Hello! I'm apparently a very excited alarm, and I'm considering moving to Ohio in the next couple of years. I know that reddit pages for places like states or cities, get a lot of posts asking about moving to said place and they can get annoying. But I assure you, I've done my research first, and can ask much more targeted questions than "Where should I move?".
I've been doing a ton of research on numerous states, to figure out where I want to move to. The things that my research has shown me about Ohio that I like, are that almost all of the metros have a very affordable cost of living, the cities are young and happening, there's more people, friends to be made, and dating opportunities than Maine, and no state inspection (just emissions in some places). But what I don't like about my Ohio findings are that it's a conservative state and the things that come with it, like overt racism (that doesn't mean all conservatives are racist, settle down), anti-abortion, stop and identify, overfunded and overzealous police, and just the general, backward thinking. What's more are the red light cameras statewide (can't run a red light at midnight with no one around without still getting caught), tolls get expensive by distance, bad winters, and particularly bad crime in Cleveland.
About me: I'm a 22 year old guy, black, moderately liberal, and I've lived in Maine all my life. I went to a high school with around 100 kids in my graduating class, of which I was one of maybe 2 black kids. I have Asperger's and I've been lonely/depressed for a long time. I love cars and motorcycles, and love driving standard. I have an associate's degree in automotive technology (I can be a mechanic), but found out I don't really like it as a job. But I still want to stay in the trades, without going back to school.
There's a lot of things that are important to me in a place I'm considering moving to, but I know obviously no place will have everything. Those things, in no particular order, are: a reasonable cost of living (Ohio has that), few cops or at least reasonable ones, more/better job opportunities, more people and opportunities to date, no absurd traffic, decent roads, winters that aren't extreme, a low tax burden, a car community, and the ability to easily avoid the racist, backward people that are bound to be somewhere in every state.
I know for sure that I don't want to live in a big city, but I know I'd need to stay close in order to avoid the racists and whatnot, and be close to jobs and happenings. Using Columbus as an example, London would be a good place for me (solely in terms of proximity. I don't know anything about the town). I don't have to live inside the city, but it's still only a half hour commute to the center of Columbus.
So, now that you know about me and what I'm looking for, what can you all tell me? I'm looking for stuff like, Are the winters comparable to Maine winters? Is this the kind of state where I can count on being pulled over for DWB (driving while black)? Is it hard to make friends if you're looking for decent, progressive-minded people? Will I come to love Cleveland for the nightlife? Is there a reason that the cost of living is so cheap? What can you tell me?
Oh, and one last question. Those long, straight roads with nothing but fields on both sides for miles. Do people go out on those roads to race or drive fast? I feel like you'd hear about it more if people were doing it a lot.

So my car is totaled (not at fault) and the insurance company wants me to get the totaled car's title transferred from NC (my home state) to KY (where I'm currently at). I'm in KY visiting with my bf (his work schedule is 4 weeks on, 4 weeks off), so when the accident happened, I gave the address in KY since I'd be here for the next few weeks and thought this would be done by the time I went back.
I live half in both states but my license and official address is in NC. The vehicle is registered in NC & the plates are from NC, I do not have a KY license or anything else associated, just use this address while I'm here for shipping/anything I need here at the time. Also, the certificate of title is at my mom's place in NC so I can't bring it in and I'm about to leave KY today so I can't wait for it to be shipped.
Should I tell the insurance company the address is in NC? I'm worried that'd be considered giving misinformation/fraud or whatever and I wouldn't get the settlement money.
I have no idea what to do so any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I apologize in advance if I'm not in the right thread but I have a one year VW Atlas and was hit or hit a deer. I thought I would be able to claim diminished value/loss of value. Progressive said that is only when another car is involved and can be claimed against the other driver. I have been screwed so many times by other people via insurance and i wanted another opinion

25F here, was 23 when I started treatment with my ex therapist, at the time 35M. I was in treatment for depression and sexual trauma. I'd had a quite abusive childhood, left home at 17, and it took me about seven years to build a life and stabilize on my own to be able to go to therapy and try to start healing. I started treatment in June 2022 and was in treatment for fourteen months total. In the last four months, we'd been dealing with some stuff around erotic transference, but mainly I was just dealing with being attached and fantasized therapy conversation becoming my default internal state. I'd decided before I started treatment to take a year off of dating to really focus on myself. After about a year in treatment, I wanted to start dating again (in part because I was getting uncomfortable with the fact that my therapist was the only man in my life at the time other than one male supervisor at work).
My therapist seemed really shut down about me dating. He said a couple of encouraging words, but the looks and tones were very clearly....not encouraging. He also said it was bittersweet to him that I was starting to see other men. Sex is really complicated for me, and I hadn't had sex with a cis man in a few years when I started dating again, even though that's the demographic I'm most attracted to, so it was important for me to be able to talk to my therapist about what was going on there, but the fear that his regard would change or that his feelings would be hurt was really distracting and upsetting. Around this time, I was processing sexual trauma from when I was six, and then more from when I was twelve to sixteen, memories I'd repressed until I was in treatment. I was having intense flashbacks and panic attacks, and he didn't have any....feedback, advice, anything. He seemed to like that I spent most of my day fantasizing about talking to him, and encouraged that, but didn't lead me toward any other tools or resources, seemingly in the assumption that his presence alone would be healing.
All this came to a head at the end of August 2023. I asked him to take a few weeks off to consult with a female therapist in the hopes that that'd alleviate the sense that there was something wrong with how he was treating me. He fired me, telling me, and this is verbatim, "I seduced you, and then you seduced me, and it got pretty hot, and we should stop," adding "if I could give you that relationship, I would." I was never asking him for a dual relationship. I was attached to him, and had a lot of those types of feelings toward him, but I always knew that those weren't actually about him and was definitely never asking for a dual relationship.
I had brought up repeatedly over the course of treatment that it was a material financial burden. I had out of network benefits through my insurance, but it was still $225/week out of pocket, and I'd only get $140 back per session, and only after waiting at least a month for the claim to process, and only after meeting a $2k out of network deductible. Not the most expensive therapy but for me, it was a lot, and I told him that a number of times, and that I couldn't afford to do twice a week with him (something he recommended a few times in the last couple months of treatment). He's the only man in his practice group, and instead of refer me to one of his colleagues, he gave me the names of two completely unrelated clinicians whose fees were both over $300/session and he once again recommended I see someone twice per week.
About a month later, I emailed him to ask for my progress notes. He took a week to reply, only responding when I followed up, and then only sent me my treatment summary (a few brief sentences just saying when I started treatment, what the treatment was, and when it ended). I emailed his boss and got my notes from her. He'd written in the notes that we'd been dealing with erotic transference in every session for the last four months of treatment, even though that....was not the case, and there were plenty of sessions where I was just there to talk about my past, or what was happening during the week. He really didn't seem to understand the difference between being attached and erotic transference, even though he practices attachment based therapy.
Almost nine months later and I really don't know how to move on. My mental health absolutely tanked in the fall and it's been a long, uphill road to get back to something like normal functioning since. It was highly, highly retraumatizing, both in how I suddenly had zero support while processing the most traumatic events of my childhood and so I was just completely overtaken with the memories for months, all while blaming myself because...he said I seduced him, so it was my fault, so I was asking for it, so I had been asking for it the whole time. I know that's not true, but he really did a number on his way out. I'm doing better on that front at this point, not thanks to therapy, (I've tried with eight practitioners since him but he really poisoned the well), but I still can't let this go, and I don't know if I should make a complaint to the relevant office of professional discipline.
TLDR: 24F psychotherapy client asks 36M therapist who's been treating her for sexual trauma to take a few weeks off and consult with a female therapist about his behavior; therapist fires client, does not refer to any of the female clinicians in his practice group, refers only to clinicians he knew were unaffordable, and said "I seduced you, and you seduced me, and it got pretty hot, and we should stop" and "if I could give you that relationship, I would." Is this a reportable offence?

25F here, was 23 when I started treatment with my ex therapist, at the time 35M. I was in treatment for depression and sexual trauma. I'd had a quite abusive childhood, left home at 17, and it took me about seven years to build a life and stabilize on my own to be able to go to therapy and try to start healing. I started treatment in June 2022 and was in treatment for fourteen months total. In the last four months, we'd been dealing with some stuff around erotic transference, but mainly I was just dealing with being attached and fantasized therapy conversation becoming my default internal state. I'd decided before I started treatment to take a year off of dating to really focus on myself. After about a year in treatment, I wanted to start dating again (in part because I was getting uncomfortable with the fact that my therapist was the only man in my life at the time other than one male supervisor at work).
My therapist seemed really shut down about me dating. He said a couple of encouraging words, but the looks and tones were very clearly....not encouraging. He also said it was bittersweet to him that I was starting to see other men. Sex is really complicated for me, and I hadn't had sex with a cis man in a few years when I started dating again, even though that's the demographic I'm most attracted to, so it was important for me to be able to talk to my therapist about what was going on there, but the fear that his regard would change or that his feelings would be hurt was really distracting and upsetting. Around this time, I was processing sexual trauma from when I was six, and then more from when I was twelve to sixteen, memories I'd repressed until I was in treatment. I was having intense flashbacks and panic attacks, and he didn't have any....feedback, advice, anything. He seemed to like that I spent most of my day fantasizing about talking to him, and encouraged that, but didn't lead me toward any other tools or resources, seemingly in the assumption that his presence alone would be healing.
All this came to a head at the end of August 2023. I asked him to take a few weeks off to consult with a female therapist in the hopes that that'd alleviate the sense that there was something wrong with how he was treating me. He fired me, telling me, and this is verbatim, "I seduced you, and then you seduced me, and it got pretty hot, and we should stop," adding "if I could give you that relationship, I would." I was never asking him for a dual relationship. I was attached to him, and had a lot of those types of feelings toward him, but I always knew that those weren't actually about him and was definitely never asking for a dual relationship.
I had brought up repeatedly over the course of treatment that it was a material financial burden. I had out of network benefits through my insurance, but it was still $225/week out of pocket, and I'd only get $140 back per session, and only after waiting at least a month for the claim to process, and only after meeting a $2k out of network deductible. Not the most expensive therapy but for me, it was a lot, and I told him that a number of times, and that I couldn't afford to do twice a week with him (something he recommended a few times in the last couple months of treatment). He's the only man in his practice group, and instead of refer me to one of his colleagues, he gave me the names of two completely unrelated clinicians whose fees were both over $300/session and he once again recommended I see someone twice per week.
About a month later, I emailed him to ask for my progress notes. He took a week to reply, only responding when I followed up, and then only sent me my treatment summary (a few brief sentences just saying when I started treatment, what the treatment was, and when it ended). I emailed his boss and got my notes from her. He'd written in the notes that we'd been dealing with erotic transference in every session for the last four months of treatment, even though that....was not the case, and there were plenty of sessions where I was just there to talk about my past, or what was happening during the week. He really didn't seem to understand the difference between being attached and erotic transference, even though he practices attachment based therapy.
Almost nine months later and I really don't know how to move on. My mental health absolutely tanked in the fall and it's been a long, uphill road to get back to something like normal functioning since. It was highly, highly retraumatizing, both in how I suddenly had zero support while processing the most traumatic events of my childhood and so I was just completely overtaken with the memories for months, all while blaming myself because...he said I seduced him, so it was my fault, so I was asking for it, so I had been asking for it the whole time. I know that's not true, but he really did a number on his way out. I'm doing better on that front at this point, not thanks to therapy, (I've tried with eight practitioners since him but he really poisoned the well), but I still can't let this go, and I don't know if I should make a complaint to the relevant office of professional discipline.
TLDR: 24F psychotherapy client asks 36M therapist who's been treating her for sexual trauma to take a few weeks off and consult with a female therapist about his behavior; therapist fires client, does not refer to any of the female clinicians in his practice group, refers only to clinicians he knew were unaffordable, and said "I seduced you, and you seduced me, and it got pretty hot, and we should stop" and "if I could give you that relationship, I would." Is this a reportable offence?

