this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2024
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Too embarassed to tell anyone I know IRL, but am excited for my new future. Been throwing alot of money with small things. PC, alcohol, movies (and im ashamed to say, funko pops). Recently i took the plunge and cut out alcohol in an attempt to get my life together, and i feel like i have a whole new start.

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[–] SomeGuy69 3 points 27 minutes ago

Sometimes it's nice to just write something down and be happy about positive change. I see no issue to just casually bringing it up. Be proud of yourself OP.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 hours ago

Congrats! That’s not something to be embarrassed about, thanks for sharing it with us

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I hope you're not keeping that on your bank account. Make it work for you. I've put all my savings into diversified, low-cost index funds.

I recently reached a point that I could pay off my house if I wanted to. I'm really tempted to, but I think I'll just keep it invested.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Is it giving you a higher return than you pay in interest? Personally I'd pay off the mortgage.

[–] Iampossiblyatwork 7 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Spy has been yielding double digit returns for years... That's definitely bigger than most mortgages in the US.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 50 minutes ago (1 children)

Then you should get rid of your mortgage payments and put it all in that.

[–] Iampossiblyatwork 2 points 10 minutes ago

Huh? If my rate of return > mortgage rate it makes more sense to be leveraged. If my mortgage rate was 10% I'd be paying off my mortgage.

[–] sartalon 6 points 4 hours ago

At a minimum, please put that in a high yield savings account. A quick search shows there are still some between 4-5%. Fairly easy to setup and not too bad to get out of, if you need to. (That's free $30-40 a month)

Once there I would consider where to start putting that money to work.

(Just some quick easy advice that you probably already know.)

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Alcohol truly flies under the radar for people as a harmless fun. But it does change you, dropping it will clear your mind and make you happier in the long run unless your social life depends on it. In which case rich social life is still healthier in the sum of all things.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Invest in yourself.

If you like the job you have, see what career training will help you advance.

If you don't like the job, invest in figuring out what career you do want.

[–] MidsizedSedan 7 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

"Like the job i have"

Pro: work in a school. Get holidays as much as the kids do. In Australia. 0 gun threats. (We had 1 rock throwing incedent, and that was solved in the hour). Get paid during the school holidays. Havw 10 paid tharapy sessions per year**

Cons: work with teenagers. Live in bumfuck nowhwre.

*I remember seening a post on reddit about a nurse who couldnt see a therapist about a drunk driver killing an innocent family. All i could think of was me, helping a 14 year old learm what 2x7 was, getting 10 paid theropy sessions a year, while an ICU nurse dealing with 14 hour shifts and possible death on a weekly basis cant get thier mental health check ups. BUT Im alaonplallning ro leave this place. Outback Austrilia does pay well (tried to move out. That was my 1 year of no job. Came back, and got 3 job offers in week 1) but ita still, Outback Australia .

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 hours ago

Well, I'm in the polar opposite of Bumhole, Australia.

Good luck with your endeavors.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago

The good thing about small towns is the cost of living can be low compared to a city. Stack your chips, have an investment strategy, and leave on your terms. It’ll be incredibly satisfying to put your future plans into place when the time is right. Just continue to work on you and get that money working for you as well!

[–] MidsizedSedan 9 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Thinking back, there were many post on R*ddit where i would say to myself "this could have been in the drafts folder" or "this didnt need to be broadcast to the whole internet". Now theres me, proud of an achievement, while someone else on the internet is probably thinking "this didnt need to be broadcast on the internet".

But Im proud of what I did, and am optimistic for the future.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

No this post is very nice to have here because of its positive message. I am guilty of way too much trolling on the web. Being like “lol it’s kinda true but this will cause much ruckus let’s post it” but the recent political situation made me lose all the humour and lightheartedness of little trolling. Time for joking is over.

United in misery is very much a thing and when the situation is normal and good guys are in charge I will hah squabble and bicker and troll a lil bit but in the times of great strife it isn’t proper. The bad times unite ppl.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Congrats! I did a poor job managing finances in my 20s so it wasn’t until last year that I reach my first unclaimed $10k in savings. So don’t be embarrassed, you’re ahead of a significant number of your own age group.

[–] MidsizedSedan 5 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Hindsight is 20/20

PastMe was proud to own 100+ funko pops. Now i want to kick PastMe in the head.

Then again, if it wasnt for PastMe, PresentMe wouldnt exsist...

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Congrats.

Once you get to $10k it starts to matter where you put it - for example a managed fund will make it grow significantly faster than if you left it in the bank.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Don't managed funds have lower growth and significantly higher costs than index funds?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

That's my impression as well. I would recommend making a free account with Schwab or Fidelity and putting your savings in SPY

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 hours ago

That's great! Keep up the good work!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 hours ago

Well done! Having financial stability brings such peace of mind.