gala_water's recent activity

  1. Comment on Help with web accessibility problem for screen readers - ARIA in ~comp

    gala_water
    Link
    Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. I have reworked my code based on your feedback and on some examples I found on the "a11y" website recommended to me earlier, all ideas more...

    Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. I have reworked my code based on your feedback and on some examples I found on the "a11y" website recommended to me earlier, all ideas more elegant than what I was doing.

    I realized that the way I was using the anchor tags before was the issue and not anchor tags in general. I am still using <li> elements but with <a> tags inside. I have a lot more JS than I did before, but the HTML is much lighter, which is more important for my team because not all of our writers who would be interacting with the HTML are super technical or familiar with ARIA. I have kept it close to the a11y version with only minor modifications so that it's easier for me to maintain.

    It seems that we have gotten it more or less working. I am very glad that our documentation can be fully accessible now. I can only imagine how difficult it is for non-sighted people to use web resources and I am pleased that we can make that less frustrating. The next step will be to do some user testing to smooth out the edge cases.

  2. Help with web accessibility problem for screen readers - ARIA

    ~comp Text 922 words
    I'm attempting to make my company's online software documentation ADA-accessible. We have several JavaScript elements that are currently not accessible to a screen reader. The one I'm working on...

    I'm attempting to make my company's online software documentation ADA-accessible. We have several JavaScript elements that are currently not accessible to a screen reader. The one I'm working on is a set of tabs that show/hide content depending on which one you click. I am trying to use ARIA tags to make the tabs accessible. I have based my code off of this page, with some modifications. Namely, they use <a> tags as the active element and I do not want to use <a> tags.

    While I'm able to get the tabs to work fine for me (a sighted person), testing with a screen reader shows mixed results. I can get the tabs to work using the Windows Narrator screen reader on Microsoft Edge in Windows 10, but not Chrome or Firefox in Windows 11. In those configurations, it is impossible to switch tabs. (I haven't tested every possible permutation, but it's probably a browser issue.) I don't know why this is happening because I have set up all my ARIA tags, and it does work on Edge.

    Can anyone help me understand what I'm doing wrong so I can debug the issue and improve the code? Requirements are:

    • The first tab must be selected (showing content) by default. Other tab content must be hidden by default, except the tab button to click on
    • Sighted users must be able to navigate between tabs by clicking on the tab headers via mouse
    • Visually impaired users must be able to navigate between tabs via keyboard/screen reader
    • The presence, function, and usage of the tabs must be clear to the screen reader
    • I do not want to use an <a> tag nested in the <li> as the active element because this causes the page to jump around when sighted users click on it. I would like the entire "button" (right now, the <li> tag) to be clickable.
    • Must work on all/most common browsers and popular operating systems

    I suspect this is a JS issue, but I'm at a loss here and I don't know how to proceed.

    Click to view HTML 
    <ul class="tabs-list" role="tablist">
    <li class="tab current" aria-controls="example-1" aria-selected="true" href="#example-1" id="tab-example-1" role="tab">Example 1</li>
    <li class="tab" aria-controls="example-2" aria-selected="false" href="#example-2" id="tab-example-2" role="tab">Example 2</li>
    <li class="tab" aria-controls="example-3" aria-selected="false" href="#example-3" id="tab-example-3" role="tab">Example 3</li>
</ul>

<div aria-labelledby="tab-example-1" class="tab-panel current" id="example-1" role="tabpanel">
    <p>Example 1 content goes here</p>
</div>

<div aria-labelledby="tab-example-2" class="tab-panel hidden" id="example-2" role="tabpanel">
    <p>Example 2 content goes here</p>
</div>

