Cicero posted:

It's funny, both at Amazon and Google people were like, "oh man, you must work, like, so many hours" when actually I and most of the other devs were at work like 8 hours a day including lunch. Occasionally there's crunch but overall these jobs seem pretty cushy, although I'm sure there are other positions in these companies that are harder.

It was 20%, but as far as I can tell it's not really around in force anymore. Like some people still have 20% projects, but it's not this automatic thing that everybody gets, and you have to get your working on one approved by management, I think.

Sorry but I have a pretty hard time seeing Google move into this space. Doesn't really fit their MO. I agree that'd be pretty cool though.

I posted:

It's come to my attention that my financial situation is terrible. I guess I want some accountability and feedback.

This thread wasn't really to ask for how to change my lifestyle. I went to a military financial councillor in June, made lifestyle cuts, hosed up in July, made more cuts and took budgeting more seriously. Then I posted this thread. The reason that I seem unable to change is because a lot of change has already taken place, as much as possible I guess.

Do they really seem like excuses? I just think that there were options to help the situation, I did the leg work to see if they would pan out, and they won't. There is no silver bullet for this debt, I just have to stop spending money.

It's comforting for me to have 15000 available if I immediately have to leave the country and never come back or something. It's not like I'm a compulsive spender, a vacation is not exactly something you just pick up from the store.

I caused the debt by going on many, many vacations. Last year alone I took fourteen vacations. Each cost well over 1000 dollars. I also bought some stuff I didn't need and lived outside of my means.

Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a debt-free celebration vacation to SE Asia to surf two to three months after the 0 point. Then I'll focus on paying down the car so that I can start saving a down payment for a nice used one.

Which is curtains, sheets, a used mattress (I don't get your guys' pickiness with new mattresses. Everyone uses sheets so whatever), stuff like that.

I buy underarmour boxerjocks. 3" black to be specific. Cheap boxerbriefs are a recipe for chafing, so gently caress that.

And I have to buy underwear next week, which is one of the things I've been building that savings account for. I've had the same three pairs since July 2008, I remember buying them, and they're really getting quite old. That'll be at least 100 bucks.

I knew this was coming and saved for it. I need new socks too but I still have one pair so that's probably going to wait until the new year. I won't tell you how much my socks cost.

I have a 430 dollar speeding ticket that I have to start making payments on in September.

I'm not willing to sacrifice diet for money, but I'm pretty good at eating well for a reasonable amount

I understand that my situation is pretty lovely, but is it a dire emergency?

I'm years away from needing a good credit score, and mine isn't that bad anyway, so it's not a big deal to me.

Do I really need to sell things like my camera (the TV is going for sure though), which is a huge source of free entertainment and possible income and make an even larger cut to my lifestyle than I already have? I mean, this apartment sucks and I hate carpooling, and these are not "things that I don't really use much". Most of the value is in objects that let me do things that I find very fulfilling.

Basically, you guys are saying that I can't possibly afford my life as it is, but my friends, coworkers, parents, pretty much everyone, seem way less alarmed when I tell them the numbers.

That's the thing, none of these people are broke. They don't think I'm broke. They have 5-30k in debt, make 25-75k a year, they make their payments and pay down stuff slowly.

Also, I lent my roommate 200 bucks because he said he'd pay me back 240 on the 15th. I figured a 20% return on a loan was pretty sweet and I know he'll have the money.

The worst part of this for me, and the reason I'm willing to live like a hobo and sell some things, is thinking that, for three hours out of every day I work, it just pays debt. Three more hours feeds my car. Somehow, one of the hours pays for everything else. I am a slave to my car and my debt.

Why is it so necessary to wring everything enjoyable out of my life for three more months closer to being without debt? It's 3 months closer to freedom, yes, but the slavery isn't complete or that bad as long as I don't have to spend two years doing nothing but having sex and walking around this horrible loving town.

I just want to get rid of this debt as quickly as possible.

Wait. Hey, I have a tent, there's this woods behind the old building on base where I lived, it's very private. What if I just take my tent and go live in there? I could sell literally everything I own except for a set of workout gear and my military kit. I'll keep it all under a tarp that I have while I'm not using it. I'll use the shower in the gym and get books from the library and cook my meals in the microwave. I think my expenses will be about 105 a month (groceries, soap, razors, batteries, gas for friends in case I need a ride). It'll take me a year to pay off EVERYTHING, then maybe I'll keep squatting for awhile to build that savings buffer. How does that sound to you guys?

I'm ignoring you now because I can't stand the fact that someone with absolutely no life experience is giving me advice, not just about finances, but about my responsibilities to my country when you didn't even have the spine to get fit and try out yourself. gently caress you.

Yeah I'm pretty proud. Part of the problem, I guess. But I have a lot to be proud of, other than finances obviously.

I'm an officer in the military.

I have literally the bare minimum of training to even be employed as an officer.


And I have shitloads of long term life ambitions. Are the only legitimate ambitions about building up larger and larger piles of savings and investments until you die? gently caress that, too.

I've been reading a lot about finance since I've been in the field, and i'm actually excited by the amount of savings I could have at retirement if I start now.

