General Adulthood, Planning for the Future: Business, College, Budgeting, Investments, etc! $$$ - General

[B][U]WHAT IS THIS THREAD?[/U][/B] This is a thread about packing up your childhood, sighing with resignation, and accepting the harsh inevitability of adulthood. Well, maybe it doesn't have to be as dramatic as all that. The actual purpose of this thread is simply have a place for those interested in discussing the various responsibilities and endeavors of adulthood. Higher education, careers, personal finance, investments, business, entrepreneurial efforts, and things of that nature. Before we go any further, however [B][U]DISCLAIMER[/U][/B] [B][I]Do not ever make any big financial decisions based solely on advice offered in this thread. Neither I nor anybody else is liable if you choose to do so. At most, please simply consider any advice folks have to offer as simple guidelines and markers for things you need to look into more thoroughly on your own time. You should always ALWAYS double check with legally-bound professionals to ensure that your plans are legal, applicable, and sound for your area and your investment goals, and you should never make any large financial decisions without understanding the ins-and-outs of them yourself. That's just inviting tragedy! ALSO, do NOT reveal personally identifiable information in this thread! If for any reason you feel you need to share financial details, do NOT disclose any information such as name, address, bank name, routing number, account number, place of employment, social security, etc. Be careful! This is a public forum![/I][/B] Now, onto the nitty gritty. [B][U]COLLEGES[/U][/B] Higher education is a staple for many, many career paths! While we did once have a megathread for discussing universities, colleges, and other forms of higher education, it seems to have become lose due to inactivity. Broadening the focus of this thread to include higher education offers a venue for those who may still want to ask questions about things like student financing, choosing majors, application processes, etc. It's a pretty big subject and I don't want to split hairs over it, so I'll at least ask that you keep discussion on track to a certain degree. This thread ain't so much to talk about that sick party on campus last night as it is to help choose the campus you may or may not want to party on, you dig? Keep it somewhat focused. [B][U]PERSONAL FINANCE[/U][/B] Need some help with budgeting? Want to know what a financial statement is and how to read it? Looking for advice on dealing with debt? Maybe you just need some recommendations for great books to read on building and managing wealth? Well, we can try to help steer you to the right track to a certain degree. Do not forget that disclaimer warning up above, however. We're not your CPA or Financial Planner. You are ultimately the decision-maker for your finances, at most we can just offer some friendly counsel. [B][U]BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP[/U][/B] Are you a creative type, businessman, entrepreneur, or tech wiz looking to speak with others about how to grow your network, market, build, or grow your business? Maybe you're a YouTube content creator looking for advice on getting more subscribers? Whatever the specifics, if you have a desire to discuss or learn about marketing, networking, business, content creation, salesmanship, or general professionalism, then this is the thread for you! Again, though, read that disclaimer. Despite all our best intentions, I don't want anybody getting hurt or sued. [B][U]INVESTMENTS[/U][/B] There's more to life than just working and budgeting, you know! Investments are the best way to take the money you work for and make it work for you! Whether your interests or wheelhouse are stocks, bonds, real estate, fancy stamps and coins, or any other assets, investing can be your golden ticket to financial freedom, and this could be the thread to help set you down that path! Personally speaking, my primary area of interest is in income-generating real estate investments. I really hope there are some other would-be landlords on here! [B][U]TOOLS AND CALCULATORS[/U][/B] [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?_r=0"]Should I Rent Or Buy[/URL] [URL="http://www.bankrate.com/partners/sem/mortgage-calculator-rates.aspx?ec_id=m1027724&s_kwcid=AL!1325!3!68171373008!e!!g!!mortgage+calculator&ef_id=VomspQAABCP%406Atu%3a20160320204543%3as"]Mortgage Calculator[/URL] [B][U]NOTICES AND RULES:[/U][/B] [B][I]*Again, read that fucking disclaimer. *Do not take any advice offered in here as legally-binding. *Do not post personally identifiable or compromising information. *Be safe, be careful, and plan your future well![/I][/B] [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] Again, because this is pretty dang important: [QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49971816][B][U]DISCLAIMER[/U][/B] [B][I]Do not ever make any big financial decisions based solely on advice offered in this thread. Neither I nor anybody else is liable if you choose to do so. At most, please simply consider any advice folks have to offer as simple guidelines and markers for things you need to look into more thoroughly on your own time. You should always ALWAYS double check with legally-bound professionals to ensure that your plans are legal, applicable, and sound for your area and your investment goals, and you should never make any large financial decisions without understanding the ins-and-outs of them yourself. That's just inviting tragedy! ALSO, do NOT reveal personally identifiable information in this thread! If for any reason you feel you need to share financial details, do NOT disclose any information such as name, address, bank name, routing number, account number, place of employment, social security, etc. Be careful! This is a public forum![/I][/B][/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Swebonny;49971818] [media]https://youtu.be/nU_RQ4bVM6A[/media] [/QUOTE]

