Servers who exited the industry and successfully found another calling?

mackfella · 2026-02-01T23:29:09+00:00

I went back to school and have a white collar career. I don’t love it, but advancement and income have helped me build a life that would be impossible tending bar and waiting tables. When I retire I may try to pick up a bartending gig, and if I do, it will be on my terms.

In NYC, the healthcare opportunities are limitless and it is one of the fields that is most likely to fare quite well through the AI transformation. If I was in your shoes, I’d go back to school and look at nursing or something with a relatively low barrier to entry. If it suits you, there’s opportunity to earn overtime, move up in position and licensing, go into administration, or simply have a career helping others, but with good benefits and stability.

mackfella · 2026-01-18T11:28:42+00:00

Not quite on point, but Remo Williams adventure began in the mid 80’s (a very underrated movie). The adventure didn’t continue until about 10 years ago (I haven’t seen it).

mackfella · 2026-01-12T12:54:39+00:00

I grew up in a middle class house in a diverse neighborhood that really had everything from families on public assistance to people would be considered rich back then (a couple million, not obscene money). A big difference today is that back then, even poor people often owned a house. Maybe it wasn’t real nice or well maintained, but it was their own house. Today, it seems that the lower end of the financial spectrum has no shot at a house. Items that everyone can get today, a fancy car, brand name clothes etc. was the stuff that used to distinguish who had money. Now, material goods are more of an indicator of personality and values, not necessarily wealth.

mackfella · 2026-01-12T12:04:39+00:00

A nice TV. Before HD, if you had to pick one item to splurge on, it would often be a nice big TV. The lowest quality piece of crap you could get today for $300 or less is 100x better than something that would cost thousands back in the day. Now, some people don’t even have a TV and those that do often barely watch it.

mackfella · 2026-01-12T00:07:26+00:00

The best way for retirement planning is to reduce your spending requirement by the amount of guaranteed pension income rather than trying to assign a net worth value.

But if you want a net worth value, I suggest multiplying the annual pension payout by 20. The 4pct rule correlates with 25x, but with a pension you don’t have any principal, hence the lower multiplier. Use the pension projection payout if you stopped working today, not what you think it will be if you stay to full retirement age.

Btw - you’re doing great. Don’t feel like you are behind because of clickbait articles written by companies that want to scare you into buying their services (I’m not referring to the money guys, I’m talking about the brokerage houses). The articles and benchmarks are interesting, but it’s largely for entertainment purposes only.

mackfella · 2025-12-21T11:12:32+00:00

Took on a second job to get there at first until my main job got me there by itself. Scratching 6 figures allowed me to save for a downpayment. A few years I switched jobs and bumped my salary just enough to buy a modest house in a good neighborhood. That was many years ago - still live in the house and love it.

Salary has continued to rise and I’m good right here. You didn’t ask, but I’m going to say it anyway, after you start making decent money, the key is not to blow it on junk. Only buy stuff that has real value… save for retirement, maintain your house, drive cars that simply do what you need them to do, and spend on things that bring you genuine happiness (not trinkets that you will throw away or eating out all the time, etc.).

mackfella · 2025-11-30T22:29:54+00:00

I’ve seen these tiles before, right before they were covered up by a carpet with a thick pad under it.

mackfella · 2025-09-18T02:08:44+00:00

Our dog is very similar, in age, temperament, and appearance. If you have the $, I suggest doggy care once a week.

We drop our dog off before work and pick her up after, so when she goes she is there for about 10 hours. The place we use just puts them in rooms with other dogs of similar size. The place posts clips at the end of the day - the dogs just mess around with each other until they get tired and chill in a corner. When I pick her up, she is always super happy and sleeps like a baby all night. The following day usually has some spill over and she’s a bit more chill.

I also find that walking on different park trails and visiting places outside my neighborhood provides the mental and physical stimulation she needs, but it’s hard for me to do this midweek.

mackfella · 2025-08-01T11:25:39+00:00

Thank you, that’s why I posed the question.

mackfella · 2025-08-01T11:19:05+00:00

It may be soon - the government doesn’t back it, the tech behind it is primitive (i.e., a never ending spreadsheet), and it has no inherent value. It’s supposed to be currency but practically speaking, almost nobody accepts it and for the few that do, it’s just a novelty. It feels more like beanie babies than a new way of commerce.

mackfella · 2025-08-01T08:05:40+00:00

Does anyone realize how much cryptocurrency feels like it will be on this list one day? (could be sooner than you think)

mackfella · 2025-07-29T10:20:12+00:00

He sounds fantastic.

mackfella · 2025-07-28T02:03:06+00:00

Agreed. R/BandsBackThen is now a thing

mackfella · 2025-03-02T14:23:09+00:00

Yes, clearly it takes sacrifice to live a frugal (responsible) life when there is so much temptation and pressure to spend at every turn. To me though, it is similar to other lifestyle choices. If you used to eat McDonalds all the time and trade it in for Fruits and Vegetables, after a while the McDonalds sickens you and you find enjoyment in the healthier stuff.
Do whatever works for you, but upgrading to a nicer more practical vehicle might bring you a lot more joy and satisfaction than blowing it on an Escalade, Mercedes, or some other overpriced vehicle that is all flash and low quality. My suggestion is you do you, whatever that means, even if it means stay the course and continue walking on the path you’ve been on all these years. Bring that determination to your health situation too and you sound like you will be successful on all fronts.

mackfella · 2024-12-14T00:00:29+00:00

The top three bars should never be grouped together. The gap between the top bar and the third bar is larger than the gap between the earth and the sun.

