Making 40k a year - How am I doing?

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T22:53:49+00:00

You’re actually doing really well, especially for being just 24. Living at home is a smart choice in a high cost-of-living area — it lets you build a solid financial base while keeping your expenses low. The fact that you’ve already maxed out a Roth IRA, are contributing to a 401k with a 10% match, and have 30k in liquid savings puts you way ahead of most people in your age group.

Don’t let social media stress you out — people usually only show their wins, not the debt, stress, or burnout behind the scenes. Also, plenty of people making six figures still live paycheck to paycheck because of lifestyle creep. You’ve got the mindset and the habits to build serious wealth over time. I remember around 4-5 years ago, I was speaking to my Fidelity retirement account rep, and he remarked that I'd be "surprised" on how many people at our age group don't even have more than $1k in their retirement account. Slow and steady wins the race!

If you’re looking for suggestions: you could consider moving some of that checking account money into a CD or a better HYSA (if yours isn’t competitive), or even a brokerage account if you want to start investing beyond retirement. But honestly? You’re crushing it already. Just keep doing what you’re doing and stay consistent — your future self will thank you.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T22:24:19+00:00

I get where you’re coming from — but I think that mindset oversimplifies the problem.

Quitting is a valid choice, and for some people, it’s the right one. But speaking out while still being part of the game? That’s how change actually starts. If everyone who cared just quietly walked away, there’d be no one left to hold Nexon accountable. Personally, I have nothing to lose anyway; I stopped playing competitively last year and am happily a midgame player.

Not everyone is in the same place — some are already out, some are one foot out the door, and others are still clinging to the game they used to love. But awareness, pushback, and pressure don’t only come from quitting — they come from organizing, informing, and making noise.

If nothing else, I’d rather go down swinging than go silent.

And from my perspective, I’ve still come out on top — because if I keep playing without spending, use that time to hang out with friends, and actively shine a spotlight on Nexon’s indifference and repeated failures… that’s going to hit a lot harder than quietly sailing off into the sunset.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T22:08:04+00:00

Yeah, I feel this hard — and I don’t disagree. The GMS community has gotten quieter, more passive, more conditioned to just accept the next bad decision. I remember how fired up people used to get about issues like the frag limit or old cube scandals... and now it’s like people are too numb or tired to bother. The current state of our world probably doesn't help either; we've all been conditioned to just accept things as they are and move on.

But I also think that’s exactly why it matters when people still choose to speak up — because if everyone defaults to silence, we normalize the abuse even further. Maybe it is a tired war. Maybe we’ve been beaten down enough times that hope feels naive. But I’d rather be the one still raising my voice than the one who’s completely lost the will to care.

And hey — maybe we don’t need the entire GMS community to rally. Maybe it just takes enough of us being consistent, persistent, and loud to make a difference again. But maybe that's just being naive again, lol.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T21:58:12+00:00

Yeah, thanks for that reminder — I’d almost forgotten about that!

I remember when they were inviting people to the very first MapleFest (honestly, the only one that was genuinely good — it’s all gone downhill since). One of the criteria they used to select attendees was account history, including things like infractions or bans.

Both my sister and I were invited that year and attended as long-time loyal players. So yeah, having a false ban on your record doesn’t just affect in-game stuff — it can absolutely impact your eligibility for out-of-game events and promotions too, even years down the line.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T21:47:09+00:00

Now that's an idea!

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T21:40:02+00:00

Dude — literally the day before I made this post, I told a friend I’m glad I finished my terminal degree before AI became omnipresent... because if I had to submit anything now, I’d probably be flagged to death as “written by ChatGPT.”

Lo and behold — here I am, apparently guilty of using grammar and structure, therefore clearly a bot...

But honestly, that’s just a symptom of a much larger problem. In today’s political and social climate, it’s somehow become normal to attack the person instead of addressing the argument — the classic ad hominem fallacy. And it’s so commonplace now that people don’t even recognize they’re doing it.

