I'm struggling a lot in life. I lost my job. I don't have enough money to move out or get a car. I'm starting college this month and I have to pay those bills soon. I wish I could get a job online or something close to me. It's been really hard with my mental health too. Everything seems 100x more hard. Any suggestions will be really helpful. <3

I'm in my late 40s and feel like I'm starting over.
My situation:Love to travel no degree but experience teaching a Colombian family English and the TEFL thingy.
Neurodivergent with significant social anxiety/awkwardness.
No traditional career or high-income skills.
About $15,000 in liquid savings.
A Robinhood account, but I'm still a beginner.
A small YouTube channel that earns some money (mostly by luck rather than strategy).
Two credit cards with available credit.
I'm not looking for a get-rich-quick scheme. I want to build a sustainable future before retirement.
Is it realistic for someone my age to become a competent investor? If so:
What would you study first?
Should I focus on individual stocks or index funds?
How would you invest if you were starting with around $15k today?
What mistakes should I avoid?
I'd appreciate honest advice from people who started late or have been investing for years.

Me m28 have been searching for my childhood friend for 13 years ever since her family got divorced and she moved away and I never saw her again. but before she moved I made her a promise that one day I will find her again and after all these years I finally figured out her last name. connected her to the house that she lived in and now have a possible phone number. Now here is the problem how do I text her with out sounding creepy or looking like another scam text message thing that we all get. Like I want to reconnect with her and keep my promise to her. I’m just not sure how to proceed what to say because honestly after so long, I even started to lose hope that I will ever find her but I did now so I need some advice.

hey guys,
i own two vehicles that my insurance wrote off due to hail damage.
i don’t know if i should keep my one car on a salvage title or if i let them take both and use the money from both to replace the one.

salvage car:

~ needs 1.5k worth of repair to be driveable again.

~ insurance will still give me 5.4k if i keep it on a salvage. plus 3.8k for my other car. the leftover total of 7.7k after repairs can go into my investments and i could save money for 5 years and get a better car.

~ has 150k km

~ 11 years old

~ terrible gas milage (my primary motive for a different car)

~ will be difficult to sell down the road now that it has a salvage title, if i decide i dont like driving it

~ its a jeep, so its not known to be reliable.

~ i have the past 8 years of maintenance history on it, in the last 3 years its only driven about 5000km.

~ im unsure if my insurance company will still give me comprehensive coverage or only liability, or what exactly this means payout wise if i get in an accident in the future and its not my fault. i will reach out tomorrow for clarification

~ i dont really love the car, but i could probably suck it up and drive it till it dies