2 years ago my husband was in an accident while driving my car, he does not have a license, the accident was not his fault and my insurance covered my car. He is not on my insurance and I am grateful that they did not drop me.
We have been working on getting his license back for a significant amount of time. We just discovered that because of that accident and driving without insurance, his license is suspended in our state. To get it back, he has to have an SR 22 as well as auto insurance, because apparently it IS possible to have insurance without a license. Had we known, I would have had him added to mine since the beginning. Now I am scared that if I try to add him to mine, I will get into legal trouble for that accident because he technically never should have been driving in the first place (my car was totaled and I believe the other driver was uninsured, I carry full coverage even though my car is/was old).
What are the chances of me being dropped or worse from my current company, or should I try to find a company willing to insure him on his own? Once the insurance part is done, the bmv will lift the suspension and he can schedule his driving test.
Not sure if relevant or worth mentioning: - The actions causing the loss of his license happened a decade ago, when he was a drug addict. He went to prison, did his time, got out and tried to do the right thing with his license only to have it revoked after he paid his fees. We finally got the revocation taken care of, only to discover this suspension when he successfully passed his written exam.

• He has been clean and sober since his arrest. His life has turned around.
  
• I know letting him drive is wrong and the stress has been eating at me daily since it started, please don't be too hard on me for this. We are trying to do right. I am not looking for sympathy, just....please don't tear me down about this.
  

I'm in Minnesota. I have a contract with a construction company/general contractor (GC) that says they'll work with my insurance company (IC) to fix the damage due to a hail storm, and we'll only have to pay our deductible on the claim. There was damage in the claim to the roof, windows, interior (leaking damage), garage door, and gutters.
The GC didn't think there was enough money for the roof and windows, and they couldn't resolve it with our IC. The GC said it would need to go to appraisal, and they brought in the appraiser they usually work with. After the appraisal award, the GC was happy with the result.
The issue is that in the GC's appraisal bid they only submitted what was on the claim for the interior work. After the appraisal they sent out their drywall subcontractor to do the work and he said there was a lot more damage than what was in the claim. $10,000 vs. $3,000. The GC brought this new estimate to our IC, but our IC said since there was an appraisal, no addendums would be allowed. My IC agent went to bat for me with the claims dept, but he said nothing could be done since an appraisal was done. Everything in the award is now set in stone.
The GC has invoiced us for the work they've done (roof and windows), but I said we can't pay that because we wouldn't have enough money for the interior work, and that since our contract says we would only have to pay our deductible, we weren't going to put ourselves in a situation where we would have to pay out of pocket for the interior damage.
The GC says it's the appraisers fault for not doing the inspection onsite, but after talking with the appraiser, he said even if he did it onsite, since the GC's bid only had $3,000 for the interior work, he couldn't legally award any more than that. It seems to me that this is the GC's fault for not getting an estimate for the interior work from their subcontractor before having us request an appraisal.
The only recourse the GC has given us is to file a complaint with the state commissioner. Our IC agent thinks this is very unlikely to yield anything since everything the IC has done has been above board.
What I'm thinking about doing is subtracting the cost of the interior work, garage door, and gutter from the contract price and doing that on our own. This will cause my final payment to them to be $7,000 short of their invoice, so I expect them to put a Mechanic's Lien on the house in response. The total contract price is $85,000.
Should I proceed with this action and let them sue to enforce the lien and accept the judge's decision? Do I have any better options? I'm not required to have a lawyer in Conciliation or District Court, and I'm comfortable presenting the situation to a judge. My main concern is having to pay for the GC's attorney fees if the judge decides in their favor.

Ok so to clarify, My hourly is 25 a hour at my job for 40 hours a week (no overtime allowed, Ive tried lol) and my APR for each card is around 24-27%. Which is about 48,000 a year.
This all started because I used my cards to support me, my ex girlfriend, her mom and her sister. when I was 18 and only getting payed 12 a hour, so i used my cards to cover all of our expenses (especially food).
Not in reference to the VS card, ik that was a stupid card choice now, i just wanted to get her a nice gift). IK blaming the past wont do anything now but still just to give context.
My credit score is at 554 and I need to be able to rent a apartment in august since my rents going up and Ive tried everything (i put around 1,000 to my cards every month) but ill get more then half of my payments taken back in interest esp if i only can pay the minimum.
Here are my expenses monthly
Rent: 500 Food: 150 Car note: 564 (2017 volkswagon tiguan) Gas: 120 Car insurance: 216 Phone bill: 164 Misc (soap, paper towels, etc.): 50
I dont go out if i cant (havent since august last year unles try not to spend anything on non essentials, but i feel like im making myself miserable at no benefit. My boyfriend has been trying to help me by lowering my half of rent and taking me out sometimes so i don’t feel like im stuck, but nothing helps. I’ve tried applying to personal loans but its just messed up my hard inquiries.
If anyone could make some more well informed suggestions then what Ive been doing id appreciate it 🙂‍↕️.
Capital one quick silver: 102% utilization $2,813
Sam's Club Plus Member Mastercard 110% credit card utilization $2,765
Amazon Prime Store Card 99% credit card utilization $1,496
Victoria's Secret Angel Card 76% credit card utilization $228
Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card $152 76% credit card utilization
Target RedCard™ 47% credit card utilization $142
REGIONAL ACCEPTANCE (car) -5% paid off $22,152
Payment history • Excellent High impact 100%
Credit card usage • Needs work High impact 101%
Derogatory marks • Excellent High impact 0
Credit age • Needs work Medium impact 1 yr, 2 mos
Total accounts • Needs work Low impact 7
Hard inquiries Needs work Low impact 12

Hi dear community,
I've been searching for a while here to understand whether my offer is lowballin' or good, but didn't come to any conclusion. I'm looking to relocate to East Flanders from an East European country, and it's in a very specific field.. Considering the numbeo living cost for East Flanders compared to my current location ( + ~65%), I was looking for somewhere at least around 3.4k net, but here's my offer so I'm leaving it up to you for a realistic forecast regarding my quality of life:
1. PERSONALIA

• Age: 28
• Education: Masters in Engineering (not in the industry)
• Work experience : 4.5 yr
• Civil status: Not married, relocating with significant other
• Dependent people/children: None

2. EMPLOYER PROFILE

• SectoIndustry: Space Industry
• Amount of employees: ~ 700
• Multinational? Yes

3. CONTRACT & CONDITIONS

• Current job title: Ground Segment Engineer
• Seniority: N/A (huge step up in my career)
• Official hours/week : 38
• Average real hours/week incl. overtime: 40
• Shiftwork or 9 to 5 (flexible?): 9 to 5 (flexible)
• On-call duty: NO
• Vacation days/year: 42

4. SALARY

• Gross salary/month: 3900 (5000 including benefits)
• Net salary/month: ~2600
• Mobility budget/cabike/...: can choose, if car, net drops to 2.2k or train/bus covered or bike compensated for commute
• 13th month (full? partial?): yes full
• Meal vouchers: 8euro/DAY
• Ecocheques: 250 euro/yr
• Group insurance: yes
• Other insurances: hospital
• Other benefits (bonuses, stocks options, ... ): ** 13.92 salaries / yr, 2k net bonus / yr (paid monthly), internet (75 euros tops), separate business tel. no., 1.3k relocation package

5. MOBILITY

• City/region of work: East Flanders
• Distance home-work: IDK (not sure where I'll find suitable accomodation)
• How do you commute? IDK
• Telework days/week: 2-3

For me, it seems like a slight decrease compared to what I earn now (2k) vs. the living costs. But you could definately help me better understand if this is enough to make a comfortable living!
Cheers and thank you!

M/24 Alabama, Madison County (Huntsville) Car Insurance
I recently gained ownership of a car (2014 KIA Soul Base model) and my parents signed me up with their insurance company (Alpha) under my own account. I noticed the policy for this car is about $715.12 for every 6 months. I have a list of coverages and stuff here.
Is there anything I should drop? I did an evaluation with Mercer and was told Progressive would be cheaper with the same stuff. (Like, $250 cheaper)
(also this is my first time doing anything like this, so forgive me)

So I got my nose done at the (far too) tender age of 16, and to be honest at first it was okay but came out a bit crooked. It’s something I’ve been actually devastated over for the past almost 20 years. I’m 35 now, and I want to do an aesthetic revision - but I also have many sinus problems. I have a S shaped deviated septum, enlarged turbinates and polyps, and the ENT said im naturally a great candidate for the procedure since I have so much trouble breathing and repeated sinusitis etc. Thing is, I want to go to a plastic surgeon for both these issues and wondering how much insurance would cover?
Of course I know they wouldn’t cover the entire surgery, but if anyone has done this before, I’d love to know the breakdown on how this was covered through insurance vs out of pocket to the plastic surgeon. Also, what was the cost in your area?
Last thing - I didn’t ask the ENT before, so for insurance purposes what would I need from them to get the coverage if I go to the plastic surgeon? Like a letter stating this is what I need and I am a good candidate etc?
Would love to know your experiences!
Ty!!!!