<div aria-labelledby="tab-example-3" class="tab-panel hidden" id="example-3" role="tabpanel">
    <p>Example 3 content goes here</p>
</div>
    Click to view CSS 
    ul.tabs-list {
	margin-left: 2px;
	margin-right: 2px;
	padding: 0px;
	list-style: none;
	position: relative;
    line-height: 8pt;
}

ul.tabs-list:after
{
	position: absolute;
	content: "";
	width: 100%;
	bottom: 0;
	left: 0;
	border-bottom: 1px solid #ddd;
}

ul.tabs-list li {
	color: #333;
	display: inline-block;
	padding: 10px 10px;
	cursor: pointer;
	position: relative;
	z-index: 0;
}

ul.tabs-list li.current {
	background: #fff;
	color: #d9232e;
	border-top: 1px solid #ddd;
	border-bottom: 0px solid white;
	border-left: 1px solid #ddd;
	border-right: 1px solid #ddd;
	z-index: 100;
}
 
ul.tabs-list li:hover {
	background: #c2c2c2;
	color: #000;
	display: inline-block;
	padding: 10px 10px;
	cursor: pointer;
	border: 1px solid transparent;
}

ul.tabs-list li.current:hover {
	background: #fff;
	color: #d9232e;
	margin-left: 0px;
	border-top: 1px solid #ddd;
	border-bottom: 1px solid transparent;
	border-left: 1px solid #ddd;
	border-right: 1px solid #ddd;
	z-index: 2;
}

div.tab-panel {
	display: none;
	background: #ededed;
	padding: 15px;
	background-color: transparent;
}

div.tab-panel.current {
	display: inherit;
}
    Click to view JavaScript 
    $(function(){
  var index = 0;
  var $tabs = $('li.tab');

  $tabs.bind(
  {
    // on keydown,
    // determine which tab to select
    keydown: function(ev){
      var LEFT_ARROW = 37;
      var UP_ARROW = 38;
      var RIGHT_ARROW = 39;
      var DOWN_ARROW = 40;

      var k = ev.which || ev.keyCode;

      // if the key pressed was an arrow key
      if (k >= LEFT_ARROW && k <= DOWN_ARROW){
        // move left one tab for left and up arrows
        if (k == LEFT_ARROW || k == UP_ARROW){
          if (index > 0) {
            index--;
          }
          // unless you are on the first tab,
          // in which case select the last tab.
          else {
            index = $tabs.length - 1;
          }
        }

        // move right one tab for right and down arrows
        else if (k == RIGHT_ARROW || k == DOWN_ARROW){
          if (index < ($tabs.length - 1)){
            index++;
          }
          // unless you're at the last tab,
          // in which case select the first one
          else {
            index = 0;
          }
        }

        // trigger a click event on the tab to move to
        $($tabs.get(index)).click();
        ev.preventDefault();
      }
    },

    // just make the clicked tab the selected one
    click: function(ev){
      index = $.inArray(this, $tabs.get());
      setFocus();
      ev.preventDefault();
    }
  });

  var setFocus = function(){
    // undo tab control selected state,
    // and make them not selectable with the tab key
    // (all tabs)
    $tabs.attr(
    {
      tabindex: '-1',
      'aria-selected': 'false'
    });

    // hide all tab panels.
    $('.tab-panel').removeClass('current');

    // make the selected tab the selected one, shift focus to it
    $($tabs.get(index)).attr(
    {
      tabindex: '0',
      'aria-selected': 'true'
    }).focus();

    // handle <li> current class (for coloring the tabs)
    $($tabs.get(index)).siblings().removeClass('current');
    $($tabs.get(index)).addClass('current');

    // add a current class also to the tab panel
    // controlled by the clicked tab
    $("#"+$($tabs.get(index)).attr('aria-controls')).addClass('current');
  };
});
    12 votes

  3. Comment on I skipped to the ending in ~life

    gala_water
    Link Parent
    I remember having such a high opinion of Google as a student. (The jokes were about IBM.) Though I've not worked there, it's disappointing to watch a place you admire become...

    I remember having such a high opinion of Google as a student. (The jokes were about IBM.) Though I've not worked there, it's disappointing to watch a place you admire become entrenched/unproductive.

