make the switch to loafers or flats?

It sounded cool but I didn't catch enough of the song in my identifier app on my phone. Help me out?