Here's a question for people who have moved out already, is it smarter to rent an apartment when you first move out of your parent's house or is it better to wait a little longer until you can afford something like a town house or condo? I'm not all that thrilled by the notion of dumping money into something I won't even own, but I feel like getting a small house would still be a lot more work than an apartment.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49971839]Here's a question for people who have moved out already, is it smarter to rent an apartment when you first move out of your parent's house or is it better to wait a little longer until you can afford something like a town house or condo? I'm not all that thrilled by the notion of dumping money into something I won't even own, but I feel like getting a small house would still be a lot more work than an apartment.[/QUOTE] Apartment.

My social security number is █████████████ [QUOTE=Pascall;49971839]Here's a question for people who have moved out already, is it smarter to rent an apartment when you first move out of your parent's house or is it better to wait a little longer until you can afford something like a town house or condo? I'm not all that thrilled by the notion of dumping money into something I won't even own, but I feel like getting a small house would still be a lot more work than an apartment.[/QUOTE] In my opinion, apartment is probably the better option most of the time. Alternatively get a roommate to split expenses with.

Another issue that comes with the apartment bit is that when I move out, I have two pets I need to take with me, I can't get a roommate because I'll likely need office and storage space for what I do and having a roommate that meshes with my style of living is going to be a job and a half anyway. And there are veeery few apartments around here that allow pets for anything less than like 50+ extra dollars a month per pet which is kind of a lot.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49971865]Another issue that comes with the apartment bit is that when I move out, I have two pets I need to take with me, I can't get a roommate because I'll likely need office and storage space for what I do and having a roommate that meshes with my style of living is going to be a job and a half anyway. And there are veeery few apartments around here that allow pets for anything less than like 50+ extra dollars a month per pet which is kind of a lot.[/QUOTE] You have to pay for pets? What the shit?

At most apartment complexes here, yeah. And it varies depending on how large the pets are too, if it's a dog or cat. And exotics are almost never accepted.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49971839]Here's a question for people who have moved out already, is it smarter to rent an apartment when you first move out of your parent's house or is it better to wait a little longer until you can afford something like a town house or condo? I'm not all that thrilled by the notion of dumping money into something I won't even own, but I feel like getting a small house would still be a lot more work than an apartment.[/QUOTE] That's going to depend a lot on where you live and what your longer term plans are. Personally, I probably wouldn't elect to purchase property unless I were planning to stay in the area for 5-10 years minimum. While buying is often less expensive on a month-to-month basis when renting (comparing two similar properties), owned real estate opens you up to some risks that can dramatically raise short term costs. For example, if your roof needs replacing in an owned property, that can run you $3k-6k depending on its size, location, etc. Not a huge deal spread over ten years (and even less of an issue spread over the entire 30-40 year life of the roof), but that's a very big cost that you would never have to worry about in a rental property if you're only going to be living there for two or three. It's worth nothing that interest rates on home loans are still at record lows. We're talking in the 3-4% interest range, as opposed to 5-7%! While that may not sound too extreme, it can actually make a huge difference. As a general rule of thumb, every 1% of interest on a 30-year-fixed rate mortgage decreases your buying power by about 10%. Interest rates can change on a day to day basis, and there is no guarantee that they remain as low as they have been in the long term. Even with the strong average sellers market throughout the US, the low interest rates are going to help minimize your mortgage payment. If you're concerned about the money down you'll need to actually purchase a property, it may be much cheaper than you'd think. While a 20% down payment on a property is pretty common, you can get FHA loans for as low as 3.5% down, with a few stipulations. If you have any military service under your belt, the VA will even qualify you for zero down loans! Google's mortgage calculator is very helpful for determining your monthly mortgage payments. Just compare that to your rental rates for the area to get a rough idea of how much your mortgage payment will be compared to rent. Note that this doesn't include property taxes or homeowner's insurance which can add a decent chunk of change to your monthly expenses as a homeowner. For example, my mortgage payment is about $325/month, but I have an additional $135/month in taxes and insurance costs. There may also be HOA (Homeowner's Association) fees in some neighborhoods.