    The company I work for sounds a lot like the author's first Silicon Valley startup. There's a healthy and transparent culture, people are engaged, and my colleagues are great. Coincidentally I also happened to work alongside the project founder for a year or two. The longer I stay, the less I want to leave! Articles like this make me appreciate what I have and temper the (financial) allure of a mature company for sure.

    It's pretty hard to turn down oodles of cash though. o_O I work to pay the bills mostly, and can find engaging tasks outside of software... civic or social volunteering mainly, that sort of thing.... I would have few qualms being paid to do nothing. I feel like most jobs I've had involve a lot of doing nothing, even the fun ones.

    9 votes

  4. Requesting info/experiences: software engineering and web documentation for the blind/low-vision

    ~comp Text 276 words
    I'm a technical writer. My company sells DevOps software mostly operated on the command line. I'm responsible for explaining this software via HTML5 documentation on our website. One of our...

    I'm a technical writer. My company sells DevOps software mostly operated on the command line. I'm responsible for explaining this software via HTML5 documentation on our website.

    One of our largest customers employs at least one software developer who is "totally blind" and requires a screen reader to work. I assume others exist, but they have not contacted us. Unfortunately, our website is not 100% ADA-compliant. It's far from the worst I've seen, but it could be a lot better.

    I'm familiar with high-level web accessibility paradigms and am currently doing an informal audit of our website to determine what we need to improve to make it fully ADA-compliant. I've prioritized discovery for accessibility concerns in our next sprint. Eventually, I'd like to look into hiring a consultant to do a more robust analysis, but only if necessary because I'd need to request funding. Unfortunately, I have limited control over the text that displays in our product, just the documentation. Long-term, I'd like to collaborate with the product team to ensure our CLI is fully ADA-compliant.

    I've begun reading web accessibility materials from the government. In the meantime, I wanted to ask: are any of you blind or low-vision, or have you used screen readers in the past? Or do you know any blind/low-vision devs? Either way, can you provide any personal insight into any of the things I can do as a technical writer to improve the usability of software documentation for the purpose of enabling you to do your job? My goal is to make the documentation experience great for screen reader users, not just OK.

    18 votes

  5. Comment on What field do you work? And do you love your work and workplace? in ~talk

    gala_water
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Yeah, technical writing. Social interaction varies. I think this role strongly benefits from having soft skills, but it's suitable for introverted people. Typing up a document isn't necessarily...

    Yeah, technical writing. Social interaction varies. I think this role strongly benefits from having soft skills, but it's suitable for introverted people. Typing up a document isn't necessarily collaborative, but the planning and review processes can be. As an individual contributor, you'll mostly be working independently, maybe with some pair programming for tooling upgrades. As a team lead, fairly extensive communication is necessary with other departments to ensure you're aligned on product usage and marketing.

    My team is pretty small: rarely more than 4–5 writers including the lead. We keep style and technical reviews asynchronous by default. We're also fortunate to have a semi-dedicated QA tester who we can ask technical questions (while writing) and have do user acceptance testing (after peer review). Still, it's sometimes easier to chat with a subject matter expert live, especially if you need them to demonstrate a feature or help you with software configuration. If you're an SME yourself, you'll require minimal external input.

    As an IC, it's my goal to attend as few meetings as possible. We have a 15-minute standup 3x/week, a short planning meeting 2–3x/week or as needed, and I passively attend some quick engineering standups to keep in touch. That might be an hour a day total, most of which is listening and being visible. Occasionally, I'm looped into a cross-team meeting to provide docs input (usually the team lead does this, but sometimes they want my opinion). Those meetings aren't frequent, but they are important.

    Would you say your control over this is tied to your field, or your company?

    A bit of both? I think the software industry is fairly relaxed in general, though it depends on the company. Mine is relatively small, with hints of the "many hats" mentality but also an informal culture. It's certainly possible to remain an individual contributor your whole career, though some experienced ICs in technical writing end up doing consulting work because it can be more lucrative/flexible. I've observed some professional pressures for great ICs to go into management, but some of it is also internal pressure or self-expectations. My boss has never explicitly told me that "this is your career path," but rather "if you want to explore new/additional positions or responsibilities, talk to me and we can work on it." But tech is less relaxed if you're in charge of things.

