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

I use [url]https://workflowy.com/[/url] to manage my to-do lists for school. It lets you make lists and cross shit off as you get it done. It's super simple but helps a LOT. [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/hlm539kbzxkqbhn/chrome_2016-03-20_17-44-15.png?dl=0[/t][t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/72rntctrhay7la4/chrome_2016-03-20_17-44-47.png?dl=0[/t][t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/tyx7rv9hbawvyst/chrome_2016-03-20_17-45-02.png?dl=0[/t] It helps that my teachers throw the entire semester's schedule on their syllabi, so I can get everything down like this.

[QUOTE=Novangel;49972951]Do your assignments and go through your material whenever you get them, really helps cutting down procrastination and having work pile up.[/QUOTE] Well, deadlines I can manage (and they motivate me to get stuff done) - getting there on time (most of the time), doing assignments, etc. is really not a problem. It's basically just reading my text books, which is also the most time consuming thing we do. It's not even that I find the books uninteresting (if I did I wouldn't have taken this course). I just can't, of my own volition, read, say, between 8.00 on 16.00 on weekdays. I always end up pushing it till I'm in bed or till the weekend or whatever. I get by with my current reading level, but I could benefit from being more thorough. We don't get material handed out piece meal (that's how I understand "whenever you get them"), so really I could sit down right now and read all I need to know for this semester. Maybe I'm just rambling now, but I feel like I need a threat to motivate me to get stuff done. As it is I can always push it, and it's just a really distant threat.

Are you trying to read [I]all [/I]of the textbook?

