u/surfsupmmhmm

Hi! I’ve been looking at M.P.A. programs and am curious to hear opinions/pros+cons of doing an in person or online program.

For context, I graduated from undergrad… ten years ago (it goes by fast!) and have only ever taken in person classes. I value making in person connections and being able to ask questions as I have them. However, now that I’m older and have a full time job, I appreciate the flexibility online programs offer. I’m in Ohio, if that makes a difference.

Is there a difference of quality between in person and online programs? Are there any tips for online learning that you care to share?

TIA!

I ordered the dumb phone 2 from dumb co. and I’m super excited!! After what feels like months of research this device seems to have all the things I need. But now I have to choose a phone plan!

They offer three plans:

1. dumbest—just the dumb phone. No call or text forwarding, no music. ($16/month)
2. dumber-includes call+text forwarding, no music ($21/month)
3. dumb- includes everything! ($26/month)

I am looking between the dumb and dumber plans (lol) since I’ll be using this as a companion device with my smart phone (for now! I picked the dumb phone 2 because it seems like a solid way to see if I even like using the phone/if it works for my lifestyle). I plan to keep my smartphone, mainly for FaceTiming purposes (my laptop is 10+ years old and the FaceTime quality is crummy… once I have an updated laptop, I think going to the dumbest plan would be great). Otherwise, I’ll probably keep the smartphone turned off and in a drawer.

I was curious if anyone has experience using audio/Apple Music on a tcl device. Is it easy to use? How’s the sound quality? I know the diff is only 5/month, but if the music quality is bad or whatever, I’d rather save $5 lol.

If there’s anything else I should consider while choosing a plan, LMK! Thanks yall!!!

(I’m in the USA, too, for reference!)

Hi, hi! I really want to make the switch to a dumb phone (the sunbeam horizon series has caught my attention) but realized I have to use 2FA (I use the Microsoft Authenticator app) for work.

Anyone know of dumb phones that can support this? I’m in the USA for reference.

I could keep my smartphone for Authenticator purposes I guess but that sounds annoying! I may also ask my IT dept if there’s any workaround, but I’m curious what other folks do for this.

Thank you!!

I live in a quadplex and my upstairs neighbor drives me bonkers…

Multiple times (this week alone), I’ve woken up around 1am to her having sex. Her bed is so, so squeaky and she’s…. Loud. I banged the ceiling with a broom this week and she kinda quieted down?

She doesn’t work a normal schedule (or, work at all, from what I’ve gathered). One time, at 4am I awoke to her BLASTING music so loudly I could hear it perfectly. When I told her to turn it down, she seemed unaware about how loud she was being. I have a white noise machine and earplugs. This combo does nothing.

She’s a stomper, too. I’ve had friends comment to me about how loud she walks/is.

I’ve told her multiple times to be a little quiet. She’s aware I work a standard office job. I don’t know if she’s truly unaware or just doesn’t care. I know I go to bed and wake up on the earlier side. I don’t expect someone to be silent, but I am shocked by the “unawareness” she’s demonstrated.

Before I moved in, I asked the previous tenant about noise levels. She told me: “she can never really hear her.” Either that tenants hearing is poor, or she was just lying. Regardless: the neighbor has been here for years so she probably will not move. TBH my landlord also gives me the creeps (once asked how old I was and about my social life? Anyways). I am feeling desperate to move!! Planning on doing so in a month or two. Any advice on staying sane in the meantime?

“Decent” in quotes bc I realize it’s a bit of an oxymoron.

Current landlord is kinda creepy and takes forever to fix things. Currently my fridge is broken and he doesn’t want to replace. This is the third time in nine months my fridge has broken and I’ve needed to replace food. I also didn’t have heat for about 5 days in November last year. Needless to say: I’m over it.

Previous landlord was similar: didn’t want to fix things even when there was a rodent infestation.

Seems like most rentals are owned either by
big companies now or people who live out of state.

Do affordable rentals and “decent” landlords exist here?

I feel extremely behind financially and stuck career wise.

I’m 30, living in the Midwest, and my take home pay is $2,670 each month. I contribute to retirement, have a full time job with benefits, etc. Some of my pay goes toward my HSA (not included in my take home pay). I recently got out of cc debt (yay) and with student loans starting up my payment will be about $125/month (boo).

I spent my 20s moving around a lot, working a lot of “cool” jobs that paid minimum wage and dealing with some mental health stuff that, at many times, I did not know if I’d make it to 30. I’m doing much better mentally, enough to actually want to have money for my future self.

My rent is 800, and will most likely increase to 850 at the end of the year. I honestly do not like my apartment. My upstairs neighbor wakes me up constantly and the landlord takes a long time to fix things (currently my fridge isn’t working. The third time in nine months). It is an option to move home, even though that’s not ideal for some mental health reasons (parent is an alcoholic).

I use YNAB to help with budgeting… with everything mapped out (even future expenses), I only have…. $10 wiggle room.

How the heck am I supposed to save? I do have savings built into my budget, but it’s not as much as I would like. I would love to make more money, but, I don’t even know where to look for jobs. I’ve been stuck in the nonprofit world now for a few years and do not feel it is sustainable.

Everyone I know makes like, $10k more than me, or doesn’t pay rent, or some combo of the two. It’s really tough to not compare myself or feel judgmental when those friends complain to me about their finances.

Idk what costs I can cut at this point, besides rent. I don’t know how to pivot to a more lucrative career. It makes me feel awful and I’m literally losing sleep over it. Tired of feeling like shit about myself bc of this. TIA.