25F here, was 23 when I started treatment with my ex therapist, at the time 35M. I was in treatment for depression and sexual trauma. I'd had a quite abusive childhood, left home at 17, and it took me about seven years to build a life and stabilize on my own to be able to go to therapy and try to start healing. I started treatment in June 2022 and was in treatment for fourteen months total. In the last four months, we'd been dealing with some stuff around erotic transference, but mainly I was just dealing with being attached and fantasized therapy conversation becoming my default internal state. I'd decided before I started treatment to take a year off of dating to really focus on myself. After about a year in treatment, I wanted to start dating again (in part because I was getting uncomfortable with the fact that my therapist was the only man in my life at the time other than one male supervisor at work).
My therapist seemed really shut down about me dating. He said a couple of encouraging words, but the looks and tones were very clearly....not encouraging. He also said it was bittersweet to him that I was starting to see other men. Sex is really complicated for me, and I hadn't had sex with a cis man in a few years when I started dating again, even though that's the demographic I'm most attracted to, so it was important for me to be able to talk to my therapist about what was going on there, but the fear that his regard would change or that his feelings would be hurt was really distracting and upsetting. Around this time, I was processing sexual trauma from when I was six, and then more from when I was twelve to sixteen, memories I'd repressed until I was in treatment. I was having intense flashbacks and panic attacks, and he didn't have any....feedback, advice, anything. He seemed to like that I spent most of my day fantasizing about talking to him, and encouraged that, but didn't lead me toward any other tools or resources, seemingly in the assumption that his presence alone would be healing.
All this came to a head at the end of August 2023. I asked him to take a few weeks off to consult with a female therapist in the hopes that that'd alleviate the sense that there was something wrong with how he was treating me. He fired me, telling me, and this is verbatim, "I seduced you, and then you seduced me, and it got pretty hot, and we should stop," adding "if I could give you that relationship, I would." I was never asking him for a dual relationship. I was attached to him, and had a lot of those types of feelings toward him, but I always knew that those weren't actually about him and was definitely never asking for a dual relationship.
I had brought up repeatedly over the course of treatment that it was a material financial burden. I had out of network benefits through my insurance, but it was still $225/week out of pocket, and I'd only get $140 back per session, and only after waiting at least a month for the claim to process, and only after meeting a $2k out of network deductible. Not the most expensive therapy but for me, it was a lot, and I told him that a number of times, and that I couldn't afford to do twice a week with him (something he recommended a few times in the last couple months of treatment). He's the only man in his practice group, and instead of refer me to one of his colleagues, he gave me the names of two completely unrelated clinicians whose fees were both over $300/session and he once again recommended I see someone twice per week.
About a month later, I emailed him to ask for my progress notes. He took a week to reply, only responding when I followed up, and then only sent me my treatment summary (a few brief sentences just saying when I started treatment, what the treatment was, and when it ended). I emailed his boss and got my notes from her. He'd written in the notes that we'd been dealing with erotic transference in every session for the last four months of treatment, even though that....was not the case, and there were plenty of sessions where I was just there to talk about my past, or what was happening during the week. He really didn't seem to understand the difference between being attached and erotic transference, even though he practices attachment based therapy.
Almost nine months later and I really don't know how to move on. My mental health absolutely tanked in the fall and it's been a long, uphill road to get back to something like normal functioning since. It was highly, highly retraumatizing, both in how I suddenly had zero support while processing the most traumatic events of my childhood and so I was just completely overtaken with the memories for months, all while blaming myself because...he said I seduced him, so it was my fault, so I was asking for it, so I had been asking for it the whole time. I know that's not true, but he really did a number on his way out. I'm doing better on that front at this point, not thanks to therapy, (I've tried with eight practitioners since him but he really poisoned the well), but I still can't let this go, and I don't know if I should make a complaint to the relevant office of professional discipline.
TLDR: 24F psychotherapy client asks 36M therapist who's been treating her for sexual trauma to take a few weeks off and consult with a female therapist about his behavior; therapist fires client, does not refer to any of the female clinicians in his practice group, refers only to clinicians he knew were unaffordable, and said "I seduced you, and you seduced me, and it got pretty hot, and we should stop" and "if I could give you that relationship, I would." Is this a reportable offence?

Ok so to clarify, My hourly is 25 a hour at my job for 40 hours a week (no overtime allowed, Ive tried lol) and my APR for each card is around 24-27%. Which is about 48,000 a year.
This all started because I used my cards to support me, my ex girlfriend, her mom and her sister. when I was 18 and only getting payed 12 a hour, so i used my cards to cover all of our expenses (especially food).
Not in reference to the VS card, ik that was a stupid card choice now, i just wanted to get her a nice gift). IK blaming the past wont do anything now but still just to give context.
My credit score is at 554 and I need to be able to rent a apartment in august since my rents going up and Ive tried everything (i put around 1,000 to my cards every month) but ill get more then half of my payments taken back in interest esp if i only can pay the minimum.
Here are my expenses monthly
Rent: 500 Food: 150 Car note: 564 (2017 volkswagon tiguan) Gas: 120 Car insurance: 216 Phone bill: 164 Misc (soap, paper towels, etc.): 50
I dont go out if i cant (havent since august last year unles try not to spend anything on non essentials, but i feel like im making myself miserable at no benefit. My boyfriend has been trying to help me by lowering my half of rent and taking me out sometimes so i don’t feel like im stuck, but nothing helps. I’ve tried applying to personal loans but its just messed up my hard inquiries.
If anyone could make some more well informed suggestions then what Ive been doing id appreciate it 🙂‍↕️.
Capital one quick silver: 102% utilization $2,813
Sam's Club Plus Member Mastercard 110% credit card utilization $2,765
Amazon Prime Store Card 99% credit card utilization $1,496
Victoria's Secret Angel Card 76% credit card utilization $228
Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card $152 76% credit card utilization
Target RedCard™ 47% credit card utilization $142
REGIONAL ACCEPTANCE (car) -5% paid off $22,152
Payment history • Excellent High impact 100%
Credit card usage • Needs work High impact 101%
Derogatory marks • Excellent High impact 0
Credit age • Needs work Medium impact 1 yr, 2 mos
Total accounts • Needs work Low impact 7
Hard inquiries Needs work Low impact 12

Hey All,
Question for the group. I have 4 months left on a lease and have been looking around for the next vehicle. I have one (non vw) dealership that is offering me a really nice lease $$ for a vehicle that really fits my family. They are also including paying the rest of my lease off + the dep fee (so the 4 months + the $395 fee)
I called vw credit and was placed to someone in lease specialization who was great but the word "auction" comes into play. I talked to them twice and two different people and they both said the same thing but wanted to see if anyone else did it here.
She stated that if I return it 30 days before the last payment (I think it was payment vs last day) it would go to auction. The scary auction term was here haha. She stated though that I would owe the less between what the difference between the FMV vs. what is sells and the sum of the following 4 things:
1) Last 4 months payments ($1400)
2) Deposition Fee ($395)
3) Over Mileage (I'm under by a lot so won't pertain to me)
4) Inspection / Wear & Tear (I decided to schedule the inspection next week just to see what I would be looking at but there is nothing wrong with the car. No scratches, dents, stains, nothing)
So in the end, if 3 & 4 are $0, my worse case scenario would the $1795 I would owe correct? Even if say the car sells for 10k even though its valued at 18k? Has anyone else gone through the auction process? I just don't want to be caught with an 8k invoice from VW.
It's super confusing and even they were saying it is. In the end I might just hold onto it anyway since its a good lease price etc.

Edit: If you are going to comment on the length of this post, please don't. This is not a simple snark but rather an actual critical think piece about feminism and Taylor Swift.

Introduction

Pertaining to Taylor Swift, "Female Rage" has deviated from its intended meaning after Swift debuted a new performance of The Tortured Poets Department during the Eras Tour. Now, according to Swift's use of the phrase, female rage is interpreted as public backlash against Swift's dating choices rather than as a response to the broader injustices against women and women's rights. This post examines Taylor Swift's flawed feminism, philanthropy, branding, and the controversial trademark petition for the phrase "Female Rage: The Musical". Swift's background as an entertainer, indeterminate politics, and alignment with capitalism over feminism pervades her legacy, again threatening her public tolerance as not just an individual but as a brand.

Once Upon a Female Rage...

If you were cognizant in the early 2010's, you've heard countless jabs at Taylor Swift in the media. Magazines, radio, or online. Music critics did not take her seriously as a songwriter; parents put a woman on an unrealistic pedestal as the ideal role model for their children; she dated too much and used men as lyrical fodder. No matter the story, it inevitably spread, conjoined with everyone's respective opinions, and you'd be left to wonder, "Why does everyone hate this girl so much?"
Taylor's target demographic has always been young or adolescent girls, more so when Swift herself was one. She made music that spoke to the awkward misfit, cultivating a para-social relationship with fans on MySpace, then later twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, where Taylor posted relatable vlogs showcasing the life of a homegrown American girl. Taylor had a delayed public "growing up" and, compared to her female pop contemporaries, Swift never "gratuitously sexualized her image and seems pathologically averse to controversy" (and, apparently, never even had a sip of alcohol until she turned 21). She was more than happy to spin this narrative to allude to an inherent moral superiority above other women in the industry (Better Than Revenge, heard of it?), engaging in the very slut-shaming that she herself endured (the Madonna and Whore archetypes). The victim complex arose with the need to prove Taylor as a different type of pop girl. Based upon her holy and clean image, Swift had been dubbed "a feminist's nightmare", and that "[To Swift] other girls are obstacles; undeserving enemies who steal Taylor’s soulmates with their bewitching good looks and sexual availability." Feminism and Tennessee-Christian country values don't exactly mix, it seems.
Years later, Swift befriended Lena Dunham and thus experienced white feminism osmosis, where Dunham taught Swift that real feminists defend rapists, makes insensitive jokes about rape and abortion, and prioritize all-white casts. Swift then declared herself a feminist in 2014, saying,

"Becoming friends with Lena – without her preaching to me, but just seeing why she believes what she believes, why she says what she says, why she stands for what she stands for – has made me realize that I’ve been taking a feminist stance without actually saying so."

I suppose the male-centric songwriting subject that permeates Swift's discography contained covert feminism and that we just didn't see that. Perhaps, the "Bad Blood" song and music video were written only in jest and not about poor Katy Perry, for Swift, as a feminist, would "never make it a girl fight" or tear other women down (though all Katy did was date your terrible ex-boyfriend and allegedly steal three backup dancers from your tour). In 2013, Swift said, in response to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's joke towards her serial dating, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."
There was that time in 2015 Taylor said that Nicki Minaj was "invited to any stage [she is] on" (as if Taylor expects to have access to every stage, award, and platform that Nicki might not otherwise have as a black female artist...yikes!) in response to Nicki's criticism of the white + thin VMA nominations. Later, Nicki responded with confusion, as Swift continued, "It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..". Of course, this 'beef' was 'squashed' when Nicki performed with Taylor at the VMAs, with Nicki quite literally only having 38 seconds of stage time without Taylor. Maybe all that parading around with a legion of famous white women - similar to the way Taylor might've done with her numerous 1989-era handbags - was in fact a stance against gender inequality, and that this display of "girl power" should be enough to constitute Swift as a feminist icon.
Even while Swift says that Dunham informed her feminist outlook, she dances around the exact contents of those beliefs: "what she believes, what she says, what she stands for" is not exactly insightful towards what beliefs Swift might have inherited. Taylor never broaches women's rights topics such femicide, FGM, forced pregnancy & marriage, sex trafficking, women in slavery, women's financial and political oppression, women's educational rights, women's health, or women's autonomy, so we can assume she only gives a fuck about "girls supporting girls" (whatever that fucking means).
Despite some questionable (and sometimes vindictive) behavior, Taylor as a young woman did not deserve every media lashing that she received. We cannot deny that most headlines and criticisms perpetuated a misogynistic rhetoric which has plagued Swift for a majority of her career. Acknowledging events such as the development of her ED, her sexual assault trial, "Famous" lyric and MV depiction of Taylor, and the explicit Twitter deepfakes, for example, as both disgusting and unfortunate things that happened to a young woman in Hollywood does not negate the fact that Taylor is mostly a performative feminist.

