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

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;50287306]Hey, speak for yourself. Ten grand in the right hands, with the right plan, can become a fortune. I've been trying to scrape up ten grand for the past year in order to start my business. Got very close at $8k, but that's been cut in half by my home purchase, repairs, and renovations. I'll get there eventually, though, and once I do I can finally go full steam ahead on my real estate career goals. I'll never look back! Btw if anybody here wants to give me $10k please don't be shy about it.[/QUOTE] I didn't mean to say that it was pocket change. But if he is bent on giving 20% to friends, $2,000 out of $10,000 can be burnt pretty easily on stuff like that. However, burning 20% of $100,000 on friends is kind of silly, as there's a lot more immediate potential if it were to be used less "nonsensically". I have no doubts that over a long period of time you could really whip $10,000 into something life changing. So yes, please put me as 3rd on the list to get $10,000.

Honestly, if I ever won money, the only money I'd give is VERY CLOSE friends that are in dire need of a little bit of extra money. When you start giving away money like candy, that brings in all kinds of attention that you might not want from not-so-close friends, acquaintances, and greedy family members. Anyone who's won a large sum of money from the lottery tends to have some crazy stories about how all these unknown family members come out of the woodwork to hassle someone who's won money. It's pretty wild.

[QUOTE=Pascall;50287841]Honestly, if I ever won money, the only money I'd give is VERY CLOSE friends that are in dire need of a little bit of extra money. When you start giving away money like candy, that brings in all kinds of attention that you might not want from not-so-close friends, acquaintances, and greedy family members. Anyone who's won a large sum of money from the lottery tends to have some crazy stories about how all these unknown family members come out of the woodwork to hassle someone who's won money. It's pretty wild.[/QUOTE] Due to the nature of my father's job, I know this scenario all to well. We would get phone calls from his "former college roommates" and even a "cousin" who they'd never met all asking if we could get them X or Y. His side of the family was the worst though. Unfortunately, it is hard for him to say no to his mom/brothers/sisters. They've fortunately dialed back since we moved elsewhere for his work. [sp]Plot twist: neither of them were who they said they were...[/sp]

Basically if you ever come into any sizable amount of money, [b]tell nobody[/b] (except your closest most trusted friends/family who you know aren't going to blab about it)

[QUOTE=TrafficMan;50288128]Basically if you ever come into any sizable amount of money, [b]tell nobody[/b] (except your closest most trusted friends/family who you know aren't going to blab about it)[/QUOTE] If we're talking six figures or more, don't tell anyone [I]even[/I] your closest most trusted friends/family. Tell [I]nobody[/I], and go to a big-city high-profile lawyer immediately. If this is something large, [url=https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=749519]this could be something to read[/url].

I read posts about these ideas for businesses like comic stores and other stuff, where the hell do you live that it could be so easy? I think about all the costs it would be to rent a commercial property, work with a distributor to ship products to the property, the time it would take to set up a software network to hold data of the inventory and other essential information as well as purchasing or developing a cashier checkout software, hire some part or full time labor. It's all staggering when you think of the potential costs and all the connections you have to develop and money you need to get started. If I got into business I'd look into the plumbing supply sector since I work near areas of NJ that were hit hard by Superstorm Sandy and the local plumbing supply chain(Ferguson) holds a iron grip over the coast of the state. Only Home Deport and Lowes can really compete but they don't have everything that Ferguson does and the latter prices are insane.

I need some advice for a resume. I spent a lot of my time this past month volunteering for the Bernie Sanders campaign in my area. I was named data captain for my region and that involved leading, training, and managing teams of volunteers, organizing maps and routes for the volunteers, and handling the databases for the region. On one hand, I was warned to not list politics on resumes... but on the other I think that this is important and relevant information and experience for an employer to know about. How would you handle this?

