Get a financial advisor. Unless finances is your job, hobby, or desire, just use someone else for this. I use Edward Jones but I would imagine there are lots of good options. They can help you figure out how much you need to save for retirement and give you realistic goals and expectations. You might be better off than you think, or it might not be hard to get to where you need to be when you have someone who can help you figure this stuff out. At the very least, looking to Roth IRAs
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I’m getting a lot more downvotes for this than I thought I would. If you disagree, let’s have a discussion. Maybe I’m wrong? But getting a financial advisor made it very easy for me to see what I need to do to retire.
All financial advisors I’ve talked to always tried to sell their mutual funds or some bank product to me. One of them even said the s&p 500 is the worst etf to invest into.
I would recommend against using those then. The one I’m using from Edward Jones is buying funds from a number of different companies, not just specific to Edward Jones. It’s important to ask a potential financial investor how they get paid and that can help you understand whether they’re going to be working in your best interest or not.
Once you’ve lathered up in the shower, throw some of that lather on the chrome in the shower then rinse it off just before you get out. Clean chrome, every day, without doing much.
Manage your email. Unsubscribe from everything that hits your inbox you don’t want. Mark emails as read even if you don’t read them. Automate tagging. Write rules to move things automatically out of your inbox to a different folder. Put time sensitive emails on your calendar. And above all else, use the archive and trash. Keep your inbox clean!
Alternatively, don’t spend any time out effort on that, except flagging/deleting spam, and take advantage of search functionality to immediately find anything you need later on.
Agreed on the calendar use though.
Also I don’t mean do any of that manually. Set a rule for tagging your boss’s emails as ‘boss’. You know you are looking for an email about tps reports. It was either your friend or lumberg. There are also other people who are emailing about tps reports. You can find it faster if you use the boss tag and it was actually him
My boss better not email me on my personal mailbox.
Agreed lol
How immediate is immediately? Tags help you narrow that search. Tags make immediately more immediate 🙂
Unsubscribe is your friend.
FOMO is a marketing strategy.
We want to stay in your inbox so we can temp you on big marketing days.
I have one personal email (posteo, 1 euro per month) that I use for personal correspondences, and one shitty personal email I signed up for in high school that I use for anything where there’s any chance it might make it to some corporate mailing list. I have the posteo address set up alongside work email to notify me when new mails come in, and the junk address I’ll login through firefox like every few days (unless I’m expecting something specific) to skim and mark the most recent mail as read so I know where to start skimming next time.
For work, anything I actually need to deal with I’ll mark as unread until I get around to it, because it’s annoying seeing the icon show I have unread messages. Sometimes “getting around to it” does just mean putting it in a calendar or some other way of making sure I don’t lose track.
I prefer to only use the inbox for anything that is unread that I haven’t read.
At work, we have to use outlook, which has a handy macro feature. I wrote wrote one to flag an email, mark it as unread, and move it out of my inbox into a different folder. That way it is out of my inbox, has a number indicating how many items I have left to complete, and is given priority over other emails. Use cases and email systems vary, but maybe something like that could help you
Bonus. If you are forced to use outlook against your will, you can benefit from the todo app. Any email you flag will be automatically put as a todo along with a link to the email.
Except for special cases, you don’t actually have to do a task fully. You can pick at it as you go.
For example, i almost never do all the dishes at once. I just do 1-2 when i pass by the kitchen and i have a minute or two to spare. Without even realizing it or barely feel the energy or the time used, the task is either done or it is much smaller and more manageable.
This can apply to most adulting tasks by my experience.
This is a good one!
I found this out when i had cancer and taking care of the kids. No time for making extra time for tasks; so combining was a necessity. waking up, bring the laundry basket down the hall to the kitchen, make breakfast for kids, when going to the garage to take the kids to school bring basket on the way to laundry room. Getting home toss laundry in. when heading out to pick kids up switch them to the dryer. come back bring basket off dried stuff back in to room. Other stuff like fold towels while sitting on toilet.
Gg on beating that cancer <3
I had an awesome team of GP, Surgeon, Oncologist, dentistry, coordinators radiologists, nurses, ENT, porters, etc people in Lower Mainland BC. People complain about healthcare here, but when you are legit sick, they work fast and focused.
