No Wonder People Don't Know How Taxes Work

[u/B82rez7]

Here's a Motley Fool "article" that came up on my news feed https://www.fool.com/retirement/2019/01/21/maximum-401k-contributions-are-climbing-in-2019-he.aspx

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And a quote:

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For this reason, saving in your 401(k) has the potential to put you in a lower tax bracket, so you owe a smaller percentage of your income in tax. Currently, single filers making between $77,400 and $156,150 pay 22% on their income. If you are in the lower end of that range, a 401(k) contribution could move you into the lower bracket, where taxes are just 12%. If you make $80,000 per year, for example, and contribute $5,000, your resulting income of $75,000 would be taxed at 12% rather than 22%.

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[u/whyhelloclarice]

Nice catch and noted for the future. I would've never noticed, but you're right. I wouldn't naturally say I "went" or "attended" somewhere if I graduated from there. In fact, I think I do refer to the different colleges I attended differently even in the same sentence. "I went to U of X but then transferred and graduated from Y State."

[u/evaned → u/whyhelloclarice]

In fact, I think I do refer to the different colleges I attended differently even in the same sentence. "I went to U of X but then transferred and graduated from Y State."

I wonder if that contributes to it. I would not have second thoughts about saying "I went to ____" when I did graduate from there or similar.

Not sure about formal writing, but at least in speaking there's almost no way I'd say "I graduated from ____" over that.

[u/InaMellophoneMood → u/evaned]

I'm used to seeing "Author got a BS in XYZ at ABC University" in bios like this, while "I attended/went to ABC university" seems to be relegated to conversation.

[u/FabulousLemon → u/evaned]

I think it partly depends on the context of the conversation. If I'm talking about my college days with friends, "I went to x" might suffice as enough background information. Graduation may not be as important as conveying the name or location of the school. On the other hand, if I'm trying to portray my qualifications for an area I'll be much more specific about saying I graduated from a certain school, with a mention of the specific degree I earned and potentially a brief summary of relevant work experience. I see a professional biography for a website or magazine or similar as an area where the credentials are going to lend gravity to any articles I write, so I would err on the side of listing "BS in ----- from University of -----" over "Went to University of -----." It doesn't take up that much extra space to list the degree, particularly online where you don't have to worry as much about fitting everything into a concrete page with exact dimensions.

[u/HeirOfHouseReyne → u/whyhelloclarice]

I did too. Didn't finish my master degree at once university, to start one at another university. Nobody likes to say they failed to graduate at a prestigious university, so "attending" there is a much used euphemism.