[QUOTE=LtKyle2;50290191]I read posts about these ideas for businesses like comic stores and other stuff, where the hell do you live that it could be so easy? I think about all the costs it would be to rent a commercial property, work with a distributor to ship products to the property, the time it would take to set up a software network to hold data of the inventory and other essential information as well as purchasing or developing a cashier checkout software, hire some part or full time labor. It's all staggering when you think of the potential costs and all the connections you have to develop and money you need to get started. If I got into business I'd look into the plumbing supply sector since I work near areas of NJ that were hit hard by Superstorm Sandy and the local plumbing supply chain(Ferguson) holds a iron grip over the coast of the state. Only Home Deport and Lowes can really compete but they don't have everything that Ferguson does and the latter prices are insane.[/QUOTE] san diego

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;50310114]I need some advice for a resume. I spent a lot of my time this past month volunteering for the Bernie Sanders campaign in my area. I was named data captain for my region and that involved leading, training, and managing teams of volunteers, organizing maps and routes for the volunteers, and handling the databases for the region. On one hand, I was warned to not list politics on resumes... but on the other I think that this is important and relevant information and experience for an employer to know about. How would you handle this?[/QUOTE] You can specify what you did with a "presidential campaign" and not specify what candidate you worked for. What you did is obviously noteworthy, but just leave politics out of it. You worked for a presidential campaign office in XYZ, and you were a data captain for the region. Bullet-point like 3 things you did as a data captain that make you unique.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;50310114]I need some advice for a resume. I spent a lot of my time this past month volunteering for the Bernie Sanders campaign in my area. I was named data captain for my region and that involved leading, training, and managing teams of volunteers, organizing maps and routes for the volunteers, and handling the databases for the region. On one hand, I was warned to not list politics on resumes... but on the other I think that this is important and relevant information and experience for an employer to know about. How would you handle this?[/QUOTE] Just say you worked managing and supervising and training for a campaign. Be non specific and vague on that front but specific on your particular roles as an administrator/management.

[QUOTE=Revenge282;50310203]You can specify what you did with a "presidential campaign" and not specify what candidate you worked for. What you did is obviously noteworthy, but just leave politics out of it. You worked for a presidential campaign office in XYZ, and you were a data captain for the region. Bullet-point like 3 things you did as a data captain that make you unique.[/QUOTE] This is the best way to go about it, for sure. You don't want to invite the possibility of your resume being discarded because of your political leanings (it isn't supposed to happen, but people are people so it obviously does), but your experience in that campaign is certainly valuable. If it comes up in the interview, when you land one, I would recommend a similar approach. If asked directly who you supported, politely decline to comment and tell your interviewer that you feel politics are best left out of the workplace, yet your experience during the campaign was highly educational and sure to be of value to your employer just the same.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;50314874]This is the best way to go about it, for sure. You don't want to invite the possibility of your resume being discarded because of your political leanings (it isn't supposed to happen, but people are people so it obviously does), but your experience in that campaign is certainly valuable. If it comes up in the interview, when you land one, I would recommend a similar approach. If asked directly who you supported, politely decline to comment and tell your interviewer that you feel politics are best left out of the workplace, yet your experience during the campaign was highly educational and sure to be of value to your employer just the same.[/QUOTE] In a personal interview, I would say you're safe to say who you supported if asked. Declining could come off as closed or "over-the-top professional". (For lack of better descriptor) I would say at that point, you should be safe to open up if directly asked. They don't offer interviews to everyone for any reason, they have you there because you are potentially valuable and interested them. At the same time, do use common sense to gauge your interviewer, but I'd say 99% of the time, if they ask, you'd be safe.

I think perhaps one of the largest obstacles in my job search (before anything about the quality of my CV or interview skills can come into play) is that I have no career or even employment ambitions. Whenever I'm asked what I want kind of career I want or what I want to do with my life a job just never enters the equation. I know I need a way to get money, that much is evident, but the how never comes to mind, like I'm completely colourblind to it. I don't really think there's much in my life I can feel really aspire to. [sp]Except being really, really, ridiculously good-looking.[/sp]

[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;50319335]I think perhaps one of the largest obstacles in my job search (before anything about the quality of my CV or interview skills can come into play) is that I have no career or even employment ambitions. Whenever I'm asked what I want kind of career I want or what I want to do with my life a job just never enters the equation. I know I need a way to get money, that much is evident, but the how never comes to mind, like I'm completely colourblind to it. I don't really think there's much in my life I can feel really aspire to. [sp]Except being really, really, ridiculously good-looking.[/sp][/QUOTE] If you have no goal, then you aren't going to make any progress. What did you go to school for? If you didn't go to school, what do you like to do? There's no point in doing work that doesn't appeal to you. But if you go into an interview and can't answer why you are there and what you plan on doing, then you quite frankly have no business being there.