[QUOTE=Limed00d;49971874]You have to pay for pets? What the shit?[/QUOTE] There's a .lb limit and an extra fee. Most people I know play it smart and just hide the pet and never pay a dime. HOA and the owner know nothing.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49971897]That's going to depend a lot on where you live and what your longer term plans are. Personally, I probably wouldn't elect to purchase property unless I were planning to stay in the area for 5-10 years minimum. While buying is often less expensive on a month-to-month basis when renting (comparing two similar properties), owned real estate opens you up to some risks that can dramatically raise short term costs. For example, if your roof needs replacing in an owned property, that can run you $3k-6k depending on its size, location, etc. Not a huge deal spread over ten years, but that's a very big cost that you would never have to worry about in a rental property if you're only going to be living there for two or three. Another thing to consider, however, is that interest rates on home loans are still at record lows. We're talking in the 3-4% interest range, as opposed to 5-7%! While that may not sound too extreme, it can actually make a huge difference. As a general rule of thumb, every 1% of interest on a 30-year-fixed rate mortgage decreases your buying power by about 10%. Interest rates can change on a day to day basis, and there is no guarantee that they remain as low as they have been in the long term. If you're concerned about the money down you'll need to actually purchase a property, it may be much cheaper than you'd think. While a 20% down payment on a property is pretty common, you can get FHA loans for as low as 3.5% down, with a few stipulations. If you have any military service under your belt, the VA will even qualify you for zero down loans! Google's mortgage calculator is very helpful for determining your monthly mortgage payments. Just compare that to your rental rates for the area to get a rough idea of how much your mortgage payment will be compared to rent. Note that this doesn't include property taxes or homeowner's insurance which can add a decent chunk of change to your monthly expenses as a homeowner. For example, my mortgage payment is about $325/month, but I have an additional $135/month in taxes and insurance costs. There may also be HOA (Homeowner's Association) fees in some neighborhoods.[/QUOTE] Thanks! I'm not super financially independent just yet because my parents are mostly taking care of my expenses as long as I'm going to college but my dad's been telling me for a while now that I should really own something rather than rent. I guess it just comes down to whether or not I feel myself leaving the city any time soon. Which I guess I won't know until I graduate either way, so. But this helps a lot. [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Starpluck;49971930]There's a .lb limit and an extra fee. Most people I know play it smart and just hide the pet and never pay a dime. HOA and the owner know nothing.[/QUOTE] Yeah that's what most of my friends do since they live at the student village apartments across from campus. Most of them have dogs and just hide them. Mine's a watch dog though and barks pretty frequently. My other pet is an aquatic turtle and wouldn't be very easy to hide. So it's not really an option for me lol. As nice as it would be.

If $50 extra monthly sounds like a pain I don't think paying into ownership is gonna do you any favors. you may not get a return on your investment down the line when renting but you're also not required to get massive loans and dump many thousands of dollars into a down payment, let alone taking care of all of the extra taxes involved in owning property/land/etc. Rent is simple and will let you actually build cash over time, instead of whittle away at mortgage debt For my situation, I have 2 cats and paid a $200 up front deposit for having them, which will go into cleaning the apartment when I leave and I get whatever comes back (though I'd bet they'll claim they used it up). I've done the roommate thing for years now, and even with the best of friends it can get a bit strenuous if you're all on the messy end of the spectrum. If they actually pay for rent though, it makes it bearable [editline]e[/editline] Regarding your dad's stance, in the end ownership can get your money back years down the line. If you're still figuring life out and don't have ultra security with a job and no source of income to pay for it comfortably, it's not a good idea this instant. The housing market is trashed and has too high of a pay-in for a lot of younger people with the way jobs go right now, it's best to do a lot of research and wait it out a bit