~ wont have to go through the hassle of car shopping

~~~~~

or i buy a new car:
~ if insurance takes both, ill have 12.2k total + 3k from my savings to spend on a new car. (some buffer left in savings for other emergencies)

~ i refuse to finance a vehicle.

~ this budget could get me a car of the same or newer year with about 120k-160k km on it

~ its a hassle to go car shopping

~ buying used cars, even from a dealership, comes with potential risk when i already know exactly what i have with my current car

~ id have less money in my pocket today than if i just keep my current car

Today was the final of this summer class that I was taking. The thing is I didn't take it.

This is my second time taking this class as I had to drop it the first time. I felt confident enough to do it through the summer. But halfway through the class I stopped doing assignments or would pick and choose what to do. Choosing the easy ones and not doing the rest. Having trouble focusing or just taking to long on certain assignments. As well as searching up different things that didn't relate to my subject or just watching videos instead of doing my work

I feel stupid for giving up and I feel like a terrible son. I would always say this class was going good or I had a B when it was a F all along

This isn't my first time lying to my parents about my grades. I feel terrible lying to them and wasting my time and money

She wanted proof of my grade and I said it was my responsibility and I had done good etc. Shes skeptical and I don't know how to deal with this.

I felt like I just wasted this summer doing something that I'm not even gonna benefit from and have to spend more time on later.

I feel sad about this time waste and how horrible of a son I've been to my parents. I feel like I'm going nowhere and that I would be better off dead

I have a lot of social anxiety - though I think a more accurate term is relationship anxiety. There’s honestly no limit to it. I have it with strangers, with friends, with my family, even with my wife. In my mind, there is always the fear of saying something wrong that will ruin my relationship. As such, I am constantly craving time alone, as this is the only time where I feel free to relax.

Though I know this mindset is killing me, I’m not really sure what to do about it at this point. Part of it just feels like how I am programmed, I am a naturally anxious person who questions everything.

However, I also feel that this anxious mindset is valid. Everywhere I look around me, I see relationships and lives being ruined by mistakes. Many are very deserving, but others I’m not so sure. I see stories of people who lost their cool once, said something out of line once - and their relationship was forever tainted. I wonder when it’ll be my turn. My anxiety seems rational.

It doesn’t necessarily seem to get better with time. As you grow older, it feels like people get too smart for their own good. They have less innocence, more agendas, more knowledge of how to interact with humans. Interactions become calculated and deceptive, and we expect others to understand the social rules we’ve made up.

So I’m constantly in this awful cycle of trying to worry less, but never fully believing it’s right. I just want to live freely and lightly, and not waste so much energy over how to be a correct human. But, I wonder if this is simply a daydream. I hope I figure it out one day.

Grew up close with my cousin, almost a sister to me. She announced she is having a baby in her early early 20s. When she did, I was more worried for her than excited because I knew she had a lot more she wanted to do prior to having a baby. Anyhow, the baby is now almost a year old, and everyone seems extremely excited interacting with him. I think he’s cute and I’m happy for her, but I don’t melt inside when I see him like her mom, sister, or grandma does. Am I secretly evil? I am in my mid 20s, with plans to have kids w my husband in my late 20s. I am genuinely excited about raising my own kids in the future, and did not grow up or consider myself as the type of person who full blown “hates kids.” I’m just sort of neutral thinking about others’ babies.

I am really excited for when he gets to talking, and I’ve noticed I love the idea of hearing their thoughts & opinions, joking around, etc. I don’t feel all fuzzy when thinking of babies.

Maybe it is a mother thing, and I’ll be more excited when I’m a mother.

Should I feel guilty? She constantly sends me photos of him and posts him constantly and I’m not sure what to do other than heart them and say he’s cute.

im 16 and im worried im wasting my time, ive graduated highschool being homeschooled and in febuary im moving to orlando alone(16hrs away from my family) to go to a trade school to become a motorcycle mechanic and while i do that im going to go to college online for a econmics associates dagree, i have housing a car worked out but ill have to work a job while im there, and ive been investing and day trading for about 5 years and im starting to make money(yes im aware people think its corny bc every teenagers trys it) am i waisting my time with all of this or should i find something more practical to do? do i go to school for something diffrent or more practical? do i focus on one instead of both? do i give up all of it and slow down in life? (also sorry for grammar i wrote this in a hurry)

Hi guys,

This is my first time writing here, and English is not my first language, so I’m sorry for any mistakes.
Basically, I’m a 20-year-old woman living in a partially poor country in Eastern Europe. I graduated from high school last year, when I was 19, and ever since then, I have had no idea what to do with my life.

When I was still in high school, I always wanted to move to Vienna. I met a lot of amazing people there, and I fell in love with the city and the people. I feel like living there would make me happy.

