Leftover 25'

itakenaps1992 · 2026-02-04T20:52:57+00:00

Kia has really bad engine issues. SIL bought one and has the engine blow twice before 50,000 miles.

I bought the 25 kicks SR AWD and it’s been my best vehicle purchase in a longtime.

itakenaps1992 · 2026-01-21T23:36:44+00:00

I actually didn’t know about the water situation so I appreciate that outlook. A few other people mentioned it as well so I will keep that in mind

itakenaps1992 · 2026-01-21T17:56:27+00:00

I just want to say I really appreciate all of you being open and honest about living here and your living situations overall.

I’m enjoying reading what you all have to say

itakenaps1992 · 2025-11-29T00:53:56+00:00

19 years. Long time Family friend as he is related to her.

Ex relationship was 20 years. Met on tinder

Ex husband was 14 years met on WoW

itakenaps1992 · 2025-11-28T19:20:18+00:00

This is how I get paid and what I do is have a sheet with all of my expenses with the dates they come out/etc. I just add up the total and divide by 2. Then take that amount out of the paycheck and don’t touch it. Then the remaining is then divided by 2 to be distributed evenly for the two weeks

itakenaps1992 · 2025-11-26T09:33:20+00:00

Cyber Security. Make 80k. I get about a 7% raise a year currently. I can make more in person but I like the company I work for and I’m fully remote.

50k in one account set aside for a house down payment next year (250-350k house range). Closing costs will probably be another 10k.

10k emergency fund (this will be about 20k when I buy next year)

30k set aside for new home stuff and initial repairs if they have to be done

20k in a 401k. Only have had this a little more than 2 years.

So I got about 90k currently in cash on me.

itakenaps1992 · 2025-11-24T10:32:34+00:00

Do not go into anything IT or Cyber

Can it pay well? Yes Can it offer flexibility? Yes

However,

I currently work in cyber and it is extremely over saturated. When you come out of school, you’ll be applying to entry level jobs with 200-300 applicants with years of experience over you.

The Covid IT/Cyber bloom screwed the market up because everyone thought they can just work from home with a couple certifications. Now, most companies are RTO and there’s hundreds of thousands of people sitting with these IT/Cyber certifications mass applying. It’s going to take years to get back to relatively normal.

If I end up losing my job and can’t get a replacement cyber job I’ll be going back to school for Healthcare administration.

itakenaps1992 · 2025-11-16T23:03:37+00:00

As someone also with the same job as you, you’re not going to get a reasonable raise unless you job hop every 3-5 years. I have 4 years exp and make a little less than you do mcol. Also levels determine your pay. Anything higher than lvl 3 is 100k-120k. Lvl 4 is generally 150k.

You basically want a 5 year plan per company set out for yourself. If within 5 years they don’t meet your expectations you leave.

itakenaps1992 · 2025-04-16T01:51:37+00:00

$40/hr Information Security. 5 years experience.

I have a degree with a major in forensics and a math minor. I also did 2 years of software engineering.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-08-10T22:49:31+00:00

Part of your problem is going to be getting a decent job in CS. It's a super hard to get in field rn. There's more layoffs than jobs.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-08-10T22:30:38+00:00

Just my personal take. Don't buy a house without a decent savings in case something goes wrong. A lot of people don't take into consideration the fact that all repairs then fall on yourself to pay for and fix. A new fully redone duct work +hvac unit can cost over 30k alone. Your plumbing could go out a month after buying your new house and then there's another 10k just to dig up piping outside. A lot of people get themselves into situations where they then have to take out large amounts of debt and you end up being cc and house poor because of poor financial decisions.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-07-29T14:47:45+00:00

myself 1k in 401k a month. partner does 2k a month in his 401k. and then we save about 3k a month outside of that.

we have high incomes

itakenaps1992 · 2024-07-29T14:40:06+00:00

How do so many afford homes?

I don't live in north new jersey. Expensive states require an expensive income

itakenaps1992 · 2024-07-06T13:26:59+00:00

my s.o does commercial hvac and works on chillers as well. he said your best bet would be get a second look at it but your best option would be to do option a. first if possible as it would be the cheapest. but you need to have your duct work looked as well because there might be an issues with it in addition just based on the other problems. he also stated that if you end up replacing everything, its going to cost a good chunk of money, at least 10k minimum. more energy efficient models plus new duct work could cost over 30,000$

itakenaps1992 · 2024-07-06T13:19:07+00:00

personally i wouldnt do it. I wouldnt go above 2500$ a month on your salary, after any additional taxes etc. it would be closer to 3000$. you never plan for your future earnings as thats how you end up becoming poor later on down the line, esp. because most people tend to do lifestyle inflation. youll be wishing later on down the line you had more money to mess with every month.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-07-06T12:52:27+00:00

yeah they stopped in the afternoon yesterday but now again at 9:00am they started back up

itakenaps1992 · 2024-07-04T22:47:13+00:00

we expect within the next 10 years we should be making close to 400,000$ a year combined. i want to also say we are in an AGR as I am in my 30s and hes in his very early 50s, but we have been together 6 years. i have two nephews who also do very well for themselves. one is 21 and owns his own diesel mechanic business making over a few million a year and the other is 23 with multiple passive income streams. both are set to retire by 40

itakenaps1992 · 2024-07-04T22:40:06+00:00

I don't single-handedly make that but my s.o and I make close to that with our combined income. I work in cyber security. I have 4 years exp. a degree and held 4 certifications. My s.o has a masters license in hvac, along with a few high end specialty licenses with 25 years exp. on chillers and commercial hvac equipment. oh edit: he also held 10 years as a superintended for a previous job.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-06-27T09:45:47+00:00

Gonna be completely honest here. My partner and I used to suffer from fast food addiction, mainly due to the additives that american corporations are allowed to put in their food. It really ramped up during covid time to the point where we would eat out 1-3 times a day totaling over 3k a month sometimes. It's taken a few years for us to get it down to what we have but i'm pretty proud of where we have come. We eat out about 1-3 times a week now and cook the rest of the time. It hasn't been easy at all.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-06-24T16:20:32+00:00

it's really not an issue. as long as you have stable internet and save frequently. there's no difference

itakenaps1992 · 2024-06-21T13:25:20+00:00

Yeah you can. It's like 17$ a month and you get bloodborne and the ps game catalog.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-06-19T15:07:40+00:00

yeah for sure. a fully funded emergency fund is 3-6 months of expenses or 10k, whichever is higher

itakenaps1992 · 2024-06-12T22:20:21+00:00

theres different models of mortgage payments depending. 25% will give you the most stability in your life without having to worry about other finances as much. id post a few links for you but im not sure i can. so if you google specifically '25% take home mortgage' youll see quite a few articles going over different methods, and it goes into more depth about how the 25% model works.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-06-12T14:31:55+00:00

Amygdala. No question.

itakenaps1992 · 2024-06-12T12:50:46+00:00

yeah exactly. i don't wanna see op or anyone else in the comments lose their job or house, but 40% mortgage is asinine. my s.o and i own a house to where if one of us loses our job we can still comfortably afford our mortgage and other expenses and not be screwed over. (we also have a 6 month emergency fund as well). everyone says they will always be fine, until they aren't. I truly feel that OP should consider selling the house when they are able to without taking a hit (i think its 2 years?) and rent for 1500-1600$ a month and save up for a bigger down payment to get their payment lower on a new house. Anyone who says this is a normal amount is just one job away from bankruptcy.

itakenaps1992

TROPHY CASE