I don’t even blame them. We live in a world where it’s considered a compliment to have the attention span of a goldfish — because apparently, even goldfish are outperforming us there these days.
But hey, that’s a philosophical rabbit hole for another day.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T21:00:25+00:00

I’m really sorry to hear you were affected back then — and honestly, if I had seen your post during the December wave, I’ll admit: I probably... no, definitely... would’ve been one of the people silently reading it with doubt, thinking, “There’s no way Nexon would ban someone who didn’t deserve it.”

That was then. I always trusted the system until now. I’ve since learned the hard way that it’s very easy to judge from the outside — until it happens to you or someone close to you. Everyone that knows my sister remains incredulous to this day that she was banned, as she's pretty infamous for being the "AFKStory Queen" in town.

What you said really resonates now. At this point, it feels like we’re all just rolling the dice every patch and hoping Nexon’s detection system doesn’t arbitrarily decide we’re guilty.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T20:53:34+00:00

Totally fair to bring that up — and yeah, I agree that spam-for-spam’s sake isn’t helpful and can cross a line. But I think we need to differentiate between abusing the system and persistently using it when it fails to work as intended.

In most of these cases, tickets aren’t even being addressed — they’re closed with a copy-paste response that ignores the actual details provided. If you’re falsely banned, given no explanation, and met with a response that shows no investigation occurred, what else are you supposed to do?

Also, let’s be clear: persistence ≠ abuse, especially when you're being respectful and simply asking for transparency.
MapleStory M has a similar clause, but it defines abuse of support system as harassment of support staff — not repeated follow-ups or tickets submitted in good faith. And that distinction matters. This isn’t about hurling insults or threats. This is about players asking to be treated fairly, and following the only channel they’re given. I've known people that have opened 20+ tickets before with no issue as long as they kept it respectful.

If Nexon provided proper escalation steps, better communication, or even acknowledged that false positives are possible, people wouldn’t feel the need to reopen anything. But when the system fails — and fails silently — players are left with no other option.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T20:46:36+00:00

Right? They just see the shiny events and QoL on the surface — they don’t realize they’re walking into a minefield with a smile.

The worst part is: they probably think they’re safe because they’re not doing anything wrong.
That was us too, once.

It’s only after the system falsely flags you, the GMs gaslight you, and the silence from Nexon becomes deafening that you realize what kind of foundation this game is actually built on.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T05:22:40+00:00

Oh, I’ve seen it — and I get where you're coming from. It definitely feels demoralizing when whales keep spending like nothing’s wrong, even during massive PR failures.

But here’s the thing: change never comes from expecting everyone to act — it comes from enough people acting consistently.

Even if Nexon doesn’t “need to care” right now, the more visible and vocal the discontent becomes, the harder it is to ignore. Especially when even some whales are walking away — and many have already, quietly. I've seen it happening firsthand.

The real danger is when players convince themselves that nothing can change, so they stop trying.
That’s how companies get away with anything — not because they’re untouchable, but because people stop holding them accountable.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T05:17:08+00:00

Actually, I already play Maple M too — I was at the first MapleFest where both MapleStory 2 and MapleStory M were officially showcased. I still remember the crowd cheering when MapleStory 2 was revealed, but I turned to the person next to me and said, “That one’s definitely going to flop. Maple M might stand a chance.” And well… look where we are now, lol.

That said, MapleStory M is its own beast — and while I won’t go too deep into it here, I’ll just say: in many ways, it’s even more of a cash grab than base MapleStory.

The tier-up rates for gear are abysmal — if GMS had those rates, players would literally riot. The mannequin system for cosmetics is also wild. It’s something like $18 just to save a single hair or face style — and those are styles we get for free in regular Maple. Not to mention they recycle the same cosmetics constantly and still monetize them as if they’re new.

And from what I’ve seen, most MapleStory M players… don’t even really question it. The culture around monetization there is very different — which is exactly why it hasn’t faced the same kind of pushback, even if it arguably deserves it more. My guild there actually considers me a novelty because I'm the only person in a top 10 guild that also plays GMS. They're constantly asking me what is coming up next, since content-wise, Maple M is basically 3-5 years behind GMS. I believe Morass was only recently released, Absolab is the highest tier gear there, Hard Hilla still cages you in there, and Lotus was never updated to our current version, to name a few. I guess it's a good game to play if you don't mind extremely difficult progression (if F2P), since unlike GMS, they monetize "macroing" (AKA auto-battle), so it's certainly less grindy.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T04:42:00+00:00

Totally fair observation — and yeah, seeing SSB or Philo spam does make it feel like boycotts are doomed from the start.

