Talk to an actual human loan officer and not the automated system flagging your application as coming from offshore.

Alternatively find a new mortgage broker. Five weeks should be enough time for them to close.

It would be wise to pay off the entire $3,000.

Don't put stuff on a credit card unless you have the money to pay it off.

Of course there’s reasons.

Stock market averages are just that - averages of past history, not guarantees.  History may or may not be indicative of future performance, and it certainly isn’t guaranteed.

Investment returns are also taxable.  So assuming you really do get 8% to 9%, it’ll probably be more like 6% after taxes.  Not guaranteed.

Your portfolio doesn’t help your monthly budget.  The bigger your mortgage, the bigger your payment, the more stress on your monthly budget.

If you want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, you have to compare guaranteed (your mortgage rate) to guaranteed (FDIC insured deposits).  And those are less.

Finally, an ARM is dumb right now.  If rates go up, you’re screwed.  If rates go down, you were going to refinance anyway.  So just take the fixed.

Am I crazy? How are you netting 8.5K/month at that salary? My wife and I gross 160k+ and bring home about 9200. We are only putting in our match for 401K. 

Is your disability included in that 8.5K?

It sounds like you don't really understand how credit cards should be working. 

You should buy the guitar only if you can pay if off in full before the due date. There is zero reason to keep any rolling balance on any card. You should NEVER have to pay interest on a credit card.

I have a 800 score with about 1% utilization and have never paid a dollar in interest so there is no need to worry about utilization for your credit score. Pay it and forget about it.

Start here: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics.

>I don't really care about my life outside of work either. 

Bro, you don't have a life outside of work.

Time to speak with your manager and don't pretend you are superman, none of us are and the sooner you accept that fact the better off everyone will be including your team. A burnt-out employee is a net negative.

I don't know how old you are but you really need to ask yourself if this is all that you expect from your life? You can never turn back time so investing all your time in programming means you aren't taking care of your health, finding a romantic partner, going on vacations or spending time with your family.

I've come to the conclusion that no one in Earth has enough marketable skills right now. You could have experience with two dozen techs and they'll eliminate you for not having *their* tech stack, or missing one of their thirty requirements, or for having one tech too many and they'll worry you'll jump ship. There is literally no way to win. Sure jobs are posted, but these companies have no intention of filling the position.

Bike. Public transport. Find someone at work to ride with. Buy a car.

Sounds like depression even if your life outside of work feels meaningless. Go get professional help.

Find a well paying job you don’t hate that allows you the freedom and flexibility to spend more time on your interests! Maybe a WFH position? You definitely don’t need to source all your happiness from your career and would recommend you don’t. If something happens to your job then you’re back to square one. Create a life of balance that allows both.

How far away is the new job? An electric scooter +public transportation could be the temporary answer.

> I am getting an ARM @ 6%

What are the terms of the ARM? Personally, I think I would be prone to not put more down, invest in in the meantime, and then see what the next mortgage looks like.

Bonus is that you have access to the money in the interim. New house purchases have a tendancy to throw you an unexpect, expensive surprise or two.

Once your hobbies become your job, they become considerably less fun. Work is work, and it’s always going to be kind of boring. I think the best thing to do is find a career that pays well that you sort of like, and then use that money to take time off to travel, buy cool photography gear, make music, whatever makes you happy. Find fulfillment outside of work.

I think youre good with those skills dude. Market is just ass right now. Back in a decent market, I was getting DE interviews just with Python, SQL and Data Modeling skills. Even after adding to my skillset from before and having faang as my current employer, I aint getting any call backs. Keep leetcoding and be patient for opportunities or things to turn around. Thats what Im doing

How do you meet your income? This is a very difficult decision how did you make this decision?

I also want to live a life like this by creating my own venture. I have created two products, but I don't know if I'm on the right track. Is there anything you can offer me?

You may still be depressed outside of work. But your job is definitely not helping. Nothing is worth your mental health slipping.

Enjoyed the read. Saved it to refer back to later.

What is the difference between the ARM and the fixed rate? If it's 6% v 6.1%, I'd go fixed. If it's 6 instead of 7, I'd go ARM. Either way, I'd be aggressively paying it down beyond the minimum payment. 

0) Pay existing mortgage, car, credit card minimum payments (in that order)

1) Set baseline emergency fund

2) Money into retirement accounts where there is an employer match, until the match limit is reached

3) Credit cards - get them current and keep them there

4) Pay off debt with rates exceeding 5%

5) Full emergency fund

6) Max retirement accounts

7) Other investment accounts.

That's the waterfall off the top of my head. Start at the top and work down.

Nice write up, really appreciate you sharing this! Also congrats on getting into YC, would you mind sharing your application? Background sounds wild considering you were delivering groceries before this.

Congrats! What field are you in and how many years of experience do you have before you went out on your own?

i’m very proud of myself. i F16 decided to make a reddit account for my dads company. which resulted in someone finding out about his company and buying product for 550$. obviously i got paid to make the account for him but i’m very proud of myself and happy. 

P.S: Please give me any tips you have, i would appreciate it a lot!

also if you want the business website or out reddit just send me a text because i don’t want to be advertising anything on this account or in this sub!

i just made my dad 550$

**Key Takeaways**

* Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, labeled Bitcoin as a "fraud" and a "Ponzi scheme" in a recent Bloomberg interview, questioning its legitimacy as a currency;
* Despite his skepticism, Dimon recognized the potential value of cryptocurrencies that enable technologies like smart contracts and blockchain functionalities;
* Over the years, Dimon has consistently criticized Bitcoin for its association with illegal activities.