Get Your Fucking Ass Up and Be a Philanthropist, It Seems Like Nobody Wants to Be a Philanthropist These Days

In 2013, Taylor Swift cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. The donation amount - $4 million - was the largest individual artist gift ever donated to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is, of course, mentioned on Swift's website. The two-story facility features three classrooms, an instrument room, and an interactive children's exhibit gallery. Swift also performed at "All for the Hall" charity shows and has donated numerous artifacts from her career (such as notable guitars, tour costumes, etc) to the museum.
This was over 11 years ago, and it is still the only notable philanthropic contribution Taylor Swift has made.
For a woman of her net worth and stature, and a woman who recognizes the difficulties for women in film and music, you would think that Taylor Swift might establish a scholarship program for women to study the arts or something. Perhaps Swift might even consider becoming a member of organizations that support female artists, or one that supports LGBTQ+ causes (since she is now proudly an ally), yet she remains superficial with her graces. Broader philanthropy, such as donating relief aid to Palestinian women or women impacted by violence and discrimination will probably never receive any financial support from Miss Swift because then she'd be using her money towards philanthropies involving anyone but white entertainers.
She even says herself in Miss Americana, "My entire moral code as a kid and now is a need to be thought of as 'good'." Well, she's certainly thought of as good, though her actions say otherwise. She's more than happy to do a vaguely altruistic song and dance for a clip-worthy interview quote and mass appeasement, then fuck off to one of her mansions on a 20 minute private jet flight, rather than actually contribute to anything pertaining to the causes she has endorsed. Yet, far too many people continue to give a woman such as her their money, time, and energy, and she hoards these resources to herself.

I Like Some of the Taylor's Songs, But What the Fuck Does She Know About Feminism?

Swift continued with her self-proclaimed feminist campaign, positioning herself as a political activist and LGBTQ+ ally in the Miss Americana documentary. The primary focus of the documentary consists of the sexual assault trial, Andrea Swift's cancer diagnosis, Taylor's ED and body dysmorphia, media scrutiny, and, largely, finally speaking up about her politics publicly, mostly her opposition to the 2018 Tennessee Republican senate candidate, Marsha Blackburn, and Blackburn's beliefs. Swift says, following a scene discussing her experience during the trial,

"I just couldn't really stop thinking about it. And I just thought to myself, next time there is any opportunity to change anything, you had better know what you stand for and what you want to say."

We must ask ourselves, though: when has Swift ever spoken up to change anything? Okay, pulling her entire catalogue from Spotify because they didn't pay their artists enough and similarly pulling her catalogue from Apple Music are changes that she leveraged due to her revenue potential and power, but they are not pertinent to the average woman's rights. Moreover, these are issues that directly impacted Taylor's income, which was enough reason for her to protest in the first place. Swift has sold the most units for a female artist in first week sales, is the first female artist with 100k monthly Spotify listeners, is the first female artist to win the Album of the Year Grammy 4 times, and is the first female artist to do X, Y, and Z, all while being inoffensive and family-friendly to boot. The actual Taylor Swift seems unwilling to compromise the brand of Taylor Swift by contributing in meaningful ways to feminist causes, especially if it is for women outside of America and Hollywood.
The reason political anthems such as "The Man" and "Only the Young" of the Lover era feel disingenuous and corporate is because, well, it is. Taylor has taken every opportunity to advance her career or public image at the expense of other women. What is truly genuine to Taylor's outlook on other women is vying for male attention, taking down female competition, and vocalizing feminist injustices only if they directly impact her and her money. Some will argue that it's satisfactory for a woman with such a huge platform to even TALK about feminism, but that just isn't enough. It's even less impressive when you candidly look at the scope of her feminist lens: "If I was the man, then I'd be THE MAN", or "I really resent the ‘Be careful, buddy, she’s going to write a song about you’ angle, because it trivialises what I do", and, of course, "We all got crowns". Feminism, but only when it happens to me. It gets worse when you look at Taylor's track record of copying other famous women and removing other female artists as potential threats to her pop prowess.
It's good for PR to align yourself with certain blanket feminist and political beliefs, therefore good for branding, therefore good for ticketing and merchandise sales, therefore good for business. And Taylor Swift is a business.
She's not a feminist. Taylor Swift is a capitalist.

I Can't Pay Those Sweatshop Workers a Livable Wage or Benefits! How Else Would I Make My Billions?

Recently, Taylor's team filed to trademark the phrase "Female Rage: The Musical" after Taylor said during Paris N1 of the Eras Tour,

"So you were the first ones to see The Tortured Poets at the Eras Tour...or as I like to call it, 'Female Rage: The Musical'."

This trademark petition was filed last week on Saturday, and news comes about just as numerous unofficial fan-made merch designs have cropped up with this phrase plastered on Fruit of the Loom basics. I'm of the opinion Swift's team motioned for a trademark so that they can send out cease & desists to all those that make knockoff merch, which disrupts potential sales for Bravado, UMG's choice merchandising company; however, since it was filed earlier, perhaps Swift has bigger plans with the bizarre use of the gendered phrase. One Swiftie referred to the phrase "female rage" as "a funny Eras Tour joke". Could it be a possible fourth version of the Eras Tour Movie? Whatever the reason, the motion to capitalize off of such a concept is disgusting, but not unsurprising, for a woman that profits on her vain feminism.
Swift, through her company, TAS Rights Managements, has also trademarked over 200 phrases, including "1989", where she owns the property rights to this calendar year on keychains, phone cases, sunglasses, stationary, bags, beverage ware, clothing, entertainment services, your subconscious, and, of course, Christmas ornaments.
The vapid consumerism in Swiftie culture is, frankly, disgusting. Bravado's sustainability statement is non-existent, the quality control is abysmal, and the materials they use are horrible. The materials, such as acrylic and polyester, are made from petrochemicals. This means they are non-renewable, shed microplastics, and are quite toxic in production. The manufacturing process to make all of those lazy-rushed Eras Tour logo graphic tees is a huge blow to environmental well-being. Apparently, though, Swifties don't give a fuck. They sell out products in seconds and either have to face the manufactured scarcity or buy from a scalper that resells for 200% of the already ridiculous retail price. This doesn't include the environmental impact of vinyl records, CD, and cassette production, of which Taylor produces many variants that sell unsustainable amounts.
If we're talking about women's rights violations, why is no one acknowledging the women that work in the inhumane sweatshop conditions that have to pump out fugly t-shirts and hats? The millions of plastic microfiber dander they are inhaling, or the toxic dyes that touch their bare skin? Are they being compensated fairly for their skilled labour and are they in safe working environments? Do these women have minimal bargaining power, and do they have authority over their worker's rights? Is Taylor Swift female raging at their injustices? Does Taylor Swift ever feels bad that her wealth was built on the backs of women of color, disadvantaged by the demands of the global economy and garment industry? Do you think she ever says a little white feminist prayer for them before she goes to sleep at night?
What's even crazier is not that Taylor herself doesn't care, it's that Swifties don't care. There CANNOT BE ethical billionaires. You only make a billion dollars if you are exploiting other human beings for capital gain. Based on public perception of the possible "Female Rage: The Musical" trademark, it seems like Swifties are already asking for merch with this phrase. "If Taylor made it, I'd buy it." Oh, cool. So not only do you champion Miss Swift's avarice and billionaire status, but you also are unashamed to admit to your blind consumption of her music and merchandise, no matter where they might originate in production or sincerity. Just as Swift takes and takes and takes, Swifties' consumerism of Taylor Swift cannot be quelled.
The tortured artist's most vulnerable and sincere poetry...available now in 21 different versions!

I Am Tortured Poet, Hear Me Whinge

Look - even if Taylor's intention is to characterize TTPD as more "tortured" and "angry", the main thread of the album is "I was ghosted by my decade-long situationship with a controversial indie boy and my fucking stupid fans wrote a 'Speak Up Now' open letter prompting me to drop him" anger, which is adequately expressed in the lyrics and performances. The extent of Taylor's "female rage" on TTPD is on tracks such as "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?", which contends with relentless media scrutiny; "But Daddy I Love Him", where Swift firmly states she'll date whoever she likes no matter how "Sarahs and Hannahs" may react; and "The Albatross", a track mythologizing her reputation and the consequences of dating her. Of course, these coincide with deep psychological wounds that formed during Swift's early years in the media, and so, from her feminist perspective, these subjects tackle the misogyny and double standards that she faced.
Yet Taylor Swift still has no grounds to be claiming that TTPD best exemplifies female rage and therefore she, in the context of this album, is female rage incarnate. As the daughter of a stock broker and mutual fund marketing executive, Taylor was born into wealth and allowed privileges like trips and subsequent relocation to Nashville all so that she might get a record deal. Her father even invested at least $120,000 into the then-fledgling label, Big Machine Records, which ensured Taylor's place with Borchetta after leaving her dead-end development deal with Sony. The fact that her parents were able to buy her a fucking brand new guitar for Christmas and pay for music lessons says so much about the financial security and safety of her childhood.
Money is privilege and protection, and despite Swift's experiences with misogyny and loser boyfriends, she does not know what female rage is.
Her rage is derived from her frustrations with her obsessive fans pulling the moral superiority card on Taylor in response to her rebound with Matty Healy. That's literally it. She's just pissed that the monster she created is no longer obediant, it's become a feral, sovereign entity that depletes the world of its natural resources and thinks it is more intelligent than it actually is because it's mommy has started to talk to it with big words. Apparently, 'illicit', 'elegy', 'nonchalant', and 'precocious' are considerably big words for the oafish monster, and I find it strange that this level of literacy is present in a group of fans that allegedly have GPAs of 3.5 or higher, but I digress.
Taylor Swift has never been one paycheck away from destitution. Taylor Swift has never experienced racial discrimination. She may have instances of gender discrimination, but she possesses the ideal white, blonde American beauty standard and therefore reaps the benefits of being a conventionally attractive woman. Taylor Swift has sufficient social capital. Taylor Swift is a billionaire woman prolonging her victimhood though she, as a woman, has mostly had control over her image and music (unlike her contemporaries). Taylor Swift is NOT entitled to be championed for her "female rage", nor should she be. Taylor Swift has never even been the struggling artist, for fuck's sake. I don't give a fuck if she's trying to fill the empty lunch tables of her past. Taylor Swift purporting herself, her unpolished album, and her lukewarm feminism as a musical bleeding with female rage is asinine.