    Personally, my dilemma is that I would like to retire at some point and that requires a lot of money. That's the only reason I would ever consider changing roles, because this is a great gig for me. I can show up, work, and not stress about the project – because I'm an effective/competent IC. While I enjoy mentoring people, I don't like managing them; and while I'm happy to be more involved with architectural plans and some cross-team collaboration, I don't want to be personally responsible for dealing with departmental politics. I'm less good at that. Unfortunately, the line is blurry and it would be easy to start doing the parts I like but end up doing the parts I don't. And once I have the golden handcuffs on, it might be hard to go back.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on What field do you work? And do you love your work and workplace? in ~talk

    gala_water
    Link Parent
    Documentation is a thing of beauty and I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. It's great that you're taking that initiative! Internal documentation has different requirements than...

    Documentation is a thing of beauty and I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. It's great that you're taking that initiative! Internal documentation has different requirements than public-facing docs, so the ideal tooling varies. It starts with getting it all out of brains and into writing. Beyond that, if your project's docs needs scale significantly, you'd probably want to look into a more robust content authoring tool like MadCap Flare to minimize technical debt. There are several alternatives, some better than others.

    It's valuable to develop a strong architecture and style guide for your documentation – the earlier the better. It's a best practice to revisit each of these periodically.

    The docs system I work with was originally a scattering of notes on the original open-source codebase, a developer's pet project. Over the years, various contributors expanded/updated docs for their use-cases, but there was no oversight or architectural plan even when the company was formalized. Then a different team separately wrote Confluence docs for a fork of that product, and then the GitHub docs and some (oof) of the Confluence docs got moved over to a new system, and then three or four sets of managers and consultants each gave it a spin. So the project is flavored by a lot of history: well-meaning writers, incompatible perspectives, and half-finished initiatives.

    While these people each meaningfully improved the docs, they could only do so much without developing a real information architecture. It's challenging to do a retroactive content audit on a corpus of more than a couple hundred topics. There's an implicit flow to documentation, including the navigational organization of the files, the way they're cross-referenced, and the way they split up information both internally (scope) and across different topics (hierarchy). This framing/structure informs the way customers understand your product and the problems they repeatedly run into; even if a docs system is comprehensive, it may not be usable.

    There is a short, cute book called Docs for Developers: An Engineer’s Field Guide to Technical Writing that talks about approaches (both grand and fine) to consider when planning a documentation system. I think it is a great intro to technical writing, and well-suited to an audience of developers. If the docs are a barrier to productivity, it might be worth doing a "book club" with your team.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on What field do you work? And do you love your work and workplace? in ~talk

    gala_water
    Link Parent
    Can you talk more about software reverse engineering? What does a reversing team do? Is this primarily a matter of analyzing an existing codebase for security flaws, or are you doing something...

    Can you talk more about software reverse engineering? What does a reversing team do? Is this primarily a matter of analyzing an existing codebase for security flaws, or are you doing something more specialized?

  8. Comment on What field do you work? And do you love your work and workplace? in ~talk

    gala_water
    Link
    I write software documentation. My company offers enterprise DevOps tools. I communicate with product, engineering, and customer-facing teams to architect and write materials that explain our...

    I write software documentation. My company offers enterprise DevOps tools. I communicate with product, engineering, and customer-facing teams to architect and write materials that explain our software. To maintain the docs, we use special content authoring tools to organize content and reduce duplication/manual updates.

    I enjoy my work well enough. It exposes me to many different ways of thinking - it covers so many topics and the use-cases are varied. Docs are often forgotten until some misleading statement breaks a customer's workflow: then it's all hands on deck. So a certain part of my job, even though I am an individual contributor, is political/social: remaining visible so that other teams give proactive feedback.