Fuck adulthood Im 10 years into this shit and it just gets worse

Also, since this is already up I suppose I can address some things that I've come to learn: If you're graduating from High School and are planning on plunging straight into college, consider taking a year off instead to avoid being completely burned out. The choice is of course yours, but speaking from experience, the worst thing that can happen to you is losing all motivation in the middle of the term. Put me in hell of a debt. You're never too old to start college/university, and you also get more time to think about what you wanna do. Also, if you're a [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEET"]NEET[/URL] and you're struggling with finding a job to keep you occupied, look into doing volunteer work to keep you occupied until you find a job/go back to school. Hella better than sitting on your ass in front of a monitor feeling sorry for yourself.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49971839]Here's a question for people who have moved out already, is it smarter to rent an apartment when you first move out of your parent's house or is it better to wait a little longer until you can afford something like a town house or condo? I'm not all that thrilled by the notion of dumping money into something I won't even own, but I feel like getting a small house would still be a lot more work than an apartment.[/QUOTE] I'm in the same boat as you, my family seems to have split views between apartment, house and staying home. I live an hour drive away from my job, all highway, and have been able to put $200 a week into a tax-free savings account that's nearing 10k. My girlfriend on the other hand hasn't been saving and is living with me at my parents, but shes really pushing to move out, something I do want to do, but its leaving me antsy. When I decide to move it will be a lot closer to my work and my girlfriend will only be able to find a minimum wage job, leaving behind her slightly higher paying job, making me more antsy. I've been in this limbo for about a year now but at least I've been saving while

[QUOTE=dai;49971970]If $50 extra monthly sounds like a pain I don't think paying into ownership is gonna do you any favors. you may not get a return on your investment down the line when renting but you're also not required to get massive loans and dump many thousands of dollars into a down payment, let alone taking care of all of the extra taxes involved in owning property/land/etc. Rent is simple and will let you actually build cash over time, instead of whittle away at mortgage debt For my situation, I have 2 cats and paid a $200 up front deposit for having them, which will go into cleaning the apartment when I leave and I get whatever comes back (though I'd bet they'll claim they used it up). I've done the roommate thing for years now, and even with the best of friends it can get a bit strenuous if you're all on the messy end of the spectrum. If they actually pay for rent though, it makes it bearable [editline]e[/editline] Regarding your dad's stance, in the end ownership can get your money back years down the line. If you're still figuring life out and don't have ultra security with a job and no source of income to pay for it comfortably, it's not a good idea this instant. The housing market is trashed and has too high of a pay-in for a lot of younger people with the way jobs go right now, it's best to do a lot of research and wait it out a bit[/QUOTE] Yeah that's what I figured. It might help to maybe get a studio apartment for 1-2 years or something before figuring out if I want to stay or leave and look into ownership somewhere else. I guess I just always hear horror stories of friends living in apartments who literally have no money after paying rent but I imagine that also goes along with the fact that they're in college and are way more social and have more interest in spending money on that. Or other reasons, I guess. I would really just need to find a place that's good for my pet, I guess? Even now we don't have a lot of space available as far as yard goes, and I'd be kind of upset if I had to confine her to a leash at all times when outside or something like that.

Just be sure to check the "banned breed" list for your dog. I didn't find out that my dog's breed was on the banned breed list, pit-mix, until months after moving in. Luckily as far the vet is concerned he's marked down as a lab-mix. The HOA here even has a few cat breeds that are banned.

[QUOTE=Melnek;49972025]Fuck adulthood Im 10 years into this shit and it just gets worse[/QUOTE] Amen, I've been casually browsing for a place to live when I move out and each time I see the prices I get depressed. Having to get a fat loan just to get a place to live feels like such bullshit.

[QUOTE=dai;49971970]If $50 extra monthly sounds like a pain I don't think paying into ownership is gonna do you any favors. you may not get a return on your investment down the line when renting but you're also not required to get massive loans and dump many thousands of dollars into a down payment, let alone taking care of all of the extra taxes involved in owning property/land/etc. Rent is simple and will let you actually build cash over time, instead of whittle away at mortgage debt For my situation, I have 2 cats and paid a $200 up front deposit for having them, which will go into cleaning the apartment when I leave and I get whatever comes back (though I'd bet they'll claim they used it up). I've done the roommate thing for years now, and even with the best of friends it can get a bit strenuous if you're all on the messy end of the spectrum. If they actually pay for rent though, it makes it bearable[/QUOTE] -SNIP- lol disregard everything I wrote in the snip if you saw it before I deleted it. I got one of the numbers wrong and while trying to find the right formula to calculate that number I found a website that perfectly explains everything I was trying to put into focus in much more interactive way: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?_r=0[/url] It's very attractive, too. This is an excellent little resource for helping to compare the cost of rent vs homeownership. To get many of the numbers you'll need to fill in some these fields, you can simply call a lender to get interest rates and see what level of loan you would qualify for, and a real estate agent to get median home prices in any specific areas you might be interested in moving to. It's much harder to accurately calculate repair and capital expense costs without first having actually selected a property and started doing your due dilligence, however.