[QUOTE=Novangel;49973043]Are you trying to read [I]all [/I]of the textbook?[/QUOTE] Not all, no, but the majority (depends on the book as well, some cover what we need to know pretty well, others not so much). We do have course guides that say what parts we need to know.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49972490]I felt exactly the same way. I've been independent for the last five years, and I found that even as I got better jobs and started enjoying more money, and the stress of worrying about paying my bills on time was largely surpassed, I was still very unhappy with my general circumstances. I hated waking up, going to work, spending all day doing things I didn't enjoy, and coming home with only a few hours of personal time before I had to go to sleep to do the same thing again the next day. I'm sure this sounds a bit dramatic, but I just felt like I was a slave to my paychecks, you know? Like, "what else am I doing with my life other than working for money?" If you have ever felt that way, read this book: [url]http://www.amazon.com/dp/1612680011/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=47136620808&hvpos=1t3&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15005095425325812856&hvpone=5.99&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_3pynxtfcxh_b[/url] Rich Dad Poor Dad. It's only six dollars. Changed my life completely. It taught me an entirely different way to look at money and work and life in general, and made me realize that I was walking down a path that was totally wrong for me. I changed everything! And now, not even a year later, I'm on the brink of starting my own business in real estate. Within ten years, following the path that this book helped lay down the first flagstones on, I will be completely independent of a paycheck, making $5,000/month+ of completely passive income from my property investments. It's no get rich quick scheme. Just the opposite. It shows how wealth generation is slow, deliberate, and not nearly as difficult or risky as you might imagine.[/QUOTE] [url]http://markmanson.net/goals[/url] This article by Mark Manson (great writer, by the way) also explains that general concept in an article of his, but in a way that focuses more so on general life goals instead of economics. The idea is the same, though - that you should focus on goals that help compound the success you can reach from future goals instead of trying to immediately have far-reaching goals where you only fall in love with the idea of success at the end. He also goes over some general advice that I feel might help people with this thread towards the end of the article, such as good habits to form (that, in turn, help form better habits down the line) as well as explaining their benefits. Here is a small excerpt from the article. (A lot of his other articles are great too, if you wanna check out those). [QUOTE] Just like forcing yourself to work and save for 20 years is unlikely to get you rich, forcing yourself to go to the gym dozens of times is unlikely to make you lose much weight and keep it off. Goals like this require an intense amount of effort, yet they never seem to “stick.” Eventually, your energy and discipline run out and you fall right back to the same person you were, except now you feel defeated. That’s because it’s better to invest your limited focus and energy on building habits rather than specific goals. Just like you want to take the money you earn and put it to work for you, you want to take the effort you expend in changing yourself and put it to work changing you as well. People usually don’t focus on habits because goals sound much sexier in our minds. They feel more motivating in the moment when we think about them. There’s a clear image of a certain result in our head and that gets us excited. Habits, on the other hand, don’t sound as sexy in our heads. They’re long-term and repetitive, which makes them seem boring. And there’s no clear image one can imagine for “going to the gym every morning for a year” or “only drinking alcohol on weekends.” You don’t get this rush of inspiration imagining yourself eating salad for lunch every day. You don’t lay in bed at night fantasizing about flossing every morning. Goals are a one-time bargain. They are the spending mindset. “I will spend X amount of energy to receive Y reward.” Habits are an investing mindset. Habits require one to invest one’s efforts for a little while and then take the rewards of that effort and re-invest them in a greater effort to form even better habits. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=J!NX;49972465]This thread is about teaching people the things (American high) school never gave a shit about teaching them actually living they'll teach you about the difference between types of economies, they'll teach you math, they'll teach you all sorts of things, but none of its about things you need to do, like taxes. Hell, they won't even teach you how to fill out an application.[/QUOTE] ^^^^^^ "Don't worry we'll teach you about taxes & finance at some point, but first let me tell you about the cells inside a leaf!" The closest thing to personal finance I was taught in High School was how to sign a personal check. This tax season I gave filing my tax returns myself a shot, my dad lent me his TurboTax and after I finished printing everything out I took it to H & R Block to compare, they got me $1000 more after filing for a credit that wasn't on TurboTax. That was pretty fun. Now, a question for anyone into investment; I'm 20 and am interested in starting a investing account while I'm young. I've seen commercials like ETrade and was wondering what would be the best way to start? I know next to nothing other then my father begging me to start now to put money into a IRA while I still have time.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49972541]It is. Prices fluctuate of course depending on the area but like.. nicer areas will almost always charge way too much. Unrelated to that, but does anyone else find it exceedingly difficult to mentally and emotionally handle school AND work at the same time? I'm down working only one day out of the week (mostly only being kept around because of the administrative work I do for the after school program I work for) and even that feels like a colossal amount of strain while I'm also going to school. Makes me feel kind of shit in comparison to people who can juggle a job or two along with college. Like I'm not cut out for the work force or something.[/QUOTE] This may not be what you'd like to hear but based on what you've said in this thread: stay at home longer. Granted you did say you were up for doing it but I'd assume you'd rather not. You work one day out of the week and I assume are paying for school (not a free ride). You're also worried about spending the $50/month for your pets. How will you pay for rent? I assume working one day a week won't cover it. Plus it'll add stress, which you seem to have since you have trouble juggling work and school. Not that that's a bad thing! But trying to pay for bills at the end of the month will compound it. Dealing with parents for a little longer is probably less stressful than freaking out over rent. Stay at home and put your money towards your student loans, which I assume you have. Then when you graduate stay at home another year when working full time to help pay off the loans, THEN move out. You will hopefully be paid quite a bit ahead of the loans, if they aren't paid off, and can make smaller payments which should make living on your own easier. If you're really determined to move out and avoid a pet fee some smaller places (ie duplex) may not have pet fees. Larger, corporate places do. And there's a reason for it: your pets will cause damage/wear/tear. You'll probably be pissed about paying whatever cleaning fees they'll charge when you move out too. [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] Also lol the bay area, never owning a house I guess [img]http://i.imgur.com/PiJA8cP.png[/img]

Oh no, I'm not planning on moving out until I can manage a full time job and have an income enough to manage. This is just what I'm struggling with right now, being able to balance school and work.

Apartments can be expensive and hurt your wallet depending on where you live, if you live in a state with one of the more higher costs of living staying with your parents is the best choice. Especially if you're still in college.