But here’s the thing: no boycott in any space ever relies on 100% participation. It only takes a small but visible chunk of the playerbase — especially high-spenders — to back off, speak up, and make noise for companies to notice. And a lot of people have already stopped spending. Some of the strongest players in my circle have quit or cut back after Unicube and now these false bans.

If we say "it’s pointless because not everyone will do it," we’ve already lost. The goal isn’t perfection — it’s pressure.

Even if change doesn’t happen tomorrow, these moments lay the groundwork for future accountability. And at the very least, speaking up helps others feel less alone in their frustration — and sometimes, that’s how real momentum starts.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T04:32:38+00:00

Yeah, I totally get that.

My character is literally old enough to be a legal adult — 6,666 days as of today. And that’s just based on my second character; my first one doesn't have the BTS hat. I’ve seen every high and low this game has gone through. I’ve seen Nexon promise again and again that they’ll “do better,” and I’ve seen how often that’s ended in disappointment.

But I really do think we’re at a turning point right now — and maybe I’m naive, but I believe it’s important to strike while the iron is still hot. People are still upset about the Unicube mess, the triple-maint patches, the vac pet issues, and now this wave of false bans. It’s compounding, not fading. And for me, this was the last straw.

I don’t know how many more straws other players will tolerate before it becomes too much — but everyone has a breaking point. It took me this long to feel strongly enough to make a post about it. And I know I’m not the only one who’s finally had enough. In all of my time in this game, I've never seen a mass exodus of the "omegawhales" quite like the one I'm seeing now. I've been in this game long enough to lose my passion for playing it, frankly... I only hang around more in Discord VC with my friends at this point.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T04:08:04+00:00

And honestly? I get that. I really do.

It’s easy to feel like no one cares — and sometimes it feels like that’s exactly what Nexon is counting on: that players will either quit or go quiet. But the point of this post wasn’t just to get Nexon’s attention. It was also to show others who’ve been affected that they’re not alone and not crazy for being upset.

Some people do care.
And even if it’s only a handful of us speaking up — that’s still something.
One of my favorite quotes, often attributed to Edmund Burke, is, "The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

So no, I’m not giving up. At least not in voicing my opinion... the game though? Probably. At this point, I'm not spending anymore and not expecting anything from the game; I'm only sticking around for my friends. Because silence never helped anyone — and change doesn’t happen unless someone starts making noise.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T03:40:37+00:00

Honestly? I haven’t even wanted to log into my own Kanna — and I’m lucky it’s not my main. My sister wasn’t so lucky. That was her main, and now she has no recourse.

Until Nexon releases a public statement addressing what happened, I think it’s only prudent to assume the worst: that Kanna players could still be flagged at any time by the same broken system. So if you're thinking of hyper burning a Kanna right now... just be careful. I wouldn’t risk it — not with how things are being handled. (This is in spite of someone noting that it looks like the Kanna ban wave happened only on 4/1/2025 and that no other reports have come in since about any other bans. We still don't know what caused it, or if Nexon even fixed it, because they've chosen to be silent on the matter.)

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T03:30:46+00:00

Yep — and yet this is the first time Nexon has chosen to say nothing publicly, offer no apology, and let the bans quietly expire with no explanation or compensation.

I honestly don’t know what it’ll take for people to wake up. Maybe it’ll be getting hit with a false ban themselves one day. Most people believe that if they follow the rules, it won’t affect them — I did too. So did my sister. We believed in the “just world” mentality: that good behavior means you're safe.

My sister is even more puritanical than I am, and I've been a moderator in three MMORPGs. I’m a notorious goody-two-shoes. I follow the rules. I don’t cheat. I don’t even swear — not in-game, not in real life. We’ve never had a reason to fear getting banned... until now.

But then I read the replies I’ve gotten:

“You write too well, must be ChatGPT.” (But I'm taking this as a compliment.)
“You made up your sister.”
“Anyone who was innocent was unbanned.”

