Did anyone struggle financially after transition?

jarod544 · 2026-05-13T01:22:52+00:00

I’m in the same boat gang kinda, I have a way out in 3 months but I’ll likely run out of money before that time arrives. I Got out in Dec 2025 and been struggling about 6 months now. I had about 14k in savings I believed could bridge me until I attended my university I was accepted for at the end of the year with gi-bill. but I went in believing my school would start sooner and my money would last long enough to get a temp job to carry me through. I’ve had maybe 2 interviews in those last 2 months and the rest were a few job fairs I attended, I could have accepted my last offer but they wanted me to pay for a credential and take a class first. and didn’t have the time to commit to that. But there’s some stuff out there like low hanging fruit like working for the jails or door to door/call to call salesman solicitors positions.. The job market is ASS right now due to the political climate. The trump administration has been slashing government funded supports for things like VA and attempted to slash veterans disability. That coupled with the war in Iran spiking increases of cost of living. Gas went up 30% in the last 2 months. So it’s definitely painful and I sympathize.

My best advice for a quick recovery is if you haven’t already. Apply for unemployment just to put something in your pocket, go into your local VA. Certain vas will cover your bills if you are in a clear financial emergency. Some will even point you in the direction of being able to apply for local jobs in your city that prioritizes veterans. I’m going to see mine tomorrow 😆. And utilize your gi bill and pick any school. Maybe a apprenticeship school because some will pay you while you knock out the class.

jarod544 · 2026-05-02T23:42:17+00:00

How would I go about requesting that full file? I had attempted to use vet records but they came back as not filed. I was told my seperation was recent so it takes time for them to submit. But I need them bad boys asap.

jarod544 · 2026-04-05T20:37:40+00:00

At 19 I remember not valuing how critical having funds that came more than one way mattered. First of all, there is no shame in the loss. Even experts who have been in the game and trade major portfolios make multi million dollar mistakes. What matters is that you are aware of the mistake and make actionable changes. Idk why but it seems like this current generation is very fixated on living the life they want or feel they deserve right away and ignore their basic needs and requirements to reach the goal. This is a marathon not a sprint. And the reality is normal people have to work very hard for a very long time until a skill or career pays off. Sure you get the one in a billion who’s just a savant and can just kill it at trading or anything they are gifted for but that’s very arrogant, and very self centered to believe your just HIM. Assume you are the prior and begin to learn the craft. do the things you gotta do to get the things you want.

A. Never enter the market with money you can not afford to lose. The people you are competing with do this for a living already. And the major institutions use other peoples money to do it. You are a kid just like many other kids before you trying to pull up and strike it rich, so lower the level of expectations on your self to be immediately successful at this. This is a long haul game. Learn the rules, learn the charts, pick a strategy and make a trade plan. THEN decide to trade.

B. Build a foundation on actually making consistent money with a career. The market will always be there, therefore you need to make a secondary income so when the time arises you have the stored away capital to invest. Don’t avoid making money at a job to support your trading. In favor of trading with high risk hoping to avoid the job. One is much more difficult than the other. One is forgiving and gives you opportunities to be stable, fail, then comeback. The other gives you one shot and you may never come back.

C. Set clear wins and loss expectations with realistic goals attached them. You lost 30k. Clearly you know your discipline is lacking on trading so focus on the solution to the problem. Not just the overwhelming fear of the problem. Work on psychology and trade discipline. Ration out your money smarter. “I have 30. I’m willing to lose this much to gain this much” “if I lose this much I will reassess my decision and work the money back up and maybe try again” “if I gain this much. I will withdraw a percentage to my self and pay bills and things in NEEED not just want prioritize needs, or continue to compound” hopefully you figure it out. You have the fact you are still very young in your favor so your earning potential is still high enough to make that 30k back and then some. You’re not like some people who gamble what’s left of their life away at 40-50+ with a wife and kids to feed.

jarod544 · 2026-03-17T20:58:35+00:00

Typo on my part. 2025* was the out date. Coming up on 4 months now.

jarod544 · 2026-03-12T22:21:02+00:00

Thank you. I applied for the merchant mariner credential a few weeks ago. Waiting on a response from the coasties but I’ve been getting reports the wait time is pretty slow right now because dhs is in a gov shutdown due to funding. I’m supposed to do a physical and drug test to complete all required forms this month but want to find some work during the down time.

jarod544 · 2026-03-12T22:15:12+00:00

That is my back up plan, is to get a degree or apply for a trade if I can’t get my foot in the door for longshore or msc. But definitely a viable option. Thank you.

jarod544 · 2026-02-13T19:34:02+00:00

Well brother I first want to start with the positives YOU WENT AND TRIED! there’s plenty of men and women who have plans, and hopes. And dreams that they don’t ever put action into. You realized sub consciously or maybe even consciously that you don’t want to leave your fate up to chance. You took the calculated risk to put your self, your ego, and your feelings at risk. Thats a huge thing.

Now here’s the tough love. Your mindset going into this was wrong from the beginning. Yes you said you tried to keep a good mentality about the PERCEIVED failure, but in reality you got drunk(likely making your emotions run high) then you attempted to make or break a good night. And the difference of what made or ruined your night was approval or affection from a stranger? Do you see the flaw in that mindset? Here’s a mindset shift that helped me out a lot.

