Posting this on a throwaway account but I think my beginnings into the world of gambling started the same as many if not most others. I started with small sports betting, betting on soccer and I was really good at it. I went from $200 to $55,000 in a couple of months and initially I was really calm and composed and made smart calculated bets and never really went crazy and I had gambled within my means/budget.
In fact, I even cashed out multiple times telling myself I'd never gamble again and to be satisfied with my winnings. But with sports, sports news are everywhere and I'd see news and highlights of soccer matches and I'd feel the regret in not gambling especially when I saw that the results would be something that I would have predicted. This was how I gradually got back into gambling and eventually became out of control. I started going on a losing streak and doubled each of my bets and slowly but surely dwindled all my winning. I then started using my credit cards taking advances and loans telling myself, surely I wouldn't be THAT unlucky and sure enough I lost everything. At this point in time I was about 20k in the hole, I told my mom about this and she helped with the credit card debts. Everyone around me persuaded me to cancel all my line of credit but I was so so confident that I wouldn't go back to gambling again and that I could and should keep my credit cards so that I could make use of cashback and rewards and what not.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the case and again I went through the exact same route and gambled everything using my credit cards again and I got bailed by my mom again. I think I am about 45k in the hole at this point in time. I started working towards repaying my debts but that long dreadful feeling of having to give my monthly paycheck towards paying my debts was just a painful thought and process and AGAIN I relapsed and gambled and gambled and gambled again. Now I owe another 40k and I had to get help from my estranged Dad to pay the banks. I wasn't expecting him to help but he did and at 85k down, surely I'd stop gambling right? This is the 3rd time I got bailed and I ought to learn my lesson, so I looked into other form of making money such as investing into stocks and crypto and I was doing well.
I took out about 30k to buy bitcoin at the beginning or midst of the bullrun when it was at approx 15-18k and as of the time of this post its about 34k? I guess I essentially doubled my money and I told myself you know what? Since I made some good profit, I guess I could spare a little money/sats and I decided to go online gambling and this time on Roulette with my btc and poof before I know it, it's gone. At one point, I lost half of my btc and I told myself If i won everything back I would stop and I actually did!! But I never stopped and kept on gambling till I lost everything. I am currently in debt of 85k to my parents and 30k to the banks and I have little to no way of repaying my debts.
I feel so sorry and horrible but I have totally no self control over myself. On many occasion I actually managed to recover what I had lost or at least a portion of it and every single time I'd tell myself I'd stop after recovering my losses but it never happened. So to the people out there, please quit gambling and cancel or take away any access that you may have to spare cash or line of credits because you will gamble it away. When you're deep into gambling it's no longer about the money but rather the thrill that you get from gambling. All for that short high and by the time you lose everything, you'll feel like shit and filled with immense guilt.
I am at a loss with myself and I don't know what I can do about my debt situation. I'm even contemplating killing myself because I feel so helpless. Even if by some miracle I manage to slowly clear my debts, what's there to say I won't relapse again and start gambling everything and anything I can like the past couple of times? My family has already done all they can financially to bail me out of my gambling debts and yet I've disappointed them again and again.
What should I do?

Section One: Assets and Debt
Hello! Like others before me, I have written a small novel about my finances. Enjoy!
Retirement Balance: $655,724.99 (my 401k) + 262,817.64 (spouse 401k) + $52,020.06 (two IRAs, identically invested) = $970,562.69

• I max out my 401k plus get a 5% employee match from my organization. In a previous role, I got a 5% employee match + 5% automatically for being an employee. At my first job, I contributed in very small amounts to my 401k but cashed it out to pay off serious credit card debt. It was only $6k, but I would not recommend cashing out any part of a 401k. I have maxed out every year for at least a decade now, possibly even longer.
• My partner made significantly less than me for most of his career and was not able to max out until recently, hence the drastically lower 401k balance.
• I didn't open up IRAs for either myself or my partner until a few years ago. But I am maxing out both of the IRAs every year now.

Brokerage Accounts: $245,752.89

• We started investing in 2014. A relative left my husband a bit of money after they passed (approx $200k). We put half of that into paying off student loans and our home remodel immediately after we bought the house, and we invested the rest of this money.
• For many years I put a significant chunk of my annual bonus into the brokerage account.
• Now we invest biweekly in order to "set and forget" and this avoids any market timing thoughts that cross my mind (more on those contributions in expenses).
• Included in this figure is a Robinhood account with about $3k in it. I don't routinely fund my Robinhood account. Instead, I use it when I want to buy specific company stock (very rare).

Home Equity: $327,100.23

• We purchased our home for $425,000 in 2012. We did significant remodels on two floors.
• We borrowed $100,000 from my parents to remodel the house. We pay modest interest to them to make it worthwhile.
• We put about $20,000 down and had to pay PMI. After we completed our remodel we were able to prove equity and get rid of PMI. Right now we owe about $322,000 on the loan.
• Our home equity is so high because we bought a house that had great bones but wasn’t flipped yet in a central location in DC. I based our equity on $750,000 which is a combo of Redfin, Zillow, and DC property tax estimates. It’s probably still a little low, but I err on the side of caution with money.

Misc. Joint Savings Account Balance: $71,816.55

• This includes several accounts: (a combo of high interest and CD accounts when possible):
  • Emergency savings for six months (about $25k bare-bones for us)
  • Pet emergency savings (approx $3k in case of emergency surgery, we save $25 a month for this account)
  • Savings for a home remodel project makes up the rest of the money. We didn't remodel one floor of our home when we purchased it, and it's time to make it nice instead of "okay."

Joint Checking Account Balance: $37,706.45

• Because of COVID-19, we have not spent very much money this year. I use YNAB, so I am padding all of my categories and that money is adding up in the checking account. Right now my money is about 115 days old, which is too old to not have a job. I'm planning on moving some of this money to one of the high yield savings account listed above, CD, or funneling it towards my mortgage.

Health Savings Account: $6,283.17

• My prior corporate job allowed us to join a high deductible health plan, and so I opened a health savings account. I was only there for two more years and lost access to the account for many years. I have only recently started investing in the bulk of the funds here.

Credit Card Debt: $0

• I got into trouble with credit card early on when I first moved to DC and had a terribly low paying job. As mentioned, when I got a corporate job, I liquidated my retirement account to pay off a huge chunk of the credit card debt.
• For the remaining balance, I joined a credit card debt consolidation program and paid down that debt every chance I got. All credit cards are paid in full every month now.
• My husband also paid off any credit card debt several years ago.

Student Loan Debt: $0

• My undergraduate loans were nominal as I went to an in-state public university, and my parents paid my $10,000 a year tuition for the first three years, while I paid for my rent and expenses.
• My first job provided tuition reimbursement, which overpaid my undergraduate student loan for many years. I paid off the remaining balance after I got my corporate job.
• I attended a private university to get my Masters degree and took out loans to pay for that cost, about $50,000, all unsubsidized as I was still at my corporate job.
• My company had a generous tuition assistance program, so I paid the bulk of my loans/tuition off using that program, and the remaining balance we paid off using the inherited money.

Car Loan Debt: $0

• We bought a new car in December 2018 and paid it off in early 2020, we own it free and clear. Bluebook on the model is $27,000

Section Two: Income
Income Progression: I have been working in my field for 17 years, and my starting salary was $25,000. Currently I make $198,000 + Spouse Salary is $150,000 = $348,000 + bonuses.

• My first two jobs were minimum wage and in high school and college, I didn’t include them here.
• First Organization - Public Service
  • $25,000 a year (I did a cartwheel when I was told my starting salary, I thought I was rich!) - After one year I was promoted…and my pay raise was basically COLA. I ended my public service at $28,500.
• Second Organization - Corporation
  • I started making $55,000 a year + performance bonus and stock options, plus raises every year.
  • I was promoted twice during my decade with the company, and left making about $145,000 with a performance bonus, stock options, and raises as listed above.
• Third Organization - Association
  • I began making $180,000 + performance bonus. After one year I was promoted, and I currently make $198,000 + performance bonus. I expect a slight raise this year and an above-average bonus in the $15 - $20k range. I am not getting a promotion this year to my knowledge (and I would know).
• Spouse Salary: $150,000 + small bonuses annually, though as mentioned previously he has only made above $100k for the past five years.

Monthly Take Home from Myself and Partner:

• After all is said and down, my partner and I take home about $17,000 per month. This is after maxing out our 401k, IRAs, and health insurance is removed from the equation.
• We claim 0 for tax purposes, and actually, we withhold extra money on our taxes. After the so-called U.S "tax reform" we had to write a big check to the government, and I live in fear of underpayment. I like paying taxes as I believe in public services, social safety nets, and good governance in general, but I detest that our system makes it so difficult to understand if you are withholding the proper amount.