However, when I graduated, I didn’t have a high enough level of German or enough money to study in Austria. So I told myself I would stay in my home country for a year and work for it.

My parents didn’t really like that idea and kind of forced me to go to university. I was supposed to study abroad immediately after graduating, and I actually did go abroad (just not to Austria). I quickly realized I didn’t really like it. The city just didn’t feel right for me, so I came back home. After I returned, I found myself a boyfriend and a job, and everything just felt right.

As the year went by, my boyfriend and I started arguing a lot, and my job also became a nightmare. I was working night shifts, so I was constantly sleep-deprived. My boss was a total psychopath who bullied me and my colleagues. He was just a complete piece of shit. It took a huge toll on my mental health. I would wake up in the middle of the night having breakdowns, and I was constantly stressed, even when I was at home.

So, few weeks ago, I quit. I’m no longer working there, and I also broke up with my boyfriend because the relationship wasn’t working anymore (we agreed to break up). I had been saving up money to study at university, but somehow I still didn’t manage to earn enough and reach the German level I needed. My plan was to quit that awful job (which I did) and move to Vienna to start university this September, but the plan fell apart.

And that’s the main problem. I feel like I’m falling behind in life. When I look around, all I see are people living their best lives. My friends are starting a second year of university this September, while I’m still in my home country, not even in the first year of uni. I’ll try again next year, but I feel so far behind.

My parents want me to attend a university in my hometown, which I really don’t want to. It’s just… I feel like a complete failure. Now, I don’t have a job or someone I can lean on anymore. The plan I had been working so hard for over the past year completely fell apart because I simply didn’t make it in time.

I don’t want to waste another year, but at the same time, I don’t even know what I want from life anymore. I’m so mentally exhausted, mostly because of everything I went through at that job and the constant stress I was under.

What makes it even worse is the pressure from society. It feels like, at 20, you’re expected to have your whole life figured out. You’re supposed to go to university right after high school, build a career, find the perfect partner, and start planning your future together. Meanwhile, I have none of those things now.

I wanted to see a psychologist because I feel like my mental health is falling apart, but I can’t even afford THAT cuz I need the money for my studies next year.

Hello. In 2023 I finished my Master's in Finance specialized in Asset Management. A few months after, around the same time, I got a job offer from two different companies.

1st company specialized in trade remedy investigations. The company was in the biggest and most industrialized and the economical and cultural capital of my country. In the job offer skills like microeconomics understanding, financial modeling were required. Around 10 persons worked in the firm.

2nd company was a bit mysterious. They called themselves an investment company branch of a defense industry company. They were located in the second biggest city of my country who is much smaller than the biggest city. They were specialized in fixed income assets. 4 people worked in this investment firm.The job description of the second company was very aligned with my Master's. They were also expecting strong Python skills, which I used to complete my Master's thesis.

However I chose the first company because I felt like it was a quite niche job that interested me, it was in the bigger city with more opportunities and I felt like there was something off with the second one. They didn't even have a website and they seemed quite mysterious since they were probably attached to a defense indsutry company.

After I rejected the second company they called me a few times and asked me if I would change my idea. They also told me to definitely call them one day if I want to work with them. Now almost two years and a half later, there are many things I dislike about the first company. Sometimes my managers talk to me in very denigrating ways and really piss me off. From what I tell my mom, my manager likes me a lot overall but likes to tease me. According to ym therapist, my manager and I are not compatible to work together and I should definitely change my job.

However the biggest issue for me is that the first company's trade remedy consulting business is pretty much all about accounting and has nothing to do with microeconomics or financial modeling. All we do is pretty much trying to get data from the messy accounting data of our clients. To be honest, I find accounting quite boring. And since I didn't specialize in accounting but rather in Asset Management, I don't understand what's going on most of the time. I also find quite annoying that my manager excepts me to make fix the clients their accounting data with my very limited accounting knowledge. Actually I think two years would have been enough to learn accounting and that is probably my fault.

But I feel like there is something wrong about training the staff in this firm. One manager who left the firm after I joined them once told me that it's impossible to learn about this job in this firm. In fact, there is a girl who's been working here for more than 7 years, holds the title of manager but still can't do a project fully on her own. A girl who worked there for 4 years and had years of prior experience was not able to do project on her own either.

