Had two kids since 2020. Had a small amount of debt (~8k) & 0 savings. Incurred more during Covid (An additional ~20k between the two of us) largely due to being furloughed, her making less while on mat leave & a cross country move. Got recalled to work. Decided to start investing in hopes of eventually capitalizing on the current market. Goal was to have enough for a down-payment in a few years.
Since June, managed to invest ~9k. Did tons of DD. Enjoyed it all. My ADHD made it all exciting, and addictive. It genuinely felt good knowing I was finally being an “adult”, despite being in my early 30s.
Our bare monthly expenses (Rent, car, insurances, phone & internet bills, electricity, daycare) +/- $750 for food / formula / diapers is ~$4200
Household income is roughly 150k a year.
Realization set in once I stopped & realized I alone am paying MONTHLY $500 towards credit cards, $400 towards a loan and ~$300 for financing for furniture we needed.
Sold pretty much everything, thankfully only took about a $300 loss. Still holding on to about 2.5k worth of Amazon ($120 avg/share ) because the red number I'm seeing right now hurts my soul.
I feel conflicted. One hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the short lived experience. 8/10, will do again.
On the other hand, I feel stupid. I wasted money, time and I knew deep inside paying my debts was the right & smarter choice from the very begining. It's just hard throwing money at a debt mountain that seemingly never goes down.
Thankfully, small sums of money. Going to be focused on getting the highest interest accounts to 0 & improving the credit scores in the process.
TLDR; Don't ever listen to Reddit for investing advice, unless it involves paying off your debts first.
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