No Side Gig or Other Monthly Income: I used to sell things through Poshmark but that wasn't exactly a lot of money.
Section Three: Expenses (monthly averages when needed)

• Mortgage: $2470.01
  • No HOA or other fees - home insurance and property taxes all rolled into an escrow account
• Savings contribution: $1500 (towards home remodel)
• Investment contribution: $1200 (brokerage)
• Donations: $125 is an average monthly donation. We contribute $25 to a left-leaning grassroots organization targeting young voters in our home state. The other $100 supported important political candidates (two of which lost, BOO), charities close to my heart like my neighborhood homeless shelter, one of only TWO women's health clinics in my home state, food pantries, or other local organizations doing good in the world.
• Connectivity (2 Cell Phones, iPad data, WiFI): $263.38
• Utilities (Gas, Electric, Water): $221.01 monthly average
• Subscriptions:
  • Rent the Runway: $147.44, 4 slot plan
  • Blog/Social Media Related Subscriptions): $1y
  • Job Board: $5
  • Patreon: $5
  • Media: HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, CBS, Extra could storage, Apple protection plan ($65.04)
  • Amazon Prime: $119
  • YNAB: $85
• Gym membership: $0
  • During normal times I did Pilates frequently, but we are no longer spending money outside the house for exercise. We have a treadmill but don’t use subscription services.
• Pets: $75, this includes food, toys, and vet bills on a monthly average
• Car insurance: $57.43
• Allowance: $800
  • My spouse and I have combined finances, but we do get an "allowance" of $200 per paycheck for each of us. This money goes to our old personal, pre-marriage, checking accounts.
  • We use this money to fund purchases that aren't really for the benefit of both of us. For example, I recently started getting Botox. I thought that since it wasn't medically necessary and it basically vanity, I would pay for it out of my allowance. Though I could make an argument that my profession requires "keeping up appearances" but hey, I already pay for my haircuts and skincare products out of our joint account!
  • He uses his account for things like golf fees, gambling, etc. It's just money we don't want to ask each other questions about, as we feel there should be some privacy with money!

Monday:

• 5:30 am wake up today. I woke up and savored the fact that it's my birthday and Joe Biden/Kamala Harris won the presidential race. This was a great improvement over my birthday four years ago, which was the worst birthday to date. I know the election was called two days ago, but I am still riding the high. And yes, I turned 40 today. I thought this would be horrible but really it's no different than being in your 30s. It's society that makes us feel old, not us! My only sadness is that we couldn't take the 40th birthday trip I planned.
• 8:00 am: My very thoughtful husband made me coffee and gave me a collection of small gifts that reminded us of our past travels. Traveling is/was our main hobby before COVID-19 and we miss all of our trips. It was a really thoughtful gift.
• 8:30 am: Before work, I walked to FedEx and dropped off a Rent the Runway package. Yes, I still do Rent the Runway, even during a pandemic. I was very conflicted to continue my subscription, especially since I am working from home and have been since March 9. But honestly getting fun new clothes is a bright spot in these bleak times. I have been renting WEIRD items of clothing because who cares!? Time to wear fake leather pants that no one sees!
• On my way back from work, I stopped and got a Grande Coconut Misto from my local Starbucks. I redeemed my free birthday drink. - $0
• 10:00 am: Finally after weeks of resisting, I bought a "mystery" box of four plants from Rooted, an online plant store. I had a membership discount from The Lounge for 15% off. Total including my discount, taxes, and 33 cent carbon offset for shipping (why not): $41.94.
• 2:00 pm: Received flowers and candy from my big sister! That will satisfy any sugar cravings for a while!
• 5:00 pm: My in-laws sent me a $50 gift card to Sephora. I wanted to get that 20% off so I ordered today, the last day of the Sephora sale. I purchased frivolous items including two Selena Gomez eyeshadow palettes and a replacement Fresh sugar lip Total cost after gift card: $12.75
• 6:00 pm: After a busy day at work, my husband made fondue for my birthday dinner. It’s one of my favorite meals and is so easy! We already had the supplies on hand aside from the bread, which was purchased yesterday.
• 8:00 pm: Got on Reddit and saw that a local fave artist made a new print featuring the celebrations on BLM plaza when the election was called. I have been waiting to order one of the pieces and this was the right time. I also picked up a cool one of the Taft Bridge in the rain. I love supporting local artists. $74.20
• Total spending: $128.89
  Tuesday:
  
• 6:00 am: I slept terribly last night, and it was one of those nights of waking up for two hours and not falling back asleep.
  
• 10:00 am: We are doing intermittent fasting, which is a nice change of pace. We both ate some birthday cookies when our fasting window ended. I tried intermittent fasting in the early days of the pandemic and I really benefitted from it, and it's great that he wants to do it together. It is much easier when you have a buddy when trying new habits!
  
• 12:00 pm: It was a very busy day of work. For lunch, we had some Chinese food that my CSA delivered, plus we got some amazing cinnamon bread. I ordered this last week but we got the bill today. Chinese food will feed two of us for at least three meals. It’s not very cost-effective but it can be hard to fix meals around zooms. $66.75
  
• 5:00 pm: Happy hour with three friends at an oyster restaurant, outside, complete with masks, social distancing, the works. We each had one drink, a few oysters each, sliders, calamari, and tacos. We don't socialize often these days because we are trying to stop the spread, but we trust these three friends. This is my second to last social engagement for…the foreseeable future. Total for both of us: $56.44
  
• Total spending: $123.19
  

Wednesday:

• 5:00 am: My habit of waking up is still going strong! I woke up at 5:00 a.m. which was 30 minutes before my alarm. To ease into the day I read more of my book, which is trying my patience as the plot moves too slowly.
• 12:00 pm: Work was nuts today. Ate a cookie for lunch while on a zoom call (with the camera off and mic muted, of course, I'm not a monster)!
• 6:00 pm: My husband brought me some frozen pizza for dinner while I still worked.
• 7:00 pm: Then I panic subscribed to Sling so I could watch the series premiere of RHOSLC. Three-day free trial…and then I figured out it doesn’t start until 10 pm? Yeah, I don’t need to watch live, I can watch in the morning if Hulu has it! Total cost: free trial, so $0
• 8:00 pm: Found out that Bath and Body Works 3 wick candles were BOGO and immediately stocked up on four candles. Look, I started with 11 in my cart so this seems fine. I have been burning candles regularly while I work from home. Bonus, I found an old gift card and used it to fund this totally useless but self-care focused purchase. The total was $58.29 but $0 cost to me!
• 9:00 pm: After finishing Season 3 of the Crown, we went to bed.
• Total spending: $0

Thursday:

• 5:00 am: Another terrible night of sleep. I stayed up until 11 finishing that boring book, and then woke up well before my alarm again.
• I sat down to watch RHOSLC but it’s not uploaded yet. I drink my coffee and find something else to watch at 5 am. Watched an episode of Schitts Creek, I’m about to finish the season! Such a good show.
• 6:00 am: While looking through Instagram, I was finally influenced to buy a sweatshirt from Phenomenal Woman. I bought the pink “I’m speaking” sweatshirt for me, and the “Vice President Aunty” sweatshirt for my BFF. She is Indian and recently had a baby, and we are so excited that her daughter gets to grow up with a phenomenal woman VP who looks like her! These are very nice presents, but my friend is really going through it right now with work, being a new mom, and everything else 2020 is throwing at us all. I'm putting together special care packages for some of my close friends, and the sweatshirt will be the centerpiece of her package! Total cost: $135.68
• I canceled Sling asap, as apparently, I couldn't watch RHOSLC on it. Why am I so obsessed with watching a Housewives show? Honestly, I never watched any of these series until this pandemic made me unfit to watch anything with a difficult ploy. After canceling, I upgraded our Hulu subscription to add on the "live tv" option, which means an additional $34.62 on top of my normal subscriptions listed above. Total cost: $34.62
• The mailman delivered a Rent the Runway rental with an adorable cropped tie-died shirt! The shirt was in great condition so I checked the price…it was worth it to buy. I don’t buy things from Rent the Runway often but sometimes I can't resist. Total cost: $33.39
• 7:30 am: Finally, I was able to watch RHOSLC while I got ready for work. Yes, I still do makeup and I try to put on an outfit each day. And by an outfit I mean either a jumpsuit (So into them during the pandemic) or a cute top (generally from RTR) and athleisure bottoms with my fave pair of New Balance sneakers. Yes, I wear shoes too. It helps my mental outlook and that was a lesson I finally figured out this summer. Getting ready changes my whole mood. And I get to be FUNKY with my eyeshadow since it’s hard to see over zoom!!! My new palettes from Sephora came in (thank you in-laws) so I am going to get weird today.
• 9:00 am: Once again, work was just…crazy! The number of zoom meetings is overwhelming and I just have so many things to write and work on constantly.
• 12:00 pm: Finally we came to the end of our birthday cookies, and we ate some sad toast from the CSA for lunch with some eggs!
• 5:30 pm: I worked until about 5:30 and had the rest of the CSA Chinese food. Turns out we only got four servings out of it, a little less than I thought.
• 6:30 pm: We watched some Golden Girls and then did our own thing before collapsing to bed.
• Total spending: $203.69
  Friday:
  
• 6:30 am: Woohoo, Friday is my sleep in day! I woke up and had a leisurely time getting ready. I try to treat myself to a nice Friday morning before starting my workday.
  
• 10:00 am: We decide to order breakfast tacos from our local taco shop. We are obsessed with keeping them open through the pandemic. Four tacos and one oat milk cappuccino later, the total cost is: $26.87
  
• 1:00 pm: At lunch, I walk to see my co-worker who lives about 5 minutes away. We grabbed a coffee from a local corner coffee shop (with the cutest walk-up window) and we walk around for a bit (with masks) and settle on a church lawn so we can chat. She is starting a new job, and she was my closest co-worker. I am glad we found time to connect as I know this was a tough decision for her, and this was a last-minute outing. Total cost: $6.67
  
• 5:00 pm: After work, we drove to a friend's backyard. 8 of us were gathering for one last time outside before the weather gets too cold, and again, these are very safe and strict friends so we trust they abide by safety protocols. On the way up we discover we need gas, so we fill up. Total cost: $44.03
  
• While we are getting gas, my friend texted me and asks if I can pick up some ice and two bundles of firewood. As I said, we are going to be outside and it gets cold. We picked up the supplies at our local grocery store. Total cost: $14.80
  
• We brought some leftover seltzers and a gifted bottle of wine for me to drink, so we did not purchase anything new to bring to the party. In a pandemic, there isn't a lot of buying for other people.
  