Sigh Try and Come For My Job, Poors

Out there in the world right now is a 23-year-old woman, a recent college grad, who works as a barista. She has to wake up and get ready to go into a minimum wage job because she cannot get a job in her field. She doesn't have healthcare benefits or sick time, so she has to go into work no matter how she's feeling. All day long she is berated by vicious customers and creepy men, and, exhausted from being on her feet, she knows she has to go home to her shitty roommate that never does the dishes and her roommate's shitty dog. To comfort herself, she considers getting a treat, but thinks against it when she remembers that matcha lattes cost $15 and they taste like milky dirt. She knows that she needs to buy groceries this week, and so the woman resolves to go home, but notices that her gas tank is low. She goes to put gas in the car, but the pump stops at $27.86 because that's all that she has in her checking account. The woman, bereft and reeling, sinks into the driver's seat. "Well," she thinks, her head in her hands, "at least I don't have Taylor Swift's job. I just couldn't imagine."
Fame is somewhat of a choice. If at any moment Taylor feels that she is misunderstood, misconstrued, or overwhelmed by public opinion, she can LEAVE the public eye - Lord knows she has the retirement fund and residuals to do so. In "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart", the TTPD song about meeting the demands of your career-zenith mega-tour while in the relationship trenches, Taylor ends the song by rambling,

"You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart...you know you're good...and I'm good, cause I'm miserable, and no one even knows!...try and come for my job."

Yeah, obviously we wouldn't know, you recently passed the billionaire threshold and are the most famous and in-demand performer in the world right now. Taylor Swift makes an estimated $10 to $13 million dollars A NIGHT on the Eras Tour. Furthermore, the Eras Tour movie grossed $261.6 million globally, (which, as the producer, Taylor takes home 57% of the ticket sales) not counting the streaming revenue from Amazon Prime Video and the estimated $75 million deal that Disney paid to have it on Disney+. We're not even considering the income from cheap plastic popcorn buckets and drink cups plastered with colored squares in her Era-specific likeness.
It's funny. Taylor Swift often said that being famous wasn't hard, that she "isn't complaining". I'm sure it is difficult to always have to present in a good mood, else you'll end up misrepresented in the media, and I'm sure it's invasive to virtually have no privacy or semblance of anonymity. Still, Taylor Swift shows up each night of tour and performs. For a majority of her career, she has penned her sad songs while on the road. Most of "Red", her breakup album, was written in the thick of the Speak Now World tour. Now, some Swifties say they almost "feel bad" for attending the Eras Tour with Swift's revelations in this song, that they have had a 'dimmed experience' upon hearing Taylor's misery whilst performing. Despite the fact that Taylor said that "this was the happiest she's ever been" at Gilette Stadium in May, the lyrics "boohoo, woe is me, smile for the cameras and make the fans happy!!!" are jarring for Eras attendees.
While Taylor Swift was making double-digit millions a night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and feeling miserable, Ana Clara Benevides Machado passed away due to heat exposure. The concert promoters, Time For Fun, are now the subject of a criminal investigation due to their lack of adequate hydration and safety. Taylor Swift cancelled the Sunday show that was to follow and offered VIP tent tickets to Benevides Marchado's family, which was a kind gesture, but perhaps incongruous to the incident of which they were offered as consolation. Everyone grieves differently, of course, but I'm not sure attending the very show at the very same venue that my daughter or sister passed away in two days prior, where the singer CONTINUED the show despite her death, would be healthy for closure.
There was no female rage at the show as Swift never saw Benevides Machado pass out. There was no female rage towards the disregard for fans as humans while Swift elected to proceed with her Brazil tour dates despite the country being in historic heatwaves (at risk of overheatting herself). If Taylor Swift was so shaken by touring with a broken heart or a fan's passing, she wouldn't have added an additional North American leg of Eras just two months after the Matty breakup. She's brokenhearted but willing to mend the cracks with your money and move onward with her worldwide female rage induced pillaging.
No matter what happens, even if you die at a Taylor Swift concert, Taylor collects a big fat check and flies away. She doesn't know you as anything other than a conversion rate or earning potential despite what her nearly 20-year long parasocial relationship with fans might otherwise indicate. She knows that, while some Swifties are without disposable income, they feel obligated to spend on a "48 Hours Only!" exclusive vinyl variant instead of necessities because they are so entrenched in Taylor Swift's intoxicating celebrity, they'll prioritize materialistic fandom before their needs. This is good enough for her because this means she can expand her real estate portfolio and finance her cat's lavish lifestyles. They're worth an estimated $100 million dollars. Her three cats could pool their net worth and solve world hunger.
While you and I might be denied bereavement leave and barely surviving the current political and economic climate, Taylor Swift has to, instead of gets to, perform for stadiums at full attendance for three nights in a row across the globe. You and I might be replaced by AI at our longtime jobs, but Taylor Swift is threatened with losing more and more money each time you listen to a "Stolen Version" of her songs. If we don't buy every variant of all of her albums, then who is going to pay for the fucking cats?
It is tone deaf to spend as she spends and lives as she lives in this economy, but this is her reality. She was able to donate $100,000 to all of her tour truck drivers, and that's wonderful, but it leads me to wonder about the ethos of the 2020s where one woman can hoard such life-changing amounts of money. Remember in 2014 when she gave a fan $90 ($120 in today's money) to get Chipotle because she had no fucking clue how much it cost? This is a 34-year-old woman who is increasingly out of touch with the reality for working class people and women in general. Normal everyday adults must wake up and go to their thankless jobs, and yet Taylor Swift, despite all her riches, incessantly references the lows of her life and career as a public figure and entertainer to farm sympathy and drive sales. And still, the corporate women have latched onto "I cry a lot, but I am so productive! It's an art!" as their cubicle battle cry.
Do you think that, from up in her private jet, Taylor Swift gazes at the world through her poetic, tortured eyes, and thinks, "All the little people, in their cars, walking, going about their lives...all those girls that don't support girls...do they know that I've made an album about female rage?"

Conclusion/TLDR

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your critical insights towards this entire ordeal: TTPD, the trademark, the implications of it all.
TLDR: Taylor Swift is a bad feminist and is delusional to think that the TTPD eras set exemplifies female rage at women's injustice.

Saving money and achieving financial freedom can indeed be challenging due to various factors, but understanding these hurdles and implementing strategies to overcome them can pave the way towards financial success.

1. Lack of Financial Literacy: Many people struggle with managing their finances simply because they lack the necessary knowledge about budgeting, investing, and saving. Without a solid understanding of financial principles, it's easy to fall into patterns of overspending and debt. Overcoming: Educate yourself about personal finance through books, online resources, or even financial literacy courses. Understanding basic concepts like budgeting, compound interest, and investment strategies can empower you to make informed decisions about your money.
2. Living Beyond Means: In today's consumer-driven culture, there's often pressure to keep up with the latest trends and maintain a certain lifestyle, even if it means spending more than you earn. This mentality leads to excessive spending and makes it difficult to save. Overcoming: Practice living below your means by creating a budget that prioritizes saving and investing over unnecessary expenses. Differentiate between needs and wants, and be mindful of your spending habits. Focus on long-term financial goals rather than short-term gratification.
3. High Cost of Living: Rising expenses such as housing, healthcare, and education can eat into your income, leaving little room for saving and investing. Overcoming: Explore ways to reduce your living expenses, such as downsizing to a smaller home, renegotiating bills, or finding cheaper alternatives for necessities. Consider relocating to areas with lower costs of living if feasible. Additionally, look for ways to increase your income through side hustles or advancing your career.
4. Debt Burden: Debt, especially high-interest consumer debt like credit card balances, can significantly impede your ability to save and invest for the future. Paying off debt often takes precedence over saving, leading to a cycle of financial stress. Overcoming: Prioritize debt repayment by adopting strategies like the debt snowball or debt avalanche method. Cut discretionary spending and allocate the savings towards paying off debt faster. Consider consolidating high-interest debt or negotiating with creditors for lower interest rates.
5. Lack of Discipline: Saving money requires discipline and self-control, which can be challenging in a world filled with temptations and instant gratification. Impulse purchases and lifestyle inflation can derail your savings goals. Overcoming: Develop good financial habits by automating your savings and investments, setting up separate accounts for different financial goals, and tracking your spending regularly. Create barriers to impulse spending, such as implementing a waiting period before making non-essential purchases. Surround yourself with supportive friends and family who share similar financial goals.
6. Unexpected Expenses and Emergencies: Financial setbacks like medical emergencies, car repairs, or job loss can derail your savings progress and force you to dip into your savings or accumulate debt. Overcoming: Build an emergency fund to cover 3-6 months' worth of living expenses, so you're prepared for unforeseen circumstances. Make regular contributions to this fund until you reach your target amount. Consider purchasing insurance policies like health insurance, car insurance, and disability insurance to mitigate the financial impact of unexpected events.
7. Psychological Barriers: Deep-seated beliefs and emotions about money inherited from childhood or past experiences can influence your financial behavior. Fear of failure, scarcity mindset, or feelings of unworthiness can sabotage your efforts to save and invest. Overcoming: Practice mindfulness and self-awareness to identify and challenge limiting beliefs about money. Cultivate a positive money mindset by focusing on abundance rather than scarcity. Surround yourself with positive influences and seek support from a financial advisor or therapist if necessary.

By addressing these challenges with proactive strategies and a mindset geared towards long-term financial success, you can overcome obstacles to saving money and ultimately achieve financial freedom. Remember that it's a journey, and progress may come in small steps, but every step forward brings you closer to your goals.