    The job is fully remote and my colleagues are pleasant. It has healthcare/options and generous PTO. It pays relatively well - but engineering has a higher ceiling. I have considered switching to a more lucrative position. However I am rather good at this job and it is easy for me. I have a career path forward here as a more experienced IC or maybe the team lead. I'm unsure if I want the additional responsibility.

    I've always wanted to do nonprofit work, but I struggle to extricate myself from the compensation and flexibility of the software industry. Or perhaps I really just want a 4-day work week and volunteer the extra day, but I wouldn't know how to negotiate that without a 20% salary cut, which is imprudent at my age... maybe.

    18 votes

  9. Comment on A brief thought on “prestigious” employers and “career downgrades” in ~talk

    gala_water
    Link Parent
    It's worth pointing out that pension funds invest heavily in the market. Pension fund managers are interested in other asset classes too, but the equity securities in a pension fund aren't...

    It's worth pointing out that pension funds invest heavily in the market. Pension fund managers are interested in other asset classes too, but the equity securities in a pension fund aren't significantly different from those in a typical 401k plan. Regardless, the market index is up in 80% of years and is always up over a 15+ year period. As far as long-term investment strategies go, the risk is pretty manageable. It's mostly a matter of whether you can psychologically stomach short-term volatility. Nothing wrong with that not being your thing; there are plenty of less volatile alternatives, albeit usually with slightly lesser returns.

    But I agree with your comment. The point at which you become financially independent enough to have real security is more related to your ability to live frugally and flexibly than your income per se. (The higher the income, the more we're tempted to spend extravagantly. Few can truly resist.) I keep a daily journal and I've consistently found that although my worst days tend to be related to problems at work, my best days are virtually always related to social interaction with friends/family, art, music, or spirituality. For me, a great day at work is only an OK day overall. But when work is consuming my life, boy does it ever dominate my headspace.

    If I can reduce the stress that my work causes me and still get by relatively comfortably, I'm perfectly happy. I don't need a gilded mansion or a luxury vehicle. But I do need my friends.

    4 votes

  10. Comment on With rising costs of just about everything, what are some frugal things you do to save some cash? in ~life

    gala_water
    Link
    I like these tips. Potlucks in particular are a great way to synchronize your goals: save money while having a nice social time with your friends. It's not just about "making sacrifices"! I also...

    I like these tips. Potlucks in particular are a great way to synchronize your goals: save money while having a nice social time with your friends. It's not just about "making sacrifices"! I also love your advice to mend instead of buy, and to redecorate by moving things instead of buying new.

    Housing and transportation are almost always going to be people's greatest expenses. To me, frugality means taking a look at the "big items" first and worrying about couponing second. In my opinion, a mindset that encourages you to acquire and retain material possessions encourages you to live an expensive lifestyle. You need a larger house to store all that stuff, which costs a lot of money and also tends to encourage a desire to justify the purchase via external validation (which snowballs into wanting more expensive accoutrements). A larger house at a particular price point usually means one farther from population centers, which means higher vehicle/transportation costs. All of this amounts to mortgage and auto loans far higher than what is properly necessary to live a fulfilling life.

    So, personally, what has helped me the most on my journey toward financial independence has been recognizing that I don't need to live a consumerist lifestyle and I don't need to take on unnecessary debt. If I can cut my fixed costs in half by living more lightweight than the average person, then I don't need to spend as much brainpower going to six grocery stores a week or debating which razors to buy. In addition to saving me a lot of money, I find that it makes my life simpler and easier to manage.

    14 votes

  11. Comment on Age that kids acquire mobile phones not linked to well-being, says Stanford Medicine study in ~health.mental

    gala_water
    Link Parent
    I read the article! I'm familiar with the process, just also familiar with similarly proportioned and supposedly comprehensive studies on other subjects that have been later proven incomplete at...

    I read the article!

