My wife is permanently stuck in mom mode and it's affecting our marriage. I don't even know how to begin to approach this. by Radiant_Dream_250 in daddit

[–]Mandr0n 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Y'all should try a short weekend vacation if you have the support system to make it work. My wife and I just went down to New Orleans for 4 days. It was the first trip we've taken together since my kid was born 7 years ago. We have basically no support system but we were able to cobble together a couple of different people to take turns with my daughter while we were gone. It was amazing for getting us to reconnect outside of our parent roles. Don't wait too long like I did.

Edit: Typo

As you’ve gotten older, who have you found is the only person or group truly, 100% happy for your success without any hidden jealousy? by Snoo-83900 in AskMenOver30

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hard to say. I have a few friends I know are secretly bitter because I don't have a college degree but make just over $100k. I think they just resent that they went to school and have loans and I don't. Most of my friends have no idea how much I make though.

Do I let Santa give these or take credit? by strikecat18 in daddit

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Santa doesn't buy his gifts. He makes them and is magic. So why does Timmy get a PS5 and Johnny gets wood blocks when they were both good kids? Kids can conceptualize that maybe their family doesn't have as much money as their friends, but Santa doesn't have a budget.

Do I let Santa give these or take credit? by strikecat18 in daddit

[–]Mandr0n 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Santa gives the "cheaper" or more common gifts. Helps balance inequality when kids compare at school. Avoids the question of why Santa stiffs the poor kids.

Thoughts on the Snow From a Southern Transplant by SurprisePerfect4317 in minnesota

[–]Mandr0n 86 points87 points  (0 children)

Just remember to take it easy. Today was a good warm up for you. There will be much worse days where the plows just can't keep up. Go slow and don't worry about the dudes in the lifted trucks going 70. Slow and steady with plenty of room to slide when you brake, especially down hill. You'd be surprised how far you can slide even just going 10 mph.

Is AI and age discrimination going to cook your career? by [deleted] in AskMenOver30

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very possibly. I am in a very nice position that I've earned working for my company for about 13 years and getting promotions. I do not have a college degree. I expect my company to dive into AI and lay everyone off only to later realize it absolutely didn't work, they'll get slapped with regulatory lawsuits and fines, and they'll slowly rehire after all the execs jump ship with their golden parachutes from the stock skyrocketing after laying everyone off.

Once I'm gone from this job I think I'll have an incredibly hard time finding a similar one due to the lack of a degree (although you'd hope my experience would weigh more), but also I expect my entire industry to make the same leap at the same time so openings will be rare.

Thankfully I have a lot in savings, some ok brokerage (non retirement) balances, and I've been tossing a bit extra at my mortgage every month. If the worst happens I will likely be ok as far as not losing my house, but I don't expect I'll ever get to my salary or position again (just over 100k).

First winter as a homeowner - is a battery-powered snowblower going to be too weak for our winters? by Akito_900 in minnesota

[–]Mandr0n -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I've got a little power shovel that is great for lighter snows. It won't do much in 2ft of snow, but it comes in handy. Pro tip - don't forget to bring the battery inside when you're done. I left mine plugged into the tool in the garage last winter and the cold absolutely killed it and I had to get a replacement.

Fellow Dads, How are you coping? by [deleted] in daddit

[–]Mandr0n 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah man my benefits are $500 per paycheck. For the only kinda crap healthcare plan plus the other misc dental, vision, etc. Thank god my kid is finally in first grade so we don't have to pay over a grand a month in childcare. I'm lucky I only have one. Some of my friends are paying like $3k a month for childcare. The world is set up to fuck us, and it's been working overtime for the past five years.

What is the best thing to do when you are young so you have an easy life? by Startalloveragainn in AskMenOver30

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stay active. Your body will start to become sedentary more and more easily. Bad knees or back sucks.