• We left around 11 pm, thoroughly cold but absolutely thrilled to get our last social gathering in before winter truly arrives.
  
• Total spending: $92.37
  

Saturday:

• 7:00 am: I woke up early because my body hates sleep. It's so frustrating that I can't sleep in like I could when I was younger! Let that be a warning to you younger ladies here…sleep is elusive!
• 9:00 am: We were very low on some groceries, and I decided to order some supplies by using Amazon Fresh. I do this for staples probably once a month. We still go to the grocery store for meat, produce, and other specialty items. The order will arrive Sunday morning. Groceries + tip: $127.84
• 12:00 pm: My Saturday plan was to do NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. And I succeeded. I played some stupid computer games, did some chores, we watched some tv, I read part of a new book. It was glorious.
• 5:00 pm: Since we aren't getting more groceries until tomorrow, we ordered pizza from a local fancy pizza restaurant that we have been meaning to try. We get two small-ish pizzas, a pasta dish, and some bombolini. Everything looked too good and of course, we had leftovers for the next day. Total cost + tip: $81.63
• Total spending: $209.47

Sunday

• 7:00 am: Today I planned to be slightly more productive, and I succeeded. We did some laundry, put away all the groceries, and I went through my budget on YNAB. I try to reconcile my budget weekly because I find it strangely soothing to see all my dollars playing a role. And also I can look at my frivolous spending (which um, is pretty bad this week).
• 11:00 am: My Rooted plant mystery box arrived! I repotted all the plants, and I was pleased I got some new to me plants. Sadly, I looked at my existing plants and realized one of them was completely dead. He lived a good life. In other plant news, I occasionally get a monthly plant of the month club box from The Sill. I don't count this as a part of my subscriptions because I routinely skip shipments depending on how many plants are alive in my home. However, I wanted this month's delivery. Total cost: $42.10
• 2:00 pm: While doing laundry, I realized that several of our masks are starting to break. I'm surprised they lasted so long, considering we bought them in the spring. My friend who I had coffee with had a great looking durable mask, so I texted her for the brand. Of course, it was Rothy's. I order a set of two masks. Total cost: $26.50
• 4:00 pm: Okay I said I was productive but we also managed to tear through four episodes of The Crown, plus watch two episodes of The Undoing. I like that I have what some consider to be high brow taste with prestige tv, and crap taste with reality tv. We all need balance.
• 5:30 pm: Dinner is a fridge/leftover cleanout from the week: leftover CSA Chinese food, leftover pizza, and other random fridge items.
• 9:00 pm: We decided to go to sleep early to get a jump start on the last full week before Thanksgiving. I am thankful in advance that it will be a short week for both of us. We will not be seeing family or friends this year for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I recognize that we are both very lucky to have family who all wants to stay safe this winter and no one is pressuring us to travel.
• Total Spending: $68.60

Total spending for the Week:

• Food + Drink: $366.20
• Fun/Entertainment: $49.42
• Home + Health: $158.24
• Clothes + Beauty: $140.44
• Transport: $44.03
• Other: $67.84

Some Reflections:

• When I reflect on my purchases this week, I saw that I spent a lot more on frivolous purchases. I think my birthday aligned with the Sephora sale put me in a "spendy" mood and I managed to press the purchase button on a lot of internet shopping carts. I can curb that spending for a while and be perfectly happy.
• Additionally, I was reminded that we spend lots of money on food and eating out. Part of me doesn't care, because we order from local restaurants who are trying to survive the pandemic and stay in business. But I was raised to be thrifty and rarely eat at restaurants, so this is still a conflict for me.
• Looking at my big picture numbers, I feel pretty good. I have worked really hard to get to where I am in terms of financial success, and it's been a long, hard road. I am very grateful that my mother taught me how to balance a checkbook and about compound interest. However, I wish she would have taught me that compounded interest can be BAD, like when it's interest on credit card debt. That was a hard lesson to learn in my mid-20s, and I am very grateful I was able to pick up the pieces after so much debt.
• While I am an excellent budgeter and confident with my finances, I still learned a lot from logging every purchase as it happened. With YNAB I am used to reconciling my purchases several days or weeks after I bought an item. With a money diaries exercise, I was forced to think about my purchase when I bought it, and know that strangers on the internet may judge me!

This is my first post (and a long one), but I wanted to share my experience. Sense online sports betting became legal in NJ I would place small bets on sporting events. $1 bets on a parlay, maybe $5 or $10 max on a single bet. I would bet a small amount every week. It was money I had in my account and I would never exceed that. This went on for years and then COVID hit. I was let go from my job after 9 years and collecting unemployment satisfied me until about July - right when the extra $600 benefit expired. As a husband with a wife and family I started feeling depressed that I was not providing my family with what I should be. One night I discovered an online casino game, Dream Catcher Wheel, and started playing in July. I went from wagering $0.50 to $1; and when I was down occasionally ramped up to $5 or $10 dollars. Then it started.
As losses accumulated I started wagering more and more. I opened credit cards, took cash advances, over drafted my checking account from July to October, racking up over $40K in debt. I started wagering $50, $100 then $200. Sometimes I would be up $15K, loose it all, wake up the next day and repeat. As a professional in the finance world, it was like what I lost wasn't a reality and the next day was a fresh start. I know I was smarter than this. I would still make sports bets during the period, but I chased the instant reward. I feel like a transformed into another person on the inside, I didn't let this affect my on the outside to others. I was still the same husband and father that I had always been and just wanted the easy way to bring in money for my family. It only takes minutes to gamble thousands. I did it to pay off existing debt, treat the family to vacations, gifts, etc. I did not gamble to be able to my myself something new. I just lost myself in the world of online gambling.
In October I came clean to my wife and our families. I have their support (although I'm sure I will always be labeled with what I did) and would probably not be where I am now a few months later without them. Coming clean was the hardest part. I was ready to leave my house/family/kids because I felt they deserved someone better than me, someone who wouldn't gamble over $40K away that could have been used towards their weddings, college tuition, cars, birthday parties, etc. My kids are under 2 1/2 so they don't know what is going on, but obviously I feel like a failed as a father and husband.
Other than the first week of coming clean I still have been the same husband and father - cooking for the family, cleaning, playing with the kids etc. but now its the mental demons I face with anxiety. I just completed an 8 week therapy program focused around anxiety, panic, depression - including talk of the gambling addiction, which led me to realize I have had anxiety issues for over 20 years, but I was able to hide it.
I know this situation could have been a lot worse than $40K and its just debt I have to repay. I am not at risk to loose my house or family. I have my health and my families health. I will find another job that I love. Although these are positive factors, they negative factors of what I did come to the front of my mind. I can't forgive myself or not want to punish myself or this bad choice that I made. Its important to note that I no longer have a gambling urge, have not gambled sense mid October, however I came here to post this looking for your experiences, comments, suggestions. How can I move forward from this and not constantly think about what I did. I am getting professional help, but hearing from anyone with experience with gambling addictions could end up helping just as much as a professional therapist.
Thank you for your time to read this!

Since I have a lot of free time these days, and given all the latest news, I thought I'd put together a (hopefully useful) guide on how to get started when it comes to buying Bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency really) and crypto trading in general. This community and Reddit in general have been very helpful for me, and this is my attempt at contributing with useful content.
With that said, if you have any suggestion please let me know and I'll add it to the post.
Obligatory disclaimer before getting started: there is no magic formula when it comes to making money, my goal is to raise awareness about cryptocurrency and somehow extern my thoughts. Therefore, I am not responsible for any loss you may experience, whether it is related to information provided in this post or not. You are responsible of what you do with your capital and I encourage you to do your own research before risking any money. Also, always be very suspicious of people telling you that a certain investment will for sure be profitable. I added my referral links and want to be completely transparent about it. If you don't feel like using them, that's completely fine.
With that out of the way, let's get started.

Why this post?

Despite the huge cryptocurrency market cap and all the talking on the news, I feel like getting started with cryptocurrency is still not very intuitive for most people. Don't get me wrong, getting started is extremely easy but, despite the simplicity involved, the numerous alternatives available for this kind of investment may often be overwhelming. This guide wants to guide any newcomer step-by-step.

Isn't it too late to buy cryptocurrency?

No, it’s not too late to invest in cryptocurrency. I know, it would have been great if you (and I) bought some Bitcoin back in 2011. However, this doesn’t mean it’s not worth it to buy some now, especially considering the likely economic recession that will follow the COVID-19 pandemic (and that is already going on for that matter). Consider that, at the time of writing, the cryptocurrency market is worth about 530 billion dollars. New cryptocurrencies are constantly being introduced on the market, each one with its own peculiarities: from faster transactions to higher security, from coins focused on anonymity to coins that aim to solve real-world problems.

What is so special about cryptocurrencies anyway?

A complete description of the advantages connected to cryptocurrency is out of scope, and I am sure you would find your answers in this subreddit and on the internet in general. From lower transaction fees and insant payments to the impossibility to reverse a transaction, the list is long. What I want to focus on here, however, are the two main reasons why I personally think cryptocurrency has the potential to revolutionize the economic world: blockchain technology and absence of a man-in-the-middle.