JPMorgan CEO Says Bitcoin is a "Fraud," Doubts Its Potential

This might sound a bit conspiratorial, but I've heard many anecdotal cases where a large portion of staff was fired and their workload was shuffled onto the remaining employees. A tale as old as time, but I don't think this is sustainable: unrealistic deadlines will be blown, overworked employees will burn out. Eventually those aggressive staff cuts will have to be walked back somewhat.

Is it just me sniffing copium, or is market over-correcting when it comes to downsizing?

Are employers trying to "artificially" reduce demand for workers?

I gave my company almost a whole months notice.  My last day will be next Friday, and while I love my job the culture and hierarchy here sucks.  

They have the mentality of that’s the way it’s always been and have no intention of progressing forward into the 21st century.   At the end of this month seven people will have left this company since the beginning of the year, with another three on the fence about leaving. 

We are overworked and given more projects than we can handle, and they fail to hire more people.  If you talk to HR and say you have too much responsibility and need one of your bosses taken off your plate, they put that information straight into the garbage can and set it on fire.  

Mind you they hired a new person to take one of my responsibilities and another coworker responsibilities.  The rest will just be spread out amongst a very thinking heard of other coworkers. 

How do I politely and professionally say fuck this place and the company will fail and continue to have high turnover if they don’t change in my exit interview? 

How do you say f*** this place professionally in an exit interview? 

Have you ever looked back on a mistake and realized it was a blessing in disguise, leading you to unexpected opportunities? It's like connecting the dots in reverse, seeing how each misstep paved the way for something better in the end.

Conversely, have you experienced failures that seemed to derail your career completely? It's important to share these stories too, as they offer valuable lessons for others navigating their own paths.

What's the most important lesson you've learned from a failure in your career?

A recruiter reached out to me for $110k position. They're now saying after discussing it further with the team, it's a $92k position and asked am I still interested. I feel like they're a resume collector or this was their in to talk to me. I'm really turned off, but I like interview practice. I told them I'd think about it. How long do I wait to get back to them? 

All I want is interview practice out of this. 

Edit: I didn't say I was taking the job, I'm taking the interview. 

How do I outmaneuver a recruiter who bait and switched me?

I've been running our(40m, 41f, 1 kid) FIRE numbers and reaching a conclusion: there's a big cliff when you retire early.

Assumptions: 3-4% annual raises. 6% average real return. I don't get fired or sick.

40: Impossible to retire now without greatly cutting expenses  
48-50: Possible to retire with somewhat reduced expenses  
53: Can Retire  
58: Can retire with a lot of extra money (2x *current* living expenses)  
65: Can retire with a metric shit ton of money that will grow forever and support my kids indefinitely. The delta is >10m over what I have now. In today's dollars. Probably close to 25m in nominal dollars.

Problem:  
1. Can't spend it when you're dead.  
2. Urgent needs now.  


How do you handle this tradeoff? There's a version of us that is reasonably health at 60-65 and richer than God (like, well off professional rich), but retiring early while possible, is an incredibly meager existence. Right now I'm donating 7% of our income to a particular charity per year. I could 10x the annual donations by retiring at 58. Or 20x it by retiring at 65. It's important to me. But I'd like to live too.  


&#x200B;

The cliff is steep: How do you choose to retire early when working 5 more years can bring so much more

Does anyone know why stocks climb relatively slowly but dump so quickly?  I know the basics, more selling than buying. But how is it that going up is slow and steady, but going down is like a drill?  Shouldn’t they be relatively the same pace?  Just curious, no panicking or changing my investment strategy. I’m mostly in the S&P anyway 

Nasdaq 100 - 3 months of gains wiped out in about a week 

I'm going into month 7 of being unemployed as a former data analyst. I'm continuing to apply but I'm worried going any longer or crossing into the 1 yr+ territory will definitely put me at a disadvantage or will make it seem as though something's wrong with me.

What's the longest some of ya'll have gone unemployed before finding work again?

Came to agreement with my employer on separation terms and I’m out. I don’t know if it’s for good, I’m still young, but it will certainly be a long while before I work for income again. First thing I did was turned my morning alarm off followed by made myself a drink.   
can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings! 

So I finally did it

Hey yeah I'm very burned out or depressed or whatever the term is these days.

I used to be able to push through it and keep coding. But I can't anymore after a few years of things becoming harder and not feeling well supported.

I am responsible for managing developers and I used to find the time to contribute technically as well.

But then my team went through layoffs. And then more layoffs. And now I don't have the support from a full software team but still have to manage an even larger portfolio of products than before the layoffs.

I didn't want to keep delivering the same volume of work personally as before I had more people helping cover on different things. So I pulled back on development personally.

Now I delegate everything to the remaining team members and more or less just sit around all day anxiously monitoring alerts and jumping in when people are stuck for a few minutes here or there.

Even though I have lots of time to myself, I can't bring myself to code. I just feel like there is no point. I can't focus and feel like an anxious mess.

I feel sad because I really like programming and at one time I thought I was quite good at it. I built most of the software for the products at this company from the ground up personally. But now I can't even really find the energy to touch anything. I feel instantly very rushed to get it done immediately and for whatever reason do not feel I can take my time at all to do a good job even though there is no pressure. When I encounter hard problems I can't focus long enough to solve them and end up giving up.

My boss does ask if I am burning out because of these staffing changes and increased workload, but I do not admit it to him. He arranged this situation in the first place and is benefitting from it, I don't think it will result in help from him if I say I am burning out. Historically I have asked for help with things but he never goes anywhere with it and things dont change in a way that makes it easier for me so i gave up. Asking for help feels like it will result in more attention and eventually being shown the door. 

