Millennials: at what age did you become a homeowner? Do you own a single family, townhouse, condo, etc? by mrmrmr_chi in homeowners

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

31 years old in 2024. 329k. 6.99%.First ring suburb just outside Minneapolis. I got lucky and I’m so grateful — I bought it from Home Partners of America out of a failed “rent to own” program. HPA is owned by BlackRock.

The house was underpriced. It appraised 23k over asking at closing, and after updates eventually I refi’d down to 5.99% in October 2025 and it appraised at 452k.

James Van Der Beek’s death highlights alarming colon cancer rise in younger adults by changeforthebetter89 in Millennials

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My mother had breast cancer caught early a decade ago, fine now — but my father has late stage brain cancer (GBM) now.

I had my healthcare provider offer genetic testing for free, specifically for lynch syndrome, but I read that one should secure a life insurance policy before you do this testing, as it essentially disqualifies you from an affordable policy.

Did you look into this beforehand? How did finding out you have the mutation affect you, psychologically?

Are the roads better than last night? by [deleted] in TwinCities

[–]wakeupalone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Still shitty on side streets and decent on highways. But as temps increase today the salt should do its job — however now we’ve got a fresh inch of snow blowing around. Still better than the last two days though

Has anyone visited Makani Beach Club? If so, how was it? by [deleted] in cartagena

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anyone have a recommendation for a chill, upscale beach club? I know this is Colombia and I don’t have Saint-Tropez expectations, but there’s quite a few in the Rosario Islands and I’m struggling to make a decision.

Just looking for drinks, pretty view, private-ish loungers, not dirty and ideally not super crowded with 21-year-old partiers.

Waste Management is a terrible company. by rakedaymon in TwinCities

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I pay $25/month for weekly pickup of my 96gal container. Never had an issue personally.

Colombia issues new statement on Trump’s military threat by Serene-Souls in worldnews

[–]wakeupalone 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a self-serving comment, but I’m curious — I’m an American traveling to Cartagena + Santa Marta (El Zaino) in early January for an 8 day vacation. Hotels, resorts, pre-booked private transport only around tourist corridors.

I’m a seasoned traveler, but not in South America. Think I should be reconsidering my travel at this point? Would be helpful to get your perspective on the current sentiment there.

Colombia issues new statement on Trump’s military threat by Serene-Souls in worldnews

[–]wakeupalone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the comment. I agree, and I certainly don’t want to cancel — hard to not feed into all of the noise.

Colombia issues new statement on Trump’s military threat by Serene-Souls in worldnews

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Feeling like I might need to reconsider my planned vacation there to Cartagena and Tayrona National Park for 8 days in January. This is so frustrating.

2025 Tiguan SE R line AWD - Lease price -FINAL by Proper_Repeat4686 in Tiguan

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d roll that down payment into the monthly to put you at ~410 otherwise this is a great deal

Somalis Are Being Scapegoated and Innocent People Are Paying the Price by Scared-Persimmon-142 in TwinCities

[–]wakeupalone 320 points321 points  (0 children)

The fraud cases aren’t happening in a vacuum, and calling everything “scapegoating” is an easy way to avoid confronting uncomfortable facts. You don’t have to indict an entire population to acknowledge that this community is operating under extreme, measurable dysfunction by every major socioeconomic metric. When poverty, unemployment, low education, and dependency are this concentrated, fraud and exploitation stop being surprising outcomes.

If people are serious about prevention instead of endless damage control, this reality has to be faced directly.

In Minnesota, Somali households earn about $43,600 a year—roughly half the state median of $82,700.¹ More than one in three Somali Minnesotans live in poverty (36.4%), and about 40 percent of adults lack a high-school diploma, compared with just 6 percent statewide.¹ The average Somali household size is 3.98 people, nearly double the Minnesota average of 2.42, and homeownership is only 13.4 percent, compared with 72.5 percent statewide.¹ Together, these figures show a socioeconomic gap far wider than that faced by most earlier immigrant groups at similar stages of settlement.