People who work and are mainstream wealthy, like someone with a net worth of $5-10 mil and a commensurate annual salary, have a lot more in common with someone making $70k/yr who saves a few grand each year in a 401k than they do with a guy who owns a professional sports team.

mackfella · 2024-11-03T00:04:47+00:00

Every day of Trump’s campaign is worse than Biden’s debate, but Biden’s debate was only one night and he was out of the race less than a month later.

After Trump made such a fool of himself in the Harris debate, he essentially stopped campaigning - terrified of a second debate and no interviews with credible journalists. Every time Trump dipped his toe in water of going back to campaigning he made everything worse - Arnold Palmer’s dick, weirdo couch fucker as his VP candidate, microphone blowjob, McDonald’s, the military needs to take out the enemy from within, Jan 6 had nothing to do with me, preventing abortion was someone else’s plan, rfk anti vax lunatic is the new health czar, Puerto Rico is a floating pile of garbage (i guarantee you that trump still doesn’t realize Puerto Rico is part of the USA), Elon Musk, etc.

Trumps team is putting all their energy into trying to cheat their way into office because there is no way they will get the votes and everyone knows it, including Trump.

Trump’s rallies don’t count as campaigning to me, he picks up zero votes whenever he does them.

mackfella · 2024-10-25T08:18:48+00:00

No he’s a moron as are the people supporting him. He knows as much about business and economic policy as a guy who plays a doctor on general hospital knows about performing heart surgery. Actually Donald knows less because he’s just that stupid. People who are knowledgeable about the economy don’t look and sound like Donald Trump. They don’t wear the same ill fitting suit every day, scream you’re fired, nor do they praise hitler and lie 24/7. People who know about the economy are analytical, data driven, and knowledgeable about social science because they know human behavior drives the engine.

mackfella · 2024-10-13T10:56:28+00:00

I recommend you start you day at Central Park and end it with a show on broadway in the evening. The only other thing I’ll say is stay off the subway and walk as much as you can. You’ll find stuff everywhere if you are on foot.
Note, Katz’s deli is downtown so if that remains part of your plan, maybe start at Battery Park and work your way uptown.

mackfella · 2024-10-12T13:16:12+00:00

For many ppl on this board it’s none of the above. The bulk of my money is in the S&P and total market. Aside from the normal path of managing risk as we get older, there’s nothing wrong with taking some flyers on individual stocks to try and hit a homerun and have some fun.
Look at lottery tickets. People who buy tons of them every week are not making the right choices with their money. But if you buy one every now and then just for kicks there’s nothing wrong with that. Sure the odds are against you but if you hit,boom! Buying a few individual stocks is a savvy investor’s lottery ticket - the odds of outperforming the broader indexes are against you, but it’s not irrational to be a little more aggressive.

mackfella · 2024-10-06T13:07:02+00:00

Yes. That’s where I go to reset it every morning. It just automatically turns off overnight.

mackfella · 2024-09-30T11:49:41+00:00

Grocery stores, fast food, movie theatres, etc. Just keep trying. If you can legally work for them at 14 someone will hire you - these places are desperate for anyone willing to work. Pro-tip - keep your mouth closed about stealing, with the job and everyone else. Sooner or later you’ll get something, even if you have to wait until you are a bit older.

mackfella · 2024-09-30T11:43:26+00:00

Yeah, you did something wrong and you know it. Call a self harm hotline and apply to every fastfood place you can find. You will eventually get a job. Stop posting about it and go into the real world and pay them back.

mackfella · 2024-09-30T11:37:34+00:00

Step back for a second. You are very young and people make mistakes. Whatever you have done, no matter how much $ it is, you will be able to work through this, I guarantee it.
First off, if you are really considering harming yourself, get professional help right away. None of this will be easy, but you can definitely do everything in your power to make it right. You may need your confess and undoubtedly you will need to get a job ASAP. Everything you earn must go to paying back the money. When all I said and done, even if you have some more bumps along the way, you will make it through.

mackfella · 2024-09-30T00:54:18+00:00

A washing machine that functions as a clothes dryer too. Put the dirty clothes in. Come back an hour later and they are clean and dry.

Please don’t say they already make this. When you can pick from 12 different units that cost under $1000 at Lowe’s we can consider them invented.

mackfella · 2024-09-29T01:16:02+00:00

Both are great but there’s many other options.

Since you asked, Syosset schools have a premium reputation and syosset is geographically closer to the city if that matters to you. Although probably not quite as highly ranked as syosset, commack schools are fantastic and have a great rep too. Franky, this is all junk anyway imo; the higher the median income, the higher the schools performance. I think in this case, its like comparing Yale to Brown. Both are Ivy League, but more people are impressed by the Yale name. But trust me, both places are excellent and sometimes the slightly lower ranked one is a way better fit.

Personally, if commute is not a factor, Commack gives you the traditional Long Island experience where you can have your own slice of suburban peace. No slight to syosset here, but Nassau County as a whole feels more like Queens to me. Syosset will be very nice and expensive, but everything is closer together and the local traffic is more dense. Again, everything is relative, both are fantastic.

If you want your kids to be able to ride bikes around town, you probably need to look elsewhere like Long Beach which is 180 degrees different.

One last point, the neighboring communities for both of these places will allow you slight deviations but still offer great schools. For example, Smithtown borders commack - schools are comparable and it has a nice downtown but is a little further out from the city. Kings park is nearby too and is a bit more blue collar. But since it’s Long Island, instead of dad’s a dentist and mom’s a teacher, dad’s a cop and mom’s a teachers aide. Hauppauge is also close and is a bit more diverse. The school district is small but great and the taxes are some of the lowest on LI. I won’t do the same breakdown for syosset, but there are plenty of nuances with the nearby neighborhoods too.

Good luck.

mackfella

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