[QUOTE=Pascall;49973373]Oh no, I'm not planning on moving out until I can manage a full time job and have an income enough to manage. This is just what I'm struggling with right now, being able to balance school and work.[/QUOTE] Ah, okay you're just planning ahead. I thought you were talking about moving out soon. But yeah renting for awhile is your best bet when you do move out and you'll always get a deal with a smaller landlord than with a corporate place. Just keep in mind the corporate place will have better maintenance and could be more safe. And I get that you're worried about "throwing money away" but if you get a cheap condo/townhouse/home its an investment, one that you could lose money on if/when you decide to move out. imo a mortgage is very scary thing. I really only plan on one when I'm sure that'll be the home I'll die in. Playing the market just isn't worth it. Or at least keep in mind the [I]current [/I]market, which seems to me like its a bubble, again. At least in my area.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;49972819]Anything cheap will fuck your insides up unless you learn how to cook for yourself, which is an issue of its own (time, storage space, cooking knowledge, ect.). Learn how to cook or eat from the dining halls. There's no recommended diet as long as you know how to keep your body healthy. I avoid soda, fat-rich sauces and dressings, fried foods, and so on. As long as I avoid those and try to eat a variety of foods I keep myself in shape. My one weakness is desserts.[/QUOTE] Well I find making food to be fun so I guess I don't really have much of an issue on that front I guess. Just keep it varied and try shoehorning in more greens, probably.

[QUOTE=RIPBILLYMAYS;49972554]Well I am a Nuclear Engineering student, but my best friend (who is actually a lot more studious and smarter than I) is going into nursing. I will tell you what I have learned so far: The university you attend, and the content you study, is almost completely irrelevant if you plan to attend graduate school or get additional schooling after college (unless there is a qualification type exam you need to get into the grad school). Engineers go to law school, a Nuclear Propulsion Officer I talked to in the Navy had a Bachelors in education and did the Navy equivalent of a Master's in Nuclear Engineering. Obviously a degree in the life sciences would help if you plan to enter a career in the healthcare industry but it's not required. My friend is doing an accelerated 2-years Associates in Nursing, and at the end of it she will take the same Boards Exams as the 4-year bachelors students. Additionally, her school is paid for because she went to a university that gave her (nearly) a full ride. She will start working after she gets her boards done this summer and completing her Bachelors online while working. If your only other option is to become an RN for a while (which doesn't sound fun to you it seems), I would suggest taking the grant and getting surgical tech classes asap. Also a big piece of advice: If you find your degree takes a lot of time to succeed outside of class, [I][B]Do not get a side job just to make money.[/B][/I] I complain about debt all the time since I'm paying my own way through college and people ask me why I don't have a job, and its because what I'm doing is [I][B]HARD[/B][/I]. Adding a job I don't care for except about the money would make it harder and if I have to take another year to graduate then any money I made becomes worthless.[/QUOTE] Thanks for telling me about the side-job stuff, been battling the idea of picking one up during college or not. I might look into summer jobs, though, if that's a better option. But not during the school year because from what I hear medical school is a pain, and I had a hard time enough in High School. And thankfully I'll have a place to stay as well so I won't have to worry about getting my own place as soon as I get out of High School in a few months. More than likely gonna take the grant and hope I get through all the stuff I need in the time that grant will cover, doubt they'll pay for at least more than 4 years in community college. See what I'll do from there, cause I'll definitely need to start getting some income.

hi i need some advice i really want to move out of home and im not too sure if i can i work at dominos pizza, recently i received $400AUD from the ECQ (electoral commission Queensland) for being a polling assistant the Council+Referendum election i earn about $300-$400 a week from my job, paycheck is here for an insight [t]http://i.imgur.com/0XOcPnh.png[/t] 19 yo, full time uni student at QUT, where i live right now is around an hour from the campus i drive to the train everyday then catch a bus, since train travel is free for me i only pay for busfare, my student discount makes it about $1.30 i have ~$3000 saved up from emergency expenses but i cant dip below a grand simply for personal reasons the car i drive is my dad's, he has never valued it to me but it's around 5 grand i live with my mum and dad, the conditions are that since im living there the car is virtually mine, they pay for servicing and i pay for petrol, i spend about $40-50 a week on petrol my partner lives 5 minutes away, they do want to move out but doesn't want to move out too far or else her grandparents will seize her house and sell it (they have the right to but since it'd be unoccupied, they will do it to save money) i havent really got any advice on this so im hoping you lot could help