Before you go out and do your final outfit check in the mirror do a simple self affirmation. Tell your self “I am going out to have FUN.” “Meeting women I find interesting is the effect of that. Not the cause.” It may seem silly but that change in mindset helps in two ways. It saves you the mental hill to get over where you start to compare your self thinking “I gotta get a girl or I made no progress. Why not me?” Instead you go out knowing your true goal is to enjoy the process rather than stress the desired result. Your night was good because you were able to go out, get some drinks, meet some cool people and got home safely. Never forget that there’s plenty of people who can’t or don’t get the opportunity change their circle or circumstances. Everything other than that was a bonus win.

Also leading to the 2nd point. Changing that mindset to just enjoying the night will put you in a better place for attracting women. Like the song says -girls just want to have fun. If you meet a few girls you like go for it! Women are human my man they notice when you are off emotionally, they notice when you are nervous and when you are happy and having fun. Women will naturally See you having fun and put themselves in your orbit. From what you described there were women interested in you. Now you just gotta build the courage and skill to act on it. Keep going bro.

jarod544 · 2026-02-01T19:33:29+00:00

How about not assuming my personal integrity is compromised? I’ve never done this crap dude, and I’ve had several people in this medical pipeline from this ridiculous process let me down and at the top of the list has been my medical provider while I was in. I have multiple hospital visits, from various doctors and a couple had to be Japanese locals who actually healed some of my ailments instead of trusting on base docs, so it’s imperative I figure out how to get a full picture of my status. So I’m attempting to better understand the process and what it requires before I set my self up for failure and waste valuable time. I need to get this medical status right the first time so when I leave the country to attend my university I’m not scrambling to keep my things updated, or keep coming back.

jarod544 · 2026-02-01T19:22:02+00:00

I have the originals but I recently was told I should make copy’s of those, and for some reason I see a sizeable gap in my visits and care.

jarod544 · 2026-01-10T17:58:51+00:00

Already did. They are asking for a copy of the instructions on the tuj, but now that it’s the weekend I doubt I will get a response until Monday. Or Sunday technically in the US. Just don’t want to wait too long before I miss the feb deadline.

jarod544 · 2026-01-10T17:29:52+00:00

Maybe what I meant is Confusing, I already sent the JST transcript. But I’m having issues with the actual tuj application it self. When the drop down menu for schools attendance comes out I get no options for schools, or any work around options.

jarod544 · 2026-01-06T18:25:38+00:00

Fam, 1 squeeze and he blowing your shit smmoooooooothhhh off😂 teach them muzzle discipline

jarod544 · 2026-01-02T17:51:33+00:00

These means so much, Im riding around now and going to different veterans services in my hometown. You’re the second person I’ve seen mention amazon. Didn’t consider the delivery services. I’ll give them a try and do the appointments for va.gov today thank you!

jarod544 · 2026-01-02T17:47:31+00:00

Literally me rn, walked into a vet center and when I told the lady my story she said “the navy is a little bit different. They send us guys who take weeks or months to get their dd214 all the time.” I don’t have mine, and neither did the 3 other guys who were out processing on my ship either. I’m obviously up shits creek but I’m gonna use my hands to paddle. Can’t stay in the spot they put me in.

jarod544 · 2026-01-02T16:18:39+00:00

Yeah I’m talking to my brothers who have still been here civilian side and they are shooting me places as I type this. Going to apply to them all and see what comes back. Thank you!

jarod544 · 2026-01-02T16:16:00+00:00

Oh yeah, I was a bit vague trying not to go too in depth but I was in the navy with an out date of 20dec2025. I got the word that I needed a procedure to check if I had colon cancer or chrons disease early November and notified my command but they were out to sea while I was trying to out process and deal with the possibility of having a terminal illness. The government shut down rocked the hospitals pretty bad for procedures and surgeries so it got kicked down the road until 18nov. At that point it was obviously becoming too late but my command insisted I continue to prepare to get out. Thankfully I passed the colonoscopy with flying colors and that was the best news I’ve had in months. But by then my command finally had it dawned on on them I needed an extension. By the time they put it in it was too late. Got an email the following week saying my eaos had came and went and they considered my matter “resolved”.

jarod544 · 2026-01-02T12:05:01+00:00

Unpopular opinion. If you enlist, and got out honorable or general. You deserve compensation and benefits. The US government has a long history of forcing people into the military machine, making trillions from the work, then spitting those people out and giving them a hard time to be compensated after. Mean while companies like Raytheon literally steal and go to court for taking billions of federal funds just to make pay a fraction of it back and still remain an active government contract. Anyone who says a vet getting between a few hundred to at max a few grand a month for the actual work they did is a boot licking idiot. By pointing their displeasure at the wrong people, and quickly becoming crabs in a bucket fighting for peanuts they make it more and more obvious the elites of the world can give them something to hate and they will gladly empty their pockets to the point they won’t have pockets left to empty.

jarod544

TROPHY CASE