My Sims Realm

Ann | 30s | Happily Married | Dog Lover, Unflirty, Glutton | Content rated T, just like the games.

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Making a post in hopes Tumblr will quit saying I have a notification.

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Who is still here?

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Crawling out of the abyss just for a second to post this.

The actual death count is not yet known.

This is honestly the epitome of how American workers are treated: Your job > everything else.

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Three years ago I never would have imagined the nightmare that is the world.

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Richards, Family of 3

Generate your own random family here.

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Inviting you all to join the -bask Discord server.  We do sims stuff and talk about just about everything.

It was my week to make up a Sims challenge; I’ll post the results of that later, because I found it quite fun, and I know not everyone loves Discord.

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Hello.

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Anyone have suggestions for free online education? I need to improve in bookkeeping for my job, but they no longer will pay for college courses as some former employees have abused that program.

I’m not looking to shell out a bunch of money just to be more comfortable at work; community college courses run about $600 and I don’t have a flexible schedule.

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I’ve been deeply contemplating the US government and the future of myself and my family within that context. Probably going to elaborate (read, ‘vent’) later.

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I’m back.

Starting this with a disclaimer:  I am speaking from a place of privilege.  It is my belief that the problems I’m about to rant about not only apply to me, but also to those groups that have much greater burdens (LGBTQ+, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, first generation immigrants, neurodiverse... I’m sure I’m leaving some groups out and for that I apologize.)

I’m also using this platform rather than Facebook because I think people here may relate to where I am coming from rather than shaming me and telling me to pull myself up by my bootstraps.

I am thankful for the fact that I have been able to maintain employment during the unprecedented times we are all experiencing.  I am frankly working my tail off.  I work for two small businesses and I have been on the clock 40+ hours, 5-6 days a week since 2021 has started.  In my state, the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour is accepted.  I am lucky to make $15/hour.  (I know it’s taboo to state your wage, but I guess I don’t care anymore).  It is very common in my area for starting pay to be $7.25/hr and top out around $10/hr after training and a few years in the same company.  Employers say they cannot pay more, even though some of them want to. That doesn’t really take away the impact of seeing how little an hour of your life is worth. I am tired.  And I have little to show for it.

Or don’t I?  Society tells me that someone at the boarder of the working and middle classes should live like sitcom families.  It’s a lie.  I have a roof over my head and food in my belly.  That’s what counts.  The major problem is that some lots and lots of people do not.  And apparently the US government thinks that’s okay.

All of this toil has led me to research personal finance. If we can’t earn more money then it’s time to cut expenses. One major expense category is medical. The US is stingy with its healthcare, that’s well-known.  I had a friend who works in insurance quote me for a high-deductible medical insurance plan.  $250 a month, after Biden’s work to reduce the cost.  And so, like many others in the 20-30 yo age, we generally avoid the doctor.  Also okay, right?

Finally (and this one has me raging because so few people even realize this problem exists), government sponsored retirement, i.e. Social Security. Most Americans working in the private sector (non-government jobs) have a required deduction from their pay checks called FICA. This money is indexed for inflation and invested. But the money collected from those working now is mostly paid out to those already in retirement. This money is expected to be exhausted in the early 2030s. Social Security payments are really only meant to provide 40% of a person’s living expenses in retirement anyway. That’s a fact not taught in schools. And so as people sell year after year of their youth and middle age and finally reach age 65 (this age limitation may be lowered, soon), they have a major lifestyle cut to face. What else isn’t taught in schools? How to invest with limited risk and make up that extra 60%. Savings accounts don’t actually keep up with inflation anymore, so you might as well bury whatever part of your income you can save as to try that method. The end result is increased poverty and homelessness among the elderly. COMPLETELY NOT OKAY!

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for ‘listening’. I’ve had a lot of anxiety over these issues and sometimes I feel very alone in that. I would love to hear your thoughts.

[greenfooddog]

I’ve been deeply contemplating the US government and the future of myself and my family within that context. Probably going to elaborate (read, ‘vent’) later.

[greenfooddog]

Hello.

When US tax season ends (May 17) I hope to get to play again and post some sims stuff.

I started a Nancy Drew game, Midnight in Salem, about three weeks ago. I’m about 1/24 done with it. Beautiful game, really. I may try to stream the next time I play.

Hope everyone is out there living their best life. Take care of your health. 💚

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Planning my early retirement: France or Spain?

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I miss games coming in a box with a physical DVD-Rom.

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Kind of feel like a quitter.  I really want to just abandon all of my saves.  

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P.S.  How do I clean up a save without injuring my brain?  I have 5+ generations of townie spawn running amok and I hate to end their family lines and just delete them, but I also hate having such a horribly full and messy save?  I want to just build a sim arc and ferry all the ones I play to a new, clean save where I haven’t destroyed the builds and there’s not all kinds of wildness going on.  

Relatable?

This game is overwhelming.

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Kind of feel like a quitter.  I really want to just abandon all of my saves.  

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More real convos with my mom.