Everyone around me is still trying hard to deliver good work. I don't really even care. I don't really care about my life outside of work either. I can't sleep and I don't want to go outside. I dont feel much.

Perversely I end up feeling like this is somehow all my fault. Like if I had done a better job in my work then maybe I wouldn't be feeling so disengaged and down all the time. But I don't really know what I could have done differently. 

It would be hard to find another job that pays as much. Even if I do I am scared I will still not be able to code in the new job as well. Not sure what to do.

So burned out I can't seem to program anymore. Unsure next steps

I've heard recently that it's ideal to keep your cc utilization at 30% or lower.  I'm in the army and I'll be in California for the next year.  I recently got approved for a cc with a limit of $6k.  I want to purchase a guitar totalling around $3k after tax, which would put me at 50% utilization.  Would it be wise to immediately pay off $1k from the card to keep utilization around 30%, or is it ok to pay the minimum payments as scheduled?

Update: thanks for the comments everyone.  I now understand how to use the credit card in my guitar purchase in a way that's beneficial to my credit. 

Would it be wise to immediately pay off a percentage of my new credit card after a large purchase to keep utilization under 30%?

Currently in the process of getting a mortgage with Bank of America. Just got an email saying I can’t continue because the country I am in is “not on our approved list”, and I can continue once I am “back in the US.” I can’t find any information on Bank of America’s website about this. I am also confused because it’s not like I am getting a mortgage while being based abroad, I am just traveling for work for three weeks. And the entire process is virtual for now, so it’s not like I need to sign anything in person. Need advice, what options do I have? My closing date is supposed to be less than 2 weeks after I get back to the US.

Bank says I can’t continue mortgage process because I am traveling abroad for work.

It's been 8 months now since I left my job and went all in into my things. and it's been amazing

* I wake up when I want. Earlier I had to wake up at 8 AM just because I needed to go to the office at 9 AM.
* I sleep whenever I want. take a nap in the afternoon.
* I don't have unnecessary meetings now. earlier there was a meeting for everything.
* I travel to wherever I want to go. I just need my laptop. earlier I had to ask for permission for leaves and for a certain number of days only.
* If I don't want to work any day, I just don't work.  I feel free.

In 8 months

* I have worked with 10 awesome founders.
* Talked with numerous awesome founders and people.
* Been to Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, India
* Last month I was in mountainous areas for a couple of weeks.
* Once you go all in into whatever you are doing, you will not ever want to go back.

Edit:

What happened in those 8 months income wise?

* Sold 2 products
* Started a Development company in Singapore which is crossing $70K in revenue soon.
* I also launched multiple products earlier as well but those were B2C, but now my focus is on B2B SaaS products.

My old journey

* So far launched 40+ products.
* Shut down some of them because they were not getting traction, got some initial users but not more than that.
* In 2020, I started a fintech product, able to reach to 5K users and tried to raise funds but failed. but now my focus is on bootstrapping as much as I can.

Background

- I am CS graduate from 2017. 

- But building products since 2015.

- Always wanted to do something on my own but never had a chance because of situations in life like everybody does. 

- But last year I thought to F it, you only live once. And went on to do what I always wanted to do. 

- Journey is long, and We keep pushing 

It's been 8 months now since I left my job. and it's been amazing

So currently I am getting no satisfaction from my job, I work in a somewhat healthcare related field and I know this might sound bad but I get no fulfillment from it. I spend every day bummed and lamenting the fact I am not doing something more intune with my interests, working in a field I love, spending each day doing something I find meaningful.

The trouble is, everything I am interested in either has no real career related to it, or any jobs related to it are very low paying jobs.. For instance I love kayaking and being on the water, if I could be a instructor, or work at a paddlesports store or business, I would be so happy, but both of those jobs pay like 15-17$ an hour IF you are lucky. 

Same with all my other interests, music, hiking, biking, running, skateboarding, photography, traveling, cooking.. that kind of stuff. None of them have any stable jobs that guarantee a good income. 

Anything else I would be super interested in, low pay. My dream jobs: Bicycle mechanic, low pay. Skate shop employee, low pay. Food truck/ neat restaurant chef, low pay. Running coach, low pay. Music venue stagehand/ sound/ lighting tech, low pay. Travel or hiking guide, low pay. Travel photography, my absolute dream job, no guaranteed pay at all. Its like this for everything im interested in.

Now, notice I say interests, not passions. Because I know people who DO work in these fields, and while they seem happy, they all also have a "I dont care how much money I make as long as I get to do what I love" attitude. I really admire that thinking but I cant feel the same way. You seem to have to put away the need for money and be happy with the struggle and the fact you get to do what you care about.

As happy as these people seem, alot of work they do is seasonal or contact/ gig work. I personally like to know I have money coming. I dont want to be poor. I want to retire someday, Im sure saving for it is hard with the jobs I am interested in. I doubt if these jobs have good benefits or any at all. I like to travel which costs money, and also I have parent with health issues, and I know eventually it will be on me to take care of them. 

So it seems my options are: Keep working at jobs I have no interest in, just so I have money to do the things I enjoy and take care of my life, but be unhappy and not enjoying it. OR: go into a field I would enjoy more, possibly be more fulfilled, but make way less money, so I would also be unhappy.

What do internet? What do?

Are my options really be unhappy or be poor?