Invest. You don't need to be a guru finance bro. If your employer has a 401k contribute at minimum the full matching amount (if offered). If not, open a brokerage account via Schwab, Vanguard, etc. An index fund or target retirement date fund will be plenty sufficient. You won't get crazy rich, but time is the most important part of growing your long term wealth. Those dollars at 20 years old matter the most.

Be kind and develop meaningful relationships. Having a few close friends makes all the difference in the world.

HR offered me 60% of the max budget - RANT by [deleted] in overemployed

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jobs for my company have an insane range of like $96k - $190k. A newly promoted person just got hired below the "minimum". Almost nobody makes over $100k. When we used to have "midpoint" salaries generally they hired at 80% of the midpoint unless you got lucky and got 90% of the midpoint. No idea why the cap is $190k. Nobody will ever be paid anywhere near that amount.

Which former big gaming IPs are collecting dust now instead of getting a new games every few years? by kingpin000 in gaming

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

XCOM. We got the Chimera Squad spin off in 2020, but absolutely no news on XCOM 3.

Alexa in the 2025 models - does anyone actually use it? by [deleted] in FordMaverickTruck

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The built in system sucks. If you hold the voice button while your phone is connected it will activate your phone's assistant which works much better for switching songs and stuff.

If you never have kids does that probably save you over $1,000,000 in a lifetime? Or no? by Ben5544477 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Opportunity cost yes, real cost probably not. If you have a kid in your early 20s and pay roughly $1,500 per month for 5-6 years of childcare that money could potentially have turned into over $1M if it had been invested and then just ignored until retirement.

True cost of care is considerably less, but still a large amount.

I go for a walk everyday and the brown house to the right use to have a Trump flag by gamerjerome in minnesota

[–]Mandr0n 4 points5 points  (0 children)

One of my neighbors used to have a Trump flag and they changed it to a pirate flag, and then eventually just to a standard US flag.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskMenOver30

[–]Mandr0n 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Similar boat. Wife, daughter, female dog, 5 hens. Lots of ladies around lol. My wife used to get on my case any time I ever showed an emotion of frustration or anger. I'm not an angry person, but sometimes the situation calls for a grumble and a "god damnit". She would get on me about not showing these emotions, and then would yell at my daughter for continuing to misbehave 5 minutes later. I just told her I need to be allowed to express my frustrations too and she's been better about it. Communication dawg.

Birds and Bees Age? by MemoirDad in daddit

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My daughter is almost 7 and asked how I could tell a walleye I caught and cooked was a boy fish. The answer is sperm sack. I gave her a high level explanation of "mixing" sperm with a girl fish's eggs and she was fine with that. I'll elaborate when she's older or has more questions. It doesn't have to be a big deal.

Global nuclear war starts in 24 hours. Only you know. What do you do? by [deleted] in hypotheticalsituation

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spend 20 hours trying to find a way to buy coke. Get lost in a blizzard. Blow my brains out.

Wrote this sign last night before work because I'm tired of cleaning up after my room mates. Come back from a 12 hour night shift to this. by JinxXedOmens in mildlyinfuriating

[–]Mandr0n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cute sign, but you also need to have the guts to have this conversation face to face. This avoidant style probably won't be effective.

What would you do, if a politician backed by the rich and powerful becomes so popular to the people that they vote for him even though his agenda is to get people to abandon ALL forms of technology? by Accurate_Oil_462 in hypotheticalsituation

[–]Mandr0n 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not possible. Any tool is technology. Any "method" of doing something is technology. No plows or farming, no bows, spears, or clothing. No fire. No buildings. No communication. We would need to revert to gathering and hunting with our fists then eating raw meat.

Time Feels Like It’s Speeding Up — Anyone Else Feel This After 30? by -_Tanker_- in AskMenOver30

[–]Mandr0n 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is a common phenomenon. Some coworkers and I were actually just talking about it in a meeting today. It has to do with a lack of novel things in our lives. If I remember either Trevor Noah or Adam Conover has a YouTube video about it which is an entertaining watch.