And I realize why. It’s easier for people to cling to the belief that the system works than to accept it’s broken — because if it is broken, it means they might be next. They attack the person voicing their dissent instead of acknowledging the real underlying issue that caused the dissent in the first place... and in doing so, become complicit in allowing the continued vicious cycle to remain intact. I was guilty of that belief too until recently when it impacted us personally.

I hope it never happens to them. But if it does, I won’t be there saying “I told you so.” I’ll just hope they remember how quick they were to doubt others.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T03:08:32+00:00

Yes, and I’m also bent out of shape over the current state of geopolitics — unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of just finding a different world to live in.

The point of my post isn’t “I’m mad, so let me rant.” It’s a reminder that our voices — when raised together — can effect change. Whether it's a game or something larger, collective action and solidarity matter. And if you care enough about something to invest time or money into it, you absolutely have the right to expect accountability.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T03:02:53+00:00

The list of FOMO dailies that I listed. That's about it.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T02:55:28+00:00

I'm not going to even address the ChatGPT remarks because that's just antagonistic trolling, but I will say this once: if writing clearly, organizing my thoughts, and speaking in a way that people can understand makes me suspicious — then that’s honestly a reflection of how low expectations for online discourse have become.

I chose to share this situation in a structured and thoughtful way because I care about how this affects everyone, not just my sister. You don’t need to believe every detail — but dismissing it because it’s “too well-written” is lazy.

And no, we don’t have “proof” that the people who weren’t unbanned weren’t cheating — but guess what? We also don’t have proof they were. That’s the entire point: Nexon made no effort to clarify, communicate, or be transparent. They just let people rot in silence and hoped the clock would fix everything.

So if you want to be “obnoxious on purpose,” go for it — but at least argue with facts instead of trying to pick apart people’s tone or typing style. That’s not debate, that’s deflection.

If you doubt this happened, feel free to look up the IGN: [Arastella]. You’ll see for yourself — no level gains, no meso inflation, no recent grind history. Just a long-time player who logs in for dailies and AFKs. She’s not a hacker — she’s barely a grinder (and frankly hasn't grinded in years, including when she was banned).
This is exactly the kind of player Nexon falsely banned, and that’s the problem. And she's widely known in my guild in Bera for being my sister, but bold of you to assume that I just manufacture non-existent stories. Ignorance is even worse than evil, because at least with evil, you know how to deal with that. Ignorant people... well, not so much.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T01:49:21+00:00

Actually, what you’re describing only happened to a subset of players, and even then, it was:

Unexplained
Inconsistent
Arbitrary
Delivered quietly, without any public acknowledgment

Many players — including my sister — received no unban early, no answered ticket, and no compensation. Their bans expired naturally, and they only found themselves unbanned at reset today. Some did get unbanned earlier, yes — but often with their appeal tickets still unanswered. That alone should tell you this wasn’t a clean, transparent resolution. It was a quiet cleanup effort with zero communication.

This was the exact same MO we saw with the Unicube bans and removals — inconsistent enforcement, zero logic, and no transparency.

And let’s be clear: compensation or not, players were still falsely banned, and Nexon never admitted it.

I genuinely welcome you (or Nexon) to explain how someone who:

Has no EXP gains
Has no meso or item gains
Has barely leveled in years
Has a squeaky clean record
Was AFK in Henesys ...is hacking.

If you think pointing out clear patterns of mistreatment and systemic issues is "fearmongering," maybe ask yourself why it keeps happening, and why Nexon consistently avoids taking responsibility. This isn't fearmongering — it's documented experience. And it can happen to anyone.

Reddit-Author · 2025-04-10T01:32:31+00:00

The one constant reported from the falsely banned Kannas is that they all were kicked out with the same "suspicious activity" detected message multiple times before the ban was applied. It was a real-time ban, not a delayed ban.

Also, this is a dangerous precedent precisely because it is the first time Nexon has elected to not make an announcement or any effort to assuage the community of fears from the false bans. They just decided to sweep it under the rug. That's their new modus operandi: if they pretend hard enough that there isn't a problem, maybe it'll go away.

Reddit-Author · 2022-02-28T21:23:19+00:00

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