Try to come up with short term goals instead of long term. People don't always know what they wanna do the rest of their lives but I sure know what I wanna do in the next 2-3 years. It's easier to put it in a smaller frame of time.

[QUOTE=Revenge282;50319444]If you have no goal, then you aren't going to make any progress. What did you go to school for? If you didn't go to school, what do you like to do? There's no point in doing work that doesn't appeal to you. But if you go into an interview and can't answer why you are there and what you plan on doing, then you quite frankly have no business being there.[/QUOTE] I went to school because it was the law, I went into higher education to delay the need to answer the too difficult question of what I wanted to do with my life. And yes, if I was to go into an interview it would be impossible for me to answer questions like that honestly and satisfactionally. [editline]14th May 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Pascall;50319452]Try to come up with short term goals instead of long term. People don't always know what they wanna do the rest of their lives but I sure know what I wanna do in the next 2-3 years. It's easier to put it in a smaller frame of time.[/QUOTE] I have only one (hopefully short term) goal in life and it's essentially getting back to square 1 for normal people, and it's in no way career/employment orientated at all.

Ok so to just jump into this, high school never actually prepared me for college. I don't know how to look for the right college, or basically anything college related (but let me tell you about that FOIL method I learned in math class!). Anyway, I hate to ask but I seriously need my hand held through this stuff. There are so many ways to "find" colleges, but I have no idea how to tell if a college is actually good or not and I can't really risk going to another bad college. With that said, my general focus is 3d character/environment art and drawing. I guess the right term would be fine arts? The biggest thing though is that I don't really have any experience with either of those things. I want to get into them, but I don't have the time or the drive to learn it by myself. So a college for absolute beginners would be nice. I would also prefer to go to a college that has dorms. I don't want to have to drive or take a bus every day to school. I hope that's not asking for too much, but if anyone is willing to help feel free to shoot me a PM or something. I don't want to clutter this thread up too much with my college searching woes.

[QUOTE=slayer20;50320248]Ok so to just jump into this, high school never actually prepared me for college. I don't know how to look for the right college, or basically anything college related (but let me tell you about that FOIL method I learned in math class!). Anyway, I hate to ask but I seriously need my hand held through this stuff. There are so many ways to "find" colleges, but I have no idea how to tell if a college is actually good or not and I can't really risk going to another bad college. With that said, my general focus is 3d character/environment art and drawing. I guess the right term would be fine arts? The biggest thing though is that I don't really have any experience with either of those things. I want to get into them, but I don't have the time or the drive to learn it by myself. So a college for absolute beginners would be nice. I would also prefer to go to a college that has dorms. I don't want to have to drive or take a bus every day to school. I hope that's not asking for too much, but if anyone is willing to help feel free to shoot me a PM or something. I don't want to clutter this thread up too much with my college searching woes.[/QUOTE] Off the bat, Full Sail is a school that specializes in that. I had a friend attend the Orlando campus for 3D modelling. No dorms, but apartments are quite abundant in the area, as is the case with any school. If you want to stay in-state, for tuition purposes, start looking at your big universities. Most will offer what you are looking for. It's a pretty common field. If you go to an actual accredited university, your degree will be worth the same no matter where you went*. A college for absolute beginners is exactly what the purpose of college is. You don't go into a major expected to know everything. They teach you from the ground up, and if you don't have the qualifications to get in, you take the prerequisite courses to get yourself on par with the major. [i]* This may vary depending on major, but in your case, it's 99% the same[/i]

