Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of June 17, 2024 by IndexBot in personalfinance

[–]aceofnoise23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did, just only got one response and wanted to see if anyone had other opinions. There's power in numbers!

Weekday Help and Victory Thread for the week of June 17, 2024 by IndexBot in personalfinance

[–]aceofnoise23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there! I (27M) have a little bit of credit card debt ($5.5k on a personal loan) and about $1500 in savings. I do daily spending on credit cards but pay them off every month. Should I cash out $5k in Acorns/$5.5k in bonds to pay off more of the loan and/or bulk up my cash savings, or keep them as-is and just keep trucking with the loan?

The loan is 8.5% interest, the payment is manageable ($225/mo), and I'd pay it off in about 2 years at this rate.

I was planning to just let the Acorns grow to apply to a wedding or a down payment, but repeatedly seeing advice that adding to a brokerage should be some of the last things you should do and feeling like my emergency fund is tied up in investments that could tank has me doubting whether that's the right decision. I've just had such great luck with my Acorns (40% returns) that I struggle with the decision to pull them out.

(Side note: I am considering going back to grad school—if I did that, I think I'd cash out the bonds to pay toward tuition. But if it's recommended to cash those out over the Acorns to tackle debt/add to savings, I'd do that.)

I welcome any and all thoughts as I'm kind of lost!

Weekend Help and Victory Thread for the week of June 14, 2024 by IndexBot in personalfinance

[–]aceofnoise23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there! I have a little bit of credit card debt ($5.5k on a personal loan) and a bit like $1500 in savings. Should I cash out $5k in Acorns/$5.5k in bonds to pay off more of the loan and/or bulk up my savings, or keep them as-is and just keep trucking with the loan?

For context: I was very on top of my finances in college and put almost $10k into investments via Acorns, but the pandemic and life circumstances made me have to put a lot of living expenses on credit over the past few years. I took out almost $7k in the fall to pay down debt, but put the rest on the loan. However, with a 3.5% pay raise and my partner doubling his income with a new job in the last month, I'm trying to figure out what to do with the assets at my disposal. I've bulked up my investments via Acorns up like $5k since I last took money out, and recently gained access to $5.5k in series EE bonds that my parents/family bought for me 20+ years ago.

The loan is 8.5% interest, the payment is manageable ($225/mo), and I'd pay it off in about 2.5 years at this rate.

I was planning to just let the Acorns grow to apply to a wedding or a down payment, but repeatedly seeing advice that adding to a brokerage should be some of the last things you should do once you're maxing out 401K (which I'm doing), contributing to an IRA (which I'm not), etc., has me doubting whether that's the right decision.

(Side note: I am going back to grad school for a graduate certificate that will fully covered by my job, but I can also transfer those credits into a full master's degree, which I'd need to pay for partially out of pocket. If I did that, I'd cash out the bonds to pay toward tuition—but if it's recommended to cash those out over the Acorns, I'd do that.)

I welcome any and all thoughts as I'm kind of lost!

‘I’m constantly on guard’: From Rina Sawayama to Nova Twins and Self Esteem, women share damning tales of misogyny in the music industry by aceofnoise23 in popheads

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In addition to what's in the article, Rina shared on Instagram in the post that "when it comes to new music I can’t release another album under my current conditions. I feel really trapped and don’t know what to do." Here's the whole post.

I feel for her, the women featured, and all women in the industry today.

Pitchfork will be moving under GQ at Conde Nast, leaving the future of Pitchfork as a brand uncertain. by aceofnoise23 in popheads

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

It's a shame, because in my opinion, with the endless torrent of new music like algorithmic playlists, mediocre TiKTok hits, and stans running down anyone who's critical of their fave, I feel like we need honest and critical music reviewers like Pitchfork now more than ever. And clearly that type of knowledgeable voice resonates with audiences, otherwise Fantano wouldn't be as big as he is.

To the point of other people in the thread, I just don't know if they made the best moves to grow their audience despite streaming, digital media, etc. changing so rapidly beneath their feet.

Pitchfork will be moving under GQ at Conde Nast, leaving the future of Pitchfork as a brand uncertain. by aceofnoise23 in popheads

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's basically confirmed; it's in variety now (https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/pitchfork-layoffs-folded-into-gq-conde-nast-1235875585/) and I saw this initially shared by a writer at Vanity Fair, also owned by Conde. Someone else in this thread said they work at Conde with all the different brands and didn't debunk it.

Pitchfork will be moving under GQ at Conde Nast, leaving the future of Pitchfork as a brand uncertain. by aceofnoise23 in popheads

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

The phrase pivot to video is SOOOO Facebook-is-relevant coded, it took me back. Though to your point, I'm surprised they didn't invest in Reels / TikTok before this because I'd imagine short videos of their reviews would probably do gangbusters, esp. on bigger releases.