Blockchain 101

Despite the different peculiarities of each cryptocurrency, all of them have one thing in common: some sort of blockchain. A blockchain, as the name suggests, is a growing chain of blocks that are linked to each other. Every new block that gets added to the chain (usually in the form of a transaction) is permanently stored in the blockchain, and cannot be altered in any way.
Cryptocurrencies are just a small part of this extremely innovative technology, and other products such as video games or smart contracts can be built on top of a blockchain.
Think about the potential applications of this technology. Anything we currently use registers or lists to keep track of could virtually rely on a blockchain, and that would guarantee permanent storage of any information. From property registers (think about houses) to food supply chains, there are thousands of areas that would benefit - and are currently benefiting - from this technology.
What does all of this have to do with cryptocurrency? Whenever someone makes a blockchain, they need to create an incentive to make the whole system work and a way to reward its users (and miners). This is where cryptocurrency comes into play: blockchain needs some sort of token exchange in order to work.
While many cryptocurrencies' only job is to back a blockchain system, some of them are created with the clear goal of bringing being a better cryptocurrency for the market. Some reasons may include better anonymity, faster transactions, higher energy efficiency, and so on.

Absence of a man-in-the-middle

The absence of a third-party entity is by itself a great step forward. Think about some of the most successful services that were born in the last few years. Airbnb allows you to immediately get in touch with the property owner, no mediator. Uber allows you to directly contact a driver. When you send money in the form of cryptocurrency, you are letting the network do the job, not a bank. Everything is transparent and every transaction is kept track of.

Can cryptocurrency be used for payments?

Of course.
Unfortunately there is still a big misconception about this aspect, and many people believe that cryptocurrency is useless since it can't be spent. Wrong. First of all, even if it couldn’t be spent, it wouldn’t imply that Bitcoin has no value: crazy gains have been made in the past trading gold, but I’ve never seen anyone pretending to pay with gold at the grocery store.
Second of all, many businesses are accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, and the list just keeps growing. A few examples? * Overstock * Expedia * Microsoft * Wikipedia * AT&T * NewEgg * Shopify
The list could be as long as you want (Subway, Twitch, Playboy, KFC, Namecheap, you name it), just try to do a quick Google search.
And Amazon? While they don’t accept cryptocurrency payments directly (but hey, they don’t accept PayPal either), you can buy anything they sell by using Purse!

What if I want to go back to cash?

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be converted to cash at any time either at a Bitcoin ATM or through Bitcoin exchanges (I highly suggest Coinbase).

How to invest in Bitcoin and/or trade cryptocurrencies

Having covered the basics, let’s get down to business.
Please remember: you should only invest as much as you are willing to lose. Gains in the cryptocurrency world can be huge, but the opposite can hold as well if you don’t make informed decisions. You definitely don’t want to lose more than you can afford to.
I decided to split this part into three main points: 1. Education 2. Buying Bitcoin (or any other crypto you may want to buy) 3. Trading
Let's first take care of the most important step: education.

Educate yourself to make informed decisions

Make sure you educate yourself, you should learn the basics before starting to trade cryptocurrency. The good things about cryptocurrency is that you don’t need to start out with $10k in order to see some profits and anyone can get started with as little as a few hundred dollars. This, however, does not mean it’s a game, and you should never take cryptocurrency trading as a gambling session. Please, be prepared before trading your assets.

Best resources

There are many books and online resources out there covering trading, forex markets, technical analysis and more. The more you learn and the wider your knowledge of the subject is, the better. With that said, you don't have to read all the books I am suggesting. These are just some resources that I was impressed with and you can lookup if you want to.
Technical analysis: * Charting and Technical Analysis is a very good general book on technical analysis for beginners. * How to Day Trade for a Living is great if you are considering day trading, but you will likely find some useful tips even if you don’t intend to day trade. * How To Swing Trade is possibly one of my favorite books on the subject. If you are not going to day trade and prefer to keep your positions for days or weeks, this is the book for you. * School of Pipsology is a well-organized online course. Taking the whole course might take a while and be overwhelming, you most likely won’t need all of the information provided. * Advanced Techniques in Day Trading is a little more advanced but I found it very good. * Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets is a huge book and probably more academically-oriented, but very good and complete nonetheless.
Psychology (don't underestimate this aspect): * The Disciplined Trader * Trading in the Zone
These last two books don't need a description (just look at the reviews) and will take your trading game to another level. Trading is probably 90% psychology, do not underestimate this aspect if you want to be successful.
Whatever book/site/video you choose to rely upon for your education, the important thing is to get to a point where you can understand the basics of charting before you start dealing with money. At first, all the information may seem a little overwhelming but, after a while, you will get used to different types of candles, volume patterns, moving averages and even more.

Understand how you would like to invest

There are two main types of investors in the cryptocurrency world: * Those who buy a BTC (or ETH, or any cryptocurrency) and keep it, waiting for its value to grow over time. * Those who buy and sell crypto in order to boost their BTC holdings (this is what I suggest you look into if you can dedicate some time to crypto trading, but it's not for everyone).
In the first case, to keep everything simple, let’s say you are confident that BTC price will grow. So you buy 1 BTC at \$10,000 and sell it later for \$20,000: the price of BTC has doubled, you made a +100% profit. Easy as that.
In the second case let's say you buy the same BTC at \$10,000 and start trading BTC with other cryptocurrencies (Litecoin, Ripple, Stellar, there are thousands) that increase their value against BTC. After a while, having these altcoins increased in value against BTC, you don’t have 1 BTC anymore. In fact, you may end up having 1.5 BTC that you can still sell for \$20,000 each, for a total of \$30,000. You obviously made more money in this case.
The second strategy can be extremely profitable if you buy at the right time (partnerships announcements, technological advancements in the underlying technology, and so on), and spikes of 100% in a short time are not uncommon for smaller market cap cryptocurrencies. Of course, the opposite hold as well, so be extremely careful when buying and only trade if you think there is a underlying reason for doing so, not just because you feel like it. Again: education and discipline are key.

Focus on your BTC holdings, don’t reason in USD value

With reference to the example above, it should be clear how important it is to focus on how much Bitcoin you have, not how many USD it is currently worth. Focusing solely on USD is an error a lot of people make, but try to think about it this way. Just like above, you buy 1 BTC for \$10,000 and start investing in altcoins, you lose some of the BTC you had and end up having 0.8 BTC. Now you sell your BTC (again for $20,000 each) and get \$16,000. Obviously you made a \$6000 profit, which is still a nice 60% return, but you would have been better off just holding your initial 1 BTC.

Buying Bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency)

In order to send and receive cryptocurrencies, you need a wallet. I strongly suggest you use Coinbase to buy, since it is the most used and the safest website when it comes to buying cryptocurrencies. If you buy through this referral link, you get \$10 more if you buy at least \$100 within 180 days of opening your online account.
Beside BTC, you can choose to buy some other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) or Bitcoin Cash (BCH). They accept all kinds of cards and you can also link your bank account if you wish to do so, this allows you to convert your cryptocurrency holdings back to USD (or EUR and many other currencies) and have it deposited in your bank account directly.
The buying process is straightforward and the instructions on the website are very clear. Once you have verified your account, you only need to choose how much BTC to buy and that’s it.
The general advice in the cryptocurrency community is to start by investing about \$200-\$300 in order to be able to see some gains right away, but of course it is up to you to choose how much you want to invest. You can invest thousands of dollars as well as $20 or lower, your call.
Keep in mind that, if you invest too little, you may end up not reaching the minimum trading amount needed to buy other cryptocurrencies.
Once again: never risk more than you are willing to lose.

How to trade cryptocurrencies

In order to trade different cryptocurrencies, you need to move your funds to an exchange. I highly suggest Binance, which now has the highest trading volume among the cryptocurrency exchanges. If you sign up using this link, you will get a 5% back on every commission on the website, which really adds up over time.
Once you have your cryptocurrency on Coinbase and have an exchange account, you can transfer your holdings from one site to the other.
On Binance (the process is similar for other exchanges as well) navigate to Wallet -> Spot Wallet and find the cryptocurrency you bought on Coinbase. If you bought BTC on Coinbase, look for BTC and click on Deposit, otherwise choose the appropriate coin. You will be presented a Deposit Address which you need to copy.
Now move to Coinbase and click on Send, you only have to paste the address which you want to send money to (the one you copied on Binance): be very careful to paste the right address, or you may lose your money.
Done! Don’t worry if the transaction takes a while. BTC normally takes 10-30 minutes, but sometimes a few hours are needed due to the large amount of transactions. ETH and LTC transactions are usually faster, and you may want to buy one of them instead of BTC if you want your money on Binance quickly (or if you want to save on fees). Grab a cup of coffee and wait until your funds become available on Binance.
Now what? You have your money on Binance and can trade whatever cryptocurrency you wish. Just click on Markets and you will be presented with a huge selection of coins, from this page you can buy or sell each of them. Under the price chart of every pair you can see the Limit, Market and Stop-Limit tabs: * Limit: place a buy/sell order at the price you prefer (looking at the panes on the left – current sell and buy orders – may be helpful) * Market: you automatically buy/sell at the current most convenient market price * Stop-Limit: allows you to place conditional buy/sell orders
Ideally, you are looking for a low market cap coin which is still undervalued and you believe will become more successful in the future.
I suggest you always do your own research before choosing a coin to invest in, avoid buying impulsively or you will lose money. Also, don’t buy a cryptocurrency just because you read it or heard it somewhere. You may not lose money the first time but, eventually you will regret it. Don’t randomly pick a coin because its value is increasing. Again, it may work the first or the second time, but sooner or later you will regret it.
Finally, make sure to always place a stop loss. That way, even if the most unlikely and unexpected market change happens, an order will be placed for you even if you are sleeping. There’s really no reason not to place a stop loss.