[QUOTE=J!NX;49972487]"We'll teach you how to survive after school and give you all the skills you need" *gets tax return* "what the fuck is this? Do I wipe my ass with it?"[/QUOTE] I never got why they never taught taxes as a class in the later years of school. It's the one thing you're going to need to know about, irregardless of where you are and what your job is.

I'm trying to get more into trading. A few months ago I purchased 10 shares of Smith and Wesson at 17 dollars a share to test the waters, now Smith and Wesson is sitting at almost 30 dollars a share. If I put in $1000 dollars I'd have made almost twice that amount of money now D: It's fun but I feel like I have no fucking clue what I'm doing. I have some other stock in Disney and Budweiser but Disney is doing pretty shite right now. Anyone have any experience with trading and have some personal insight/lessons learned?

[QUOTE=megafat;49974276]I never got why they never taught taxes as a class in the later years of school. It's the one thing you're going to need to know about, irregardless of where you are and what your job is.[/QUOTE] because they don't care about actually teaching you an real life skills later in school

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49972280] 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. [/QUOTE] bda i still occasionally make that slow cooked buffalo chicken pasta recipe you posted in gmf. it's the best. slow cookers are the best. you just pop shit in before you go to work/school and come home to an awesome smelling house and a meal for days.

Guess who gets to have their Wisdom Teeth taken out tomorrow! Growing up sucks

[QUOTE=mralexs;49974399]Guess who gets to have their Wisdom Teeth taken out tomorrow! Growing up sucks[/QUOTE] Pain killers will be your new BFFs.

[QUOTE=KOS-MOS;49974545]Pain killers will be your new BFFs.[/QUOTE] I had zero pain when I got my wisdom teeth out. I only took the pain killer a bit before I went to bed. It just made me insanely dizzy and [SP]I ended up throwing up the box of mashed potatoes I ate along with all the blood I had swallowed throughout the day. I filled a very good sized bucket. I felt way better afterwards, it was 100℅ the painkiller that did it.[/SP] Those painkillers are rough, don't take them unless you need them.

would getting a crockpot for when i move out and live on my own be a good idea? i like the idea of chucking some cheap meat and veggies into it in the morning then coming home to a cooked dinner in the evening [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] also: bulk rice. where would be the best place to buy large amounts of rice on the cheap? that is something i know i can make a big batch of then be able to eat off of for a week or two.

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;49974634]would getting a crockpot for when i move out and live on my own be a good idea? i like the idea of chucking some cheap meat and veggies into it in the morning then coming home to a cooked dinner in the evening [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] also: bulk rice. where would be the best place to buy large amounts of rice on the cheap? that is something i know i can make a big batch of then be able to eat off of for a week or two.[/QUOTE] slow cookers are cheap so it's not like its a big investment.. also literally any grocery store??

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;49974634]would getting a crockpot for when i move out and live on my own be a good idea? i like the idea of chucking some cheap meat and veggies into it in the morning then coming home to a cooked dinner in the evening [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] also: bulk rice. where would be the best place to buy large amounts of rice on the cheap? that is something i know i can make a big batch of then be able to eat off of for a week or two.[/QUOTE] i buy 20lb bags of jasmine rice at my local asian grocery [editline]20th March 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=thrawn2787;49974632]I had zero pain when I got my wisdom teeth out. I only took the pain killer a bit before I went to bed. It just made me insanely dizzy and [SP]I ended up throwing up the box of mashed potatoes I ate along with all the blood I had swallowed throughout the day. I filled a very good sized bucket. I felt way better afterwards, it was 100℅ the painkiller that did it.[/SP] Those painkillers are rough, don't take them unless you need them.[/QUOTE] seriously yeah. recovery didn't hurt at all. i still took a vicodin tho and it made me puke

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;49972479]Hey, canadian schools also utterly fail in teaching life skills.Sure, I remember all the atrocities that happened to the Metis, I can recall the majority of our prime ministersBUT I CAN'T DO MY TAXES WITHOUT TALKING TO AN ACCOUNTANT God damn it schools you're fucking useless.[/QUOTE] You know the weird thing is I was in adapted class for the folks with learning disabilities and such. They actually taught us how to do taxes in math.

