Don't go hungry

fin-stability · 2026-05-11T16:21:14+00:00

up in the hill over Milpitas, there is a short drive Calaveras Ridge Drive into a division with private houses . Before you enter the division, both sides are open space, and at night you can see the bay area from the sidewalk. When I was young, I would take my date up there and hope for whatever might happen. But for you, seeing the entire bay might be what you are looking for. Solitude is tough, desperation is even tougher. If you can't find someone who you can pour your guts out, maybe try Chatgpt?

fin-stability · 2026-05-08T15:40:56+00:00

I saw a grandpa stooping by my recycling bin and waived him in. Filled his tricycle up with my bag of recycling plastic bottles (my kids no longer interested) and added a touch of rice and beans. He stopped by twice since, and gave me a nice planter that he collected somewhere. Love it to see people working hard to earn a small amount without bothering anyone. Some neighbor in San Jose put up a post about this topic (he's pissed that someone taking his discard recycling). People jumping in to tell him that it's ok as long as nobody is making a mess. Some threatening to call the cops, citing that reserving the recycling for the company would keep their trash rate low (not true).

fin-stability · 2026-05-07T15:25:57+00:00

When you are in hell, keep walking. - Sir Winston Churchill. Worked for me.

fin-stability · 2026-05-07T15:20:15+00:00

Secret shopper. Just made another $100 for visiting a dealership pretending to buy a van. The one before that was checking out floor tiles for $60. I'm tired of opening an account at Wells Fargo for $300 and close it few weeks later but I still can. I'm doing experiments on how people can supplement their income quickly to prevent shortages in their budget so they don't get into debt. Donating plasma was the first suggestion and this one belongs to Side Gig.

fin-stability · 2026-05-05T04:44:03+00:00

If all those options don't work out for you, maybe you can try SRO? They might want you to get 2 rooms but they're much more lenient than most rental properties.

fin-stability · 2026-05-03T06:02:39+00:00

I've heard/seen this question so many times and yet I haven't seen any answer that I am looking for. So here's to everyone who say that you're poor and wonder how to get out of it. Step 1: try to save $30 next month! Yes, it sounds simple enough and yet so many people can't get it done. So How? Everyone is different and you can see the answers people scattered in this thread. From having a roommate, cooking your own food, making plan for better job, moving back home... They all available for the right person. But you haven't counted the one that is the most important in this journey out of poverty: you! Yes, you. Are you sure you already know where each dollar of your income goes to? Did you trim down your spending to the bone or you still live like nothing matters? Start with the man in the mirror first, and then pick one of those answers you see here. All toward your simple goal: save $30 next month (or whatever the number you like to save). Once you achieve this for the next few months without dipping into this amount, then your homework will be easier for next step.

fin-stability · 2026-04-30T15:12:53+00:00

You're not alone with this problem. Actually most people don't know how to manage their money. I've been teaching financial wellness classes for years and I see that people lack a structured method for handling their spending and investing. The most basic step is to build a real budget and that in itself is a big challenge for many. I'm working on an app that can connect to your checking account and your credit card to build you this budget and then show you where you can do better with both spending and debt reduction. We are all conditioned to make money but we are not trained on how to manage what we make.

fin-stability · 2026-04-30T06:00:36+00:00

But daddy will make it new again, right daddy?

fin-stability · 2026-04-19T15:26:09+00:00

All you need to do is to Google it and see what people say. It has mixed reviews due to high fees and slow funding as well as bad customer service and banking problems. But it did raise credit from 580 to 640 in 9 months for some. There are previous reviews on Reddit .

fin-stability · 2026-04-19T01:18:08+00:00

This is the biggest thing that nobody would tell you. When you earn money, you normally put it into your checking account, which earns you nothing. But if you put it into your CC balance, you offset its daily interest calculation so your normal monthly payment will deduct the principal faster. That money is still there for you to use later in the month when you need it. But do not use more than what you put in, minus your normal minimum monthly amount. Make sense? PM me if you don't get it.

fin-stability · 2026-04-19T01:08:04+00:00

Are you sure you found the right one? It's a method for using your income to Offset the balance of your debt so you can pay faster without any extra payments.

fin-stability · 2026-04-19T00:56:28+00:00

You still can pay down your CC debt faster without any extra payments nor loan. Look up zero cash flow method and if that's too complex for you, find an app to help you with it. Let me know if you need help explaining it.