Stay informed to be profitable

The following are some of the websites I personally use when looking for potentially profitable investments: * Coinmarketcap (all the alts you can possibly buy are listed here, along with market cap, volume, price and many other indicators) * Reddit * Bitcointalk * Trading View * Telegram channels * Twitter and some other dedicated forums
Be aware of people who try to make you invest in a particular cryptocurrency just because it may be advantageous for them. I can’t stress this point enough, make sure you do your own research.
When I am looking for a new potential cryptocurrency to invest in, I also like to visit the official website and check if the website looks professional or if it is just trying to create hype. Some questions you should look for answers to are: * What is the real value of the coin (why is it better than the other ones)? * What is the team behind the cryptocurrency? * What real problems does coin solve? * Is the supply limited? * Is there a whitepaper? * What about this project's roadmap? * ...and so on.
If I am confident about my research, and only at that point, I proceed with the trade.

Final considerations

• Never risk more than you are willing to lose
• Don’t be scared of the high volatility. If you are aware of what you are doing, you can get unbelievable gains.
• Never buy solely based on the fact that the value of a cryptocurrency is going up.

I know I stressed these points way too many times, but you'd be surprised of how many people lose money in stupid ways.
This is my humble attempt at making cryptocurrency more accessible to everyone, hopefully someone will find it useful. Please let me know if I forgot anything, I'll be glad to credit your contribution.
Good luck and thanks for reading.

To gamble is to risk but there are options to help cut back the risk.
Set your limit
First and foremost important is to remember, gambling is for fun! Do not gamble if you cannot afford to lose. Have a specific amount set aside for gambling and stick to it. Don't borrow money to gamble and don't ever go past your set limit.
Take Frequent breaks.
Don't attempt to play at a casino if you are under stress, depressed or troubled in any way. All distractions can cause you to lose your concentration and obviously result in losses you may not incur otherwise. Bright lights and loud noises are created to the casinos benefit. If you are gambling online, ensure that you are not going to be distracted and if you are, stop play until another time.
Slots Tips
Tip #1. Always play the max coin amount on progressive slots. It is best to play max regardless of whether the slot is progressive or not but how painful would it be to hit a jackpot on less than max bet?
Tip #2. Know the payout schedule before sitting down at a slot machine. Just like in poker, knowledge of the odds and payouts is crucial to developing a good strategy.
Tip #3. If you are not having luck at a particular machine, then move on to another one. Don't play it all night, hoping for it to finally pay off.
Tip #4. Always ensure your bet registers in the machine prior to pulling the bar or hitting spin, you will not be given the max coin winnings if the machine doesn't record a max coin bet being placed.
Tip #5. Never leave your machine until you are done playing. There is no worse feeling that someone taking the machine you were playing at because you went for a drink or to use the restroom. Make sure you take care of personal business prior to choosing your slot. There are waitresses for drinks.
Blackjack Tips
Tip #1 The most obvious is to ensure you know the rules of blackjack. It is always a good idea to have a strategy when you play blackjack. All winning systems are based on a basic strategy which consists of statistically speaking, there exists only one best action a player can take for each of the possible hands he can receive versus each possible upcard the dealer may have.
Tip #2 Learn about the house rules of each casino, the better the house rules, the more money you can expect to win in the long run. And yes, house rules do vary between casinos.
Tip #3 Learn the proper way to use your bankroll. There are statistically proven methods to keep control of your balance and the amount of bet you should place based on your total bankroll.
Tip #4Never drink alcohol when you are playing and always leave the game once you start to feel fatigued. You may start to make mistakes that you won't even notice.
Poker Tips
Tip #1 The best tip for poker playing is to read up on the game play, the variants of the game and ensure you know the rules of the game.
Tip #2 When you first start, it is a good idea to sit out and watch the other players prior to starting your game. Watch how they bet and how much they bet.
Tip #3 As you advance as a player, learn how to bluff. You must know the game well and bluff only when you feel secure that the other players will not call your bluff.
Tip #4 It is also a good idea to try to play against less skillfull opponents. Obviously, you will have a better chance at the game if you have more knowledge and experience.
Tip #5 Most important is what many of us have heard before, "Know when to hold 'em and when to fold "em". Mistakes are made quite often in poker when players want to stick it out with hands that have no value. That is a guaranteed loss. And stick with the no alcohol while playing rule.
Video Poker Tips
Tip #1 Just as with poker, you must know the game of video poker. There is a wide variant of video poker games, with each having a different set of winning card combinations. It is a good idea to pay attention to whether or not a machine uses one 52-deck of cards or more than one. The more cards there are, the less likely the player will win.
Tip #2 There is no such thing as a loose or tight video poker machine. They do not operate on reels like a slot machine, each card has an equal chance of showing up on any hand.
Tip #3 Always play the maximum number of credits allowed on progressive video poker, if you hit a royal flush, you will want that jackpot.
Tip #4 Until you are a master player, play at the lowest coin denomination amount possible. This will give you more cash to play on and learn as you go.
Tip #5 It can be very helpful to play a handheld video poker game (like you can get at any store with board games), this will also give you experience and a good knowledge of how the games will play.
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The only way to get better in my opinion, is to have safe guards between you and your money! For example, I used to have a credit card in the peak of my addiction that had a $5000 limit and in ONE day I maxed it out online gambling. That was equal to about 400 hours of work for me at the time. I also would withdraw the maximum from my ATM and use that cash in physical slot machines at local pubs. However, after many many relapses and thousands lost, I finally decided to put barriers between me and my money. Contact banks to remove cash advance options on credit card, no online gambling transactions, self exclude Pokerstars/other online gambling sites. Reduced my atm withdrawal limit to $40 from $1000.
This is the only thing that has worked for me. Even if I get the urge to gamble I only have access to $40 cash at any time. I cannot withdraw cash at the branch without my wife coming with me. People, We have a sickness. even if someone gave us $10,000 and all we had to do was hold it for a month to get $100,000 we would fail. Or at least I would. Cash is my needle and without it i Cant inject the drug of slot machines into my veins. Reading everyones stories I wish you all the best of luck - its a shitty journey but life does get better when you are out of overdraft and see some savings start to build. Relapses happen, but do what you can to reduce the harm and get back on the bet free wagon.
Cheers
Jack

Because of a gambling addiction I have gotten myself into an extreme amount of debt ( I've already stopped and am seeking help). It's coming time to renew the lease on my apartment and I heard from my landlord that they will be increasing the rent to $4k a month. I really want to move somewhere less expensive but I don't even know how I would find a place given how horrible my credit is.
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I have 108% utilization on my credit which is killing me despite having never missed a payment. For context on why the everything is so inflated (salary and rent) I live in San Francisco.​
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So where do I begin . I started watching gambling streams out of nowhere and seen my favorite person won a lot of money , ofcourse he would bc he has plenty of money to gamble and does it daily , eventually something would of hit . Then on my day off I asked my bf to come with me to the casino and have our day to ourselves without the kids . We had such a great time and ate a nice meal at the casino , I was up 700 on my freeplay and life was good until I decided to continue playing and lost 1,000 before I had to leave the casino to get our kids . Me and bf still had a good time and we didn’t think nothing of the loss bc we hit a lot of bonuses and enjoyed ourselves even though we did end up losing but it’s bc we had to leave early . Then 10pm came and I started watching the gambling videos again and had the sudden urge I could win my money back if I go back and stay longer . I told my bf I’ll be back bc I want to go and play and plus I’m off I had nothing to do . At this point the kids are almost in bed and I’m ready to go win my money . The casino is about 1.2 hours away and I drove so fast on the road . About half way there I felt as if I am leaving my family behind to go live out my addiction . When I was about 5 mins away from casino , there was a big truck stopped dead in one of the lanes I did not see him bc I was driving behind an SUV, by the time I finally saw him i had to break , luckily he wasn’t in my lane but I can see how another person traveling in the truck lane would crash into him , that should of been a warning that I shouldn’t go but I didn’t care . I mainly went bc I was suppose to check into the free hotel room to get my resort credit which is up to 1,000, and u guess it right I got there in time to check in . The front desk gave me my keys and told me where to go . I didn’t even make it of my room before I start gambling at the slots . I only had 1,000 dollars and I guessed it, lost it . Then before I left my house I had made a 1500 credit card payment and the sickening addict that I am , I withdrew the money from my bank and lost that . So now that credit card payment which I can’t cancel will debit my bank and make it negative . Now it’s 2am I’m tired , broke and had to tell my bf I’m too tired to drive home . This morning I’m laying in this hotel room writing this post , when I should of been with my family . I’ve lost a total of 3600 dollars that should of been for rent and credit payment and now I am negative 1500 and I don’t even know what to tell my mom when she deposit the rent check I gave her and hoping it won’t bounce which I’m sure it will . I have no more cash advances on any cards even though I have been paying them but I guess if they are not paid off I won’t get any more advances . Uugh this is my third time this year gambling and it will be my last for the year . Such a horrible feeling when you stuck at a casino with no money literally not a single dollar . I was hoping to use my resort credit to get a spa treatment or something but literally can’t even do that bc I have no money for gratuity either . I’m probably going to drive home soon and just feel like a sad puppy . The dreaded long drive home . For the rest of my day, I think I will go to the mall shopping with my credit card which is the only access to money I have and take my bf out . He did told me not to go and that he would get off his video games and watch a movie with me but I didn’t listen , I went anyway , it’s bad for our relationship and I should never leave my house like that at night again . Especially bc I came here and Lose my whole rent and credit card payment ! Well that’s it for me for this year , I gambled now 3 times . Once in feb lost 700, once in July lost 1200 at an online casino , once in October 3600 . I guess I’m gonna see what I can charge to my room before I leave this place , maybe some breakfast that I can bring home to my bf or something and spend the rest of this month broke until I get paid again .