[QUOTE=RenegadeCop;49974531]I'm working 18 hours a week along with 18 hours of college classes (6 classes) of mostly upper-division work. What do you guys do for stress relief? I just always feel as if there's a never ending pile of work I have to be doing and it's hard for me to enjoy myself without feeling like I'm being lazy or forgetting something important. I only see my girlfriend once a week and sometimes I have to ask off from that so I have time to myself to study or just lay down. I have college mostly paid for with scholarships (one only covers the first 120 hours, and I need 150 to qualify for the arbitrary CPA scam-exam, so I may have to pay for some my last year), so I don't really [I]need[/I] to be working. I'd feel like a lazy shit if I didn't have a job though. I won't quit, but if they fired me, I'd be just overjoyed. So yeah, what do you guys do for stress relief?[/QUOTE] I'm around a similar workload with 40 hours a week in a sort of high stress environment plus some online classes I should say. Aside from the super obvious stuff like taking some time for yourself, treat yourself, or just rubbing one out I have a few things that help me relax. As counterproductive as it sounds I give myself side projects to work on. Recently I started a podcast and working on that has helped keep me more down to earth. I'll sit down and spend a good hour or so just focusing on editing content. I'm not saying start a podcast but having a project to focus some of your energy on can help. Another thing I started about a year ago was keeping a sketchbook in my car or around me and just sketching whatever is in front of me (not that I'm any good at it). It feels calming to try and create something and leaves me with a good feeling afterwards. Exercise is one that should be on everyone's list if they can. Some light cardio like jumping rope or a brisk walk is some of the best things you can when it come to dealing with stress too. That's what I do to try and keep myself sane so I hope that helps a bit at least man.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;49973862]hi i need some advice i really want to move out of home and im not too sure if i can i work at dominos pizza, recently i received $400AUD from the ECQ (electoral commission Queensland) for being a polling assistant the Council+Referendum election i earn about $300-$400 a week from my job, paycheck is here for an insight [t]http://i.imgur.com/0XOcPnh.png[/t] 19 yo, full time uni student at QUT, where i live right now is around an hour from the campus i drive to the train everyday then catch a bus, since train travel is free for me i only pay for busfare, my student discount makes it about $1.30 i have ~$3000 saved up from emergency expenses but i cant dip below a grand simply for personal reasons the car i drive is my dad's, he has never valued it to me but it's around 5 grand i live with my mum and dad, the conditions are that since im living there the car is virtually mine, they pay for servicing and i pay for petrol, i spend about $40-50 a week on petrol my partner lives 5 minutes away, they do want to move out but doesn't want to move out too far or else her grandparents will seize her house and sell it (they have the right to but since it'd be unoccupied, they will do it to save money) i havent really got any advice on this so im hoping you lot could help[/QUOTE] A general rule of thumb for responsible housing costs is to allocate about 30% of your income towards rent/mortgage payments (excluding utility bills and insurance). So at $300/week (estimating on the low side of income to be safe), you would have approximately $1200/month and could comfortably afford about $400 in rent. It is unlikely you would be able to rent your own apartment at that price point, but you may well be able to sublet a room in somebody else's home. Although, I don't know if that same rule of thumb applies in Australia, as there may well be different expenses and such that I'm just not aware of.

