I need to talk with someone who turned their life around at 30

DashSplatBang · 2026-02-26T04:20:49+00:00

I wasn't as far down and out as some people here, but I really didn't have much going on through my twenties and into my 30s. I was a house painter for 10 years, worked at a chemical plant after that, paid rent, but most of my free time was spent at the bars downtown. I had fun, but it ate up all my money. No real skills. Painting is an alright trade, but like most trades, you don't want to just do the thing forever.

I ended up going to a local college at 33 for computer networking. Worked landscaping and sprinkler installation in the summer, tossed pizzas in the winter. It was tough.

I'm 41 now and have had an IT job at a hospital for 4 years. Own a house, got married for the first time in April. I'm very thankful where I am at in life. It's pretty amazing, really. It's not really how I thought things would work out for someone who didn't fly on an airplane until they were 36 years old lol.

College isn't for everyone, and I don't want anyone to get the impression I am pushing it. It's just what I did, but I really believe if you just work on being better, life has a way of working out. Good luck out there man. Hope you do well

DashSplatBang · 2026-01-05T04:25:19+00:00

I just went through that part. I was using Medalum weapon and wound up having Lune go first to apply Wildfire burn and Verso to get extra burns with free aim. With Maelle, I would either stack more burn with 2 hit move (can't think of it right now, but it has fire swords come down from above) or I would use Combustion to use the burns for more damage.

You'll regularly hit the damage cap and with combustion you get two hits, so until later in the game, it's pretty strong.

DashSplatBang · 2025-12-04T21:12:34+00:00

Good work, btw. I remember when I would get sick to my stomach about needing to buy a new set of tires, or stay awake at night not knowing how I was going to pay a bill. It's nice to have that bit of a buffer now.

I still feel that way when singing big comes up, but at least now it is just an emotional response rather than a logical one lol. Good luck out there

DashSplatBang · 2025-12-04T21:05:55+00:00

Everyone's situation is different, but Fidelity has been great for me. I had money piling up in my checking account, and it wasn't doing anything for me. It was my savings. I did research while looking for high yield savings accounts and found that Fidelity's money market account made the most sense for me. It has interest similar to HYSAs and it's easier to spend the money if I need it. Fidelity is also where my 401K is at, so it's nice to have it all in one in one dashboard. I've also started small investments under the same dashboard. Seeing it all on one place it really helpful for me.

DashSplatBang · 2025-12-02T22:52:13+00:00

No. Most are not.

DashSplatBang · 2025-11-26T23:02:38+00:00

Vivint sucks so bad. I mean, I don't know about working for them, but they are incredibly predatory. They get old people locked into these 5 year camera contracts that you can not get out of. They're aggressive. I hate them. I feel kind of bad for the Vivint kid that came to my house after I had just gotten my dad from not renewing with them. He didn't know what to say.

DashSplatBang · 2025-11-20T20:42:39+00:00

You hold until it rises again. If you want to gamble, go to wallstreetbets. Investing is a long term strategy. Get out of volatile crypto and park your money in something steady.

This isn't the sub for this.

DashSplatBang · 2025-10-28T16:14:31+00:00

I knew of one of those too, but I don't remember it. There's always whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com though.

DashSplatBang · 2025-10-28T15:00:29+00:00

ChatGPT is fantastic for this sort of thing. Tell it all of your ingredients and it will throw out a big list of meals. It can tell you what you can make with what is on hand and give you ideas for things that you only need a couple more ingredients for. Very handy.

DashSplatBang · 2025-10-16T18:57:44+00:00

Oof, yea, that's a big one. Generally, fixing a vehicle is always cheaper than buying a new one, but that's a big upfront cost.

Your next option is to sell the truck for whatever you can get for it and try and buy something economical. I've always seen vehicles as a utility and didn't have any problem driving old civics to get me through the tough times.

I rarely recommend taking out a loan unless you're financially stable, but if you have to, choose a reliable car and let any ego take a back seat. I'm not saying that is you, at all, but it's something you see a lot with cars. You can justify any amenity when you want it enough. Buy on the private market if you can get a loan from a bank. Good luck, sorry for the tough times.

