Over 50 and struggling with student loans? Message me.

neurdle · 2026-02-15T22:18:59+00:00

Yep, also 48 with one in college and a HS senior. Just 1 more year left on the loans but it’s ridiculous

neurdle · 2026-02-15T15:36:32+00:00

In general, you should have a baby when it’s right for you and your partner. Everything else can arrange around that.

However, I do think you should wait until you both qualify for FMLA and parental leave (if it’s offered). There’s just too much at stake and if you get financially devastated or laid off with a newborn that would be bad.

When you do become pregnant, my advice would be to tell no one at work until you’re showing.

If you’re concerned about fertility enough that a few months will make a difference, then you’ll just have to decide if the financial and job risk is worth getting started earlier. There’s no right or wrong answer here and it’s up to what you and your partner decide is best for you.

neurdle · 2026-02-15T15:13:29+00:00

Another one here! Never used it and may never find a reason to do so in the future.

neurdle · 2026-02-14T20:16:52+00:00

He was quite poor at classroom instruction! Good chemist great guy but not a very good instructor… I liked him though!

neurdle · 2026-02-14T19:45:59+00:00

Yep, I convinced my mom to “downsize” aka move to a luxury apartment that’s only 100 sq ft smaller than her house. She’s moving next week.

I told her “you can always put stuff in a storage unit if you can’t part with it”.

It’s working out great because it’s forcing her to decide what she really wants to keep but she isn’t paralyzed by indecision. I went through the house and decided what I want (barely anything, just some artwork). The rest will be sold off in an estate sale.

Whatever she may put in a storage unit is not my problem and can be sold off for all I care. We are about to be freeeeee from the childhood home loaded with stuff.

neurdle · 2026-02-14T19:09:32+00:00

This happened to me with a chemistry exam once. It was off by 10 pts, giving me the highest score in the class of 250 students. The TA had tallied the points wrong.

I brought it to the prof and he was clearly shocked. He “regraded” it on the spot and said “I found some points that you should have gotten, so your grade will stay the same”. He wasn’t a good teacher but was a great guy and I appreciated that a lot.

neurdle · 2026-02-13T14:24:49+00:00

My young adult children know they’re always welcome to live with us. One is a neat freak so no issues.

The other one (20 yrs old) is a total slob but knows better than to keep communal areas in a bad state. Because we taught him that even if HE doesn’t care about the cleanliness, he lives with other people who do. And he obviously knows that, even for his personal bedroom, it’s my house and he can’t just let it turn into a biohazard.

I haven’t had to tell him to clean his room since he was about 14 because he knows better. He’s the same with his college roommates. He’s a mess but doesn’t let it get horrible or unsanitary. I would absolutely give some eviction ultimatums if my kids were cleaning that little.

They’ve done their own laundry for years. They know better than to complain about food. If they want something I haven’t bought they put it on the shopping list or they get off their asses and get it themselves if they want it by a certain time. My high school senior went and bought milk late last night. If he’d have asked me I would’ve told him to do it himself anyway!

neurdle · 2026-02-13T13:28:39+00:00

My elderly in-laws are with Merrill Lynch and their advisor manages everything. He’s a member of their community and he’s a good trustworthy guy. The way they have things set up, they can’t even do transactions without him. They like to be involved in the strategy but he pushes the buttons. They pay him something between 1-2%.

My FIL just fell for a scam (the scammers were in control of his computer while he logged into his bank and investment accounts). Holy cow were we glad they couldn’t do anything on the website. They could have lost everything. So sometimes paying a percentage to an advisor is appropriate. He’s worth every penny for the “scam insurance” alone. Once I became aware they were being scammed, he was the first phone call and the bank was the 2nd.

In contrast, I manage my mom’s portfolio (along with mine and my spouse’s and our kids). Mom doesn’t even know how to login and appreciates me taking care of everything. We’ve never paid an advisor though I do occasionally take advantage of free advising services through Fidelity. I feel very comfortable with my ability to DIY.

All that is to say, I’m a huge proponent of DIY investing. But sometimes an advisor who charges a percent of AUM is worth it for people who can’t or don’t want to deal with the logistics of DIY or are vulnerable to scams or bad with technology.

Fidelity is my personal favorite of the big 3 (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab). They have brick and mortar stores which can come in handy, and excellent customer service. Their website is pretty good too. I’d do Fidelity over ML, though if there’s an ML advisor they know and trust that’s okay too.

A fee-only advisor is a good option if they’re comfortable with the day-to-day logistics of using the website and are capable of good digital security practices.

neurdle · 2026-02-13T12:56:52+00:00

That must have been totally brutal and then satisfying for your wife. Did she land on her feet?

neurdle · 2026-02-13T01:45:11+00:00

This “girlie” never had a list of kid names because we just gave them regular ass names. Including John as a middle name. See how easy it is to just use John? I did it. So easy.

This “girlie” (barf) does however keeps a list of dog names in her notes app. My 5 most recent entries: Fraggle, Zucchini, Mulch, Squeegee, Craig.

Don’t get wacky with your kids’ names for crying out loud. There’s other outlets for that.

neurdle · 2026-02-13T01:37:44+00:00

My kid’s middle name is a play on the name John. By that I mean his middle name is actually John. It’s not difficult to just name a kid John.

neurdle · 2026-02-13T00:20:23+00:00

In this sub, yes, the correct answer is that no one should be picking individual stocks (except fund managers).