Genocide looked to the sky. He thought of his mentor. The one who had saved him. He remembered his childhood. How powerless he was. He remembered the anger. He never wanted to hurt anybody. He thought of all the times he showed compassion. How much they hurt him for it. He saw the world before him, a graveyard. Humans. People that were supposed to be made in the image of some divine creator. They were but maggots feasting upon his remains. They ate away at his very being until nothing human remained. His thoughts were no longer his own. He had no joys in life that mattered. He hated humanity more than he could love anything about himself. He remember his first killing spree. Being gunned down by police. Left for dead. He remembered a hooded figure moving towards him. Getting closer the more he neared his death. He saw its pale face. Its impossibly black eyes. It was a man. This figure in question appeared to be of Japanese nationality with long, straight, loose hair. It emanated extreme malice. It offered him a choice. A purpose. Power. He thought the figure a reaper but it identified itself as Amakusa Masataka. Masataka guided him on how to kill and gave him specific locations to kill people in. In a sense, he became a hitman for quotas of people. He inquired what Masataka was. The presence of evil, his ability to appear and disappear at will, how he could control what people could see him and what people couldn't. While vague, years of killing for this being offered some insight. Amakusa Masataka belonged to a group of people not of this world. His people had been corrupted by a dark force long ago and had aligned themselves with the warlord who had subjugated their version of Japan. Their dark high priest assisted the warlord along with two others. These four rulers in turn served a larger order. The four were tasked with bringing about the end of the current world as an act of retribution for some fallen deity. Masataka's people acted as covert operatives for this empire. They were feared across the land and were collectively referred to as "Shinigami". An agent of the coming apocalypse, a servant of evil possessed by the will of those gods of death, Genocide would walk the earth.
Genocide stepped toward the station. A police cruiser rammed into him. He pulled out a knife and stabbed the hood of the car. The inhuman force of the knife created sparks which burst the engine into flames. The car crashed into a streetlight and exploded. A second cruiser neared the scene. No way a man could have done this. Yet still, out of the fires Genocide strode forth. It set upon the second vehicle, shooting out it's tires while jumping 9 feet into the air. The car tries to reverse but crashes into a wall. Genocide lands on the hood and kicks through the front window. Glass shatters under its boot, blinding the two officers inside. Genocide shoots one of the officers with a shotgun, killing him. The second officer in the passenger seat readies his pistol and takes aim. Only two shots fired, both directed at Genocide's head. It casually cocks its neck to avoid them. Then it grabs the officer's arm, breaking it. Genocide uses its free hand to grab the officer's head and bangs it into the dashboard no less than 5 times. The skull is shattered on the final impact. Genocide jumps off the car and continues on his mission.
Detective Evans speaks through a megaphone," This is your first and final warning. Stand down or we will use any and all means at our disposal to put you down." Genocide dropped its shotgun and raised its hands. A group of five SWAT team members rushed out the station, surrounding Genocide with riot shields. An officer accompanies them, edging behind the figure to apply handcuffs. Suddenly, Genocide springs to life , grabbing the officer behind him. He flips the officer over his head, slamming him into the pavement at his feet. Then Genocide stomps his head causing it to burst. Genocide drops a flash bomb from his coat sleeve, blinding the SWAT team as he draws his knife. He drives it into one SWAT member, the knife puncturing the shield and piercing his chest. Genocide kicks the corpse away withdrawing his knife. He goes to another, this time using the end of his boot toe in a rising kick to disarm their shield. He grabs them by the throat and drives the knife slowly into their eye socket. Another is tackled to the ground and beaten to death despite still being under the shield. Another is picked up and thrown into the fires still burning from the first auto incident. In no time, Genocide stood before an indistinguishable mass of gore, blood streaking across his black leather outfit. He laughed" So this is all you can give me. I'm not entertained." Officers took aim from the station windows, and snipers did so from other rooftops. Genocide laughed maniacally as he was rained down upon from all sides by a hailstorm of bullets. His body convulsed, but he did not fall. Moments more and he was on his knees. Still though, their efforts were futile. Gracia looked out and saw a black mist coalescing around the man in black. His blood. Blood erupted from his body only to transform into this dark mist that reentered his wounds. Genocide screamed. No. It was just an elevated pitch in his laughter. Optimism failed everyone yet again. Gracia saw Genocide holding something in his right hand. She could only make out a beeping red light. Genocide pushed the button triggering the carefully concealed explosives he laid in preparation for this event. C4 explosives went off in all the places he saw fit. The sniping posts he couldn't reach. The assault of lead lightened. Then Genocide drew an RPG from...somewhere. He collected himself and fired at the station's entrance. The explosion shook the station. From inside, the lights began to flicker. Communications were down on all fronts. Had he modified the rocket with some type of EMP? Not good. Amisdst the confusion Genocide entered using smoke bombs to mask his presence. Moving like a shadow, he killed everyone in the lobby silently with his knife. He made his way to the holding cells. Still they chanted. Still they praised. Still they raved for the arrival of genocide. Genocide shot the lock opening the cell. Jim Jimenez walked out and bowed before his master. Genocide smiled. He couldn't have imagined how proficient he had gotten with possession. Well, not quite possession. He had known of the Shinigami's ability to share their thoughts and emotions with humans. Shinigami like his mentor were ancient. They had so many years of memories, such strong a hatred for life that they overwhelmed the personality of the victim. The victim sees themselves as one of them. Shinigami can't force the will of the victim, so they find those who are already similar to them in some way. Genocide found the collective universal distrust of police to be a prime sentiment to capitalize on. He armed the inmates, infecting them with samples of his own dark essence.One particular inmate caught Genocide's eye. He knew the man's work. An arsonist. The one whom he recalls was responsible for blowing up his first car way back in high school. Rather than a standard firearm, Genocide gave the man a random assortment of grenades containing a special surprise. Genocide showed them visions of anarchy, of sending a message to a society that used and disregarded them. While this was also true of how he felt, years of living in darkness had changed him. He needed no purpose. No end goal. No justification. He just wanted to watch the world burn.
Genocide's small army broke off to engage several different wings of the station. Genocide went to the security room. He found Wayne, his informant, playing some FPS on one of the monitors. Wayne took of his headphones and asked," You kill everyone yet?" Genocide responded," No. You should get going before that happens. Your life becomes fair game if I run out of pigs to cook." Wayne clapped his hands, "Aight, GC my man, say less." He packed his things and left. Genocide drew a twin pair of handguns and laid waste to the station. He followed a group that took cover in the men's restroom. Kicking open multiple stalls he was surprised to find...nothing. Where had they gone? He turned around and saw his mentor, Masataka, smiling at him. It looked like him. Long, dark hair, black clothing, and soulless, empty eyes. But it wasn't. It was Genocide's own reflection in the mirror. Genocide smiled. He didn't notice the changes at first. They must have happened gradually. Subconsciously. From the final stall, an officer sprung into action, rushing Genocide, hitting him point blank with a shockgun round. Genocide felt the tingling sensation electrifying his body and grew numb. In spite of the pain, he took a single step. Then, another. He came within striking range of the officer and snatched the shockgun. Two more officers erupted from another stall, battering him with baton strikes. Genocide felt nothing. He clutched the shockgun in his hand like a bat and went to work pulverizing his attackers. An officer kicked in the bathroom door, a woman holding a pistol. She fired multiple times to no effect. Genocide stood covered in blood. He even let her reload. Twice. He wanted to see her despair. Her hopelessness. He walked towards her, shrugging off bullets as they pierced his body. His wounds healed nigh instantly due to the dark essence he had been imbued with. He held her face with both hands, lifting her body off the ground. As she screamed, he used her head to shatter the restroom mirror, running down the full length of it while smashing her into it at several points. He dropped the remains of what he held, washed his hands with soap, dried them, then exited the restroom.
The inmates that rallied for the cause of genocide attacked the station. Fortunately, they were nowhere near Genocide in terms of power and only carried one type of firearm each. They shared his healing ability but could be killed quite easily. Gracia encountered a sniper on the end or a west wing hallway. Other officers waited behind corners unable to get close. Gracia noticed the faulty lighting. In this hallway, the lights flickered in intervals of 3 seconds. Finding a pattern and timing her movements, she rushed the sniper at the exact moment the lights went out. Running the length of the hall, Gracia zigzagged, dodging the sniper inmate's bullets. She jumped on a wall, ran 3 feet on it, then kicked off it, pouncing on the assailant. She fired five shots into him, making sure to hit the brain and the heart. Two severe injuries that were impossible for Shinigami essence to heal simultaneously. Elsewhere, Evans took on another escaped inmate. A vehicular arsonist named Carson. Carson had a bag filled with an assortment of different grenades and was happily giving them out like candy on Halloween. "A flash bang here, a bit of tear gas there. Oh. Wait! Was that an ice grenade? Did the explosion freeze your leg to the floor? Whoops. Maybe a fire grenade will melt that for you. Hold on let me get one fore you," Carson rambled gleefully. Evans looked at the carnage before him. Officers burning. Officers partially frozen in blocks of ice. He took a breath and aimed his wristgun. He steadied his right forearm. Carson readied to throw a random grenade. Evans shot it the moment it left Carson's hand. The grenade exploded directly in front of Carson. Both Evans and Carson looked at each other in shock. Confetti. A party grenade? Carson quickly fumbled for another but was tackled and restrained by several officers. Meanwhile in the South wing, Lary had some colleagues set a trap for another shotgun toting inmate. He had them bait the inmate and flee. Giving chase he turned a corner and ran straight into Lary's fist. The inmate recovered and motioned to shoot Lary. "Let's tango. " Lary gave the code word. Nearby officers activated a device. A signal jammer of sorts. The inmate shoved the barrel of his gun into Lary's gut and pulled the trigger. Nothing. The special signal jammer in question was designed for firearms. It was a last resort as it left officers just as defenseless. Lary was having fun. He boxed the inmate in hand to hand combat. Despite the inmate's enhanced strength, Lary's technique pulled through. Lary ducked under one of the inmate's wide punches and did some type of rising uppercut where he jumped off the ground while spinning. One of the other officers whispered" The rising dragon." Lary smiled giving a thumbs up" Yeah, it was a rising dragon uppercut. Saw it in one O my kid's vidya games. Thought I'd try it out while I'm jacked on adrenaline".
Jim Jimenez looked long and hard at himself in the mirror. He was in the women's restroom. Some brainless woman had broken the men's restroom mirror with her face. For the first time in a long while Jim could think clearly. He was becoming sane. At the least he was no longer a raving lunatic. The life essence of the dark gods had healed the wounds to both his body and his mind. He saw his face, his scraggly dirty beard. He found a razor and shaved. He trimmed his beard somewhat. He liked it. He washed his hair. It fell down his face like silk, no longer greasy. His bloodshot eyes once burning with crazed intensity had cooled. He blinked. Just for a second, he saw the man known as Genocide. The man that attacked him. The one that killed him and gave him new life. The drug dealers. The police. They were all the same in his eyes now. They were all to blame for the world being what it is. Jim wanted to hate them. He wanted to take revenge, but he felt nothing. It didn't matter. He knew he was wronged, could logically justify acting against them, but he just didn't care anymore. About anything. He was finally free. Sensing his presence was no longer needed here, Jim vanished into the night. He needed to find someone who had had the answers he needed. Himself. Who had he been? Who was he now? Who could he become? Where was he going? So many questions to ponder indefinitely. So much time left in the rest of his life.