I'm in the pseudo-adulthood phase right now in my 2nd year of college. Starting this summer and continuing into the next school year I'll be living in an apartment rather than a dorm. Since I'll have a kitchen I was wondering if anyone could give advice for learning how to cook. I realize when I'm at home I either eat cheap TV dinners or ramen which ruins my health or I overpay for a nice meal at a restaurant. The university dining halls are nice but eventually I'll need to learn how to cook for myself.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;49972220]I'm in the pseudo-adulthood phase right now in my 2nd year of college. Starting this summer and continuing into the next school year I'll be living in an apartment rather than a dorm. Since I'll have a kitchen I was wondering if anyone could give advice for learning how to cook. I realize when I'm at home I either eat cheap TV dinners or ramen which ruins my health or I overpay for a nice meal at a restaurant. The university dining halls are nice but eventually I'll need to learn how to cook for myself.[/QUOTE] I get a lot of ideas from those videos on Facebook. I think it's Buzzfeed's "Tasty" page? [url]https://www.facebook.com/buzzfeedtasty/videos[/url] I'm not a cook or anything but a lot of the videos on here show you how to make some good shit.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;49972220]I'm in the pseudo-adulthood phase right now in my 2nd year of college. Starting this summer and continuing into the next school year I'll be living in an apartment rather than a dorm. Since I'll have a kitchen I was wondering if anyone could give advice for learning how to cook. I realize when I'm at home I either eat cheap TV dinners or ramen which ruins my health or I overpay for a nice meal at a restaurant. The university dining halls are nice but eventually I'll need to learn how to cook for myself.[/QUOTE] Food budgeting has always been my big weakness, too. I'm just a lazy eater. Despite all my best intentions, planning out recipes and buying ingredients for the week, I'm more likely to just grab Subway on the way home than I am to actually cook up that meal. One nice compromise I've made to my desire for easy food is in getting a slow cooker and a rice cooker,. Rice cookers are quick, easy, and cheap, and they make some yummy meals for little money. A simple one I make often is: -White Rice -Chicken Stock (instead of water) -Canned chicken -Lemon Juice -Thyme -Rosemary You just measure out appropriate amounts, toss it all in the rice cooker, and wait twenty minutes. Comes out delicious. Light, lemony, not terrible for you. Yum. Total cost is maybe, like, $2 for four or five big helpings? Slowcookers can be even easier, they just take a lot longer. A great slow cooker meal is as simple as throwing the following into the pot, putting it on low, and letting it cook all day: -Chicken -Some kind of flavoring. I like just dumping in a bottle of barbeque sauce. The chicken gets so tender you can shred it with a fork, and voila. Shredded barbeque chicken. Put it on a bun, dawg. You can be as fancy or simple as you want with either of these. I've made amazing homemade chili with a dozen different ingredients in it with my slowcooker just the same as I've made that easy flippin' chicken. [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] Yo, if anybody has some good resources they'd like me to add to the OP, let me know. I've got a mortgage calculator and that "Should I Rent or Buy?" website linked so far.

Okay so I have two things to say in relation to this thread. I am an insurance professional, I do insurance for a living, and I actually enjoy my job. Insurance laws, and applications are different wherever you go, but for the most part some of the key features of them stay the same. I'd be happy to explain, or help explain or shed light on any situations related to insurance in this thread if needed. American auto insurance may be out of my grasp though unless I go look into your particular states laws but the general features of it are similar, and comparable. The second thing I have to say is I need some serious fucking help with meal plans and food spending. I'm a super picky eater(I try so hard to expand my food tastes, I really do) so making myself lunches, or meals to take to work is impossible so far. I am a good cook when it comes to making a hot meal for dinner, no problems there, but for lunches, I'm fucked. Cold sandwhiches are literally disgusting as fuck to me, no matter how hard I try and get over it. I get a fairly bad stomach ache when I eat foods I don't mentally agree with, I'm trying to get over that but it's really hard(I have had an eating disorder for a few years now). I read about how to make good leftovers, about good meal plans, about nutritious meals and etc, and honestly, as far as making a lunch I can take to work with me, I never see anything that appeals to me. So I spend money, 5$ on average, at lunch when I'd really rather be saving my money in the mean time. I just don't know what to do on that front.