[QUOTE=Revenge282;50320370]Off the bat, Full Sail is a school that specializes in that. I had a friend attend the Orlando campus for 3D modelling. No dorms, but apartments are quite abundant in the area, as is the case with any school. If you want to stay in-state, for tuition purposes, start looking at your big universities. Most will offer what you are looking for. It's a pretty common field. If you go to an actual accredited university, your degree will be worth the same no matter where you went*. A college for absolute beginners is exactly what the purpose of college is. You don't go into a major expected to know everything. They teach you from the ground up, and if you don't have the qualifications to get in, you take the prerequisite courses to get yourself on par with the major. [i]* This may vary depending on major, but in your case, it's 99% the same[/i][/QUOTE] I currently am paying off a debt from a previous "college" that I went too for a year before dropping out. There's a long list of reasons why I left and it was for the better. How does a student loan debt affect receiving more financial aid when applying for college? My biggest fear is not getting the financial aid I need to make it through college.

[QUOTE=slayer20;50321423]I currently am paying off a debt from a previous "college" that I went too for a year before dropping out. There's a long list of reasons why I left and it was for the better. How does a student loan debt affect receiving more financial aid when applying for college? My biggest fear is not getting the financial aid I need to make it through college.[/QUOTE] Not sure. I don't use loans personally for school. I wouldn't imagine it makes a difference from what I have seen, but it all depends on where you are getting the loan from.

Student loan debt shouldn't affect the loans that you get from a new college as long as it's not drastically outstanding, as far as I know.

[QUOTE=Pascall;50321782]Student loan debt shouldn't affect the loans that you get from a new college as long as it's not drastically outstanding, as far as I know.[/QUOTE] What would "drastically outstanding" be?

Like you're in danger of default or you've already defaulted on them.

[QUOTE=Pascall;50321971]Like you're in danger of default or you've already defaulted on them.[/QUOTE] Whoops

That'sprobably something you want to take care of or attempt to take care of before taking out more loans.

[QUOTE=Revenge282;50316842]In a personal interview, I would say you're safe to say who you supported if asked. Declining could come off as closed or "over-the-top professional". (For lack of better descriptor) I would say at that point, you should be safe to open up if directly asked. They don't offer interviews to everyone for any reason, they have you there because you are potentially valuable and interested them. At the same time, do use common sense to gauge your interviewer, but I'd say 99% of the time, if they ask, you'd be safe.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I can't disagree with that! I guess it depends on the kind of job, the level of professionalism that might be expected from it, etc. Personally, I might choose to keep it to myself, because despite how opinionated I am online, in-person I prefer not to rock the boat. That's just me, of course, and I'm sure you're right in saying that simply mentioning which candidate you campaigned for won't offend anybody (so long as you don't start lecturing them or something).

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;50325751]Yeah, I can't disagree with that! I guess it depends on the kind of job, the level of professionalism that might be expected from it, etc. Personally, I might choose to keep it to myself, because despite how opinionated I am online, in-person I prefer not to rock the boat. That's just me, of course, and I'm sure you're right in saying that simply mentioning which candidate you campaigned for won't offend anybody (so long as you don't start lecturing them or something).[/QUOTE] Oh god, yeah don't do that. Just say you worked for the Sanders/Clinton/whatever campaign in whatever state, then drop it there. If they dig deeper than that (politically), then I would think it would be safe for you to make an attempt to stop the conversation.

For everyone living alone, how much a week/month do you typically spend on groceries? I'm trying to figure out a budget.