This is the story of why we pivoted from [usedouble.com](https://usedouble.com), which was making [$5k MRR only 6 months after launch](https://i.imgur.com/xeZCtBM.png), to build [double.bot](https://www.double.bot) from scratch

# Background

A friend and I were running a grocery delivery service in Toronto. One of the worst parts was having to place inventory resupply orders almost every night, as you have to deal with different vendor websites and emails.

We have a background in engineering, but automating this task was hard due to the small amount of decision making it involves (i.e We are out of diet coke, should we order this listing for a six pack of diet coke cans, or do we need diet coke bottles?)

That is until OpenAI’s davinci-003 was released. At that point, we decided to build a tool to automate the process. The MVP of this was a spreadsheet with davinci-003 commands, this was the start of usedouble.com and we applied and got early into Y Combinator’s Winter 2023 batch.



# Getting the first users

usedouble.com was launched with a [tweet](https://x.com/WesleyYue/status/1587173614264238081) and a [hackernews comment](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33442851). Back then any GPT-3 demo would go viral on Twitter and spreadsheets were somewhat of an untapped niche so getting early interest was easy. 

The product didn’t do much other than let you feed information within your spreadsheet into GPT-3 and have the output organized in cells. Talking to our users led us to building a web scraper (people were unfamiliar with LLM hallucinations back then, and didn’t understand it lacked context from the web), so you could ask GPT-3 to find information from the web and put it in your spreadsheet. All of this sounds basic now but at the time was novel.

The Twitter and HackerNews engagement got us to 1,000+ users on our waitlist. From there on, our biggest growth drivers were Reddit posts ([example](https://www.reddit.com/r/artificial/comments/11w2qmq/i_built_a_gpt_web_app_to_automate_searching_and/)), AI tools aggregators ([example](https://theresanaiforthat.com/ai/double/?ref=search&term=usedouble.com) and another [example](https://www.futuretools.io/tools/double)), and some Youtube videos ([example](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGEX-E8ewNs&t=4s)), in that order. On top of this, we also did a [Product Hunt launch](https://www.producthunt.com/products/double-3#double-5) and scored top 5. A not so known fact is that when you place top 5, they amplify you the next day on their socials and newsletter, which drives a ton of traffic.

Reddit was particularly great because once you have a few posts with a ton of traffic, you rank super high on SEO. And it's evergreen, to this day it still brings us traffic despite us not putting any further effort.


# Niching down

At this point we were not monetizing and although we had a few people using it regularly, the product was very horizontal, and was not tailored to anything specific. So naturally the next question was who is most willing to pay for it. At this time, our LLM costs also started creeping up too, we brought up a paywall in March 2023, our OpenAI bill was:

$7.18 in Dec 2022

$31.46 in Jan 2023

$512.86 in Feb 2023

So it was quickly getting out of hand. After more calls with users, it became clear that sales teams were the group most willing to pay us for our AI spreadsheet, so we started to build workflows and tools specifically for them.

We shipped new features so that you could import a list of leads onto usedouble.com, find and verify emails for them with 1 button, and enrich the leads with information from throughout the web using simple workflows that required only basic prompting. Later on we added webhooks to push and pull information from your CRM.

The most popular tool on usedouble.com was the “Online AI instruction”, which takes your question, turns it into a Google Search query, searches Google, and reads the results, and uses that to provide an answer to your original question with citations. Later on, we built specific scrappers to be able to pull data from LinkedIn, Crunchbase, Google Maps, and other aggregators. You can think of it as Perplexity AI, but in bulk.

# Problems to be solved

There was always interest for more data sources, and although you could keep adding every data aggregator to your app (similar to what Clay has done), one of the issues was the low differentiation and low pricing power of the data. Everyone has access to the same data aggregators, so we could sell verified emails for 5 cents, but if we were to charge 10 cents then soon users would compare us to other services that charge a few mere cents less. A superior UX could get us some sort of pricing premium but not much.

We also noticed that most users would import a list once, enrich it, and then not come back for months. This wasn’t always the case for bigger sales teams who had a constant need to churn through leads, but true for most of our users at the time. We were not solving an urgent, recurrent problem for these users.

Another insight we uncovered was that most users actually need very simple enrichment (phone numbers, emails, Instagram handles, LinkedIn URLs), which are better served by traditional methods with which LLMs can’t compete economically. The people that want long tail enrichments are actually not that common (but they do exist).

# Experimenting with outbound campaigns

Once people brought their lists to usedouble.com and enriched them, their next usual step was to launch an outbound campaign. So we thought this would be a natural next step to deliver more value to our users, and keep them coming back. Once you have visibility over their outbound campaigns, you can also measure conversion rates and see exactly how much value you are providing, instead of selling leads at market rates.

Our core hypothesis was that if we could do a better job at researching prospects at scale, we could then send more relevant emails which will convert better. Makes sense, right?

We set out to prove this hypothesis with a handful of enterprise users who paid us to handle their outbound campaigns. For 2 months we ran custom enrichment flows, and then used the information to write personalized emails, all within our AI spreadsheet. At this time we were sending around 10,000 emails per week.

Our personalized emails did not convert any better than using proven templates with a couple of custom fields, which was what these companies were already using, and their preference was to keep our enrichment service and pair it with their existing templates.

We learned the hard way that for most products, it isn’t always possible to figure out whether a prospect has the specific problem they can solve based solely on public information. It is also cheap to just send an incremental email, with almost no penalty to having a low hit rate. So you can just send more emails whether or not they are the ideal target. 