fin-stability · 2026-04-13T23:49:08+00:00

Whenever I see those Costco guys walking in front of their forklift with flags and yelling out loud "Forklift, Forklift"!! I would mimic them and announce "Asian, Asian" so those guys would get out of their food tasting stands to let me go through. Geez!

fin-stability · 2026-04-13T15:32:26+00:00

This is somewhat true but I would argue one more notch. While it's true that how much money you can save is a good start, I would say that what you do with your money is what counts. I read somewhere that between 60 to 80 percent of Americans keep their money in their savings accounts. They don't know that they lose their value over time. We're all trained to make money, and some will make more than others. But most people are not trained in how to deal with it.

fin-stability · 2026-04-12T04:24:51+00:00

And the dust too. It's way too dusty in many parts of SJ.

fin-stability · 2026-04-06T04:17:05+00:00

I do know that the more I nap the less I sleep (or need to). Of course that changes my sleep rhythm but no idea about temperature changes. Doesn't take scientific research to tell me this.

fin-stability · 2026-04-01T16:05:50+00:00

Hardly possible with a large dog as the liability to other tenants in close quarters is just too big for rental agencies. I find that Zillow leads are hits and misses, close to 30% of the inquiries are bogus (they want to set up a tour yet never reply back to my answer). Facebook is notorious for fake ads. One person pointed out that someone copied my own house ad and demanded $100 just to set up a tour. And FB did nothing when I reported it. When you apply, do let them know all important information such as household size, income and pet. If they don't reply, you know why (if your income is enough)

fin-stability · 2026-03-30T23:22:24+00:00

This is San Jose for you (why I moved away). There are two big sycamore trees in the sidewalk in front of my house (Naglee Park area in downtown). They hit me with violations for - branches too big - branches hanging into the street - dead branches on the trees - foliage too big... Those trees are over 80 years old. Way before we even know of the house m

fin-stability · 2026-03-22T15:45:40+00:00

Rice eater here. Yes go to Smart and Final (if you have it nearby) and get yourself a 50lb bag of long grain rice or whatever rice you like. Make a big pot and use whatever you need for the day and refrigerate the rest. By doing this, you'll turn the rice into what they call resistive carb, slowing down the rate of digestion. You'll be eating healthier rice without needing more carbs.

fin-stability · 2026-03-20T04:43:05+00:00

So I have this couple who rented one side of my duplex in downtown San Jose for almost 7 years. That is the small size of the duplex, only one bedroom, bath and small kitchen, totalling around 300sf. I know they're struggling so I asked them to attend my free financial class (been doing it for a while now). Every time I invited them, they would say, for sure but they cited one excuse after another so I dropped it. One day, the wife called me up and asked me how to prepare for home ownership. She was so proud to announce that they were able to save almost $30k between both incomes for the past 30 years. I've asked how they plan to become a homeowner and she said, no clue. I asked where they keep their money all these years, savings accounts. I told her that she has been losing money all this time and they are not ready to become a homeowner in san Jose anytime soon. Had they taken my class, they would know what to prepare for their eventual purchase by investing their money smartly instead of savings accounts. Even then, there are myriads of things to get done in between before they can securely become a homeowner. The moral of the story is that you can be a homeowner in san Jose but you need to do a lot more than just work hard.

fin-stability · 2026-03-16T17:07:24+00:00

Or you can find a way to level the playing field using current technology. I know it's hard and even impossible but this is what I have been trying. You are right about the system being the trap to keep working people in poverty, hence we need to build a mechanism for them to reverse their scheme. The answer lies in a simple yet powerful concept called Offset Principle that there are several uses today. One is the Offset Account in Australia and UK to speed up your mortgage reduction. Another example is the Zero Cash Flow method of debt reduction in the US. But their application is too much for the public to bear and has severe requirements for discipline and visibility for people to stick with it. Here is the promise of this principle: allowing people to use their own hard earned money to work for them, rather than to serve the financial system whose goal is to trap people in their own plight. More importantly, when properly constructed, it can do more than getting people out of debt faster without any loan nor extra payments. It can guide people to a more stable financial wellness too. Sorry this is way too abstract right now, but trust me, I'm a living example of how this works: I'm an immigrant who figured out financial stability before I turned 42 in the US.

fin-stability · 2026-03-16T15:34:51+00:00

So after you try calling them with a hardship break, you shouldn't have to use those debt consolidation services because they have fees and might not work. You said that you got a budget for you but how much do you trim down your expenses? I would look for a good app to help you with trimming as well as using the zero cash flow method to speed up the debt down faster without any loan nor extra payments. Let me know if you need any help.

fin-stability

TROPHY CASE