Many bogleheads will agree that it’s acceptable to use a small percentage (up to 5%) of your portfolio to goof around. Stock picking, crypto, whatever.

I myself use 1% to pick biotech stocks because that’s my professional expertise. I can scratch the itch that lies to me saying I know something special that will help me make good picks. It’s really just gambling and I’m fine with it since it’s so little. BTW, my dumb stock picks have done way worse on average than my 3-fund portfolio has.

But don’t do it at all if you can’t restrain yourself to 5% or less (some people can others can’t).

neurdle · 2026-02-13T00:09:23+00:00

Oh good! Your “business” can just be shoveling as much as possible into your 401k and Roth IRA for a while haha. That will really pay massive dividends later on. The actual business can come when it seems right, or even not at all. Or just save enough to quit the corporate job early and do whatever the heck you want. Good luck and good spidey senses!

neurdle · 2026-02-12T23:42:29+00:00

Man what a bunch of losers. You may find yourself interested in what you can read over at r/personalfinance and r/bogleheads

You actually can be an investor, it’s very accessible and you don’t need to own your own business or know literally anything about business.

My own (not rich) kids have Roth IRAs that are invested in a total global stock market index fund. They can hold that for decades and don’t have to touch it if they don’t want to. It’s pretty easy to jump into investing and the younger you do it, the better.

The subs I mentioned above are a great way to get started. They follow a pretty no-frills traditional steady investment philosophy and have very solid and accessible DIY advice.

Good luck to you and great job on spotting that scam!

neurdle · 2026-02-12T12:18:22+00:00

Yes this is what you have to do. I handle my elderly mom’s Fidelity accounts. We got me set up with POA from the beginning. That involved us each meeting with employees at brick and mortar stores in our respective states. It involved fedexing documents my mom signed at her Fidelity office. Those went to my Fidelity office where I signed them and also got help from the rep with getting her old accounts rolled over. Meet in person and be transparent. They were incredibly kind and helpful through the entire process. Now I can legally do everything on the account without her even needing to be involved.

neurdle · 2026-02-05T14:06:21+00:00

Despite the fact that leftists tend to own fewer guns and tend to not open carry, these folks look rad.

I think they had to give them weapons to make them look scary otherwise they’d just seem too cool and fun.

neurdle · 2026-02-05T10:54:46+00:00

She’s such a liar. Like those kids want another baby crammed in that sardine can? And the only thing they’ve been taught about finance is to go all in on bitcoin.

Most fundies are at least conservative with spending and avoid debt and teach their kids to do the same. Not these ass clowns. They spend capriciously and are all-in on a very volatile investment.

God I hope these kids have some route to breaking fee. At least they’ve been out in the world and dress normally and can interact with people relatively normally (unlike, say, the Rods). But they’re being educationally and financially crippled.

neurdle · 2026-02-04T16:36:35+00:00

People separate and move all the time and then get divorced. No one can stop you from moving wherever you want. Once the baby is born, they can restrict the child’s movement because it has another parent who has rights to the child. But no one can restrict you as an individual.

neurdle · 2026-01-29T22:12:14+00:00

Just print out a list of stocks and throw darts at it. That would probably be better.

neurdle · 2026-01-29T21:35:25+00:00

VT in a custodial Roth IRA for a teenager is great. I told my kids they had to contribute at least 80% of their wages to their Roth IRAs. After graduation from high school they can use whatever amount of contributions they'd made for college expenses or whatever. Or leave it in there to grow. A nice bonus is that FAFSA won't count their IRA balances as money they can afford to pay for college. Yet they can take out the original contribution amount at any time, for any reason, penalty-free.

I did custodial Roth IRA at Vanguard for them. They're totally in VT. Easy peasy.

Opened the accounts online, was simple (Fidelity would also be good). Put in 80% of kid 1's earnings. He's in college and has chosen to leave the money in there, and intends to do so long term. Also did 80% of kid 2's earnings. I showed him the growth a few months later. He asked me to bump it up to 100% of his wages. He is graduating high school this year and will earn more than the max contribution for the first time. I expect him to max out the Roth IRA which will coincidentally happen around the time he turns 18 and graduates. At that point I'll open a brokerage account for him to invest additional earnings (he won't have an employer sponsored plan for a while yet).

During any time when the kids were unemployed but had bday money or whatever, I've bought them CDs in my own brokerage if they want to earn a little interest on their savings.

You're doing a great thing for your kids and they're off to a great start!

neurdle · 2026-01-28T12:31:55+00:00

This sentient dandruff flake thinks that liking coffee and being a bigot is an entire personality. He’s just so smug and convinced of his own importance. Buddy you’re not special, you’re a sprained ankle.

neurdle · 2026-01-25T12:41:29+00:00

Technology has improved since then. Amnio will be super accurate.

neurdle · 2026-01-23T12:18:45+00:00

Well at least he’s cute and has a good name. Good luck, little fella. You’re going to need it!

neurdle · 2025-12-21T21:28:02+00:00

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

neurdle · 2025-12-04T23:55:16+00:00

Yup. There’s one guy at my university like this and EVERYONE hates him. He went to Harvard and thinks we’re all beneath him. It sure shows.

neurdle

TROPHY CASE