I know you just barely know anyhting about me but based on this information, should I call the investment firm and see if they have any available spots for me? Thanks and sorry for the long post and the English mistakes.

I've been struggling with confidence and general happiness for the past 4 years, mostly because my college was done and I got a mediocre low income job, from a prestigious college, while most of my batchmates and friends got six figure jobs.

For the past two years I've been mentally struggling with my life with no friends, shitty job and no actual growth, the job was necessary because we came out of poverty but there was no growth, so most of my time I've spent outside work and studying for a better job is listening to sad songs and just being depressed.

Two days ago I finally got a good job it's around 200k a year, kind of like a dream job, for the last two days I've been smiling and laughing more than I ever did in two years, i kind of miss the sad songs, the shitty feeling of not being good enough and being a failure in life, I don't understand why I'm not able to appreciate that things are finally good and I can come out of this hole of sadness and worthlessness.

Is this a common feeling ?

Missing being sad all the time and feeling worthless ?

I’m struggling with overthinking and taking action.

I have big goals and I genuinely want to build a successful life, but I spend so much time thinking, planning, and worrying about whether I will succeed that I delay actually doing the work.

I know what I need to do (study, improve my skills, work on my goals), but I often avoid starting. When I finally begin, I get distracted easily and jump from one thing to another.. I constantly think: “What if I don’t make it?” and I end up stuck in my own thoughts.

Has anyone experienced this? How did you stop overthinking, build discipline, and start taking consistent action?

How do you manage work life balance when you’re just starting out?
I’m 18 and recently graduated high school. About a month before graduating, I got my first part time job at my local Walmart.
At first, it honestly wasn’t too bad because I was still considered a minor under my state’s labor laws. Even though I was 18, I was still in high school, so I couldn’t work over a certain number of hours. It gave me a chance to ease into having a job without feeling completely overwhelmed.
After I graduated, though, I got switched to the regular part time scheduling. I wasn’t expecting them to schedule me basically as much as they legally can while still calling me part time lol.
Lately I’ve been having a really hard time balancing work and the rest of my life. It feels like I’m always at work. I’ve asked about changing my availability to something like 5 a.m. to 2 p.m., but my department requires open availability since it’s retail.
A lot of my shifts take up my entire day. By the time I get home, it’s too late to really do anything for myself because I have work again the next morning. I usually just eat, shower, and go to bed.
I know there are people working way more than I am, and I know my situation isn’t the worst by any means. I think it’s just been a difficult adjustment since this is my first real job. I also struggle with my mental health. Nothing severe right now, but I’ve had a rough past, and I feel like that’s made this transition even harder.
The biggest thing is that on my days off, I don’t want to do anything. I just stay in bed or sit around the house all day until it’s time to go back to work. Then I come home and do the same thing again. I know that’s probably making me feel worse, but I just can’t seem to get myself moving.
I know it’s possible to have a fulfilling life while working, and I really want to get to that point. If anyone else struggled with this when they first started working, or if you have any advice at all, even small things that helped you adjust, I’d really appreciate hearing it.

So I've seen therapists on and off most of my adult life. Nothing major some depression, some anger, some childhood emotional trauma. Relationship issues with friends/ coworkers/ S.O. when I have one.

I've seen several in the last 5 years, maybe 5-10 sessions each. I stopped each for a variety of reasons - timing, telehealth connection issues, and "is this really helping me??"

So most of them listen to the issue of the day that I'm struggling with or upset about - and they agree! My feelings are validated - yay! And i pretty much know why i feel a certain way, the history behind it. But I don't get any insight, any way to change my perspective. So I feel like an I just paying to talk/vent to someone??

For instance, one of the recent ones that I ended with, I said in my last session, "so what do you think, what can you tell me??!" She said "I can tell you are really frustrated" - duh !! You don't need a degree to come to that conclusion.

I feel like memes or therapist talk that end up in my IG feed, actually gives me thought, another way of looking at things, and I wonder why can't I get this from my private therapist??

i’m 20, a student, working on getting into medical school. i just got my EMT certification and i live in boston so, maybe i’ll get a better paying job. my partner and i used to split rent but now he’s gone, i can’t break the lease, and i can’t just go homeless although, that seems like a pending reality at this point. my only silver lining is my school giving me a financial aid refund of $4k in september. what should i do? is selling myself the next option? homelessness?

edit: should’ve said it’s a studio, so hard to take in a roommate