During my time in the borg, I have met far too many witnesses that have absolutely no grasp on their finances. It's especially sad to see in older and elderly witnesses. Many of them have to rely on the generosity of other witnesses and government help to get by. But you can't really blame them! We are taught to put the meetings and the preaching work above all else. We are even told to quit our jobs if they don't give us meeting or assembly days off. On top of that, many of these witnesses are planning their lives and finances around the idea of "the world could end tomorrow", so what good are material things?
As you leave the organization and learn the truth about the truth, you've probably come to the realization that no, the world is not going to end tomorrow. You have your whole life ahead of you! But that also means you need to prepare for your future, your grand plans, and your retirement. I've read many posts here from young exJWs and new exJWs that feel lost when they leave and are worried about providing for themselves after getting shunned by everyone they know and losing their entire support network. Well I believe that the best way to take control of your life is by taking control of your finances first! After all, you will just be faced with a mountain of stress if you aren’t able to maintain yourself and achieve your dreams in the world. You might even consider doing the unthinkable… Going back 0_0
Since leaving the Borg, I have gotten my bachelor's degree in finance. After trying out several different positions and companies, I now own my own Capital Management company. In short, I provide financial analysis services and advice for individuals and companies, as well as manage various investment portfolios. I figured why not help how I can? While this post is primarily targeted towards those just leaving or planning to leave, I hope everyone can find this advice helpful as you prepare for your bright future outside the Borg. I'm going to start with the very basics and work our way up. This is going to be very long, but I promise I'll try to make it entertaining and relevant to the exJW.
But first, legal disclaimer time - Don't sue me bro. I'm not a financial advisor. This is not financial advice. Do your own research. Don't YOLO Tesla Puts. Don't leave your inheritance to the Borg.
With that out of the way, lets dive in.
**1. Open a bank account! **
This seems very basic, but it is the most critical step to begin your path to financial freedom. I know many younger people may have relied on their parents to “hold” their money or had a joint account with a parent, but it’s time to control your own money. Don't just stuff money under your mattress or in your sock. At the bank of your choice, open both a checking account and a savings account. My advice for a checking account is Wells Fargo; they have branches across the US, as well as many thousands of ATMs all over the place. It's helpful to be able to easily get to a branch to talk to a human when you need help with your account. For savings accounts, my recommendation is Ally Bank. This is a fully online bank, so no branches, but thanks to that they typically have among the highest interest rates of the industry. They also have the highest rated customer service for a bank. You call them up, wait for a couple minutes, and you're talking to a human - no more yelling at a robot when you need help with your account.
Earning interest on your money is important because otherwise you are literally losing money thanks to a little thing called inflation. Briefly, this means that the value of $1 (or whatever your local currency) goes down over time. Typically in the US, it's around 2% per year. Over your whole lifetime of not dying in a fiery Armageddon, that's a whole lot of percents. Interest rates don't always match inflation for a few complex reasons, but Ally will usually pay you 1-2% a year on your money. That's better than 0% on the money under your mattress.
Most companies offer direct deposit for your paycheck so your money can go directly into your account rather than having to deal with checks, plus its free unlike cashing checks. Having a bank account also makes it easier to pay all your bills, and holy sh*t will you have bills when you're independent. But we'll get to that later.
On top of paying you interest and keeping your money safe, a huge reason to have and use a bank account is that you will always know exactly how much money you have, how much money you spend, and where your money went. This brings me to the next point...
**2. Make a budget! **
The next step to your financial Independence is making a budget to see how much money goes in and out of your account on a monthly basis. I recommend using the free Mint app by Quicken. This lets you link all your bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, and large assets in one place to keep track of everything. They also have a budget function where you can type in what you want to budget for every category, and they will automatically keep track of how you're doing every month.
Once you know how much money is going out every month, you know how much needs to come in. If more money is going out than is coming in, or you need to increase your savings, then you need to...
**3. Trim the fat off your budget! **
Pretty much all of us are guilty of spending more than we should. I mean we're accustomed to getting our Starbucks coffee right after the service group, going to our favorite return visit - the donut shop, stopping for lunch with the friends after knocking on 2 doors, and donating to global pedophile ring... But I digress. Now it's time to trim the fat! Any unnecessary expenses need to go in order to succeed in your final future. Now that you have a budget, you'll actually be able to tell what you can cut down on.
If you are spending $100+ on Starbuck coffee, cut that sh*t out! I don't care how many stars you're earning. Buy yourself a $10 drip coffee maker or a $20 stovetop espresso maker (even though its more work, I prefer the espresso maker). Then buy a bag of your favorite ground coffee, some milk or half and half, and a sh*t ton of sugar. Want to play barista in your own home? Buy some flavored coffee syrups to add to your coffee. You'll be able to recreate your Starbucks coffee flavored sugar beverage for a fraction of the cost. Usually under $1. You can even misspell your name on your cup for a more authentic experience.
Fairly universal expenses are Food, rent, and utilities. But even these can be cut down on.
For food, you might be tempted to go out and eat, get some fast food, or some takeout. Maybe even just survive off meals from the frozen aisle. These are the easiest options. But you will quickly rack up a significant food bill over the course of the month. Instead, try your hand at cooking! Start easy with some pasta. $1.50 for a box of pasta, and $2.50 for a jar of sauce. The ratio I use is 1 box of pasta to 1/2 a jar of sauce. This leaves my pasta with plenty of flavor and color but not a huge pool of sauce in my bowl. To cook - boil & salt water, throw pasta in for 10 minutes, drain, add sauce, mix, done! (*Instructions unclear, got baptized into a cult*). For this $2.75 you should end up with 3-4 servings of food (Less than $1 each!). Toss the leftovers in some Tupperware and you have your lunch for work and another dinner! My advice is to look up your favorite recipes online and just practice. You will very quickly learn how to make lots of great food and significantly cut down on your food budget. I just learned how to make Nigerian Jollof rice by reading recipes online! Another way to cut down on food expenses, BUY THE STORE BRAND!!!! There is absolutely no reason to buy name brand foods IMO. Kroger is my favorite, but Great Value and Market Pantry are just as good. You can also buy the off brands. Fruity pebbles and Dyno bites? Same sh*t.
For rent and utilities, get a roommate! By getting a roommate you can cut your rent in half. If getting a roommate isn't an option, then try looking for another smaller or cheaper apartment. If that's not an option, then go the opposite direction and find a bigger apartment with a roommate! Getting a roommate is the most effective way to cut down on your rent expense. Sure, it may be awkward at first to live with someone else, but your wallet will thank you and you may even make a friend! We all know those are in short supply when you leave the Borg...
Subscriptions are the biggest killer of any budget. They leach off your bank account every single month like a cancer. For years I subscribed to the gentleman’s box to get my tie and colorful socks of the month to rock at the meetings. But after leaving, I can count on one hand how many times I've worn a suit. Now I have a closet full of ties and a drawer full of socks and nowhere to wear them. Subscriptions have got to go!
After having watched years of the broadcast (*cough* propaganda *cough*), you may now be tempted to subscribe to every streaming service you can find to fill your brain with meaningless worldly TV. But don't overdo it! You don't need Netflix, Hulu, HBO, AND Disney+. Pick your favorite streaming service with the most shows you like to watch, and stick with that one for a while. You can only watch one thing at a time after all. Once you get bored with it, cancel it, and try another one. You can cancel these and restart them at any time, and for the most part the content isn't going anywhere. There’s also YouTube, which is free. There is a mind-blowing amount of professionally made content on YouTube completely free, I guarantee you will find channels and shows you like watching. Sure, there's commercials, but that just gives you time to look at a couple memes on exjwhumor.
These are just some basic suggestions for how to cut out or reduce some large expenses. If you want to dive deeper in to saving even in the small places in your budget, you should explore some ideas of a frugal lifestyle. I find it kind of fun seeing everywhere you can save money by adding just a small amount of effort. Over time, these small efforts can really start to add up to some serious savings.
Once you cut down on your expenses, you should have a nice jingle in your pocket left over at the end of every month. **Don't forget to treat yourself! ** I'm not telling you to buy a jet ski or the newest iPhone with your extra money. In fact, you should be saving most of that extra money! (But we'll get to that next). You have just gotten out of a long-term toxic relationship and you need to take care of yourself. Give yourself a nice little discretionary budget every month to do whatever you want to do with it. If you like getting a manicure or pedicure (fellas, you don't know what you're missing out on), treat yourself! If you want to go get an ice cream or some dessert, treat yourself! Want to buy that video game that you have been dying to play? Treat yourself! If possible for your budget situation, try to give yourself $100 a month (or whatever you can) to do something you want to do.
**4. Start an emergency fund! **
The current pandemic and economic crisis show better than anything why you need to have an emergency fund. One day to the next you could be out of work, of you could have your hours cut, or you could fall ill and not be able to work. The average American can't afford a $500 emergency, and I don't want that to be you now that you don't have your support network anymore. Your emergency fund should be in its own high interest savings account. You want it to be easily accessible for when you need it, but not so easy that you might use it when you see a top at H&M that you just can't live without.
The rule of thumb is to keep 6 months worth of expenses, though having more doesn't hurt. Set your own goal based on what you think you need. The Mint app can also help you set and track a savings goal. On your budget, look at your monthly expenses and multiply x 6. This number may seem daunting at first, but remember that you don't need to get it all at once. Take your time and plan it based on your budget. Now that you have trimmed the fat off your budget, you might have some leftover money burning a hole in your pocket. But don't succumb to the temptation to spend! At the end of the month (or the end of the pay period), move all your leftover money into your emergency fund! No matter how big or small, contribute to your emergency fund every month.