Food, sleep, and fitness are at the top of my priorities right now. Call it an excuse if you want, but I want you to understand that this is not some impulsive decision to eat steak and avocados all the time (I don't, though I miss avocados), it's a carefully researched and prioritized lifestyle decision that I think is critical to my success and wellbeing.

Groceries are higher than they need to be because of my diet. I buy fresh vegetables and meat and a few supplements. I'm not willing or able to live on beans and rice like you guys recommend, because I have to work out intensely 5-8 times a week. This is very important to me regarding my health and career so it's not going to change.


Field smokes are just cigarettes, that you smoke while in the field. They are a necessity for keeping mosquitoes away and staying awake. And yeah, it's only like 5-10 cigarettes a day. I'm going to quit completely when I'm done training.

Going a week or so without smoking is not a big deal and I do it quite often.

I don't really give a poo poo if I have some cigarettes, but I care a great deal if I eat well.

I wouldn't call myself a health nut, I just know the problems associated with bad diet, see a huge difference in performance when my diet is bad, haven't really personally seen any impact at all from smoking on my fitness

I could shave once or three times a week, but it would be unprofessional and it's an insignificant cost too.

It's going to be so small that it won't really show up on the graph, it's less than 300 a month.

Yeah sorry, I could put that say, 50 bucks a year towards my debt but if you haven't noticed, it's really a drop of water in the loving ocean.

No, I won't die without the bcaas, I went without this month because I couldn't afford them, and it's really just about recovery.

So no, not a need, just something to make me more comfortable and improve performance a little.

oh yeah, and I ordered the bars and bcaa caplets. 110 bucks. I put it on my credit card (grocery points, y'all) to be paid off ASAP, but the compounding date is the 22nd so I don't think it causes any problems if I pay it off before the 22nd next month.

Trust me, I'm not eating like a gourmet, I eat a chunk of meat and a pile of raw vegetables for every single meal. Sometimes I have fruit. I'd rather be bankrupt and living out of a 1980s hatchback than skimp on nutrition.

Also, grocery store had a HUGE meat sale, so I bought tons of tenderloin and salmon fillets with grocery points.

Also, what hardships? Last month was pretty easy, I just had to get my girlfriend on board with the whole budgeting thing. I ate like a king and have a freezer full of tenderloin and salmon. I didn't go to Nova Scotia because of the money, but my family can deal with it.

Sephiroth_IRA posted:

Is that ynab?

Veskit posted:

loving getting there. Now is when the hard parts start to follow because I don't get special amounts of money anymore. By special I mean I had a 3 paycheck January and a bonus in March. Whatever though gently caress it still proud of my progress. I think I'm going to aim to put 500 toward my credit card bill and get that interest payment down. I'm getting hit for only (gently caress me) 95 dollars a month in interest. I would have posted more money now that I think about it but I helped out with car issues. I'll make it right bfc, right?








Edit: I just realized this graph kinda lies in that I have 500 stashed away for rent.

Sundae posted:

I just authorized my final student loan payment. I am officially debt-free!

Sundae posted:

I just authorized my final student loan payment. I am officially debt-free!

Gee, that was fun - let's do it again, this time with mortgages and car payments and babies. (Or not... I don't want any of those.)

I may eat out today to celebrate, though.

100 HOGS AGREE posted:

Sundae posted:

I just authorized my final student loan payment. I am officially debt-free!

zaurg posted:

Why are all these people horrible with money? Schooling failed them? Parents failed them? They're hopeless regardless of the education?

tuyop posted:

Guys, GUYS!

MAKE NO BABBYS posted:

There are multiple apps to divide your contacts into groups, set all personal people in one group and set the work group to go to voicemail automatically. DONE AND DONE, vacation!!

antiga posted:

Zaurg sighting?!

Edit: two days too late to convince slomo to buy that condo. Missed opportunity.

Sephiroth_IRA posted:

Zaurg is in debt but goes further into debt because he can't control his spending.

Cornholio is no longer in debt because he created a budget and stuck with it.

zaurg posted:

Sephiroth_IRA posted:

Why put the money toward your mortgage if you plan to sell? Wouldn't it be better to sell at a loss and invest that money instead?

dreesemonkey posted:

Post your budget-bustinest pictures

tuyop posted:

But seriously.

tuyop posted:

dreesemonkey posted:

Post your budget-bustinest pictures

tuyop posted:

But seriously.

FrozenVent posted:

If the door works fine, swing by Canadian Tire and pick up a $10 can of patch-up paint, clean the area and spray that poo poo on so it doesn't rust. It may or may not look worse than it does now, but it'll at least slow down the rust.

And holy gently caress do you have terrible luck with cars.

Bubbacub posted:

I'm about to turn 29, and I'm kicking myself for not maxing my contribution earlier.

Bubbacub posted:

I have a completely retarded question. If I want to max out my 401k, and my employer has 5% matching, my contribution should be:

($17.5k/salary)-.05

right? What happens if you hit the contribution limit before the end of the year? Will Fidelity just not take the money?

Bubbacub posted:

It's 5% of our yearly income. We also have a pension plan, which I didn't even know about until last week.