What about wraps? Can put some kind of chicken in there with some veggies and they tend to keep nicely in a cool lunch bag. Unless you just don't like cold foods in general.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49972336]What about wraps? Can put some kind of chicken in there with some veggies and they tend to keep nicely in a cool lunch bag. Unless you just don't like cold foods in general.[/QUOTE] I could try that I suppose, I haven't yet. The weirdest thing about my 'pickyness' is i'm not adverse to flavour, I like most flavours, and I season my meals quite well when I make them for dinner. I cook all the meals for my girlfriend and I, and she's always really happy with the level of flavour in the foods(especially my indian food, mmm) but when it comes to say, having a cold cut sandwhich with a decent mustard on it and some lettuce? I just think "euch fuck". Cold chicken wraps may be an option if I season them correctly, thanks for the idea. [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] And here's a really weird fact about me. I'm 24, I didn't eat Peanut butter for the first time until I was 22. Now it consists of 1/3 of my meals a week. I feel so stupid for not eating it for my whole life out of some silly childish aversion that now I try any food, and if I don't like it, I try and keep trying things. I just have bad mental blocks related to food.

Cold cut sandwiches don't really have a whole lot of seasoning on it, is the thing. It's just.. plain bread and deli meat with some lettuce or tomato. It's all very [I]basic[/I], I guess. And some people prefer something more to it. I like putting lemon pepper and ranch on my sandwiches because of that.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49972354]Cold cut sandwiches don't really have a whole lot of seasoning on it, is the thing. It's just.. plain bread and deli meat with some lettuce or tomato. It's all very [I]basic[/I], I guess. And some people prefer something more to it. I like putting lemon pepper and ranch on my sandwiches because of that.[/QUOTE] I have an incredibly strong aversion to ranch, mayo, or anything remotely similar to it. It's a real issue trying to get flavour on to things like a sandwhich when you are just utterly turned off by those sauces. And thanks for making this thread BDA, it's almost like you're psychic. I was thinking to myself "We've got the depression help thread, is there an adult help thread?" only a day or two ago.

What about other sorts of dressings? Like Caesar or Italian dressings?

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;49972359]I have an incredibly strong aversion to ranch, mayo, or anything remotely similar to it. It's a real issue trying to get flavour on to things like a sandwhich when you are just utterly turned off by those sauces.[/QUOTE] doesnt always have to use stuff like ranch or mayo, try experimenting with various other spice combinations or sauces - sweet soy, teriyaki, barbecue sauce, anything similar that tickles your taste buds and works with what you've got going on. It's just a matter of mixing and matching flavor profiles and finding what works for you.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49972360]What about other sorts of dressings? Like Caesar or Italian dressings?[/QUOTE] marina is okay depending, Caesar dressings I have to make myself, though I've never tried ceaser on anything but ceasar salad.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;49972345]I could try that I suppose, I haven't yet. The weirdest thing about my 'pickyness' is i'm not adverse to flavour, I like most flavours, and I season my meals quite well when I make them for dinner. I cook all the meals for my girlfriend and I, and she's always really happy with the level of flavour in the foods(especially my indian food, mmm) but when it comes to say, having a cold cut sandwhich with a decent mustard on it and some lettuce? I just think "euch fuck". Cold chicken wraps may be an option if I season them correctly, thanks for the idea. [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] And here's a really weird fact about me. I'm 24, I didn't eat Peanut butter for the first time until I was 22. Now it consists of 1/3 of my meals a week. I feel so stupid for not eating it for my whole life out of some silly childish aversion that now I try any food, and if I don't like it, I try and keep trying things. I just have bad mental blocks related to food.[/QUOTE] I understand where you're coming from. Personally I don't like cold foods unless its specifically supposed to be served cold (salads for example) so I eat at the dining hall. Sandwhiches are gross, I don't like the texture of consistency of cold bread in my mouth. That said I sometimes view lunch as a means of holding me off until dinner rather than an actual meal. Salads are easy to make, store, and cleanup, and I like to put either olive oil or vinaigrette as a light, healthy flavoring. You can use a lot of different salad dressing in cold wraps, though like bread I don't like cold tortillas either. I take it you eat lunch at work, and that is the issue since there's no kitchen?