Genocide ran down the station's halls raining hailstorms of bullets upon its occupants. He had a handgun in each hand as well as a wristgun on each wrist. This effectively gave him 4 separate firearms that he could use simultaneously. Lary regrouped with Gracia, Evans, and a handful of others. They radioed all surviving officers near Genocide to flee to the roof. This plan had been set in motion days before the assault and had been kept hidden from most of the force. The plan involved scheduling flights for several helicopters to arrive at some point after Genocide arrived. There would be no way for him to prepare for them and pre-scheduling their arrival ensured they arrived regardless of if they were called or not. Lary and the others set about preparing the second jamming device. Genocide stood among a hallway of bodies. He saw one man clinging to life trying to crawl away. He decided on trying that other thing he saw his master do. He grabbed the dying man and pinned him to the wall. Slowly he drove a knife into his chest. As the man's life slipped away, something else entered his body. Genocide channeled a small amount of his essence into the vessel. He had steadily done this with other casualties around the station whose bodies were somewhat salvageable. He dropped the body he was holding and looked upon the others. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his eyed were black, both sclera and iris. The scene before him changed. Genocide had a vision. He saw a dead gray wasteland littered with bodies. These people however weren't cops and wore traditional Japanese attire. In his hand wasn't a gun or knife but a short sickle akin to a farming tool. He heard a dark voice call out to him. Slowly, the corpses around him began to rise, now mere puppets bound eternally to their master's whim. The bodies sold to the reaper who had claimed their lives. Genocide's vision ended. His eyes had returned normal. Around him, dead cops began to rise. His dark essence had entered their bodies and reanimated them. He sent his dead army to attack the officers fleeing to the roof of the station. These zombies swarmed the stairwell giving chase to the few survivors. There were five of them. They had two flights of stairs to climb and a horde of their former colleagues close behind them. One officer tripped and was set upon by the horde. The zombies didn't bite them but held them firmly in place. The other four officers stared down wondering what to do. They could hear Genocide chuckling. They could hear humming. They could feel the temperature rising. Their colleague and the two zombies holding him were hit by an enormous green fireball. Genocide had fired a Magnum Opus and had charged the bullet to level 3. The Magnum Opus was simply a magnum that shot fireballs, with bullets that could be charged by holding down the trigger. It had three levels of charges. Level 1 was a small reddish ball of plasma. Level 2 was slightly larger and yellow. Level 3 was the maximum charge and resulted in a large slow moving green blast of energy. The officer was ignited and Genocide watched gleefully as the force of the blast sent him flying through a wall. The four officers continued up firing occasionally to slow down the zombies. Soon they made it to a door leading to the roof. Before one officer could reach it, he was sniped by Genocide, a bullet to the head killing him instantly. The remaining three made it out. They regrouped with the others already there, 12 in total, including Lary, Evans, and Gracia. This would be their final stand. They just had to hold out until Genocide made it up there. They just had to keep Genocide occupied until the helicopters arrived. Genocide slowly ascended the stairs behind his horde. On the roof, the remaining survivors faced off against waves of the undead. Evans recognized the attackers. These zombies were being controlled by nanomachines. He heard the stories of several weapons encountered by soldiers on the battlefield. These creatures were called Metaldeads as they were reanimated via machines. They had been officially banned by most of the worlds' governments for being unethical. However, this did not stop the technology from being spread still between shady organizations, terrorists, etc. Evans wondered how Genocide got this form of nanotechnology. Evans long speculated that the dark essence used by most of the killers they encountered was a a form of nanotech however it was different from anything else he had seen or heard about. The dark essence seemed to be an amalgamation of other types of nanotech. Evans had to save his inquiries for later. He reloaded his wristgun and took aim at the approaching group of Metaldeads. Gracia steadied her handgun and shot two Metaldeads in the head. From the single door countless arms seemed to spill forth from the darkness. The other officers took turns firing in intervals. this allowed them to create a steady stream of fire where no more that three guns needed to be reloaded at once. The horde seemed to thin out over time as if they were making progress. In actuality, the Metaldeads were just making room for Genocide to enter. Genocide exploded in a sprint from the door. Everyone fired upon the killer. Genocide had now chosen a wrist mounted mini flamethrower to use as his weapon. He stormed past the oncoming bullets taking some damage, but refused to slow down. He unleashed a stream of fire that caught five of the officers in one fell swoop. Gracia fired five rounds into Genocide's face. He stumbled back. Lary took the chance to fire several mine gun bullets at Genocide's feet. The mines quickly detected his movement and exploded. In seconds, Genocide was on his back.
Staring at the night sky Genocide saw the moon. He reached for it. He called for the darkness to give him more power. His wounds began healing. In the sky he could hear the whirl of propellers. There were six helicopters in total. The first two had evacuated the survivors while the others stayed to engage Genocide. Genocide got up and unstrapped the sniper rifle from his back. He stood before the searchlights as a black silhouette, cornered but unwilling to back down. Lary stared down at him smiling. "Okay!" He shouted, "Let's Tango!" Upon this declaration the second jamming device was activated. Now, isolated on the roof, Genocide's guns couldn't be fired and the helicopters were out of range of the device. Now Genocide stood like a sitting duck. A helicopter fired a rocket. Genocide side stepped and grabbed it. He turned his body redirecting the rocket to hit another helicopter. As it exploded Genocide drew his knife and threw it at another helicopter. Behind the knife was such force that it shattered the helicopter window's glass, embedding itself in the pilot. This helicopter too went down where it exploded. "Holy clucknuggets!Did you see that!?" Lary said dumbfounded. Evans looked out the helicopter door he was in jaw open in shock. "There's no way." He collected himself quickly and radioed the remaining two helicopters to keep moving and to use their machineguns as much as possible. The helicopters reigned down upon Genocide tearing apart his body. Shreds of leather and darkened blood sprayed across the pavement of the roof. Gracia watched as Genocide's body was destroyed repeatedly as it tried to heal. Surely he had to stop at some point. After 10 minutes the helicopters had exhausted their cache of ammunition and soldiers opted to fire their own rifles and occasionally throw grenades. After about six minutes, they too had run out of bullets. Genocide stood unfazed. He had long since healed himself and now appeared intangible with gunfire seeming to pass through his body. His coat once ripped , now appeared whole though on closer inspection seemed to writhe. Gracia looked in horror as she remembered the tales her adopted father had told her. Tales he had in turn heard from his predecessors. Every so often officers had reported encounters with ghost like beings cloaked in a cloud of living dark mist. The beings were rumored to be responsible for the deaths of multiple people ranging from scientists, veterans, mafia, politicians, etc. They were seen near such crime scenes and even more shockingly appeared around several sites where suicides were committed. These beings were reportedly impervious to bullets and filled anyone who got near with an impending sense of dread. If Genocide was connected to them or somehow turning into one , there was little chance they would be able to defeat him. Gracia's fears were confirmed when she saw that Genocide's leather coat had been destroyed and he had replaced it with the dark mist coalescing from his own spilled blood. The dark mist, swirling, grew larger and several tendrils sprouted out from it. Gracia could briefly make out a figure standing next to Genocide. A hooded figure cloaked in the same black substance. The figure stared up at her with soulless, blackened eyes which seemed to beckon her to jump from the aircraft she was standing in. Compelling her to give in to the death that plagued the earth. Genocide kneeled to his master. The Shinigami, Masataka stared down at his disciple. "You have done a great service to us. Even now the sealed god stirs in its slumber. Its...Awakening will soon be upon us. It calls out for war. It begs for famine. It longs to continue its conquest. We are the death it so desires. The death that is necessary for this civilization to grow. Use the power that I have bestowed upon you. Finish the mission as you see fit." The Shinigami vanished and Genocide stood.Genocide stared at his hands. He remembered the first killing spree. He was on a bus. It stopped. A woman got on the bus and walked to the back smiling as she passed him. Something about her eyes unnerved him. They were so bright but something dark reflected inside them. He ignored the thought and put in his headphones. In minutes he had dozed off. He jumped awake. He looked around and froze in panic. All around him, everyone had been hacked to pieces. He saw the driver, actively being stabbed by a masked assailant. The mask, painted white with black eyeholes, stared back at him. It raised a finger over where its lips would be. Even under the expressionless visage, he could feel that same smile. He ran home that morning. He went to his room to find it destroyed. His posters, his computer, his tv, everything, had been ruined. He turned around and saw a man at the end of the hallway holding a sledge hammer. "The hell you been, boy?", his stepdad sneered. The man dropped his hammer and walked closer, veins pulsing with rage. He tried to explain how his car had caught fire forcing him to walk 4 miles to the nearest bus stop, but the man's fist was faster than his words. "Boy!Answer me when I talk to you!!" the man says as he backhands the taste out of the would be Genocide's mouth. He took that beating for several minutes before being left to stare at his ransacked room. He hated how his stepdad went out of his way to destroy the things he loved. Soon, another set of footsteps could be heard. It was his mother standing behind his locked door. She didn't knock, or say anything. She just stood there, doing nothing as always. He never knew if she came to talk to him or apologize. All he knew was that she could never bring herself to speak to or even acknowledge him. Maybe out of guilt or perhaps shame. A year or two later after he had had enough he ran away from home. Living out on the streets alone, without friends, or family, he would embark on countless killing sprees. These killings weren't of his own volition however. He was coerced by some corrupt officers from The Unit. They made him kill on their behalf. Sometimes they were protesters, sometimes they were drug dealers, other times, petty criminals they couldn't be bothered to process. It was routine for him to be used to kill entire houses of drug riddled addicts. During one such venture he entered a drug den, killing the dealer as instructed. He took out several junkies before turning to leave. A woman who survived her injuries clung to his heel begging him to stop. Looking down he aimed the handgun he was carrying at her head of long disheveled brown hair and fired. Feeling nothing, he kicked her body aside like trash when it hit him. Her face. This woman had been his mother. What was she doing in a place like this? He felt a shock of emotion. He wondered if she had always been like this, or had she changed after he left. He never made amends, but decided to stop killing from then on. The unit did not like that. Once it became apparent that he was no longer of use to them they started a manhunt to apprehend him with lethal force. They found him. They killed him. But he survived.
He remembered the girl on the bus. He remembered her eyes. Those of a sadistic killer. Still there was something else inside them. Something faint but deeper. So. Much. Sadness. Just like him. He felt the hatred begin to spread. His purpose, he decided, was to make all humans rot in the hell they created for him.
These people, he thought to himself, these living diseases, all needed to die. Their struggles, their problems, they spread like cancer to others. The only cure for humanity's sin, its collective wrongdoings, was genocide.
Around him, dark tendrils continued to form and expand, spinning in a vortex. Genocide pulled out two pistols. He squeezed the triggers to no effect. "As I see fit, huh? Hehe." He squeezed both guns in his hands, breaking them into pieces. He concentrated. In his hands, two more guns materialized now completely black due to being forged from the dark essence. Forged by his will. Immune to the jamming device that shut down conventional firearms. He raised his arms at each remaining helicopter and opened fire. Countless tendrils whipped out and slashed at his targets joining the dark essence bullets. It was chaos. Dark tendrils and bullets tore through every direction as Genocide spun and swirled around in 360 degrees firing randomly with purpose. A tendril pierced Gracia's right arm, another, her abdomen. She was however, fortunate, as the other passengers of her helicopter were dismembered. She barely had time to jump from the vehicle before it crashed. She fell 2 yards onto solid concrete. She felt immense pain as her right shoulder shattered on impact. She looked up to see Genocide's blade like appendages ripping through the other escape helicopters. She rolled onto her back and tried to steady herself. Within seconds her body began to repair itself. The nanocells inside her had saved her life but were now depleted. She would need another supplement lest she receive another fatal injury. The standard nanocells she and the others had were much less potent than those of the killers they faced. In truth, they had only minimal strength boosts being able to lift 5-8 more pounds than before and healing being limited to one or two fatal injuries so long as death didn't occur instantly. Gracia blacked out. She awoke the next morning in a hospital. There the doctors refilled her nanocells. She learned that the station had been left in ruins. Genocide had detonated some type of minature nuke following his rampage. He always blew up the stations as if to send a message. Gracia looked out the window thinking about why she became a cop. Twice her family had been murdered by them. Her biological family had been killed in an on record drug raid committed by a group of corrupt officers called The Unit. She had been adopted by another officer that arrived at the scene who found her as a child hiding in a closed. Sadly, he too was killed for trying to expose the activities of The Unit. Gracia joined the force to avenge both losses and bring justice to the killers that disguised themselves as normal people. Law enforcement was neither good, nor bad. It depended upon the people that made it up. In the dying corrupt world Gracia lived in, she vowed to be a beacon of light. Evans laid in a bed adjacent to Lary. "That damn Genocide's somethin else in' he?Like the stories you told us were understatements. That man could legit not die at this point in the story. Like he has friggin plot armor or somthin.'' Evans cut him off" I get it. We all got our asses handed to us. But did you see that ..thing that appeared next to him. Right before he created that black vortex that wiped us out. That must have something to do with his power. Maybe there's a still a way to stop him."Lary chimed in," That fella looked like he was on the way to a black metal concert wit all the black facepaint he was wearin' Creeped me out to be honest." As the survivors mulled over their predicament, the cycle of evil continued to spread elsewhere.
Budley flips through the pages of a magazine. He checks his watch. He looks around the gas station and doesn't see any customers. Seizing the opportunity, he puts in his headphones and begins playing an imaginary guitar as he jams to a progressive deathcore album. Oblivious to the screams coming from outside, the store clerk moves on to thumping two candy bars on the counter to simulate drums. Budley sees that his shift has ended and begins locking up the store. He sweeps the aisles and jumps as a shadow appears behind him. He turns and sees a well groomed bearded man dressed in a black hoodie, black shirt, and black and gray camo pants. The man holds out his hand and smiles. Budley rings up the pack of nicotine substitute gum. "Tryin to kick the habit huh?" Budley asks. The man replies, "Somethin like that. Gotta get my priorities back in check. Focus on the things that really matter. That damn KonCreep's a hell of a band aren't they?" He nods to the playlist on Budley's phone. "Yeah, they're killer. just got into them a month back." Budley answers. "You know, I'm something of a musician myself. Maybe you'll hear of me on the news someday." Jim Jimenez says as he sees himself out. He walks to the back of the building and passes an ominous form of graffiti. A woman lays unmoving and above her, written on concrete in red is a message that simply says "Genocide Reigns".