    I'm familiar with the process, just also familiar with similarly proportioned and supposedly comprehensive studies on other subjects that have been later proven incomplete at best, disproven at worst (recognizing the irony in this sentence, I use these words loosely). "Health" and particularly "mental health" involves a lot of factors that are literally impossible to control for considering they're interior.

    My takeaway from most research like this is that a given factor may not influence a particular outcome "in general," but that doesn't mean it isn't still an active factor in a way the study inherently can't recognize.

    4 votes

  12. Comment on What are your financial goals? What habits, practices, and strategies do you use to reach them? in ~finance

    gala_water
    Link Parent
    My industry (tech) is so volatile that I can't help but want financial independence. It's scary that I'm 100% dependent on a single company for my income. I'm considering doing some freelance work...

    My industry (tech) is so volatile that I can't help but want financial independence. It's scary that I'm 100% dependent on a single company for my income.

    I'm considering doing some freelance work on Upwork or Fiverr, but I can't tell if these websites are actually worth my time. I'm good at what I do, but I don't know how I'd stand out. There are so many people doing the same thing, and marketing/self-advertising is unfortunately not one of my skills. :(

    I believe that I'll retire one day, if nothing else because dividends will probably continue even if prices go flat. I suspect we know little about economics as a species, and future research will reveal ways to generate more value on fewer resources. I doubt we're hitting a wall there within 50 years at least. I'm not certain though.

    People talk to me about FIRE/early retirement, but I don't know if I'd enjoy that. Realistically, all my buddies would still be grinding at the office. It would be a lonely life.

    I have some interest in "value investing" in stocks (Peter Lynch, Joel Greenblatt, Warren Buffet-esque stuff), simply because I believe most people have no clue what they're doing at any time in investing and I might have some clue if I actually bother to learn some boring formulas. But I think technical/statistical modeling of this stuff can only get me so far considering I'm just one person and Berkshire Hathaway probably has a bunch of supercomputers.

    My employer surprised me today by giving me a 6% performance raise (compared to everyone else's 0% "the economy is in shambles" raise). It's not actually a raise because inflation this year was closer to 7%, but it makes me more confident in my job stability. Still, I'm not bursting with joy. It's been more like "Oh, OK. Thanks. Huh. I guess I'll buy an extra thing of blueberries." This makes me wonder if achieving my financial pipe dream would actually make me happy. The more I think about it, the more I think it wouldn't.

    I'm not sure what would make me happiest. I like to help people, so I've always wanted to start a non-profit. But I don't think running an organization would actually make me happy either. It's too abstract. Same with donations to existing charities. I guess I'll do it anyway, but it still begs a question of futility.

    2 votes

  13. Comment on Age that kids acquire mobile phones not linked to well-being, says Stanford Medicine study in ~health.mental

    gala_water
    Link
    I don't know if 250 is a sample size I'm comfortable making that decision on. Still, it wouldn't be surprising to me that a greater impact on children's well-being is the training their parents...

    I don't know if 250 is a sample size I'm comfortable making that decision on. Still, it wouldn't be surprising to me that a greater impact on children's well-being is the training their parents give them on the internet, their health, and self-discipline in general... not whether they have a phone. One day, they'll get it, and one day, they'll have to figure out how to prevent it from destroying their life. That'll be easy if they're taught what their relationship to technology ought to be, and difficult if they turn 18 and are told "your life, your choices."

    11 votes

  14. What are your financial goals? What habits, practices, and strategies do you use to reach them?

    ~finance Ask (survey)
    How do you spend your money? How do you want to spend it? How do you save? I'm curious what strategies my fellow Tildenizens use to spend efficiently, build savings for retirement and other...

    How do you spend your money? How do you want to spend it? How do you save?

    I'm curious what strategies my fellow Tildenizens use to spend efficiently, build savings for retirement and other purchases, and otherwise maximize their financial lives. How do you use your money to maximize your happiness?