# Pivoting

After disproving our hypothesis, we took another look at our data enrichment product and questioned whether this was the biggest opportunity for us to pursue in the AI era. We started to experiment with other ideas ([some which went viral](https://twitter.com/gdb/status/1721745643578818560)) and eventually settled on AI coding copilots.

Throughout all of this time, we had been using AI to help us code faster, but some of our favorite tools like Github Copilot had not gotten any better. In fact, the most upvoted bugs from a year ago are still at the top of their list 2 years later, crazy! (Examples: [2 years+](https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/8375), [2 years](https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/15656), [3 years](https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/6975), [3 years](https://github.com/orgs/community/discussions/7942)).

We launched [double.bot](https://www.double.bot) with the goal of building the best AI coding copilot experience, and within the first 2 weeks of launching we managed to get 10,000 users, plus fix all of [Github Copilot's bugs](https://docs.double.bot/copilot), but that’s a separate post. 

# Takeaways 

* When possible, charge more. We launched as a self-serve product with a free tier and plans starting at $20/mo. Our growth accelerated when we switched to B2B / “talk to sales” starting at $500/mo. The product didn’t change, but our growth trajectory did, and so did the quality of our users (our new higher paying users were more involved and willing to give more feedback)

* Don’t always listen to your users. Listening to users feedback and feature requests is a good idea, but I’d advise against shifting your entire value proposition based on users. This is what led us to exploring questions like “Can personalized emails lead to better outcomes?” which a sales expert might shut down immediately, but some of our users were not experienced sales professionals and neither were we, so we spent time learning the basics and experimenting with it.

* It is much easier to work on a problem that you personally have a deep understanding in. When we built [usedouble.com](https://www.usedouble.com), we knew nothing about sales. When we build [double.bot](https://www.double.bot), we are building for ourselves. 

* Incremental growth strategies are underrated. I am continuously surprised how many people still show up and use usedouble.com to this day, despite us not promoting it for months now. A lot of the posts and Youtube videos we uploaded many months ago never went viral, but drive steady traffic to this day by ranking on Google searches and topics people are interested in. We always seek virality but having a continuous stream of users who you can serve and retain is how you build a huge business.

My journey from $0 to $5k MRR in 6 months, and why I decided to pivot

Is there any reason to put down more than 20% on a mortgage since the stock market on average returns 8-9%?

Financially, doesn't it make sense to maintain minimum equity in the home and stay invested in stocks?

(Ignoring the forced savings argument - I am assuming someone who will save the same amount regardless of forced or not)

I am getting an ARM @ 6%. Wondering if there's any reason to put down more than 20%

Put down more than 20% @ 6%?

Hey, so basically im a young guy (22) and moved out of state from anyone I know for work. My company got acquired and our team got offshored.

Anyways, I’ve been applying around and finally got a new gig starting in May, it’s in-person and fifteen miles away. 

Well today my car broke down completely, I still have to bring it in but metal on the dip-stick of a 19 year old car isn’t a good sign by any means.

I have enough money to pay my rent at the end of the month with a credit card, but I’m certain I won’t have enough for a new (used) car. My credit score is 760 but my history is only a credit card I’ve had for a couple years.

What are my options here? I am feeling pretty screwed. Can’t get to work without a car. It’s just a really shitty time for this to happen I was just barely gonna scrape by but now I think im done for.

I got laid off four months ago, finally found a new job, car broke down

My husband and I, both 20, recently got married last July and we are now just starting to put money into a separate savings account. We fully combine and our finances, but shortly after we got married I became very ill and had to go on disability as I have been bed-bound since. I was able to keep my job, and now I’m getting back into working. My disability was 900 bi-weekly after taxes. Since I’m back to work and have my full salary of 59k again. We make a combined 114k/year gross. After taxes, investments, and retirement taken out we take home about 8.5k/month. The only debt we have is two car loans, as we pay down our cc’s every month if we even use them which is not often. We rebuilt his credit from 500 to 630 in 8 months and my credit is between 750-770 so we decided we do not need to use cc’s for anything but having a thicker line of credit. We now want to aggressively save but I was wondering how much should we realistically be putting away?

Here’s our monthly break down at the moment:

Take home = $8,500

Rent + Utilities = $1,640

Car payment #1 = $556

Car payment #2 = $675 (death I know 🙃)

Insurance = $180

Gas + Tolls = $355

Internet = $72

Groceries = $350

Going out to eat = < $100

Subscriptions = $77

Total monthly left over = $4,495

How much should we put into our savings a month?

We don’t really buy extra things / wants. Maybe every other month but since I was sick we had not a lot of extra room to save with my decreased pay and due to traveling for medical. We finally on the brighter side of things regarding my health and I want to get back on track with savings, as all my previous savings went towards travel for my health. Any opinions or advice is greatly appreciated!

How much should we be putting into savings each month?

I worked in 2 companies in the past 4 years since i graduated and i was well versed in the inhouse products and on-prem systems. I mainly
used Scala to develop data pipelines and data solutions with a few python and java projects along the way. The technologies i frequently used
were Spark, Flink, Hive, Airflow, Kafka, Bash, Linux, Scala, Java. Note that i did not use any cloud technologies like AWS, GCP or Azure. Data visuallization tools
such as tableau and powerBI are unfamiliar to me as well since we always had equivalent inhouse products.

Unfortunately, I got laid off a few weeks back. After taking a short break and starting to reapply, i have come to realised that my skills are nearly untransferable as most companies
are looking for DEs with cloud and data visualization skills along with python and pySpark(i used scala and scala spark).