My boyfriend and I have been together for about 12years. We have an 11year daughter together. We spent a good amount of our relationship in Hawaii and have moved and been living in Washington for over a year. In Washington they have what is called a committed intimate relationship law. I stayed home with the her when she was young and did college online with my GI bill and then when she was in school I attended college in person, partly for the income that I spent in the household. Now that shes older I have gone back to work, working two part time jobs while he has followed a career path in govt and makes more than enough to cover costs and I pay him half my monthly income about $1000 and cover about $500 a month in groceries, leaving me with about $100 a month in free money after gas, insurance, and her allowance.
The issue why I'm considering court is that anytime we argue and it doesn't come to a conclusion at that time he gets upset and has tried taking away access to the vehicles, at points locked me out of our shared bedroom, and has locked me out of the house at times. (Funny side note is that I kicked him out of our shared bedroom for the first time recently after he said I couldn't use the car to get to work on the morning, and he called the cops on me for not being willing to immediately give him his stuff in the room. The cops had us exchange the necessities).
Maybe I'm the asshole but I'm tired of this treatment and I don't even know if I would have a case given most of our relationship was in another state.

I wanted to track my progress and also maybe provide helpful insight for those looking to get surgery. I'll be updating this every few days.
SYMPTOMS/CONTEXT:
I 28f had a severe herniated disk at the l4/l5 disc since 2021 was working towards treatment in 2022 but lost my insurance at the new year of 2023 and went the entire year without seeing any doctors. In Dec of 2023 i was able to get a new job and back on the original insurance and pick up where i left off. At the time of my most recent MRI in Feb 2024 the herniation was described as severe causing severe stenosis and nerve impingement it measured 19x10x19mm. My symptoms continued to worsen to the point I was unable to do much of anything, sitting, standing, laying down all hurt, I barely slept because I'd be in severe pain from laying down within a few hours. I couldn't drive, I lost weight because I couldn't sit or stand long enough to cook and just laid in bed tossing and turning. I didn't shower, brush my hair, walk my dog, clean my house or go anywhere unless I absolutely had to. I could likely count the number of times I left my house between February and May on both hands. Pain was majority in my left side, hip and gluten, behind my knee and I had numbness in the front of my lower left leg and the top of my left foot. My right leg and foot had existing nerve damage because I have had this issue before from a snowboarding accident. I had existing numbness and weakness in the right leg which worsened to the point I couldn't wiggle my toes and had poor balance. I have saddle area numbness, urinary retention and incontinence and bowel incontinence when my stool is too soft. Again all of which worsened.
THE SURGERY:
I had surgery on May 9th, I was expected to be admitted for 1 day because my surgeon expected he would need to remove bone on the right side not just the left to get all the disc material. He was able to open me up on the left side and get everything out. However, my disc material had pressed my nerve into the bone and wore it very very thing and the dura tore causing a CSF leak. A neurosurgeon assisted in closing up the leak. My surgeon was impressed by the size of the herniation and took pictures to show me at our next post op appointment, saying my entire disc had essentally been blown out into the small space which was what was making my symptoms so bad, there was no room left for my nerve. There were no complications.
RECOVERY
DAY 1-5: I ended up having to lay flat for 48 hours due to the dural tear. After which I was allowed to sit up. The pain was mostly from soreness but I have having nerve pain that pulsed from my back into my glute. It would wake me up out of my drug induced sleep. I also ended up getting my period on the 2nd day which caused a lot of back soreness and cramping. I think a lot of my discomfort was due to being stuck in bed because PT and OT had not seen me and I wasn't able to leave the bed unattended. On day 3 I was able to get up and they removed my foley and the little leg wraps that fill with air to keep up with circulation. I was able to go to the bathroom and move pretty well with my cane around the room. This continued until day 5 where I was able to meet with PT and OT we walked the halls of the hospital and I was permitted to go home. The car ride was extremely uncomfortable. I was able to shower for the first time since the day before surgery using a shower chair and while difficult to not twist etc it was tolerable. The least painful shower ive had in almost 2 years. I found myself extremely sore by the end of day 5.
DAY 6: (05/14) as of this post this is my current day. I still have the throbbing pain but mostly this seems to be stirred up by movement. Mostly going from a laying down to sitting position. Though it does still randomly occur while I am laying down but not nearly as much. I'm about half way through the day and have found that laying on my right side is far more comfortable than my left side. I have tried sitting in a recliner and just leaning back but this seems to put too much pressure on my back and incision site so I have been mostly in bed or laying on my couch which is very firm and easy to get up and down from. I won't have anyone staying with me after today and I'm confident that I'll be able to handle things on my own. Other than the pain relief I have not noticed any improvement to the other symptoms I had, numbness, weakness etc remain the same.

I wanted to track my progress and also maybe provide helpful insight for those looking to get surgery. I'll be updating this every few days.
SYMPTOMS/CONTEXT:
I 28f had a severe herniated disk at the l4/l5 disc since 2021 was working towards treatment in 2022 but lost my insurance at the new year of 2023 and went the entire year without seeing any doctors. In Dec of 2023 i was able to get a new job and back on the original insurance and pick up where i left off. At the time of my most recent MRI in Feb 2024 the herniation was described as severe causing severe stenosis and nerve impingement it measured 19x10x19mm. My symptoms continued to worsen to the point I was unable to do much of anything, sitting, standing, laying down all hurt, I barely slept because I'd be in severe pain from laying down within a few hours. I couldn't drive, I lost weight because I couldn't sit or stand long enough to cook and just laid in bed tossing and turning. I didn't shower, brush my hair, walk my dog, clean my house or go anywhere unless I absolutely had to. I could likely count the number of times I left my house between February and May on both hands. Pain was majority in my left side, hip and gluten, behind my knee and I had numbness in the front of my lower left leg and the top of my left foot. My right leg and foot had existing nerve damage because I have had this issue before from a snowboarding accident. I had existing numbness and weakness in the right leg which worsened to the point I couldn't wiggle my toes and had poor balance. I have saddle area numbness, urinary retention and incontinence and bowel incontinence when my stool is too soft. Again all of which worsened.
THE SURGERY:
I had surgery on May 9th, I was expected to be admitted for 1 day because my surgeon expected he would need to remove bone on the right side not just the left to get all the disc material. He was able to open me up on the left side and get everything out. However, my disc material had pressed my nerve into the bone and wore it very very thing and the dura tore causing a CSF leak. A neurosurgeon assisted in closing up the leak. My surgeon was impressed by the size of the herniation and took pictures to show me at our next post op appointment, saying my entire disc had essentally been blown out into the small space which was what was making my symptoms so bad, there was no room left for my nerve. There were no complications.
RECOVERY
DAY 1-5: I ended up having to lay flat for 48 hours due to the dural tear. After which I was allowed to sit up. The pain was mostly from soreness but I have having nerve pain that pulsed from my back into my glute. It would wake me up out of my drug induced sleep. I also ended up getting my period on the 2nd day which caused a lot of back soreness and cramping. I think a lot of my discomfort was due to being stuck in bed because PT and OT had not seen me and I wasn't able to leave the bed unattended. On day 3 I was able to get up and they removed my foley and the little leg wraps that fill with air to keep up with circulation. I was able to go to the bathroom and move pretty well with my cane around the room. This continued until day 5 where I was able to meet with PT and OT we walked the halls of the hospital and I was permitted to go home. The car ride was extremely uncomfortable. I was able to shower for the first time since the day before surgery using a shower chair and while difficult to not twist etc it was tolerable. The least painful shower ive had in almost 2 years. I found myself extremely sore by the end of day 5.
DAY 6: (05/14) as of this post this is my current day. I still have the throbbing pain but mostly this seems to be stirred up by movement. Mostly going from a laying down to sitting position. Though it does still randomly occur while I am laying down but not nearly as much. I'm about half way through the day and have found that laying on my right side is far more comfortable than my left side. I have tried sitting in a recliner and just leaning back but this seems to put too much pressure on my back and incision site so I have been mostly in bed or laying on my couch which is very firm and easy to get up and down from. I won't have anyone staying with me after today and I'm confident that I'll be able to handle things on my own. Other than the pain relief I have not noticed any improvement to the other symptoms I had, numbness, weakness etc remain the same.