[QUOTE=norrec181;50331612]For everyone living alone, how much a week/month do you typically spend on groceries? I'm trying to figure out a budget.[/QUOTE] Thats probably going to change quite a bit depending on location. Are you already living on your own, or preparing to? If you're already on your own, then what I would recommend is to check the transaction records from your bank account for grocery stores, restaurants, fast food, etc over the period of about two to three months and try to average those out. If (or when) you realize that you are spending way too much on fast food, you can start adjusting that budget accordingly. :v: This can take a good while if you're doing it by hand, but Intuit's Mint budget tools are free and work wonders. They connect to your bank account, pull all the transaction logs, and automatically sort them into the appropriate categories ([I]usually! Sometimes you have to fix or assign categorizations, but usually only the first time shopping at that location[/I]) so that you can see exactly where your money is going with minimal effort. You can also set budgets and goals and receive alerts if you are overspending in any particular category. Very handy! If you don't already have data to work with, then it might be easier for you to start with a [I]per day[/I] or [I]per week[/I] budget that you can afford, since it's easier to stick to and/or adjust short budget goals than long ones. For example, you could set a budget of $10/day for meals, and if you are regularly exceeding that budget then you can ask yourself, "[I]okay, why am I exceeding this, and is there a way to cut any costs so that I don't? If not, then how much do I need to raise that daily budget so that I can more comfortably meet it?[/I]" Alternatively, if you're finding that you're able to stick to the daily budget no problem, and regularly come in well under, then you could consider lowering that budget. Same thing could work for a weekly budget if shopping every day isn't an option for you. Do a single grocery trip at the beginning of the week, or whatever works best for you, and try to pick out a week's worth of meals within your estimated budget. Keep track of the item prices with your phone or a notepad or something. If you're struggling to meet that budget, see if there is anything that you can cut out, or if you could save money by buying generic brands. If it just isn't realistic, you may need to raise your budget. If it's easy, you may need to lower your budget. The point of a budget is to make you struggle [I]a little bit.[/I] If you're not, then you're probably still wasting too much money on junk foods! If you're struggling way too much, however, and have zero joy left in your diet as a result of a very strict budget? Well, that's a budget you're likely to just start ignoring. Find that magic zone where you can still go grab a burger or order a pizza, but only in moderation.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;50331920]Thats probably going to change quite a bit depending on location. Are you already living on your own, or preparing to? If you're already on your own, then what I would recommend is to check the transaction records from your bank account for grocery stores, restaurants, fast food, etc over the period of about two to three months and try to average those out. If (or when) you realize that you are spending way too much on fast food, you can start adjusting that budget accordingly. :v: This can take a good while if you're doing it by hand, but Intuit's Mint budget tools are free and work wonders. They connect to your bank account, pull all the transaction logs, and automatically sort them into the appropriate categories ([I]usually! Sometimes you have to fix or assign categorizations, but usually only the first time shopping at that location[/I]) so that you can see exactly where your money is going with minimal effort. You can also set budgets and goals and receive alerts if you are overspending in any particular category. Very handy! If you don't already have data to work with, then it might be easier for you to start with a [I]per day[/I] or [I]per week[/I] budget that you can afford, since it's easier to stick to and/or adjust short budget goals than long ones. For example, you could set a budget of $10/day for meals, and if you are regularly exceeding that budget then you can ask yourself, "[I]okay, why am I exceeding this, and is there a way to cut any costs so that I don't? If not, then how much do I need to raise that daily budget so that I can more comfortably meet it?[/I]" Alternatively, if you're finding that you're able to stick to the daily budget no problem, and regularly come in well under, then you could consider lowering that budget. Same thing could work for a weekly budget if shopping every day isn't an option for you. Do a single grocery trip at the beginning of the week, or whatever works best for you, and try to pick out a week's worth of meals within your estimated budget. Keep track of the item prices with your phone or a notepad or something. If you're struggling to meet that budget, see if there is anything that you can cut out, or if you could save money by buying generic brands. If it just isn't realistic, you may need to raise your budget. If it's easy, you may need to lower your budget. The point of a budget is to make you struggle [I]a little bit.[/I] If you're not, then you're probably still wasting too much money on junk foods! If you're struggling way too much, however, and have zero joy left in your diet as a result of a very strict budget? Well, that's a budget you're likely to just start ignoring. Find that magic zone where you can still go grab a burger or order a pizza, but only in moderation.[/QUOTE] I'm coming from living at home and not paying for the majority of my own groceries. I have to bus so I'd likely not be making big monthly/bi-weekly shopping trips, I'd probably opt for doing an initial trip on the weekend then stopping by one of the grocery stores on my way home if I'm missing anything. I typically don't eat out a lot and prepare my meals at home. I'll check out those budget tools and try to work on some kind of meal plan. Luckily I don't get bored of food so if I can come up with like two weeks worth of meals I like that I can fit within a budget I don't think I'd mind repeating them.