If you can optimise those by doing small task while waiting, e.g. when the microwave/oven is running, while you’re watching TV etc. then you can effectively do chores without losing time as well
Plus it makes it feel like a game, kinda. I hate doing the dishes, but can I finish before the pot boils over? I load folding laundry but can I do it before my show is over? Etc
Never leave without an appointment. When doing routine things like the dentist or yearly car inspection make the next appointment on your way out. If booking your next dentist visit 6 months out you get your choice of any time you like. Just stick it in your calendar and move on.
The only time that voice doesn’t work is if the people you’re making an appointment with only schedule out a certain time in advance and you need to go out longer. The cardiologist office I go to only ever lets you schedule 6 months in advance and I gotta go yearly, so I don’t have that luxury.
Try to think of something for which you are grateful every day. I have a reminder on all my devices for this daily and I think of three things.
- I got to see Reign of Fire in cinemas.
- Climate change means you can wear pyjamas or scuba gear to walk down the street an no one will bat an eye.
- Eggnog still exists
Do you have any gratitudes that are in heavy rotation? My husband and me moving back to my beloved Pacific Northwest are two of my favs.
Budget. Don’t need to be fancy. But build a view on the things that you’ll need to pay for over the year (Christmas, birthdays, holidays, car service, boiler service etc) and actually put money aside every month to pay for those things. Nothing beats the adult feeling of “yes, I’ll just pay for this thing here from this envelope and done”.
And if you’re uncertain about the exact numbers always overestimate costs and underestimate income.
Be rich. Makes everything so much easier.
Solves being poor 100% of the time!
Toilet roll under if you have a cat or pet who likes to rip off bits of them.
Toilet roll over for everything else.
Or just install a door on your bathroom and hang the toilet roll over.
My cats: TOILET ROLL UNDER CANNOT STOP ME
Don’t be fat
Also don’t not be not fat
Also don’t not be not fat
Guys, tetris agrees with above guy…count the negatives…
oh they know, they just think the humour is weak
Save & invest 50% of your paycheck for 10 years, and you could technically retire (as long as your cost base does not go up).
You can, if you can. I think most people can’t do that though.
The better lesson would be to teach compound interest. Somebody that invests $2k every year for 10 years and then stops will have more money than somebody who starts in year 11 and does so for the rest of their life.
That’s sort of the point I was trying to make with an example, but it appears it fell flat. Compound interest and resisting lifestyle inflation, can really help people in the long-run.
Why don’t you save All the money you’ve earned?
If I didn’t eat, I’d have money to burn!
Just 50%?
50%??💀
i like these threads; it shows how disconnected from reality some of us are.
It’s easy, just stop paying rent and eating.
as long as your cost base does not go up
Inflation and greedflation would like a word.
Inflation
That’s what the investing is for isn’t it?
So if the investment is for inflation, what are you going to survive from?
Historically, investing in a broad-market index fund has seen 8-12% annual returns. Average inflation in the US has been around 2-3%. Subtract another 3-4% for taxes, and you’re still making at least 3%.
Anyways, the point is more about the fact how powerful saving & compounding is. Save early in life, and try to not inflate your lifestyle too much, and then you can technically reach financial independence.
If you can set aside 50 % of your money, you are already independent.
I was able to do that for a few years bit I was living with my parents and paying them a pittance for rent. Certainly not independent. All my expenses shot up when I left but I was able to pay a lot of my loans off before that.
No, independent would mean you could cease that source of income and maintain your lifestyle. If you save 50% of your first paycheck and then quit I doubt that would be the case.
Being able to set that much aside would definitely make one wealthy (or live a very austere lifestyle) and fast track them toward independence, but it’s not an automatic qualifier.
You call 3% significant gains? I mean it’s better than nothing, but i don’t think it’s going to be worth breaking one’s neck over
I’m not sure anyone called it significant gains?
Anyways, 50% is really just an example to show what can be possible through saving & investing. Saving any amount of money, at a regular rate, can quickly become more than you think, when compounding is in play.
Past performance is no guarantee of future gains
Agreed, no investment can be guaranteed. However, average return of s&p 500 over 100 years has been 10%. Average return of an example index-fund, VTI, since inception in 2001 has been around 8%.
