Current Events > Turning 30 on Friday, really stressed about it.

(+) Yeah! (+)

No degree. No savings. Cant afford school. Can only pay off cc through tax returns or stimulus.

I might have $100 per month after paying off my bills. Thats assuming theres no emergencies.

How can I fix this? Please help.

Just feel like a massive failure, who can barely keep his own house and car.


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Im not turning 30 yet but I feel like I'm a failure too. Idk what to do either :(

I guess the best you can do is start saving now.

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Are you attractive?

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Join the national guard.

What job do you have? Do you have any support from parents?

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Yeah maybe by next year Ill have another $100

in another decade, maybe Ill be able to afford a semester of trade school lol.

I get what youre saying, just feels hopeless.

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The first step is to visualize exactly where you want to be, not where you are.

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How the heck do you not have a degree or certification by now? You should've at least went to a trade school.
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dj1200 posted...

What job do you have? Do you have any support from parents?

I just do armed security.

good relationship with my parents, but its not like they can afford my bills. Nor should they have to.

The_Critic posted...

Join the national guard.

military didnt work out.

Im not looking for anything crazy, just dont want this cloud over my head.


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That sounds an awful lot like my situation when I turned 30. I didn't have much credit card debt though so I was able to pay it off quickly. what do you do for work and what state do you live in?

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Pull yourself up by the bootstraps

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lww99 posted...

No degree. No savings. Cant afford school. Can only pay off cc through tax returns or stimulus.

I might have $100 per month after paying off my bills. Thats assuming theres no emergencies.

How can I fix this? Please help.

Just feel like a massive failure, who can barely keep his own house and car.

Get 2 jobs, then learn a trade.

Hop103 posted...

How the heck do you not have a degree or certification by now? You should've at least went to a trade school.

I basically moved out the month after getting a shitty full time job.

ive been there ever since.

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BignutzisBack posted...

That sounds an awful lot like my situation when I turned 30. I didn't have much credit card debt though so I was able to pay it off quickly. what do you do for work and what state do you live in?

im in Ohio. I dont have a high amount of cc debt, its just consistent. Feels like it builds to 1k throughout the year. Every year lol

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FM088 posted...

Get 2 jobs, then learn a trade.

did that for years. 60 hour weeks. Didnt make much difference because I was only making min for the second job.

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do you have a house? you mentioned it in OP.

if not, if you have a car and a job you're definitely better off than some people right now. you are in a decent spot to turn things around if you prioritize what it is you need to do.

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berlyman101 posted...

do you have a house? you mentioned it in OP.

if not, if you have a car and a job you're definitely better off than some people right now. you are in a decent spot to turn things around if you prioritize what it is you need to do.

yeah, some people have it far worse. Im fortunate to have those things, be healthy, etc. I dont take it for granted

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Can you get a 2nd job for a while to build up some savings?

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Do you work full time because most places pay armed security decently unless you work for a really shitty company.

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Sounds like you need to find a higher paying job. No sense staying at one job if it's barely paying the bills.

And hey, don't freak out, 30 is still young (I'm 31). Plenty of time to make improvements.

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Yeah Ill probably have to.

just sucks. Im not looking to be a millionaire. Just want to make enough to not stress about this constantly.

hell, maybe even take a trip. Whats vacation? Never heard of it.

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NoxObscuras posted...

Sounds like you need to find a higher paying job. No sense staying at one job if it's barely paying the bills.

And hey, don't freak out, 30 is still young (I'm 31). Plenty of time to make improvements.

definitely need one. Just hard to find something paying more than $15 with no degree.

min wage is only $9 here.

RiKuToTheMiGhtY posted...

Do you work full time because most places pay armed security decently unless you work for a really shitty company.

my company pays $15. Others in my area pay like $12

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seems like in order to advance (start) a career you're going to need to learn some skill. are there any careers that sound appealing to you? do any trades sound appealing to you (ie electrician)? are you good in math / science because if so, you could self-teach programming?

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What does upward mobility at your company look like? Is there any way to climb up? Have you spoken to your manager about progression, next steps, etc?

How many hours a week do you work? Could you get a part time second job to help with paying for trade school?

I think I would enjoy carpentry tbh. I like working with my hands. Worked as a laborer for a contractor before.

just goes back to how do I afford it, how do I keep my head above water

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You should be making $18 or $20 an hour doing armed security, and any company trying to swindle you at $12 for armed is jot only ripping you off they do not give the slightest fuck about you.

Unarmed security goes from $11-14 an hour, sounds like you have a lot of shitty companies for armed work.

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Some people are late bloomers. Don't give up tc. Some of the most successful people on earth didn't make it till they hit their late 30's 40's, and even later.

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Cleo_II posted...

What does upward mobility at your company look like? Is there any way to climb up? Have you spoken to your manager about progression, next steps, etc?

How many hours a week do you work? Could you get a part time second job to help with paying for trade school?

pretty much topped out unless I got promoted to manager or something.

were being bought out by a company that pays their guards less.

used to get consistent overtime which helped, now I just work 40

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lww99 posted...

I think I would enjoy carpentry tbh. I like working with my hands. Worked as a laborer for a contractor before.

just goes back to how do I afford it, how do I keep my head above water

having an idea about where you want to go is the first step. before you spend anything on learning that trade, is it plausible? how much training will it take? what do salaries and job prospects in your area look like? there's probably a carpenter/carpentry subreddit out there where you can ask questions.

as for how to save, there are various ways to be frugal and save cash. try /r/frugal and /r/eatcheapandhealthy. set yourself a small but achievable goal each pay period and stick to it. slowly increase the amount you contribute as time goes on if possible.