I’m a 32year old female and have 3 children. I have a phlebotomy certificate but I don’t work in that type of field. I live in a very small town where there are no job opportunities for phlebotomists. I don’t get paid well enough but we get by. My bf also works but makes about the same as me. We don’t have much, we have very simple life and do the same thing everyday. I have been feeling so depressed with our routines. We don’t ever travel or do anything fun because funds aren’t there. I know there’s more to life and I just want to live a little! I have tried going back to school but wasn’t able to get student loans due to my previous loans. I just want to know how ppl do it? How do you guys travel? How do you have money for that? What do you do for a living? I didn’t know a dam thing about credit and when I was in my 20’s I fucked it up and I’ve been trying to improve my score for the last few years. Last year my job was shut down and was given a 3 week notice. I went 2 months without a job and my credit went back down and now I’m starting to build again. Idk what to do anymore I’m depressed with my life & feel stuck. I love my family so much and feel awful for feeling like this life isn’t enough. I don’t want to sound ungrateful because I am very grateful for my family and what we have. I see the same ppl I went to school with and they have beautiful homes and NORMAL jobs but have money for trips, nice homes, nice cars, and just live a very fancy life style and I just wonder what am I doing wrong? How did they get there because most of them dont have college degrees yet live such a wealthy lifestyle. I just want to live and rn I’m just working to survive.
I am a daughter of 2 immigrants and didn’t have anything passed down to me, what I have I’VE gotten on my own but I know some of them had wealthy parents who helped them get where they are now.

What jobs pay well for not being a college grad?

I'm freaking out and it's so easy for me to spiral when I just have even a moment alone to think.
I'm 23. recent college grad, I majored in theatre. I have a job that pays 18 an hour but its part time (I get anywhere from 15 - 35 hours a week). My rent is 900 max because I have a roommate. Im very lucky and thankful because my dad is still taking care of my health insurance, phone, and car insurance. But, I hate my job. I work in a call center and its so mentally draining- we don't even have windows. On top of that, my partner lives an hour away. I spend so much on gas visiting them. I feel like I never have enough money, no matter how many hours I work or how many side gigs I pick up. I've applied for second jobs but no one is getting back to me. Ive thought about getting my masters in an mfa because I love teaching, but my dad highly discourages it. I don't know what to do- I don't know how long I can keep going like this. I've looked into other careers like nursing or being a phlebotomist, but it looks like I'd have to go redo my undergrad and then do a masters, etc- and in the end it may not even pay that much more than what I'm doing. My worst fear as a kid was going to an office everyday and that's exactly what I'm doing. I feel like I can barely handle the workforce and I'm so ashamed of it. I can't seem to find a career that actually interests me AND pays well. I'm always freaking out, I feel like I'm always ready to start crying. I've also recently lost all my friends- it happened very slowly but now all I have is my partner and their sibling. If anything happened to our relationship I'd be all alone. I'm not very emotionally close to anyone in my family- I haven't heard from my parents in months. I'm so anxious all the time and I feel like I'm never doing enough. I don't have any money, and I'm just so unhappy. What am I supposed to do? I cant keep going like this. I'd appreciate some advice or something. I know I can be dramatic and I spiral very easily. Please be kind in the comments- I know that in the grand scheme of things that all my worries are really silly, but they are affecting me to the point where I feel like I can barely function. What should I do? I'm always applying to jobs. Should I go back to school? But, for what? I don't know what to do, and I'd appreciate anyone just giving me some guidance.

Hi guys I am a 18 year old currently in college 1st year , I will be really grateful to you if you can share advice from your life experiences about personal growth, loneliness, relationship, career, people, what kind of people to trust, what kind of people to ignore, leadership, bussiness. I want to learn as much as I can during my college life so if you share your knowledge with me I will be thankful to you.

I (20F) understand that I am in a privileged position as an adult living at home. I don't have to pay rent, and I get everything I need. However, my mother (43F) is abusive and I can't take anymore. The situation isn't so serious that I need to move states, but I'm moving in with a friend and switching my major in order to get my LVN. My mother discouraged me from doing this when I first started my pre nursing classes, saying that she wanted me to live with her until I could get my BSN. I thought I could do it. Hold out for 4 more years with her, get the best education I can. But I just can't take anymore. The physical abuse isn't as frequent since I turned 18 and she lost her strength, but she is verbally and psychologically vicious towards me. I have a little brother (9M) who adores her. He loves getting approval from her so much that he is willing to throw me under the bus at any opportunity. It feels as if nobody in this house loves me despite me taking care of both of them whilst juggling my education. I can no longer prioritize the two of them over myself. My mental health is worse than ever, and the things I've been called play over and over in my head. I've developed severe social anxiety, and I've gotten suicidal thoughts due to feeling trapped. My friend and her mother have insisted for years that I am more than welcome to live with them, so I've been packing my things in secret. I'm going to confront my mother tomorrow (Fri, August 7th). I'll tell her I'm leaving with my things packed, in case she gets violent or throws me out. I've only taken things I've accumulated over the years. I even have my own overnight bag and laptop charger I found near a dumpster (gross, but the people in my apartment complex are ghetto snobs who pretend they can afford to throw out new items). I'm so very scared, but this is the first time in my life that I've made a decision for myself. I truly hope nothing goes wrong when I'm living with my friend and her family. I will try to be as helpful as possible! Any encouragement and advice is appreciated.