I’m of the opinion that the stock market is overvalued right now, mainly pumped up by tech stocks which are overvalued due to AI hype. I can’t help but think eventually all the baby boomers are going to want to cash out and enjoy their invested money while they’re still alive.
But on another note, do you expect the stock market to perpetually trend up? I suppose inflation helps keep stock prices up because the dollar is worth less than before.
Save & invest 50% of your paycheck
So, we eat cake, then? Tell us again how to isolate that 50% when so many people are food-insecure at 0% saved.
Doesn’t have to be 50%, that’s merely an example to illustrate the power of compounding & resisting lifestyle creep. If you take anything away, it’s to try to save & invest what you can, as young as you can, and to resist the urge to “keep up with the Joneses”. That will put you in a much healthier financial position. I don’t know your situation, and you don’t know mine.
Check yo privilege
The career you chose out of high school doesn’t have to be the one you do until you retire and you can also very easily go back to school if you are ever unsatisfied with your path.
Sometimes it just takes a bit of time and experience for you to find your passion and with it your skills to really blossom.
I, for instance started with veterinary nursing, but ended up in mech/elec. engineering and will be taking classes on the side for it.
Hey, similar to me! I was a veterinarian receptionist for years, then went back to school and got my associates in cad and now I’m a substation designer.
Very true, more people should follow their dreams.
I know a guy who was kind of forced into an IT university. His parents thought it would be a good fit, as he likes computers and videogames.
He one day decided to quit and took some time off and started working in some fancy hotel kitchen as a temp job, while spending some time away from the family. Fast forward a couple years, he is now in culinary school and wants to become a chef. Needless to say he is happier and visibly has a better mental health as before.
As someone who went from being miserable running a pizza kitchen, to my dream job of being a software engineer, I can’t fathom how anyone would want to go the opposite direction. Everyone has different preferences I suppose.
No idea, also not my ideal preference, but he seem to like it, while he was miserable with the IT school.
Needless to say he is happier
That’s just the coke.
If you have to deal frequently with toilets with flush sensors at your office (or really any public restroom), you’ve probably been grossed out by them flushing (and spraying water at you) before you’re ready.
As an adult, I learned that handle-adjacent sensors can be dealt with by hanging TP over them, and won’t flush until you remove it as you’re leaving the stall. Wall sensors (like one infamous office toilet I deal with) can be handled with a post it note placed over the sensor; I keep some at the office just for this purpose. In an emergency, sometimes spit-dabbing a piece of TP can stick it to the wall over the sensor, but this isn’t as reliable.
Just get into these habits when you use sensor toilets, and you’ll never have to worry about disgusting flush spray from prematurely flushing public toilets ever again.
Genius! Thanks
It not too late to learn a new skill or pick up a new hobby. If you hear of something that sounds fun, dive in!
You can say no: to volunteer work, to events you don’t want to go to, to doing favors to people. The power of no is amazing
Use a virtual credit card when signing up for subscription services. Set the recurring amount at just enough to cover the trial amount, and then once the subscription fee goes up it’ll notify you if you wish to continue paying for it. You can increase the limit if you want to keep the service, or just let the card decline until the service is cancelled. Most credit cards have virtual cards as an option, but I also use app.paywithextend.com
THANK you! Wish I had known this app two weeks ago. Neither of my banks have virtual credit cards. The one CSR even said “That’s a great idea! I’ll pass that along.” 🙄
Be careful with the declining part. I believe some companies, notably gym memberships, have ways to make your life difficult if your payment doesn’t go through
Avoid subscription services. You may pay more short term, but you won’t have to remember to cancel anything
This, the only monthly subscription I have is internet plan from my cellular provider (15GB for $5 at 10mbps). Zero regrets
Any cheaper showoffs are welcomed :)
PS: I don’t get why people subscribe to music services. I mean, you could just download your favorites and listen locally…
Sure, I could, and would like to own my copies. It’s just that would be a lot of work and money with the experience ultimately being worse.
They trick you to think it is (by screaming features at you that you soldemly need), but IMHO, it’s not. I only have a couple of songs that I like, and shazam new songs that I will hear along the way.
I honestly think that shazam is the only proper feature that I just might pay subscription for. It’s brilliant. It just works, every time!
I have a service that extracts my playback data.
I’m fairly confident I would not just discover 6700 different artists by word of mouth, searching, or shazam combined. It would take a lifetime.