But now that you have this pile of money staring at you in your bank account, you're going to need to set yourself some ground rules. Limit yourself on what you can spend this money on. Don't break open this piggy bank just because its Prime day and everything on your wish list is on sale, or because Gabe Newell decided to put an 80% discount on all your favorite Steam games. This is an EMERGENCY fund! Use it when your car gets a flat tire and you can't afford to fix it. Use it when you get an unexpected medical bill you can't pay. And of course, use it if you're laid off or can't work.
**5. Get a credit card and build credit! **
Getting a credit card may seem counter intuitive because you're taking out debt, but that's not really what it means. When you buy things on a credit card, after you get your statement at the end of the billing cycle you get a whole month to pay it interest free. *whispers* It's free money. The key is PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARDS! The interest rates on credit cards are f*cking painful, don't do that to yourself. If you're carrying a credit card balance, then pay that sh*t off as fast as you can or it will snowball into a nightmare.
When you get a credit card, they check your credit. If you have no credit history, it’s kind of hard to get a credit card but not impossible. However, it is nearly impossible to get any other type of loan, at least at any reasonable interest rate. This will especially hurt when you are trying to buy a house in the future. However, once you get a credit card, they will start reporting your credit usage every month to the credit bureaus which will start to build your credit history. Remember how you thought you would no longer get graded on anything when you left school? Guess what! You get graded on how well you can manage your debt. If your balance stays reasonable and you pay off your balance when its due, your credit score will go up. If you max out your cards, and let the balance roll, your credit score will go down.
Download Credit Karma, type in your info, and check out your credit score for free. It even updates every 7 days so you can keep track of how you’re doing. If you have absolutely zero credit history, it may not work right away. But that doesn't mean it won't work or that you can't get a credit card. It is very very very important to know your credit score and to keep it high because banks will judge you based on your credit score the minute you walk through the door. Remember how worldlies looked in jeans and a T-Shirt the first time they came to a meeting? That’s how a bank will see you with your sh*tty credit score. You gotta pump those numbers up!
Discover bank is a great credit card provider for starter cards. But you can google "started cards" and find tons of lists of different starter cards. If this is your first credit card, just spam applications until you get approved for one. Pay attention to your credit limit. A pretty standard limit is for your first card is $1,000. You may look at that and think "Cool! I always wanted to buy those sweet pinky rings the GB wear!" WRONG! Use your credit responsibly. Ideally you want to keep your credit usage under 30% of your limit. At $1000 this would be $300. But always remember to only spend what you can actually pay off when the bill comes due. Follow your budget!
Once you get your first card and manage your credit nicely, you should try applying for cards once a year. Pick a month where you will apply to several credit cards to expand your access to credit. For me this is the month of November. I will usually apply to 3 credit cards I've thoroughly researched. Focus on credit cards with no fees. There is absolutely no reason you should be paying an annual fee on a credit card when there are so many free ones out there. Also look for cash back cards. It means you will earn money just by spending money. *whispers* It's free money. Even if I get approved for all 3 credit cards, I won't use them. I'll just throw these somewhere super safe like my underwear drawer. If one of your new cards gives you a significantly higher credit limit, or gives you lots of cash back, then start using that as your primary and put the rest somewhere safe. Effectively, you are raising your credit limit every year while (hopefully) keeping your expenses the same. On your credit report it will look like you have access to a huge amount of money, but use a smaller and smaller portion of it. It will make you look responsible and in turn raise your credit score over time. Now when you walk into a bank, they'll look at you like you would look at the visiting speaker from South America when they walked into the kingdom hall. Banks may even take you out to eat after (with all that cash back they give you).
As you move through your life, it is very important to have a good credit score. That is what will allow you to get a good rate on a car loan (I don't recommend that, but that’s a story for another day), and also get a good rate on a mortgage when you buy a house. Debt isn't always a bad thing as long as you know how to manage it well.
**6. Make a Career Move! **
This may seem like a crazy option, but it serves a great purpose. If you are stuck in a dead-end job, if you don't make the kind of money you want to be making, or you don't see making a career out of your job, then its time to switch jobs! We have been told to avoid higher education our whole lives but that just forces us in to sh*t dead end jobs dreaming about how wonderful paradise will be instead of going out and grabbing life by the horns. Invest in yourself! Invest in your knowledge! Quarantine lock down is the perfect time to do that, and it doesn't look like its wrapping up anytime soon. Personally, I'm taking online classes to become a Real Estate Broker. This will let me expand what I am able to do with my company and increase my income. These classes were only $800, compared to going to college for 4 years to the tune of $20k+ per year. If you have some savings, use that to invest in yourself! If you want to change to a different career path, then look into what you need to do to make the move. Look for online courses or trade school if you don't want to go to college years or incur lots of debt.
Here's some examples of careers that don't take a lot of education but can take your income to the next level:
*Real Estate Agent or Broker
*Plumber
*Computer Technician
*Programmer
*Electrician
*Electric Pole Climber
*Mechanic
The world is full of options. Now that you aren't committed to studying for 2 meetings a week, attending 2 meetings every week, reading the bible every day, personal study, family study, monthly broadcast, and service on your off days, you should have much more free time to invest in yourself. Take advantage of that and move up in the world! Do what you never could have while drinking the Kool aid.
**7. Side Hustle! **
A great way to increase your income is to take on a side hustle. There are so many you can do (just google side hustles), but some of the easiest to get in to are being a food delivery driver. This is especially good business right now during the pandemic with everyone staying home. Sign up with Doordash, Postmates, Uber Eats, InstaCart, or any other delivery service you can. After gas and maintenance, you will typically earn an average hourly rate of $10-$15. Sometimes more. Like I mentioned in the last point, you should have a lot more free time to yourself now that you are not drinking the Kool aid. Why not take advantage of that time to make more money?
If your primary income covers all your expenses, you can use all your side hustle income towards your emergency fund, general savings, or investing. Personally, I use all my side hustle income towards increasing my investment accounts. Rather than making $10 an hour, in the long run you can turn that money into much much more by investing it.
**8. Start Investing! (Retirement Accounts) **
Now we're getting to the good stuff. Now that you have a bank account, a budget, and an emergency fund, it's time to start thinking about your future. The world isn't going to end in our lifetimes, although 2020 looks pretty dicey so who knows. You are going to want to stop working one day in your old age and relying on government cheese doesn’t give you too much freedom. This is where retirement accounts come in. The two primary types of retirement accounts are an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) and a 401k (four-oh-one-khay). The main difference is that an IRA is self directed, ie. you fully manage the account, and a 401k is employer directed, ie. your employer or benefit provider manages the account.
Let's start with a 401k. Most companies where you would have a career offer a 401k as part of your benefit package. The Benefit part of this package is that your employer will give you free money!!!! Kinda. Back in the olden days of the pre-1980s, a company would pay you a salary, called a pension, when you retired at 60ish as a thank you for your loyalty and career with that company. Then in 1978, 401ks became a thing and employers realized they didn't have to treat you like a human and reward your loyalty anymore. Instead, most employers will match your 401k contributions. It varies by company, but an example is that if you put 6% of your salary into your 401k, your employer will match your contribution adding another 6%. They may match it in full or in part, again it all depends on the company rules. But in some cases this could double how much money goes in to your retirement account just by using this one easy trick. The key to a 401k is that the money has to come directly out of your paycheck, you can't go back and add more later. But this can be a benefit; if you never had that money in your bank account to spend on a pair of Yeezys, it’s almost like you never earned it so you won't miss it. Plus, when you finally do get access to that money in retirement, it will be worth more and you'll be able to buy even more pairs of Yeezys!
On the other hand, with an IRA you can add however much you want, whenever you want, up to the legal limit. The current IRA contribution limit in 2020 is $6,000 per year. There are some tricky ways you can get around that but I won't get in to that here. Just google "backdoor Roth IRA" if you plan on contributing more than $6,000 a year. With an IRA, you get to choose the provider, you get to chose what you invest in, and you get to chose when and how much to invest. If you’re young, a high stock (high risk, high return) and low bond (low risk, low return) mix is best for your retirement account. You can afford more risk since you have more time to recover. However, as you get older you will want to slowly reduce how much you have in stocks and increase how much you have in bonds. The older you get, the more your risk tolerance goes down.
Now let’s talk Roth. To Roth or not to Roth? Well that depends. If you're under 59, you get charged penalties to access your IRA, or 55 for your 401k. In other words, you aren't supposed to access these accounts till you are (close to) retirement age. When you contribute money to a traditional IRA or Traditional 401k, you are contributing pre-tax money. You won't pay taxes on that money until you take it out at retirement age. The issue with that is that hopefully, that money will be worth a sh*t ton more when you retire than when you put it in. You'll be paying taxes on a bigger pile of money! Thats where a Roth IRA and Roth 401k come in. With a Roth account, you are contributing Post-tax money, or money you already paid taxes on. When you go to take the money out in retirement, its tax free! And everything you do in those accounts is tax free! My personal recommendation would be to go with a Roth account, especially if you are young. We all know to "Give to Caesar what is Caesars" (or whatever the f*ck that book says, I never read it), but you want to give Caesar as little as possible so you end up with more money in your pocket.
The best thing you can do for your future is invest in your retirement. You don't want to be working at 70 just to make ends meet. Future you will thank you.
**9. Start Investing! (Personal Accounts) **
Personal Investing! This is investing with (almost) no restrictions! When you invest into non-retirement accounts, you will be able to access this money whenever you want and do whatever you want with it. Almost. Don't buy drugs. Unless you're into that… When I'm talking about investing in this section, I'm talking about stock market investing. The best way to grow your wealth long term is by investing your money. When you invest, your money starts making you money. So even though you work the same amount, and get paid the same amount, by investing your money you are making more money because your money starts working for you. In general, you should be investing for the long term. This is for a couple of reasons - 1. you're more likely to make money over the long term than the short term, and 2. you'll pay less taxes on what you earn in the long term than the short term. Long term would be anything more than a year. Sure, you can go on to WallStreetBets and see people making a killing by day trading, but you can find far more people losing their asses day trading. I’m going to focus on long term strategies.
