OT: Need Wireless Internet Help

Pointcitydawg

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Aug 5, 2008
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I have internet in my house with a wireless router setup in the top of a closet that routes wireless throughout the house for laptop and kindle. My mother in law next door just bought a kindle and only needs internet access occassionally (she finally got Facebook). The only way she can pickup service from our house is by standing directly in front of the window that faces our house. How can I get her setup with wireless internet the cheap way? An additional router in my house? Receiver for her house? Any help would be much appreciated.</p>
 

Pointcitydawg

Redshirt
Aug 5, 2008
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I have internet in my house with a wireless router setup in the top of a closet that routes wireless throughout the house for laptop and kindle. My mother in law next door just bought a kindle and only needs internet access occassionally (she finally got Facebook). The only way she can pickup service from our house is by standing directly in front of the window that faces our house. How can I get her setup with wireless internet the cheap way? An additional router in my house? Receiver for her house? Any help would be much appreciated.</p>
 

macpappy

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Aug 8, 2010
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Without knowing the distance from your house to hers its impossible to know for sure, but there are new wireless routers now called wireless-N that project the wireless signal much farther than wireless-G routers.
You also can move your modem/router setup to the window of your house that is closest to hers to enhance signal with few barriers between you 2.

If these 2 don't work she will have to do like the rest of us and pay for it.
 

GreaterCowbell

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May 3, 2011
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Buy another router and set it up as a bridge, place it in the room where she gets service, should extend the range to her whole house.

Instructions aplenty on the interwebs.
 

Seinfeld

All-American
Nov 30, 2006
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since it seems like you've already gotten good internet advice.

My wife just informed me that her mom recently had a big "I don't have enough to retire" breakdown a couple weekends ago so I know the question's coming sooner or later...
 

bulldognation

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Jan 26, 2004
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If you upgraded to a wireless-N and still have your old wireless-G router laying around, this is a great option instead of tossing it.
 

weblow

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Mar 3, 2008
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until I put a password on it. Then he had the nerve to complain to me about locking it.
 

Johnson85

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Nov 22, 2009
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Most people in the boomer generations weren't saving enough even if the stock market had normal returns of 7 to 8%. Can't imagine that many people are going to be in a position to survive a decade without any gains as well their house coming off its bubble price.

I'm assuming that in ten more years, lots more kids are going to be growing up in houses with a grandparent in them.
 

elmsurfer1

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Mar 3, 2008
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find out sooner rather than later. Make the parents start "earning their keep" by skipping preschool and having them watch the kids, stay home when the kids are sick, etc. Start a fund with the money you saved to help with some of the expenses when the time comes. In the right setting (attitude/health/location), this could be a win-win for everyone involved.
I don't expect to have to support my in-laws or mom but if I have to, I'll do so with out dwelling on it because it is the right thing to do. (I'll hate it, just not think about it)
 

FlabLoser

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Aug 20, 2006
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SPSModerator said:
Buy another router and set it up as a bridge, place it in the room where she gets service, should extend the range to her whole house.

Instructions aplenty on the interwebs.


This.
 

Seinfeld

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Nov 30, 2006
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I understand that many of the Boomers didn't have the knowledge of things we know today nor did they have all the options that we do now. Let's face it, it's a whole lot easier to get things done when you can jump online and start a reasonable fund in 10 minutes as opposed to setting up a sit down with a financial adviser.

That said, my in-law hasn't made the slightest effort to save a dime in the last 20 years and now she's getting all upset because all her friends and family are retiring around her. She still owes 75% of her mortgage because she keeps taking out home equity loans to pay off things like completely unnecessary credit card debt and I mean, ****... Stuff like that really makes it hard to want to help someone.

At the end of the day, she's family so I guess I'm going to have to get over all of that at some point but her moving in with us really isn't an option. Helping out with the kids, cooking, etc would be great, but I have a fairly mobile job and I can't be in a position where she's any sort of major consideration as to where we move. Also, she and my wife get into enough fights just by seeing each other once or twice a week so good lord... I couldn't even imagine them living together again. Well, like I mentioned earlier, the question's coming at some point so I'm just trying to prepare for it.
 

patdog

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May 28, 2007
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But it won't do anything for the retirement years before then. Really, the MIL needs to start cutting expenses and saving like crazy now, and also probably put off retirement a few years.
 

Johnson85

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Nov 22, 2009
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I wouldn't have any hard feelings about helping my parents or inlaws, but I would require that they have a reasonable attitude. Why is she upset that her friends and family are retiring around her. That doesn't seem relevant to whether she is physically able to work or whether she has enough money to not work. I'd at least expect her to understand that if you and your wife are going to help her, she has to keep working until she can't anymore.

And before I put any money towards helping her with a separate residence (unless it's paying down principle with a written agreement where you get the equity), I'd move her in if I had an extra bedroom and bath and let her know she's going to have to find a way to live without getting in a fight with your wife.
 

Pointcitydawg

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Aug 5, 2008
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its about 50 yards from my house. She can be a little nosy at times, but she's a great lady. Plus the free childcare is great. She just retired from being a manager of a cafeteria at the local high school so she loves to cook (and i love to eat so that worked out). Her husband died last year so her living close to us has helped us all get through it a little better. As far as a mother in law moving in, that would be rough. Luckily, in our case, both of us like having our own space so no move ins are on the horizon.
 

patdog

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May 28, 2007
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At the very least until full normal retirement age. She also needs to move to a smaller, less expensive house; cut her living expenses; and save for retirement like crazy.
 

o_OxfordAndrew

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May 5, 2011
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If they don't have medical issues the insurance isn't going to pay to put them in assisted living or a retirement home.
 

Johnson85

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Nov 22, 2009
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patdog said:
At the very least until <span style="font-weight: bold;">full normal retirement age</span>. She also needs to move to a smaller, less expensive house; cut her living expenses; and save for retirement like crazy.
There is no "full normal retirement age." There is the time at which you have saved enough assets that you can cover your expenses, which occurs at different ages for different people and for some people, not at all. If she gets to where she physically can't work or has to cut back significantly, that's something family should help with. But otherwise, there is no, oops I made some poor decisions, it looks like my children are going to have to pony up so I can not work cause I'd like to kick it with my friends that made better decisions or were luckier and thus can afford to quit work.
 

Seinfeld

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Nov 30, 2006
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She has a nice paying job and is in perfectly good health. Her issue is that one of her sisters is already retired, the second one(who's 10 years younger) is about to retire, and now she's just upset because she knows that she's nowhere close. In fairness, part of the problem is also that she has a pretty demanding job so she'd simply like to wind down with a less stressful and lower paying one, but the fact is that she's done absolutely nothing to put herself into a good position to be able to do that. It's almost like she realized that how far behind she was about 5 years ago, so she just quit making the effort to even begin to save and now she's freaking about it because her options are pretty limited.

Anyway, the bottom line is that she put herself into this position and she's going to have to keep working until she physically can't any longer. Hey, my dad's in that same spot but he doesn't moan and groan about it. He's just accepted the fact, and he's in a much better position today that he was even 5 years ago. It would be difficult if he had to retire in the next 5 years, but he could at least make it happen with some substantial cuts. My in-law, not so much...
 

patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
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why not just go all in and do the job right? Especially before she spends what littlenet worthshe has managed to accumulate.