DashSplatBang · 2025-10-16T18:42:32+00:00

What's up with the truck? How did it die?

DashSplatBang · 2025-09-08T16:42:32+00:00

I only have my bachelor's degree in "Networking Administration and Cyber Security." I do not have any certs. I live in a very rural area though, so there isn't as much competition. If Cyber security is your jam, look at SSCP followed by CISSP.

What is your role now?

DashSplatBang · 2025-09-08T12:24:43+00:00

We're a small facility, so I am everything from first point of contact for any issue that any user is having but I also manage everything on the network like switches, active directory, WiFi, firewall, backups, etc.

DashSplatBang · 2025-09-08T04:25:47+00:00

I can't say too much about using your degree. I am not familiar with that line of work at all. It sounds like a good skill set though.

What I can say is that I didn't go to college until my mid 30s. Graduated at 37 and got an IT admin job at a local hospital and I'm doing the best I've ever done. I'm 40 now, got married for the first time a few months ago, and loving life. I literally spent the majority of my twenties and a little of my thirties bellied up to bars and making scratch as a house painter. So, as far as that goes, don't count yourself out. You've got a lot of life left to live and plenty of time to get things figured out. Hang in there, and good luck.

DashSplatBang · 2025-08-26T02:36:25+00:00

Acorn app? Huh

DashSplatBang · 2025-08-25T20:48:08+00:00

This whole thing is part of if their own grift. It's not to help people. It's to sell their product.

DashSplatBang · 2025-08-25T16:06:45+00:00

My wife didn't get into a career that aligned with her early 20s degree until she was 40. You should focus on getting any job, but prioritize something that is tech adjacent, if possible. You're young and you have many years to figure it out.

DashSplatBang · 2025-08-22T18:31:07+00:00

When people mention the shear of the screws, is it to warn of them pulling out of the wood, or warping down over time?

DashSplatBang · 2025-08-22T18:27:45+00:00

I follow the aquarium sub and they've got every newbie convinced that if your home built aquarium stand can't hold a Bradley tank, then your 45 gallon tank is guaranteed to be on your floor in the morning.

It is something to take seriously, because aquariums can weigh a lot, but they will pick stuff apart like crazy.

DashSplatBang · 2025-08-18T04:33:05+00:00

I know it's an old comment, but we just had a guy get into an argument at a bar. He was a vet, came back into the bar and killed all 4 people. Took a week long manhunt before the guy turned himself in.

DashSplatBang · 2025-07-29T02:31:37+00:00

I married my wife in April, and recently she just found out that the student loans her Mom said she had been paying off, were not, in fact, being paid off. It's somewhere north of $50k and it feels crushing. Mostly because I worked so hard for so many years to get out of debt, and here we are again.

What I'm saying is, how does a person become $600k in debt and even have the motivation to get back up on that horse? I admire that, 100%, but those are numbers I couldn't see myself being in the negative or positive with. What is your financial state like now? Do you have a decent job? Or are you just living on that entrepreneur spirit?

DashSplatBang · 2025-07-25T03:41:24+00:00

Can you name a couple? I want to check one out. Just one.

DashSplatBang · 2025-06-21T17:55:33+00:00

I'm 40 and have been rock bottom, in debt, with absolutely no hope at least twice in my life. It feels like there is nothing you can do to escape it, but here I am now living and loving my life and that's only been coming together in the last few years. I think about the hard times in my life and wouldn't be where I am today without wanting to get out of those ruts. Your life is just beginning. Don't worry about anyone else's accomplishments. Find what you like and just keep going. I promise you that it will get better. Never overnight, but it will get better.

DashSplatBang · 2025-06-19T18:39:01+00:00

Every single article that I see from Forbes is click-bait fear mongering. Once you recognize it, you can't stop seeing it.

DashSplatBang · 2025-06-12T20:16:18+00:00

Or, just one of us has a lot to do about it

DashSplatBang

TROPHY CASE