When you invest, there are 2 main strategies - Growth, or Income. Growth investing is if you want your money to grow at a good rate over time. Your $100 today will be worth $150 tomorrow (Not really that quick, but you get the point). The stock price itself will go up, so when you sell it in the future it will be worth more. Good long-term growth stocks would be Apple, Amazon, Coca Cola, and other large established companies. I would say Tesla, but who knows what the f*ck is going on with Tesla stock. One tweet from Elon can wipe out your investment or double your money. Income investing is if you are trying to get a second source of income. This is through stocks that pay dividends - once every 3 months they will pay their shareholders a piece of the profit they have made. This is straight up cash deposited into your investment account just for owning certain stocks. You can either reinvest this money to grow your investments, or you can deposit it into your bank account and use it. If you're young, the best thing to do is focus on growth and reinvest any dividends you get. Either strategy you choose, you can be making much larger returns on your money than you would on a bank account or by not investing. Investing is magic. Though they won't admit it, even the Borg has sizeable investment accounts to grow their money. Yes, they rely on the world that they condemn so much. As those CSA cases get more expensive, they need more money with which to pay them. The Mormon church has over $100 billion invested, one of the largest investment funds in the world. Investing is the smart thing to do with your money.
So while the people living "the best life ever" are dreaming about where they want to travel in paradise, you can use your growth or dividends to actually go there. The more you cut your expenses, the more you can afford to invest. The more you invest, the more money you will make in the long term. If you invest enough, you can even generate a completely independent source of income from your job which will go a long way in granting you financial freedom. My goal is to invest at least 50% of my income, but currently I'm at 20%. Try to invest as much as you can. Future you will thank you.
The way you choose to invest will fully depend on your comfort level with investing and your investing budget. Yes, you should have an investing budget.
Let’s say your comfort level is zero and/or your budget is very small. Then I would recommend Acorns. Acorns is a round up or spare change investing app. You link your credit cards and bank accounts, and every time you spend, it will round up your purchase and invest that. Say you buy a pastry for $1.75, Acorns will pull $0.25 out of your account and invest it, bringing your total to $2. You can choose from conservative through aggressive portfolios. If you are young, I would recommend you lean more towards aggressive investing. There is more risk involved, but you can also make much more money than a conservative portfolio. If you are young, you can afford some down days in the market. The one issue I have with acorns is that they charge a $1 a month fee, though this is very low.
If you are more comfortable with investing, have a larger budget, but still want a hands-off approach, then I would recommend M1 Finance. This is a portfolio-based investment platform where you pick what stocks you want to invest in, pick how much you want to invest in each based on percentages, and M1 will handle the rest. They have a minimum investment of $100 to open your account, then only $10 each time you invest every time after. For long term growth, I would recommend doing a portfolio with 50% allocation of SPY (S&P 500 Index tracking fund, tracks the largest 500 stocks on the US Stock market), and 50% other stocks you like. Follow the Warren Buffet investment method. Like Coca Cola? Invest in Coca Cola. Like Target? Invest in Target. If you like something, chances are that other people like them too and the stock will keep growing. Every time you add money to your account, M1 will automatically invest it in the allocation you chose. If you chose 50% SPY, 25% Coca Cola, and 25% Target, when you add $10 M1 will buy $5 worth of SPY stock, $2.5 worth of Coca Cola stock, and $2.5 worth of Target stock. This is a great option if you want easy investing, and its completely free.
Now if you're more advanced and comfortable fully running and managing your portfolio, then I would recommend Robinhood. With Robinhood, there are no minimums, and you can buy fractional shares. But you are fully in control of exactly where your money goes when you invest it. You want to buy 10 shares of Coca Cola? Then you click on KO, click buy, type in 10 shares, and boom, you own 10 shares. Robinhood even lets you trade options, but this is effectively just gambling on the stock market and I don't recommend it. Robinhood is also completely free and is a great and easy to use full-service investment platform.
I recommend these because I use all of them myself. I won't include my referral links on this post, but if you want to get some free stuff when you sign up for any of them just PM me which ones you want and I'll send you a referral. With a referral link you can get some free money or free stocks.
Invest your money! It will take you a long way towards your independence from the borg!
**10. Invest in Real Estate! **
Now we're getting really crazy. Though it may not be as crazy as it sounds. I won't go in to too much depth in this since there is so much information.
Real estate is by definition a long-term investment. It is highly illiquid, meaning you can't quickly turn your investment in to cash, but the beauty of real estate is that you can earn a wonderful income off of it. The easiest way to invest in real estate is by investing in REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts. These are portfolios managed by companies backed by real estate assets that generate a regular income, usually on a monthly basis. REITs are required by law to pay out 90% of their profits to shareholders. There are publicly traded REITs on the stock market you can invest in (Ticker Symbols - O, BPY, IVR, WPG, PEI, and many more). While the barrier to entry on these is very low (you can buy just one share at a time), and they have higher liquidity, they carry a lot more risk because their price moves with the stock market rather than based on the underlying real estate they own. They do still pay very nice dividends which can supplement your income.
The way that I would recommend investing in real estate would be through Fundrise. They have a minimum investment of $500 to open your account, and $100 minimum investment every time after. Since this is a private REIT, the prices remain stable even if the market is fluctuating like crazy. Personally, my Fundrise investment account is the only one that didn't lose money during the 2020 economic crisis. Plus they pay out very nice dividends, and the real estate assets appreciate nicely. Again, this is a LONG TERM investment. Don't expect to invest today and pull your cash out 6 months from now. Ideally you want to keep this money invested for years. If you want an income, you can set your dividends to deposit into your bank account, or if you want to grow your investment you can set dividends to be reinvested.
Investing in REITs is a great way to get started with real estate investing. Real estate is a "get rich slow" scheme. It may take a very long time for your investments to grow, but they will see very long-term stable growth. If the Borg is nothing else, it is a massive global real estate holding company. They own all the kingdom halls which are essentially big commercial buildings with empty interiors. They have great resale value, and since many of them were built and maintained with free labor, they have appreciated tremendously. So take a book out of the Borgs secret playbook and invest in real estate.
**11. Buy a House! **
This seems like its way out of reach to many people but it's really not. Owning a house is the single biggest indicator of wether a family will accumulate wealth or not. For most homeowning families, their house is their single biggest asset. Real estate has historically always appreciated, so when you go to sell your house or pass it down your house to your children, it will be worth more than when you bought it. Sometimes a lot more. I won't go into a huge amount of detail because again, there is a lot of information.
Once again, real estate is a very long-term asset. So make sure that you are ready to buy a house. Take your time, do your research, and find the right house. Thanks to the magic of leverage by using a mortgage, you only need to put 3% down to buy a house. While this will definitely mean you will have a higher interest rate, it also makes buying a house much more accessible. Say you want to buy a $300k house, the minimum you would have to put down is $9,000! Traditionally you would put down 20% on a house which in this case would be $60k. Always go with a 30 year mortgage, cuz math and numbers; don't do a 15 year mortgage. Yes, it is very daunting that you will be paying for your house for 30 years, but think about it this way - if you're not paying a mortgage, you're going to be paying rent for a place to live. When you pay rent, you are essentially throwing money out the window never to be seen again. When you pay a mortgage, a portion of your monthly payment goes towards equity in your house. You are buying a piece of your house every month, not just throwing money out the window.
When you pay rent, you are paying your landlords mortgage + profit that goes into their pocket. You are the one buying your landlords house for them. When you are paying a mortgage, you are paying interest on your loan + equity in your house (the balance of the loan). You are effectively paying yourself when you pay the balance of the loan because that piece of equity in your house is now yours to keep. You may even find that your mortgage payments are lower than your rent. In my case, I went from renting a 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment to paying a mortgage on a 4 bedroom 2 bath house and my monthly payments went down by over $500!! That's an extra $500 in my pocket every month to do as I please with (like invest it).
Additionally, you can buy more houses and rent them out! Then you become the landlord, and your tenants are the ones buying your house for you. That is the magic of real estate investing. If you want to learn more about mortgages or real estate investing, just watch some Graham Stephan videos on YouTube.
When you're young, buying a house might not be at the front of your mind or in your near-term plans. But you should absolutely plan on buying a house as soon as you have the credit (remember I told you why you need credit?) and the money for it. Buying a nice car might seem like a better use of your thousands or tens of thousands of dollars instead of buying a house. But how much is that car going to be worth in 10 years? Chances are it will have almost no resale value left. It will also be way out of style and may not even run well anymore. But if you put that money down on a house? You will own an appreciating asset (an asset that goes up in value) that you can sell down the road and get your money back.
**Closing Thoughts**
YOU ARE FREE! You have made the biggest step towards having a great life already by leaving the organization. Things may seem very overwhelming right now that you are stepping out from behind the curtain and looking at the real world for the first time. But don't panic! It gets better, I promise you. Me and many thousands of others on exJW can tell you that though stressful, leaving was the best decision we have made in our lives. I hope all this information will help you make some better informed decisions on how to financially prepare yourself to step in to the world. We have all been told that it is too difficult out in the world and that we will never make it, but I'm here to tell you that you can and you will! Focus on yourself, take care of yourself, and enjoy your freedom! :)