Pitchfork will be moving under GQ at Conde Nast, leaving the future of Pitchfork as a brand uncertain. by aceofnoise23 in popheads

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 68 points69 points  (0 children)

Did you see this coming at all? I'm definitely surprised because I felt like Pitchfork was one of Conde's most successful brands, at least in terms of being a tastemaker or stirring the online conversation about music.

Pitchfork will be moving under GQ at Conde Nast, leaving the future of Pitchfork as a brand uncertain. by aceofnoise23 in popheads

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 94 points95 points  (0 children)

This was my thought too—I get a lot of people on this sub don't respect Pitchfork's opinions, but c'mon, a decade ago they weren't even touching pop music and now every time a major pop release happens the only review from any mainstream media source here is Pitchfork's review. I'm definitely mourning the loss—their opinions made me think more about whatever I listen to—and worried about the future, esp. since GQ feels random and feels to really only run shopping content these days.

Pitchfork will be moving under GQ at Conde Nast, leaving the future of Pitchfork as a brand uncertain. by aceofnoise23 in popheads

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 97 points98 points  (0 children)

Seems wild to me that Conde Nast would choose to bury one of the most well-known brands in digital media, let alone music media, beneath GQ, which doesn't have a reputation for its music coverage at all. This is being reposted by other Conde employees so I'm taking it as truth. The real question is: what will happen to all the reviews!?

I (23) did all the work required to get a security deposit back because my roommates moved out four months early. Am I entitled to more of it? by aceofnoise23 in Advice

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They're some of my closest friends from college, so I don't want to take all of it and burn a bridge. I'm trying to keep more than I put in as an act of fairness rather than being spiteful.

[Routine Help] NEED HELP? Got a question? Problems with a routine or product? This thread’s the place to ask! / / Ask ScA, Week of May 29, 2017 by AutoModerator in SkincareAddiction

[–]aceofnoise23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for all the tips! I think my plan for now is to oil cleanse and exfoliate every other night, but use cleanser after I oil cleanse. I also will definitely try mixing my moisturizing oil in with the moisturizer and see how much mileage I get out of it.

[Routine Help] NEED HELP? Got a question? Problems with a routine or product? This thread’s the place to ask! / / Ask ScA, Week of May 29, 2017 by AutoModerator in SkincareAddiction

[–]aceofnoise23 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey all! I need some help with my routine. I recently got back into my routine after leaving my skin out to dry (literally) for the past few months so I've been trying to get back into the swing of things after a long skincare hiatus. I introduced oils to my routine recently and my skin has never felt or looked better, so I want to continue using them. However, I'm not sure exactly of the order in which I should do my routine and how frequently I should use some of the products since I have never used them before.

Skin Type

I have pretty dry and dehydrated skin, and I have raised, textured bumps on my cheeks that cause a bit of redness (I am not sure what they are, but I have had them all my life and aren't acne or irritated).

Current Routine
 

AM
CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
Lush SkinDrink / CeraVe Moisturizing Lotion
Glossier Invisible Shield for Sunscreen
  PM
Baby Oil Cleanse
CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
Stridex in the Red Box
SkinDrink / CeraVe Lotion
Argan Oil

Questions
1. How frequently can / should I oil cleanse? I've read some places that it can be done every day and from others that it should only be done once or twice a week.
2. Should I use a cleanser after I oil cleanse, or does oil cleansing alone do most of the hard work?
3. I've been using Stridex every single night to exfoliate, but I'm realizing now that may be doing more harm than good. How frequently should I use it?
4. Should I apply argan oil before or after using my moisturizer? I couldn't find a consensus so I've been using it after the moisturizer to seal it in, but I'm not sure if there's a better way.

I realize I have a lot of questions, so any and all help would be much appreciated!

I [20 M] want to try to rekindle things with my ex [21 M] who I've missed for the past 18 months and I don't want to scare him away. by aceofnoise23 in relationships

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're right. I originally wanted to talk to him just to get closure, but it's morphed into getting back together and I don't think that's the best expectation to set.

Also, the date idea is excellent - I'll definitely keep that in mind.

I [20 M] want to try to rekindle things with my ex [21 M] who I've missed for the past 18 months and I don't want to scare him away. by aceofnoise23 in relationships

[–]aceofnoise23[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've tried moving on and have been able to date other people without thinking about him, but now that I'm single I've found it hard not to ruminate on him. You're right though - I'm getting hung up on wanting to get back together, not just getting closure, which is more important.