In the past few weeks i have been doing leetcode style exercises and i plan to take AWS cloud related courses to bolster up my resume as well. 
But i am wary that hiring managers would not accept online courses as 'experience' and i wouldnt fit their criteria.

How should i proceed in improving my skillsets such that i will be a valuable DE in the future?

Unsure of how to upskill as a mid Data Engineer after getting laidoff

We delve into the world of Financial Independence (FI) with a pioneer -- Vicki Robin, the co-author of Your Money or Your Life.  In the 1970s, Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, from vastly different backgrounds, came together over a shared vision: FI as a life philosophy, not just a savings strategy. Their book, "Your Money or Your Life," which sold more than one million copies, outlined a three-dimensional approach to FI:  Financial Intelligence: Thinking clearly and objectively about money. Financial Integrity: Aligning your spending and earning with your values. Financial Independence: Breaking free from paycheck dependence and limiting beliefs about money.  In this podcast episode, Vicki will discuss a new dimension she's added:  Financial Interdependence: Recognizing the importance of giving and receiving within our communities and the world.  Vicki and I discuss how to move beyond "just the money" during the quest for financial freedom.  This episode originally aired in 2018.  We're sharing this as part of GREATEST HITS WEEK, a 5-day series in which we're sharing 5 episodes, across 5 days, that we produced during the earliest years of the Afford Anything podcast. You may have missed it then; enjoy it now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We delve into the world of Financial Independence (FI) with a pioneer -- Vicki Robin, the co-author of Your Money or Your Life. In the 1970s, Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez, from vastly different backgrounds, came together over a shared vision: FI as a life philosophy, not just a savings strategy. Their book, &#34;Your Money or Your Life,&#34; which sold more than one million copies, outlined a three-dimensional approach to FI: Financial Intelligence: Thinking clearly and objectively about money.Financial Integrity: Aligning your spending and earning with your values.Financial Independence: Breaking free from paycheck dependence and limiting beliefs about money. In this podcast episode, Vicki will discuss a new dimension she&#39;s added: Financial Interdependence: Recognizing the importance of giving and receiving within our communities and the world. Vicki and I discuss how to move beyond &#34;just the money&#34; during the quest for financial freedom. This episode originally aired in 2018. We&#39;re sharing this as part of GREATEST HITS WEEK, a 5-day series in which we&#39;re sharing 5 episodes, across 5 days, that we produced during the earliest years of the Afford Anything podcast. You may have missed it then; enjoy it now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="nofollow">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Vicki Robin: Financial Independence After 70 [GREATEST HITS WEEK]