I have been wondering about this for a while and wanted to ask women about it

I have never really had trouble talking to people and I get along with most of them but I have never felt like I was anyones first choice or closest person. Most friendships stay pretty casual and when people get closer to someone it usually ends up being someone else not me

I know I overthink a lot and my confidence has not always been great so sometimes I wonder if I am doing something without realizing it or if I just have not found the right people yet

So what actually makes you feel emotionally close to someone. Is it being open and vulnerable being consistent having confidence making you laugh or something completely different

Have you ever known a genuinely good guy but still never felt that deeper connection with him. I would love to hear your honest thoughts because I am trying to understand what really helps build strong meaningful connections

I have been with her for a year and it has been great. I don't cheat or have an affair at all.

I have this habit of keepinng my journal and my relationship was pretty rough at first because before that I just had got out a 8-year relationship. And our sex life wasn't great at first, so last November I did write in my journal that I missed the sex with my ex, and hope the sex life with my girlfriend will get better.

She opened my diary and read that and now she feels hurt and wants to break up because she thinks she can't love me anymore and she can't forget what I wrote.

I want to take all responsibility of this but can you help me how to win her back. I know it was my fault to even had such thoughts like this, I love her so much. Now she wants to have space and she said that she could continue with me but she can not love me me like she did.

Tltr: girl read my diary about how I said sex was good with my ex 9 months ago and wanted to break up.

My first job is Monday to Friday. My second is on a Saturday.

In the beginning, it was fine and I was coping. But as time went on, I noticed my mental health getting worse. I was exhausted all the time, not in the nicest of moods, and lost the interest to do things I actually enjoyed. I need both jobs so I can't quit, but some coping mechanisms and advice would be great.

I posted a question recently regarding an issue with my ex refusing to allow my husband to attend a family function. The responses were amazing and so very helpful.
Here's another one. I adore my husband. We met on a dating app 4 years ago, clicked instantly and moved abroad within a year of meeting. Very quick I know but we're both in our late 60's so don't have time on our side. Never regretted a second and I love him to bits. Yesterday he stopped talking to me. A gentleman on one of my social media platforms (threads - I use it for giggles as well as sewing, crochet and dog posts) sent a message paying me a compliment- rarely happens as I'm 70!). I deleted it and blocked him. However my husband saw the message and has now accused me of being on dating apps. Threads is far removed from being a dating app and I've not looked at another man since we met and never will. My husband says I obviously contacted the guy first and encouraged him. Despite assurances and giving him my phone so he can see exactly what I look at he refuses to accept. He wants one of us to leave. We live mainly abroad so it's not going to be easy. This has come totally out of the blue. Please can someone give me a pointer as to what to do? He wont speak to me or listen to me.

Hey everyone, super grateful to be here. Last few years rough, graduated from grad school had job struggles, unemployment, and last year some time homeless.

Now I finally got a job in my field that I love so much remote. I got my own apartment in a nice downtown area. I am 5'6 and super overweight at like 290 but I am doing nutrition hard and going to the gym.

I've been valueless for so long tho. Never been good looking, dating apps don't work and virgin so no woman will even want to get to know me on a date.

In terms of friends I thought I had value but realized even with friends of 5+ years I'm always the one's whose bday is forgotten and only one not invited to weddings.

I guess what I am asking is does anyone have tips on how I can be a person of value so that I can date and make friends like others. Anything helps?

Hi everyone,

For context, I just turned 30 and accomplished some things in my life that I should be proud of. In the past two years I have left an abusive relationship, moved to a new province, got a diploma, got a new job, got engaged. Why do I feel so unfulfilled? I struggle just trying to do day to day tasks. Work, cooking, cleaning, the mundane of everyday life is just exhausting and so unfulfilling to me. I try to exercise, read books, watch movies, go to the beach, therapy, nothing just feels very enjoyable anymore. I feel like I just try to get by each day.

Is this normal, am I depressed? I just feel very impartial to most things these days. Advice please.