Shazam identifies music that’s playing- where is it playing from in the first place?We seem to have different use cases.
Exactly. I want to discover new artists, and sometimes I accidentally discover old artists that I should have known about but sheltered, raised-on-small-town-Midwestern-radio old me never could.
Okay, let’s say you’re really into this feature.
With all the enshitifications global conglomerates are doing, how sure are you that the company will hold on to the promises they made?
I mean, this data is on their servers, right? (Even if it is stored locally, it’s probably scrambled, like the local downloaded music, so that no one else can take advantage of it)
We all forget that these companies operate on a “for profit” basis and will always find ways to maximize it.
Why? Corporate overlords are greedy. Not that I’m against it. They just soldemly ignore the “imaginary line” to absurdity that should not be crossed.
After all, even google found a way to go around the “don’t be evil” policy; right now, I get shoved a minimum of 6 ads, each video 😡
Spotify users, get ready for ads right before the chorus of your fav songs.
cook for yourself at least once a week. Not only is it a good skill to keep polished, you get great control over what you’re actually eating. Keeps you grounded to society, the cost of primary prices, and you can compare kitchen costs versus restaurant cost easily. It keeps you involved in society.
Nice to hear it not framed around health only, for once. From most advice it is seemingly impossible to live a healthy life if you dont cook yourself six days a week. Which seems ridicilous. Particularly for one who doesnt enjoy cooking (even though I do know how to cook decent meals).
Wish there was restaurants around here that was more like mess halls, priced at a level everyone could afford to eat at every day, made from healthy local ingredients, shared tables, no attempt at “mood” or theme, no waiters, you get whats served today and no alternatives except for those with particual dietary needs. I ate at the local poor-house once and it was almost what I would have wanted if they just got rid of the preacher and added a payment terminal. I heard those kinda eateries were common back around the early 1900. Why we at some point decided that everyone should mostly cook their own meals, or buy over-salted pre-made meals, and that restaurants should either be a luxury and involve a lot of waiting for a table and a waiter and the meal and the oversized bill and the waiter again to pay, or be fastfood so unbalanced that nobody should really eat it daily.
If you like Indian, there are places that serve Thali lunch or sign up for thali delivery. it is a prescribed meal with some flexible choices but basically slap down $10 and you get a metal tray with 3 curries, soup, rice and bread. Everyone has the same tray, like you see in prison shows
From most advice it is seemingly impossible to live a healthy life if you dont cook yourself six days a week
For health reasons I am on a diet that has minimal carbohydrates, almost zero. And no seed oils.
For my health journey, it is impossible to eat at a restaurant healthily. even if I order straight meat, many restaurants will cook it in seed oil, so I can never be sure. I.e. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8w8LKwOeO0
My only option is basically a salad. Which is fine, but not sustainable.
That sucks.
But it IS solvable, if a restaurant’s goal wasnt purely to earn the most money possible, I would think. Maybe not on-demand but if they knew you’d be eating daily (subscribtion?) then having a slower no-contaminant part of a kitchen making dietary-different meals would be a nice addition.
If I may ask, why can’t you have seed oils?
inflamation
A helpful “rule” I set for myself to encourage myself to cook more was to allow myself to indulge if it was a proper, homecooked meal. Stuff like splurging on fancied ingredients (I’m fond of salmon), or having an extra cheesy lasagne. It was a useful carrot to dangle in front of myself, and a useful stepping stone to better habits. I also would sometimes cook for friends, like informal dinner parties (I always found it easier to cook for 4 than for 1)
On the cost side of things, even my fancier meals were still cheaper than takeout. Plus it’s easier to eat healthier if you’re already cooking for yourself often (and I even broke that down into smaller chunks too — I first focussed on adding more veg and general nutrition, then I reduced the proportion of healthy stuff)
Build up a routine of scheduled exercise. It’s amazing when you get deep into a job how little time you have, and it’s easy to put exercise to the wayside. Make it part of your schedule when it’s flexible, and then hold it when it becomes difficult. Exercise has massive outside benefits to overall health mood etc
Yes! I got a stationary bike and set it up with a view of the TV. Now instead of just sitting on the couch watching TV I at least get exercise doing it.
Exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you 👍