Robert Leonard and Raoul Pal discuss the macro environment, NFTs, crypto, and Bitcoin. Raoul Pal is a co-founder of Real Vision, has run a successful global macro hedge fund, co-managed Goldman Sachs’ hedge fund sales business in Equities and Equity Derivatives in Europe, and helped design the BBC TV program Million Dollar Traders, training participants in investment and risk management strategy.  IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN 00:00 - Intro 02:01 - How did Raoul’s experience at BBC while designing Million Dollar Traders inspired him to create Real Vision? 02:01 - What were the roadblocks and defining moments that led to the creation of Real Vision? 02:01 - What was missing in the marketplace prior to Real Vision? 06:21 - What are the 3 phases of a crisis and which phase are we currently in? 06:21 - How the multiple stimulus bills being passed by the US government affects the macro-environment. 15:26 - What financial experts mean when they say the “government is printing money”. 22:07 - With the fall of the macro environment, is this something that new investors should be worried about or should they focus on the basics first? 32:14 - How did Twitter, Reddit and other social media outlets change the investing landscape for younger and newer investors?  36:51 - How Raoul’s opinion changed from just having a small amount of crypto to a large amount specifically, Bitcoin.  38:20 - What other fellow macro-experts think about crypto and bitcoin? 43:13 - What other coins, other than Bitcoin and Ethereum have a potential to succeed? 49:48 - Whether it’s possible for the government to outlaw crypto. 54:12 - What are NFTs and Raoul’s view as a potential investment case? And much, much more!  *Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.  BOOKS AND RESOURCES  Join the exclusive TIP Mastermind Community to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Kyle and the other community members.  Bitcoin’s white paper.  Recommended Book: The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.  Recommended Book: The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collin.  Recommended Book: The Laws of Wealth by Daniel Crosby.  Recommended Book: Pioneering Portfolio Management by David Swensen.  Check out the books mentioned in the podcast here.  Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our Premium Feed.   NEW TO THE SHOW?  Follow our official social media accounts: X (Twitter) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok.  Check out our Millennial Investing Starter Packs.  Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) here.  Try Kyle's favorite tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: TIP Finance.  Enjoy exclusive perks from our favorite Apps and Services.  Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, We Study Markets.   Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the best business podcasts.   SPONSORS Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors:  Toyota  Meyka  DeleteMe  NerdWallet  Fundrise  Public  Yahoo! Finance  NetSuite   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Robert Leonard and Raoul Pal discuss the macro environment, NFTs, crypto, and Bitcoin. Raoul Pal is a co-founder of Real Vision, has run a successful global macro hedge fund, co-managed Goldman Sachs’ hedge fund sales business in Equities and Equity Derivatives in Europe, and helped design the BBC TV program Million Dollar Traders, training participants in investment and risk management strategy. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN00:00 - Intro02:01 - How did Raoul’s experience at BBC while designing Million Dollar Traders inspired him to create Real Vision?02:01 - What were the roadblocks and defining moments that led to the creation of Real Vision?02:01 - What was missing in the marketplace prior to Real Vision?06:21 - What are the 3 phases of a crisis and which phase are we currently in?06:21 - How the multiple stimulus bills being passed by the US government affects the macro-environment.15:26 - What financial experts mean when they say the “government is printing money”.22:07 - With the fall of the macro environment, is this something that new investors should be worried about or should they focus on the basics first?32:14 - How did Twitter, Reddit and other social media outlets change the investing landscape for younger and newer investors? 36:51 - How Raoul’s opinion changed from just having a small amount of crypto to a large amount specifically, Bitcoin. 38:20 - What other fellow macro-experts think about crypto and bitcoin?43:13 - What other coins, other than Bitcoin and Ethereum have a potential to succeed?49:48 - Whether it’s possible for the government to outlaw crypto.54:12 - What are NFTs and Raoul’s view as a potential investment case?And much, much more! *Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES<ul><li>Join the exclusive <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/mastermind" rel="nofollow">TIP Mastermind Community</a> to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Kyle and the other community members.</li><li>Bitcoin’s <a href="https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf" rel="nofollow">white paper</a>.</li><li>Recommended Book: <a href="https://amzn.to/2B9spMU" rel="nofollow">The Intelligent Investor</a> by Benjamin Graham.</li><li>Recommended Book: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1533667926/ref&#61;as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie&#61;UTF8&amp;tag&#61;reipodcast-20&amp;creative&#61;9325&amp;linkCode&#61;as2&amp;creativeASIN&#61;1533667926&amp;linkId&#61;f13b7821db5fbc4fd44d5fe42f292e40" rel="nofollow">The Simple Path to Wealth</a> by JL Collin.</li><li>Recommended Book: <a href="https://amzn.to/35vS7ZZ" rel="nofollow">The Laws of Wealth</a> by Daniel Crosby.</li><li>Recommended Book: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416544690/ref&#61;as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie&#61;UTF8&amp;tag&#61;millenniali0e-20&amp;creative&#61;9325&amp;linkCode&#61;as2&amp;creativeASIN&#61;1416544690&amp;linkId&#61;c08ee4aa0f20feedd1aff4a2b902ec39" rel="nofollow">Pioneering Portfolio Management</a> by David Swensen.</li><li>Check out the books mentioned in the podcast <a href="https://prodcast.io/mi" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</li><li>Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our <a href="https://premium.theinvestorspodcast.com/" rel="nofollow">Premium Feed</a>.</li></ul> NEW TO THE SHOW?<ul><li>Follow our official social media accounts: <a href="https://twitter.com/TIP_Network" rel="nofollow">X (Twitter)</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-investor&#39;s-podcast/" rel="nofollow">LinkedIn</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theinvestorspodcastnetwork/" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheInvestorsPodcast" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/&#64;theinvestorspodcast" rel="nofollow">TikTok</a>.</li><li>Check out our <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/mi-starter-packs/" rel="nofollow">Millennial Investing Starter Packs</a>.</li><li>Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/millennial-investing/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</li><li>Try Kyle&#39;s favorite tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/tip-finance/" rel="nofollow">TIP Finance</a>.</li><li>Enjoy exclusive perks from our <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/affiliates/" rel="nofollow">favorite Apps and Services</a>.</li><li>Stay up-to-date on financial markets and investing strategies through our daily newsletter, <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/newsletters/" rel="nofollow">We Study Markets</a>. </li><li>Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the <a href="https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/podcasts/20-best-business-podcasts/" rel="nofollow">best business podcasts</a>.</li></ul> SPONSORSSupport our free podcast by supporting our <a href="https://theinvestorspodcast.com/sponsors" rel="nofollow">sponsors</a>:<ul><li><a href="https://buyatoyota.com/" rel="nofollow">Toyota</a></li><li><a href="https://meyka.com/" rel="nofollow">Meyka</a></li><li><a href="https://joindeleteme.com/INVESTING" rel="nofollow">DeleteMe</a></li><li><a href="https://nerdwallet.com/" rel="nofollow">NerdWallet</a></li><li><a href="https://fundrise.com/WSB" rel="nofollow">Fundrise</a></li><li><a href="https://public.com/" rel="nofollow">Public</a></li><li><a href="https://yahoofinance.com/" rel="nofollow">Yahoo! Finance</a></li><li><a href="https://netsuite.com/mi" rel="nofollow">NetSuite</a></li></ul> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm" rel="nofollow">https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm</a>

MI Rewind: Could This Time Truly Be Different? NFTs, Macro, Crypto, Bitcoin w/ Raoul Pal

Allie and Logan answer this junior question about when to get started investing.

Allie and Logan answer this junior question about when to get started investing.

DIY Money JR - When to Invest

At the end of 2023, there was a lot of optimism that the US economy was on that glide path to a soft landing. But at least in the first quarter of this year, inflation has come in hotter than expected. So is this just a speedbump on the way back down to 2%? Or is this a new trajectory for inflation that will make the Federal Reserve rethink its existing approach? On this bonus episode of Odd Lots, we caught up with Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin in Mount Airy, North Carolina, to get his assessment of the latest data, and what it means for policy. He explains why he thinks policy is still restrictive, and why he doesn’t see evidence yet of overheating demand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the end of 2023, there was a lot of optimism that the US economy was on that glide path to a soft landing. But at least in the first quarter of this year, inflation has come in hotter than expected. So is this just a speedbump on the way back down to 2%? Or is this a new trajectory for inflation that will make the Federal Reserve rethink its existing approach? On this bonus episode of Odd Lots, we caught up with Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin in Mount Airy, North Carolina, to get his assessment of the latest data, and what it means for policy. He explains why he thinks policy is still restrictive, and why he doesn’t see evidence yet of overheating demand.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin On Getting Inflation Under Control