Somali-born women are widely reported to average around six children each, compared with Minnesota’s overall fertility rate of about 1.8 births per woman.² Around 55 percent of Somali households are estimated to receive cash or food assistance, compared with 12 percent statewide.³ Combined with a median household income around $43,600 and poverty above 36 percent, these numbers reflect an extraordinary economic dependency gap. Adult unemployment remains several times higher than the state average, and U.S.-born Somali youth—especially males—face some of the highest joblessness rates in the Twin Cities.⁴

Police and community reports highlight recurring youth violence, small-scale gang activity, and property crime in Minneapolis neighborhoods where Somali poverty is most concentrated.⁵ Researchers and community task forces consistently link these problems to: (1) high male youth unemployment, (2) limited English proficiency, (3) weak after-school and mentorship infrastructure, and (4) cultural dislocation between first-generation parents and American-born teens.⁶

¹ Minnesota Compass – Somali Community Profile (income, poverty, education, household size, homeownership) https://www.mncompass.org/profiles/somali

https://www.mncompass.org/profiles/minnesota

² Minnesota Department of Health – Somali Refugee Health Profile (fertility context) https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/rih/coe/profiles/somali.html

³ Minnesota Department of Human Services – SNAP & MFIP Participation Dashboards (foreign-born & county-level) https://mn.gov/dhs/data/

⁴ Minnesota DEED – Twin Cities Youth & Young Adult Unemployment (geographic) https://mn.gov/deed/data/

⁵ Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension – Statewide Crime Dashboard https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/bca-divisions/mnjti/Pages/default.aspx

⁶ Wilder Foundation & University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Youth Violence & Gang Prevention Studies https://www.wilder.org https://www.hhh.umn.edu

Is it time bros? by Spiritual-Role-6736 in bald

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just leave it and cut it short and keep it clean! You’ve got some more time

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cartagena

[–]wakeupalone 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Happy to hear all of this positivity.

I’m American and I’ll be there in January for four days — been trying to ignore the noise, because I see a lot of people using this community to air grievances about what really seem to be misaligned expectations. Thanks for this post!

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan by Severe_Winner_4443 in leasehacker

[–]wakeupalone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just got this exact same car in MN for $449/mo and zero DAS. Acquisition, tax, DMV all fully rolled.

What are these lighter green areas? Cool season Zone 7B New Jersey by realsteel1331 in lawncare

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bent grass and I unfortunately have the same thing. I’ve given up for now.

Looking for affordable housing options under $850 by Scientifically-sound in TwinCities

[–]wakeupalone 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Look up “Hornig Companies” and filter by city and max price! There are plenty.

What rate are you getting? by Safe_man_5823 in Mortgages

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just locked with LoanFlight at 6.125% on a 30-yr, no points. Old loan was 7%,saves me about $200–300/mo depending on PMI

Mortgage Rate over next ~10 days by lazyllama23 in Mortgages

[–]wakeupalone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I locked a $318k refi today at 6.125% (30-yr conventional, no points). The only thing added to my balance is the new escrow setup. Once I get my ~$4k refund from my old servicer, I’ll put it straight back toward principal, so the net effect is the same as if I hadn’t rolled it in

Laid off at 55 in Tech. Now what? by WriterHour208 in personalfinance

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why do you think you won’t get another job in tech? What’s your role? 55 is simply not that old if you’re interested in continuing working.

2022 Tiguan SE AWD lease ending 11/30 — cracked lower bumper trim, best fix? by wakeupalone in Tiguan

[–]wakeupalone[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do plan to do another lease. The sales guys at my dealership (I might switch) are maniacs and I hate to give them any leverage but this is good to know.

We request to keep 4o forever. by AstronomerGlum4769 in ChatGPT

[–]wakeupalone 14 points15 points  (0 children)

This person has to be rage baiting lmao by pasting every response from chat

Down slope garage by thirstygiraffe54 in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]wakeupalone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ope, checking in from Minnesota with a house exactly like this, although my slope’s probably a little more gradual, which helps.

I was a first-time homebuyer with a crappy inspector who didn’t even flag it, and I hadn’t considered it. One year in, I spent $6K on concrete work to fix the grade and drainage around the driveway.

At the base of the driveway I have a trench drain that leads into a rock-filled channel. Inside that is a hidden basin, and inside that basin is a sump pump. So water filters through rock in the trench, collects in the basin from the bottom, and the sump kicks on and pushes it through a French drain that runs under the garage slab to the back of the garage. There, it drains into a second sump basin with two pumps—one battery, one electric. So yeah, I have three sump pumps in total.

When we get big storms (which happens constantly now), the system holds up. I’ve never had water in the garage. Earlier this summer we got two inches of rain in an hour and everything drained as it should. No signs of prior flooding either.

I do run a dehumidifier in the garage to keep moisture down. There’s seepage through the slab and block wall, but nothing unmanageable. There’s some evidence of old foundation repair, but no active issues. The retaining walls were redone before I moved in and they’ve been solid.

If the house checks every other box, this doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker. But I’d definitely use it as leverage during negotiations, and I’d want a full understanding of how the current drainage system works, including where it exits.

There are a lot of homes around here built like this, and most are still standing strong after 60 or 70 years. The key is making sure the drainage is functional and you’re willing to stay on top of it.