    Here's me: I'm young, single, thankfully debt-free, and my annual salary is about $70,000. I'm able to save approximately 35% of that by living relatively frugally:

    All My Stuff
    • I live in a big city, but not an expensive one. I pay rent, but it's pretty low for the amenities I have access to.
    • I live with a roommate to reduce expenses. We're on the same wavelength about minimizing spending.
    • I don't own a car and rely on public transit and carpooling to get places. I also work from home.
    • I go out of my way to shop at the cheapest grocery stores in the area to cut my weekly bill in half (or more).
    • I have three credit cards, but I always keep my utilization low and never miss a minimum payment.
    • I have a separate bank account (checking) for bills than for general spending. I set up my direct deposit to automatically put in all necessary funds for bills into the bill account. Then I set up autopay with all my providers so I don't miss payments. I have one month's buffer in this account in case there's some issue with my paycheck.
    • I contribute as much as I can to my employer-provided 401(k) savings account every month and invest in index funds. I can get to about 65% of the IRS max contribution limit with my income.
    • I contribute to a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) every month to reach the IRS max contribution limit for the year, and invest in index funds.
    • I have a high-deductible healthcare plan (HDHP) which lets me use a Health Savings Account (HSA). My company pays a little into my HSA each month, and I contribute a similar amount to reach the IRS max contribution limit. Instead of using the HSA to pay for medical expenses, my strategy is to pay out of pocket for all expenses and simply invest the funds in my HSA in index funds to maximize their growth potential. Since this account is so tax-advantaged, investments here are more efficient (as far as I can tell) than in any other account I know of.
    • I have a taxable brokerage account that I contribute a small amount to each month. I know this isn't technically as efficient as putting more into my 401(k), but I figure I might want to use some of this money before I retire. I also kind of like betting on random stocks. Irresponsible, I know, but it's like $20 at a time. Gotta have fun?
    • I set up my TreasuryDirect.gov account to automatically buy I-Bonds while inflation is high, but only on the order of $100/mo. I don't know when I should stop exactly... we'll see what the interest rates are in May?

    I'm not really sure what I'm saving for here. I know you're not supposed to make financial decisions without a plan, but I honestly don't know what I want to do in the next 5 years, let alone 50. People tell me that I should buy a house to build equity instead of throwing away money in rent, but I'm enjoying not dealing with maintenance, and I don't know if I want to stay in this city for more than a few years. It's cute, and I have friends here, but city hall is full of goobers and there are too many highways nearby messing with the feng shui.

    Someone also suggested that I buy a small property and rent it out through a property management company, even if I'm still renting myself. Besides landlords being the scum of the earth and the moral quandaries that might present if I were to become one (even a tolerable one), that also feels like a lot of work. Possibly also financially unrealistic considering I'd need a 20% down payment on a house I don't intend to live in, and... I don't have that.

    I also might switch careers soon-ish, possibly to software engineering, which has a better earnings potential. I've avoided it in the past because I feel like I'm just not good enough at programming. I don't know how I would properly improve those skills now that I'm out of school.

    My pipe dream is that I want to build a really fricking big building. That's my goal. I want it to be really sick and have big Gothic spires and gargoyles and stained glass windows and cool stone carvings everywhere (but also be ADA accessible and not full of asbestos, because it's 2023). And people would come from miles around and say, "Wow, that's a cool building." All the non-racist secret societies could meet in its various hidden chambers and do whatever they do. I would hire whoever builds concert halls to design the acoustics so I could have some bomb choirs going in there, and make the floor sprung so they could do those crazy ballet dances too. Maybe at the same time. Also there would be a moat full of lava. And a robot dragon to guard it all just in case. I think this would cost upward of $500 million in total. Unfortunately that's slightly out of budget, even at my abnormal savings rate.

    But priorities change, right? I figure that if I can save enough to make myself think I might be able to build my big-ass building one day, when I eventually realize, "Wait a second, my kid needs to go to college," I'll accidentally have enough to make that happen.

    How does this compare to your life? What tips, tricks, and ideas would you like to share to help each other out? What are your financial dreams? I'm really interested in chatting with everyone about this.

    6 votes