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lww99 posted...

definitely need one. Just hard to find something paying more than $15 with no degree.

min wage is only $9 here.

my company pays $15. Others in my area pay like $12

I know I'm going to get a lot of flack for suggesting this on CE, but have you thought about becoming a police officer? If you're armed security, then you're already used to open carrying. And going by Google, the state average for officer's is higher than what you're making now.

You could also look into Water Treatment Jobs. You need to pass a certification exam (a lot of math), but they make good money too.

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lww99 posted...

pretty much topped out unless I got promoted to manager or something.

were being bought out by a company that pays their guards less.

used to get consistent overtime which helped, now I just work 40

Whats holding you back from getting promoted? Talk to your boss about it.

Do some research on carpentry and want it would take. How much it would cost, how much youd need to save. It may take time but say you put in the work for a year or two, the payoff might be more than worth it.

My husband went to a community college and picked up some programming classes. He was already in IT but learning to code was a path to something more. It was really tough on us for a year, he worked so hard between a full time job and school and hardly had time. But he got promoted at work and is making 45k more than when they first hired him.

randy_123r posted...

Learn programming on the side. Youtube tutorials, etc. Create a portfolio, then mass apply. Although degree definitely helps, you don't truly need one.

wouldnt they just take someone with a degree instead?

what kind of programming/portfolio?

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Honestly not great with math or science, but I could try to pick it up. Not trying to be self deprecating, just the truth.

if I could do anything I wanted, strictly for my own happiness.... Id love to be involved animals or be involved with mma somehow.

the latter definitely isnt happening but I can dream

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dude, i'd say you're in a decent position

what you feel like you haven't got right yet, only comes in your 30's. mostly from what i read. your 20's is the time in your life when you're still figuring shit out. do your research and plan the next few years

compared to 95% of CE you're in a good place. plus you're a great guy so that helps

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lww99 posted...

Honestly not great with math or science, but I could try to pick it up. Not trying to be self deprecating, just the truth.

if I could do anything I wanted, strictly for my own happiness.... Id love to be involved animals or be involved with mma somehow.

the latter definitely isnt happening but I can dream

fight animals in mma matches!!

I kid. What about veterinarian assistant ?


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Sorry about... Everything

But 31 is better than 30

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It's never too late to get started on a career. Avoid liabilities like credit card debt, new vehicles, etc. Just concentrate on what you want to do and start stacking your bread. There are people that are 10-15 years into their careers and still have financial issues because of mismanagement. Once you start building a nest egg for yourself you'll feel a much needed relief.

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NoxObscuras posted...

I know I'm going to get a lot of flack for suggesting this on CE, but have you thought about becoming a police officer? If you're armed security, then you're already used to open carrying. And going by Google, the state average for officer's is higher than what you're making now.

You could also look into Water Treatment Jobs. You need to pass a certification exam (a lot of math), but they make good money too.

this is actually a pretty solid suggestion. being a cop is totally a viable career and, as stated, you probably already have experience in a way.

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Looks like vet techs make around the same. But theres at least room to grow.

Giant_Aspirin posted...

this is actually a pretty solid suggestion. being a cop is totally a viable career and, as stated, you probably already have experience in a way.

Unfortunately that was my first choice. Thats actually how I got into security.


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lww99 posted...

Looks like vet techs make around the same. But theres at least room to grow.

Unfortunately that was my first choice. Thats actually how I got into security.

any reason you cant apply again?

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the main thing is that your commission expires. If you dont find anything within 2 years of graduation, its back to square 1.

cost me 7k and have nothing to show for it. Hard to want to do it again.


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Just remember you still have a lot of life left ahead of you

make the changes you want and dont worry if you havent reached some arbitrary benchmark by some arbitrary time

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Just keep pursuing your interests, even if they change. Life is full of ups and downs, if you fail then just gotta keep going. It sucks, but the world will not wait for you, me, or anyone.

What about insurance sales? My brother has no degree and now makes close to 200k (Canadian) going from the bottom to managing two branches and teams. He works for one of the big companies.

I believe agents start around 40-60k but not 100% sure.

I don't recommend this off the bat but remote customer service jobs are viable without a degree. you'd need one to advance worth a damn in most companies but if you're looking for a second gig and can write a good email it might be a way in. I have seen people with stable jobs get in, it's just a very different form of stress management dealing with customers and managers on a daily basis.

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Starting at 40k would be huge for me tbh. Ill check into that

berlyman101 posted...

I don't recommend this off the bat but remote customer service jobs are viable without a degree. you'd need one to advance worth a damn in most companies but if you're looking for a second gig and can write a good email it might be a way in. I have seen people with stable jobs get in, it's just a very different form of stress management dealing with customers and managers on a daily basis.

this would be good too, Ive always had good customer service


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I just want to say that this is a heart-warming topic because everyone is eager to help TC. And it's lovely to see something positive on CE rather than just garbage.

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im 33 and i just now got a job that can actually put us in the black every month.

you can do it TC. dont give up. when i was 30 i was down in the dumps about my finances too. i was being paid peanuts for a shitty job i hated.

it gets better i promise. just dont give into despair. make changes and commit to them. improve yourself and your outlook. the good times will come if you let them.

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And yeah youre doing fine. I switched careers at around 30. My husband took those classes in his late 40s. Its never too late to figure shit out and make the right changes.