On June 2, 2024, Mexicans will go to the polls to elect a successor to current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. His chosen successor, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, is the odds-on favorite. But what is AMLO’s legacy exactly? In some sense, economic growth under his administration has been robust. On the other hand, there’s been very little progress on domestic security. He also leaves a legacy of massive spending routed through the military, whose fruits are still undetermined. On this episode, we speak with Bloomberg News reporter Andrea Navarro, who has dug deep into how AMLO has conducted economic policy, his approach to industrial and fiscal policy, and whether Mexico is now in a position to ride the ongoing wave of trade with the US and the nearshoring of international supply chains.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On June 2, 2024, Mexicans will go to the polls to elect a successor to current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. His chosen successor, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, is the odds-on favorite. But what is AMLO’s legacy exactly? In some sense, economic growth under his administration has been robust. On the other hand, there’s been very little progress on domestic security. He also leaves a legacy of massive spending routed through the military, whose fruits are still undetermined. On this episode, we speak with Bloomberg News reporter Andrea Navarro, who has dug deep into how AMLO has conducted economic policy, his approach to industrial and fiscal policy, and whether Mexico is now in a position to ride the ongoing wave of trade with the US and the nearshoring of international supply chains.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

What AMLO's Legacy Means For Mexico's Upcoming Election

#778 If growing your business were easy, what would it look like? This is a powerful question because many of us tend to overcomplicate things. So how do we build a brand without getting distracted by things that don't matter? I haven't recorded a coaching call episode like this in a long time—not since the AskPat days! We wanted to bring that energy back in today's session, so listen in as I help Cassie Shawcross of DivineJourneyBoutique.com understand her limiting beliefs and use her strengths to grow! Leaving a traditional career to become an entrepreneur is scary. But isn't always being stuck in jobs we don't want just as frightening a prospect? You'll want to listen in on this call because the perspective we gain leads to some inspiring breakthroughs for Cassie! This is a great conversation about being open to opportunities and bringing your people together. Enjoy! Show notes and more at SmartPassiveIncome.com/session778.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#778 If growing your business were easy, what would it look like? This is a powerful question because many of us tend to overcomplicate things. So how do we build a brand without getting distracted by things that don&#39;t matter? I haven&#39;t recorded a coaching call episode like this in a long time—not since the AskPat days! We wanted to bring that energy back in today&#39;s session, so listen in as I help Cassie Shawcross of DivineJourneyBoutique.com understand her limiting beliefs and use her strengths to grow! Leaving a traditional career to become an entrepreneur is scary. But isn&#39;t always being stuck in jobs we don&#39;t want just as frightening a prospect? You&#39;ll want to listen in on this call because the perspective we gain leads to some inspiring breakthroughs for Cassie! This is a great conversation about being open to opportunities and bringing your people together. Enjoy! Show notes and more at <a href="https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/session778" rel="nofollow">SmartPassiveIncome.com/session778</a>.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="nofollow">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="nofollow">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

SPI 778: Inside a Pat Flynn Coaching Call with Cassie Shawcross

Chip stocks leading today’s tech sell off. The group down 15% from its record last month. Will the semi slip continue? Or can earnings next week help fuel a rebound? Plus Tech between a rock and a hard place. Apple and Meta under pressure as U.S./China tensions heat up. So is the latest move a TikTok retaliation? Fast Money Disclaimer

Chip stocks leading today’s tech sell off. The group down 15% from its record last month. Will the semi slip continue? Or can earnings next week help fuel a rebound? Plus Tech between a rock and a hard place. Apple and Meta under pressure as U.S./China tensions heat up. So is the latest move a TikTok retaliation? <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/fast-money-disclaimer/" rel="nofollow">Fast Money Disclaimer</a>

Semi Selloff… And Tech Giants Caught In The Middle Of U.S./China Tensions 4/19/24

Today, we're talking about 5 of the biggest wealth-killers you might face in 2024, and what you can do to overcome them.  Jump start your journey with our FREE financial resources Reach your goals faster with our products Take the relationship to the next level: become a client Subscribe on YouTube for early access and go beyond the podcast Connect with us on social media for more content Bring confidence to your wealth building with simplified strategies from The Money Guy. Learn how to apply financial tactics that go beyond common sense and help you reach your money goals faster. Make your assets do the heavy lifting so you can quit worrying and start living a more fulfilled life.

Today, we&#39;re talking about 5 of the biggest wealth-killers you might face in 2024, and what you can do to overcome them. <a href="https://bit.ly/3mB2p69" rel="nofollow">Jump start your journey with our FREE financial resources</a> <a href="https://bit.ly/3mxuhIt" rel="nofollow">Reach your goals faster with our products</a> <a href="https://bit.ly/2Y4TqQJ" rel="nofollow">Take the relationship to the next level: become a client</a> <a href="https://bit.ly/3gxyUOH" rel="nofollow">Subscribe on YouTube for early access and go beyond the podcast</a> Connect with us on social media for more content Bring confidence to your wealth building with simplified strategies from The Money Guy. Learn how to apply financial tactics that go beyond common sense and help you reach your money goals faster. Make your assets do the heavy lifting so you can quit worrying and start living a more fulfilled life.

Top 5 Wealth Killers in America!

Alex Hormozi

Business owners: I buy and scale companies. I make more free stuff to help you scale here: https://acquisition.com/training.

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