Damn I was planning on moving out by the end of this year after saving up, running with about the same income too.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;49974955]A general rule of thumb for responsible housing costs is to allocate about 30% of your income towards rent/mortgage payments (excluding utility bills and insurance). So at $300/week (estimating on the low side of income to be safe), you would have approximately $1200/month and could comfortably afford about $400 in rent. It is unlikely you would be able to rent your own apartment at that price point, but you may well be able to sublet a room in somebody else's home. Although, I don't know if that same rule of thumb applies in Australia, as there may well be different expenses and such that I'm just not aware of.[/QUOTE] most places ive seen in facebook groups offering rooms in inner-Brisbane go for $150-200/fortnight or $200ish per week. They are in places where either - the main uni's (QUT, UQ, Griffith) are in close distance OR - next to a busway, bus stop or train line that gets you to either Roma Street or there in about 20 minutes most of them aren't accommodated for students with cars like me, and if im to retain my job (which i want to since while the pay is shit, it helps me to get by) i need a vehicle or else i'll be fired or i have to find a store where they only use company cars and get paid less not looking at renting my own apartment or house, looking at shared houses and rooms right now since its the popular choice and plus it's better than being this far away from uni

If anyone is struggling to budget, there's a pretty nifty service called [URL="http://www.youneedabudget.com/"]You Need A Budget[/URL] - it's subscription based at a somewhat reasonable cost, but if things are really tight I wouldn't recommend using it. But, if you can spare some change here and there it truly is a godsend - I am awful with my money, even when I am "responsible" - It has plugged the holes in my wallet to the point that I could afford get my new second-hand car and save for bond to move out, all whilst paying off and saving for monthly expenses (phone bill/shopping/private health insurance/board) and yearly expenses (car rego/car repairs) with money saved for a rainy day. Only been using it for a few months but it's changed so much to the point where I've opened up a securities trading account with my bank. You can try the 30-or-so day trial to see if it's for you.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;49973862]hi i need some advice i really want to move out of home and im not too sure if i can i work at dominos pizza, recently i received $400AUD from the ECQ (electoral commission Queensland) for being a polling assistant the Council+Referendum election i earn about $300-$400 a week from my job, paycheck is here for an insight [t]http://i.imgur.com/0XOcPnh.png[/t] 19 yo, full time uni student at QUT, where i live right now is around an hour from the campus i drive to the train everyday then catch a bus, since train travel is free for me i only pay for busfare, my student discount makes it about $1.30 i have ~$3000 saved up from emergency expenses but i cant dip below a grand simply for personal reasons the car i drive is my dad's, he has never valued it to me but it's around 5 grand i live with my mum and dad, the conditions are that since im living there the car is virtually mine, they pay for servicing and i pay for petrol, i spend about $40-50 a week on petrol my partner lives 5 minutes away, they do want to move out but doesn't want to move out too far or else her grandparents will seize her house and sell it (they have the right to but since it'd be unoccupied, they will do it to save money) i havent really got any advice on this so im hoping you lot could help[/QUOTE] You sound a lot like me before I moved out, although I'm not out on my own for the first time. I also deliver pizza and live pretty comfortably in a good house with some friends. We actually all work at pizza places. I make roughly the same as you per month and my monthly rent is ~300. It's actually $313. With my phone bill, utilities, car insurance, and internet my monthly expenses come out to roughly $650. I spend probably the same as you in gas per week at around $40-$45 so about $800 I guess. Then there's groceries, and this all depends on how much you eat out or just eat in general. I eat out a decent bit myself with friends and family. Groceries will run you anywhere between $100-$200 a month, you know, depending on the stuff you like and if you're willing to cook. Moving in will initially cost you a lot more than what you'd spend the rest of the year because you'll need to settle in. This means washer/dryer, bathroom essentials, decor, cleaning supplies, etc. Plus if you've got a pet you'll need to pay for it. (Pet fee and feeding it) I'm 22 and I've lived on my own since I was 19. As long as you have some kind of support like friends and family, although it's likely you'll be fine, it should be smooth sailing. You've got just a little more than me in savings which is great. Hold on to that and keep feeding the account whenever you see fit. It's pulled me out of car trouble due to the strain on my car at work. I've got probably $200 spending money throughout the month with all my expenses and stuff and I'm okay with that.